Nets Owner Mikhail Prokhorov yesterday "wielded his ax and rolled the heads" of coach Lionel Hollins and GM Billy King in a move that was "simultaneously dubbed as necessary to appease a dwindling fan base, hasty in its timing and typically chaotic of a dysfunctional organization," according to Stefan Bondy of the N.Y. DAILY NEWS. Sources said that King "was essentially forced out and 'reassigned,' but will remain involved and assist in the search for his replacement." Furthermore, with the trade deadline approaching next month, sources "believe King will remain involved in negotiations, at least as a liaison." Bondy notes in the process of "building a squad following the owner’s 'win-now' directive, King traded the rights to several valuable draft picks -- including this year’s, which will be a lottery pick that belongs to the Celtics." King "has always been close with Prokhorov’s No. 2," Nets Chair Dmitry Razumov, who "heavily influenced basketball decisions despite a background in investment banking." Razumov is "expected to retain his position," but there "are voices of influence from all over these days." Nets and Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark "has been more vocal lately about the direction of the organization." He is a "big proponent" of Kentucky men's basketball coach John Calipari, who "will certainly need full control of an organization and a boatload of money to leave" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 1/11). On Long Island, Mark Herrmann notes the removal of King "occurred only days after a report surfaced on Eurohoops.net saying that Prokhorov is considering hiring" CSKA Moscow President Andrey Vatutin to be the Nets’ GM. Nets officials "have not commented on that report" (NEWSDAY, 1/11).
TIME TO PAY THE BILL: USA TODAY's Jeff Zillgitt writes in the Nets' pursuit of a championship, they "squandered the present and neglected the future." The next coach will be their sixth since '10-11, while the roster is a "mishmash of mediocrity" and the team assets "are in short supply." They have paid more than $100M in luxury tax payments in the past two seasons and "are at the bottom of the league in attendance." It "makes sense for Prokhorov to find his GM first," as that hire "is more important than the coach" (USA TODAY, 1/11). In N.Y., Brian Lewis notes the Nets "are playing to dwindling attendance at Barclays Center," and at 10-27 "have the third-worst record in the NBA." King "mortgaged their future with his trades." That future "is now, and the bill has come due." Prokhorov, Razumov and Nets BOD member Sergey Kushchenko "like King and could have forgiven his questionable trades, but held him accountable for hiring Hollins" (N.Y. POST, 1/11).
SWING AND A MISS: In N.Y., Harvey Araton writes King "struck out with risk-filled trades when conventional wisdom would have dictated more gradual team building along with a Brooklyn fan base" after having been "left no choice but to wildly swing for the fences" (N.Y. TIMES, 1/11). In DC, Tim Bontemps writes the Nets "aren’t in the position they find themselves in today because of anything that happened over the past two months." While King in particular "has been blamed" for most of the team's past trouble, the responsibility for the "sorry state of the Nets franchise equally lies at the feet" of Prokhorov and his ownership team. The trades for players like G Joe Johnson and Fs Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce "were made as much by ownership as they were" by King. The Nets "operated with an overload of hubris during those high times in their early days in Brooklyn" (WASHINGTON POST, 1/11).
MAN IN THE MIRROR: ESPN.com's David Thorpe wrote there "is a case to be made" that the Nets handled 95% of all of their decision-making "badly." Ultimately, it is "on ownership to recognize its role in this mess, at least to help ensure the franchise won't make the same mistakes again." ESPN.com's Chad Ford wrote Prokhorov "wanted the Nets to be instant contenders and empowered King to do what he did." He also "refused to listen to the one person in the organization who seemed to understand that [things] were going terribly wrong organizationally" -- Onexim Sports & Entertainment President Irina Pavlova. Still, that "doesn't excuse King." Almost every choice he made "turned out to be a bad one" (ESPN.com, 1/10).
GOING BACK TO CALI? YAHOO SPORTS' Adrian Wojnarowski wrote Yormark "promises to be" one of the major influences in the search process, as he "has remained an immense ally" of Calipari since the latter's late '90s tenure as Nets president and coach. Sources said that Yormark "has remained a proponent of making a lucrative offer to bring Calipari back to the Nets in a dual president and coaching role" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 1/10). Wojnarowski writes the Nets "couldn't get star players to sell tickets and TV ratings," so Yormark "wants to try a star college coach." He is "pushing Prokhorov to reach back to the Nets' Jersey roots, dust off a failed '90s experiment and sell it as something sparkling and new." Sources said that the Nets and Kings "have been informed" of Calipari's asking price: 10 years, $120M. Around Calipari, there "are some who prefer him to take the Kings job, because there's more of an infrastructure in place." The Nets have been "left in shambles, with immense limitations on reshaping the roster." Sources said that Kings Managing Partner Vivek Ranadive "didn't have the minority ownership support to authorize that kind of an investment" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 1/11). In N.Y., Frank Isola writes the Nets "will undoubtedly make the celebrity hire here" because Prokhorov "simply wouldn’t have it any other way." Still, it "will take a lot to get" Calipari, which means "power and money, perhaps even a small piece of ownership" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 1/11).
