Yardbarker: New Jersey Nets

Report: Vandeweghe to coach Nets rest of season

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:25:01 -0500

New Jersey Nets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe is set to become the team's coach for the rest of the season. He doesn't have to worry about being on the bench for a potential record-setting loss, though. Vandeweghe won't coach his first game with the team until Friday, a person with knowledge of the team's plans told The Associated Press on Monday. The person requested anonymity because the Nets don't plan to announce their plans until a press conference Tuesday mor...

Nets GM to coach team for rest of season

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 20:22:47 -0500

A person with knowledge of their plans says New Jersey Nets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe will coach the team for the rest of the season.

Source: Vandeweghe to coach Nets rest of year

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 20:14:51 -0500

NEW YORK (AP) -- A person with knowledge of their plans says New Jersey Nets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe will coach the team for the rest of the season.

Source: GM Vandeweghe tabbed as Nets coach

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 20:14:51 -0500

NEW YORK (AP) -- A person with knowledge of their plans says New Jersey Nets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe will coach the team for the rest of the season.

Nets name Vandeweghe coach

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 19:50:28 -0500

The New Jersey Nets have named general manager Kiki Vandeweghe their coach for the remainder of the season. Veteran NBA coach Del Harris has also been brought in to be the teams top asssistant, according to a report by Yahoo Sports. On Sunday the team announced the firing of Lawrence Frank after a 0-16 start to [...]

Kiki Vandeweghe Taking Over as Coach of the Nets

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:54:48 -0500

THIS IS BREAKING NEWS... Someone had to stop the bleeding, and apparently, the answer is from within.After an 0-17 start, tying a record for the worst start in NBA history, the New Jersey Nets are announcing that general manager Kiki Vandeweghe is taking over as coach, sources told NBA.com on Monday. Vandeweghe replaces interim Tom Barrise, who coached one game after last week's firing of Lawrence Frank. Vandeweghe is also bringing longtime coach Del Harris back to the bench as his top assistant. The two have worked together previously in Dallas -- Vandeweghe in the front office and Harris as an assistant to Don Nelson. Barrise and the rest of the assistants are expected to stay on staff. Vandeweghe will try to jumpstart what's been a miserable season so far in New Jersey . Riddled by injuries and an erosion of talent in recent years, the Nets are off to a 0-17 start that tied the league record for the longest losing streak to start a season. Frank was fired after the first 16 games. The Nets are off until Wednesday when former New Jersey All-Star Jason Kidd and the Mavericks visit the Meadowlands. Harris is a logical sounding board for Vandeweghe, who doesn't have any head-coaching experience. Harris, 72, has won more than 500 games in the NBA and was on semi-retirement after spending last year on Vinny Del Negro's staff in Chicago . Harris was recently named general manager for the D-League team in suburban Dallas . Harris is familiar with several players on the New Jersey roster, having coached All-Star point guard Devin Harris, Trenton Hassell and Eduardo Najera in Dallas . The Vandeweghe-Harris move is similar to what took place in New Orleans after Byron Scott was fired. General manager Jeff Bower took over as coach and brought back former Hornets coach Tim Floyd as his top assistant. Source: NBA.com, Turner Sports OTHER NEWS FROM THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS NETWORK (THE BIZ OF FOOTBALL) Getting Inside Your Head: The NFL and Concussions Titans-Texans MNF Game Has Strong Ratings Tony Dungy Leads New NFL Player Advisory Forum Jon Gruden Signs Mult-Year Extension with ESPN (THE BIZ OF HOCKEY) Relocating NHL Franchises to Canada Inside the Numbers: The 2009 Forbes NHL Valuations NHLPA Votes to Create Two Committees, Approves Donald Fehr to Assist in Exec. Dir. Search The NHL Works to Address Head Hits (SPORTS BASH) Busy, Busy, Busy: The Baseball Winter Meetings (THE BIZ OF BASEBALL) 2009 World Series Shares Released, Yankees Set Record MLB Properties, Topps Reach Exclusive Deal on Minor League Trading Cards Inside The Numbers: Tim Lincecum's Possible Record Contract Is Bud Selig Really, Really Going To Retire This Time? LWIB: Survey Testing Court Battle, Plus A's and Rays Stadium Updates Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is available as a freelance writer. Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network (select his name in the dropdown provided). Follow Maury Brown on Twitter Follow The Biz of Basketball on Twitter Follow the Business of Sports Network on Facebook

Frank & Weis: When Being Fired Is Fair or Not

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:15:00 -0500

Lawrence Frank and Charlie Weis spent all last week knowing that they wouldn't be holding onto their jobs for very much longer. Both Frank, the head coach of the New Jersey Nets, and Weis, the head coach at Notre Dame, were on borrowed time and were looking straight at that shiny guillotine.Both were fired in successive days this week. Frank, who was reported to be fired all weekend, finally was shown the door before the Nets 17th straight loss to open the current season. Notre Dame waite...

Patrick Ewing Wants First Stab At Sinking Ship In New Jersey

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 11:15:00 -0500

Maybe that title is giving the New Jersey Nets a little too much credit. With a 0-17 start to the season, the ship in New Jersey may have already sunk. But now that Lawrence Frank has finally been fired, the Nets have to find a new skipper. Might as well continue with this ship theme, right? This doesn't sound like a job people would be clamouring for, but it seems Patrick Ewing is doing just that. Knicks legend Patrick Ewing, an NBA assistant coach for the past seven seasons, told ...

New Jersey Nets: Historically Futile

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 09:00:16 -0500

by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni Hours after learning of the firing of their head coach, a depressed (and philosophical) New Jersey Nets team walked into Staples Center in Los Angeles, and made history. Unfortunately for them, it was the ignominious kind. With their 17th consecutive loss, New Jersey matched the record for most losses to begin a season. It is a mark shared with such forgettable squads as the 1988 Miami Heat and 1999 Los Angeles Clippers. The Nets must now look to the future, ...

Frankly Speaking, Frank Takes the Fall

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 02:15:00 -0500

by Lisa OlsonFiled under: NBALawrence Frank ended his head coaching career with the New Jersey Nets in pretty much the opposite way he began it. The streak had been turned completely on its head - a 0-16 wretched beginning to this season obliterated the 13-0 winning jolt that ushered in his first month as head coach nearly six years ago. But most everything else about him remained the same: Frank was still the rumpled basketball geek (his description) more concerned with making the game about...

No Easy Buckets: Farmar rejects Alston (Video)

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 23:13:59 -0500

When you’re the champs you have to show up and play like champions every night. With the Brooklyn New Jersey Nets visiting Staples Center, the Lakers needed to send a message. No disrespect to New Jeruz, but if there is any serious chance at 70 wins for this Laker squad then teams with 0-16 records must [...]

Hey Nets... you better hope Karma ain't lookin' tomorrow

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 13:20:48 -0500

Lawrence Frank, whose New Jersey Nets are off to one of the worst starts in history, won't be able to keep his job. It’s expected that Nets president Rod Thorn will inform Frank early in the week, most likely on Monday. The plan is for Nets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe to take over as interim coach, but there is still some support within the organization for veteran assistant John Loyer. The new coach is expected to be on the bench when the Nets play host to the Dallas Maverick...

Report: Nets Will fire Frank

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 10:29:42 -0500

The New Jersey Nets will fire head coach Lawrence Frank, according to a report by Yahoo Sports. The Nets have started 0-16 on the year, which is one game short of the the league record for the worst start by any team. The Miami Heat in 1988-89 and the Los Angeles Clippers in 1999-2000 each [...]

Nets reportedly set to fire Lawrence Frank

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 09:24:14 -0500

Sporting News staff reports On the brink of tying the NBA record for most losses to start a season, the Nets will fire coach Lawrence Frank after the team returns from its game Sunday against the Lakers, Yahoo! Sports reports. The firing would likely take place Monday, and the plan is for Nets GM Kiki Vandeweghe to become the interim coach, though assistant John Loyer would also be an option, according to the report. The new coach likely will be behind the bench Wednesday against th...

2001: A Nets Odyssey

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 13:00:38 -0500

Back in April 1998, Tony Gervino predicted the Nets would win a title in 2001. He said a starting rotation of Sam Cassell, Kerry Kittles, Keith Van Horn, Jayson Williams and Kendall Gill would bring home gold. The following season they started off horrendously, and before you knew it, Cassell was replaced with Stephon Marbury and Coach Calipari was fired. Fast-forward three seasons to 2002, when new GM Rod Thorn exiles Marbury and brings in Jason Kidd. All of a sudden, the Nets finish the reg...

The New Jersey Nets Are Not Very Good At Basketball

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 11:40:57 -0500

The Nets are now sitting at 0-16 after losing to the Sacramento Kings 109-96 Friday night, leaving them one loss shy of tying the NBA record for season-opening futility, previously accomplished by the Heat (1988) and Clippers (1999). Head coach Lawrence Frank went so far as say that the Nets "cheated the game" in the first half, but guard Devin Harris displayed the quiet, cool confidence after the game that one would expect out of player on a team that has lost 16 straight games. &...

Kenyon Martin Says Bruce Ratner to Blame for Sorry Nets

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:02:42 -0500

Kenyon Martin played for the New Jersey Nets six years ago and was around Bruce Ratner briefly but that doesn’t mean K-Mart can’t take shots at the Nets Owner. Kenyon says if you need somebody to blame for New Jersey’s overall decline, including the 0-14 start, point your fingers at Ratner. Julian Garcia of the NY [...]

Jayson Williams Saga May Finally Be Over

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:30:14 -0500

According to the AP, Jayson Williams (yes, that one) has accepted a plea deal that will send him to jail for at least 18 months for the accidental shooting of Costas Christofi in 2002. All the way back in April 2004, Williams was originally acquitted of aggravated manslaughter, assault and other weapons charges after he accidentally killed his limo driver with a shotgun during a party in his home. However, he was convicted on four charges related to his attempts to cover up the shooting and ...