BOSTON — Targeted names? You might as well ask Avery Johnson for the passwords to his online banking accounts. But the new Nets’ coach laughed and indicated he has every intention of sitting on some free agent’s doorstep when the clock hits midnight July 1.
And no one will be shocked if that free agent is LeBron James.
“[Free agency] is a major part of the whole rebuilding of this team,” Johnson told The Post walking out of TD Garden following the taping of his TV analyst’s segment. “And we need a lot of help. A lot of help. We need pieces, we need bodies. We need basketball players, rebounders, scorers.”
There’s the draft (three picks in the first 31) then free agency. And there are pieces in place, pieces Johnson likes, such as Brook Lopez and Devin Harris.
“Whenever you’re taking over a team, you want to have a quarterback and a center, to use football terminology,” Johnson said. “We have a quarterback and a center and that’s a good place to be.”
Now to use a baseball terminology, why not swing for the fences in free agency? Maybe that doorstep really is in Akron, Ohio.
You’ve heard all the whys. They have an owner, Mikhail Prokhorov, seemingly with more money than the combined nations competing for the World Cup. They have a highly respected president/general manager in Rod Thorn. They have $26 million to spend. They’re going to Brooklyn. Young talent. You’ve heard the why nots, led by that two-year lease in Newark. But it’s Newark, New Jersey, not Newark, Delaware. Manhattan is just a subway ride away, not that LeBron would ever be caught dead on a subway.
The truth is, Mayor Bloomberg and The Sopranos notwithstanding, the Nets have as much, if not more, to offer than anyone. And then go after Chris Bosh, too. Rudy Gay and David Lee are nice. James and Bosh are a heckuva lot nicer.
Johnson is another piece that gives the Nets legitimacy, although Thorn admitted a coach is not high on the list of “gotta haves” for free agents.
“A coach can help,” Thorn said, noting free agents look for “a city they can live in . . . a team that can be competitive . . . the monetary aspect . . . who am I going to play with? . . . Certainly a coach can have an effect, but a lot of other things go into it.”
Prokhorov, in a statement, sounded the big picture bell regarding Johnson’s hiring for a three-year, $12 million deal.
“This is the beginning of what I hope will be many more exciting announcements to come before the start of the season,” Prokhorov said.
So if a guy wants to win, a coach can help. One thought says LeBron signs short term in Cleveland then makes his move. The Nets are very real contenders in that scenario. But why wait? Cleveland took a step back with a bizarre mix-and-match roster and while the Cavs can pay LeBron the most — $125 million for six years opposed to $95 million for five from anyone else — they can’t add another free agent stud.
No one knows what James will do. A short-term deal with the Cavs keeps the homefront happy. He can say, with a clear conscience, he did all he could for Cleveland when that deal expires, with or without a ring. Makes a ton of sense.
But the Nets no doubt think a Russian billionaire with a global vision, plus cap money, plus young talent, plus a strong basketball management team makes even more sense.