CHICAGO — Add “Brooklyn mentality” to the list of attributes sought in the next Nets head coach.
In an interview with the team’s website, general manager Billy King said he’s searching for a coaching candidate who can instill a toughness in the Nets that would resonate with the fans in the borough.
“We’re going to be patient, but it’s to find someone who can take this group collectively and get the most out of them,” King said. “I thought P.J. [Carlesimo] did this year, and got us to where we are, but I thought we could go further.
“I thought we could be a better basketball team, but we need to create a culture that becomes the identity of the Brooklyn Nets. … Something where I think it has to be a vision of the Brooklyn borough, where it’s got to be tough-minded and when you come to play us you know it’s going to be a dogfight every night. That’s what I’m looking for — and a coach to instill that in the team.”
Given that King is expected to speak, among others, with Pacers associate head coach Brian Shaw and Grizzlies head coach Lionel Hollins — both of whom are still involved in playoff runs — he has no choice but to be patient until their seasons end.
But that hasn’t stopped King from developing an idea of what he wants in his next coach’s mindset. Not surprisingly, part of that philosophy comes from the example set forth by his college coach, Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski.
“I always go back to Coach K,” King said. “Because the mindset he always gave us was that, ‘People expect to play Duke, so give them Duke.’ When you go out there, people expect to have a tough game, defensive-minded, they’re going to be physical … so we always want to give them that. So that’s what I look at. And, offensively, it’s be unselfish, play team basketball.
“The team has to be more important than the individual. When you look at the programs that win in San Antonio, Miami, Chicago, the Lakers over the years, that’s what they’re all about. The Bulls when Michael was there … it’s instilling the team is more important. Michael Jordan is Michael Jordan, but the Bulls are more important than Michael Jordan. In his mind, he looked at the organization as being the team concept.”