P.J. Carlesimo Talks on ESPN Radio
P.J. Carlesimo took a few minutes this morning to speak to ESPN Radio on the Colin Cowherd show and the first question asked was about his being let go by the Brooklyn Nets.
[quote_simple]Colin Cowherd ESPN Radio
What were the reasons you were let go by the Nets?
Philosophically, I think Billy and the organization wanted someone that they felt was more in line with their thoughts and the way they felt about the roster and the whole situation going forward.
They felt I wasn’t the guy, so they gotta get the guy in here they want. It was a great opportunity, it was a nice job. This franchise is in great shape right now in terms of the move to Brooklyn and Barclays Center and everything is on the uptick right now.
The roster is a good roster, it’s a little tight, there’s not a lot of flexibility going forward but Billy and Mikhail Prokhorov are willing to do what they have to do to be successful so I think it will be a very good opportunity for somebody.[/quote_simple]
Carlesimo is a great coach and has been for many years but the Nets as they are constituted now are not a good match for his coaching skill set. Carlesimo is from the old school of “big is better” and refused to use the players that are currently on the Brooklyn team to their strengths.
The younger players like MarShon Brooks, Tyshawn Taylor and Tornike Shengelia are examples of the players that did not grow at all and probably look at this year as a wasted year. The fact the he did not figure out how to use the leading scorer in Europe, Mirza Teletovic, also hurt his chances of retaining the job.
The main factor in my eyes was that his rotation patterns were awful and he didn’t really seem to know when to go small and when to use a bigger lineup.
Andray Blatche has played power forward his entire career for the Washington Wizards but could not get on the court enough with Brook Lopez to find a rhythm. The stats speak for themselves on the productivity the two had when on the court together. He didn’t change and make teams adjust to the Nets rather than the Nets adjusting to every other team.
The fascination with starting Reggie Evans was probably his biggest blunder as the Brooklyn Nets coach and to me it did the Nets in against the Chicago Bulls. Evans has been a career 20 minute bench player his entire NBA life but somehow Carlesimo was infatuated with him to the point where he sank Kris Humphries to the lowest he has been in three years and played Evans way too much. Evans is a beast on the glass but is a liability on the offensive end and paired with Gerald Wallace in the starting lineup crippled the Nets to the point where they were playing 5-on-3 most of the games.
These factors are all the reasons that Carlesimo was not offered a new contract with Brooklyn. The difference in philosophy from management and coach was too large to correct and the Nets made the right choice on letting him go.
I wish nothing but the best in the future to P.J. as I respect his abilities as a coach more than anyone knows although this was not the team for him at this time.
via @octoberGR8NESS @CKCash30
