P.J. – "He wants to win an NBA championship, and as a coach you can't ask for more that. "

P.J. Carlesimo is making some news today talking about the Brooklyn Nets and what their billionaire owner, Mikhail Prokhorov, expects from his team and organization.

These statements aren’t new news as everyone knows Prokhorov will do whatever and pay whatever to make sure his teams wins a championship as soon as possible.. Carlesimo has first hand experience in dealing with the Nets the past few seasons so his opinion surely makes news when he speaks of the team.

Would you rather have an owner that is “all in on winning” or a more “prudent methodical” owner who preaches patience?

Nets fans have been patient since the Jason Kidd era so going for it will suit them quite well.

[quote_simple]
NY Post

“Having said that, the expectations to win a championship in two years, that’s a heavy load for anybody, not just for Brooklyn. But I don’t know if that’s realistic the way the roster is right now,” Carlesimo said Thursday on a conference call.

“I wouldn’t say that team cannot win a championship, because we thought we could this year if things broke a little better for us. But if that’s on your plate that you need to win a championship in two years, I think that makes it a little challenging.”

The Russian billionaire has shown a willingness to spend, but not the patience to improve gradually. The Nets were 14-14 when he fired Johnson, who had been Eastern Conference coach of the month in November.
Carlesimo thinks Prokhorov has a team capable of winning 50 games, but not one that he would consider a favorite for the title.

“I also think the expectations are maybe not totally realistic, but you’d rather have that from your owner, and then he’s got the wherewithal to back it up,” Carlesimo said. “That’s his goal. We talked about that from day one. He doesn’t make any bones about it. He doesn’t want to have a nice team, he doesn’t want to just sell tickets in Brooklyn and make the team competitive. He wants to win an NBA championship, and as a coach you can’t ask for more that. So if what comes with that is a short leash, well, so be it.”[/quote_simple]