Avery Johnson Meets The Media, Expresses Hope For Nets' Future

The New Jersey Nets introduced Avery Johnson as their newest head coach this afternoon, and Johnson was bursting with optimism. Nets Daily, SB Nation's Nets blog, has more from the news conference:

Avery Johnson opened his comments at Tuesday's press conference by promising, as did his boss, to win the NBA championship. "I'm going to work morning, noon and night to get the Big Trophy," said Johnson.

"The sky's the limit," said Johnson in front of dozens of reporters and cameramen at the PNY Center. "We can go from worst to first."

However, he acknowledges that optimism can only take a team so far:

"I'm all about dreaming. I have a big dream in my mind right now in terms of where this franchise can go and where we can take it. I see all of the possibilities, but that's going to require a lot of discipline and details and determination."

Avery Johnson To Be Introduced As Nets Coach Tuesday At Noon

According to the Nets, new head coach Avery Johnson will be officially introduced tomorrow at noon. Johnson and the Nets agreed to a contract on June 10. Johnson will then be fed to the New York media circuit.  

His media schedule, according to the Nets, is as follows:

TUNE-IN: Avery Johnson Press Conference LIVE Stream on NJNets.com Tuesday, June 15 at 12 p.m.

TUNE-IN: Coach Johnson joins Mike Francesa live on WFAN from Yankee Stadium Tuesday, June 15, 4 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

TUNE-IN: Avery Johnson on ESPN Radio with Michael Kay Tuesday, June 15 at 5:40 p.m.

TUNE-IN: Avery Johnson on WFAN with Evan and Joe Wednesday, June 16 at 8:05 a.m.

Johnson Takes Over 12-70 Team

That .735 winning percentage Avery Johnson compiled as head coach of the Dallas Mavericks is about to take a serious hit. He has officially been hired to coach the woeful New Jersey Nets, 12-70 a season ago.

“We are very pleased to welcome Avery as the new head coach of the Nets,” Nets president Rod Thorn said. “He has enjoyed success in this league as both a player and head coach, and we feel that he possesses all of the characteristics, including knowledge, passion and leadership, that are necessary for us to be a championship contender in the years to come.”

“The hiring of Avery Johnson as the Nets head coach is a wonderful first step towards building a winning team,” said Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov. “His leadership qualities, knowledge of the game and ability to motivate are all talents we will be calling upon as we move forward. This is the beginning of what I hope will be many more exciting announcements to come before the start of the season.

Owner, New Coach To Meet In Boston

New Jersey Nets onwer Mikhail Prokhorov and new coach Avery Johnson will have a sort of ‘summit’ meeting in Boston Sunday during Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

Reports indicate Johnson’s official hiring could be announced later today.

Avery Johnson Seeking 3-year, $12 Million Dollar Deal

The New Jersey Nets and Avery Johnson have come together on an agreement that will make Johnson the next coach of the Nets.

They haven't ironed out contract details yet, but Fanhouse reports that negotiations have begun.

A source close to the ESPN analyst confirmed Marc Stein's ESPN.com report to FanHouse that the former Dallas coach and the Nets have entered contract negotiations with his lawyers, Jeremiah Haylett (Dutt Sports General Counsel) and Curry Cooksey (Orgain, Bell and Tucker, LLP). Assuming Johnson's deal is worked out, he will return to the bench for the first time since being fired from the Mavericks' head post in 2008.

Yahoo! reporter Marc Spears reported that Johnson would be given a three-year deal, and sources close to Johnson told FanHouse that his target salary entering negotiations with Thorn - and by extension new Nets billionaire owner Mikhail Prokhorov - was between $4 million to $4.5 million per year.

NBA.com's Art Garcia tweets details on possible candidates for Johnson's staff as well.

Possibles for Avery Johnson's staff in New Jersey include Blazers asst Joe Prunty & Mavs asst Popeye Jones.

Jones and Johnson played together for the Dallas Mavericks during the 2003-2004 season.

ESPN: Sides Have 'Verbal Agreement'

ESPN’s Marc Stein is reporting that the New Jersey Nets and Avery Johnson have a “verbal agreement” that will make Johnson the team’s new head coach.

Johnson, who has been working for ESPN since his dismissal from the Dallas Mavericks after the 2007-08 season, was the NBA’s Coach of the Year in 2005 and took the Mavs to the NBA Finals in 2006. He posted a record of 194-70 in three-plus seasons, good for a winning percentage of .735, and will be reunited in New Jersey with point guard Devin Harris.

ESPN.com reported in early April that Harris was making a hard internal push for his former coach in Dallas.

Stein: Nets Begin Negotiations With Avery Johnson

ESPN's Marc Stein is as plugged-in an NBA reporter as there is, so when he Tweets something, we ought to listen. And in this case, he's tweeting that Avery Johnson is quite close to becoming the next head coach of the New Jersey Nets:

ESPN.com NBA coaching latest: Nets have entered into contract negotiations with Avery Johnson and are progressing toward deal

In two separate Tweets, he points out that Johnson is still technically a finalist for the Hawks' opening in Atlanta, but that "something would have to go seriously awry" for him not to ultimately land the Nets' job.

Avery Johnson Favorite To Become Nets' Coach

Reports are indicating that it seems more and more likely that Avery Johnson, former Dallas Mavericks coach, will be the next New Jersey Nets' coach.

Keep checking here at SB Nation New York for updates to this story.