The man who gave Lawrence Frank his NBA coaching start, Nets assistant Brian Hill, can talk with the Pistons about joining coach John Kuester's staff.
"Brian is a very good coach, and he's done a good job for us," said Nets team president Rod Thorn, who acknowledged he granted the Pistons permission yesterday to speak with Hill about the lead assistant's job under Kuester. Hill, 61, twice was the head coach of the Magic, leading them to the Finals in 1995. He also was the head coach in Vancouver, where he hired Frank on his staff in 1997. This is his second tour as a Nets assistant under Frank.
The Nets assistants all agreed to pay cuts this summer so that additional jobs would remain. Tom Barrise, Doug Overton and Roy Rogers remain on the bench. It is not clear if the Nets would hire someone to replace Hill, who has a 298-315 career head-coaching record.
Meanwhile, the Nets stay in a waiting game on the free-agent front. They seem determined to alter the roster by the start of the season, but they will not make more change for change's sake. And Thorn said again that nothing is imminent and that a $1.26 million trade exception obtained in the Marcus Williams deal "probably" will expire Wednesday after its one-year shelf life.
"If there is something that makes sense, we'd take a look at it," said Thorn, noting he could envision scenarios of either a trade or a free-agent signing, but any signing likely could come much later in the bargain realm. "Will we do something? I'm just not sure."
The Nets' roster is swollen with 15 contracts and though players such as Carlos Boozer are being shopped, the Nets are not in the running.
"They've talked all around the league, but they haven't talked to [the Nets ]," one team source said.
