The Sports Xchange
NBA roundup: Nets fire
New York was a busy place in the NBA on Thursday with one team firing its coach and the other losing its point guard.
The Brooklyn Nets fired head coach Avery Johnson after a 14-14 start, general manager Billy King announced.
The team named assistant P.J. Carlesimo as interim coach. He has previously been a head coach with the Portland Trail Blazers (1994-97), Golden State Warriors (1997-2000) and Oklahoma City Thunder (2007-09).
The Nets, who are 6 1/2 games behind the first-place Miami Heat in eighth place in the Eastern Conference, reportedly are looking for a veteran coach to run their veteran team. They’ve lost their previous two games and have gone 3-10 in December.
Johnson was in the final year of his contract. He was named Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for October and November following after an 11-4 start.
In Manhattan, New York Knicks point guard Raymond Felton told reporters that he expects to miss 4-6 weeks with a fractured finger, but insisted he’ll play again this season.
“This isn’t a season-ending injury,” Felton told reporters in Phoenix. “It’s something that will last 4 to 6 weeks at the most.”
Felton suffered a broken right pinkie finger during the third quarter of a Christmas Day loss to the Los Angeles Lakers when he and Steve Nash fought over a loose ball. X-rays revealed the break.
—Golden State Warriors guard/forward Kent Bazemore and forward/center Jeremy Tyler have been assigned to the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA Development League, the team announced.
—Denver Nuggets rookie forward Quincy Miller has been assigned to the Iowa Energy of the NBA Development League, the team announced.
———————————————–
