Avery Johnson Fired: Struggling Brooklyn Nets Dump Head Coach

Brooklyn Nets head coach Avery Johnson was fired Thursday afternoon, the team has announced. P.J. Carlesimo will take over as interim coach, according to the New York Daily News.

"The Nets ownership would like to express thanks to Avery for his efforts and to wish him every success in the future," Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov said in a statement.

Johnson was reportedly "blindsided" by the team's decision, an unnamed close friend revealed to the New York Times. The young team's first season had shot off to a promising start, with the team going 11-4 in November. Johnson was even named the Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for October and November. But things began to take a turn for the worse in December, with the Nets going 3-10 this month. Johnson became an easy scapegoat for the team's mediocre 14-14 record, and especially for the Nets' dismal December.

"Johnson was fired ... because the hype very quickly outpaced the reality in this maiden season in Brooklyn. The chic uniforms, the cool arena and the remade roster made the Nets easy to embrace. They invoked Jackie Robinson, borrowed a flagpole from Ebbets Field and traded on every ounce of Brooklyn zeitgeist. As Prokhorov and his lieutenants are now learning, it is easier to be hip than good," wrote the New York Times.

The decision to dump Johnson came from Nets owner, Russian billionaire Mikhail D. Prokhorov, according to the Times.

"Watching us, we just didn't have the same fire that we had when we were 11-4," General Manager Billy King said at an afternoon news conference. "Talking to Avery, we tried to figure it out. But, just wasn't able to pinpoint what was missing."

"I have a pretty good pulse of players," King said. "Not just Deron, but all our guys. I just got a sense that, as I told Avery this morning, that for some reason, he just wasn't reaching them anymore."

According to Johnson, much of that may have had to do with his sense of job security. Johnson only had a year left on his contract with the team, and had been denied an extension over the summer.

"In this business, you got to have the power, in terms of the ability to coach - and the respect," Johnson said in a farewell news conference, the Times reported. "It would help if you do have a contract that the players respect. That's the nature of our business."

Johnson had lead the team as head coach for for a little more than two seasons. Overall he went 60-116 with the Nets, who moved from New Jersey to Brooklyn to start the 2012-13 season. Johnson also successfully coached the Dallas Mavericks to an appearance in the NBA Finals in 2006.

"This is not about the fair game," Johnson concluded. "A lot of times it's about the blame game."