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Brooklyn Nets: 5 Candidates To Replace Lionel Hollins As Head Coach

By Gerald Bourguet

Jan 9, 2016; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Brooklyn Nets head coach Lionel Hollins looks on from the sidelines during the third quarter against the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills. The Pistons won 103-89. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 9, 2016; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Brooklyn Nets head coach Lionel Hollins looks on from the sidelines during the third quarter against the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills. The Pistons won 103-89. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /
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Brooklyn Nets
Jan 5, 2016; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari during the second half of a game against the LSU Tigers at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /

2. John Calipari

We continue to see John Calipari’s name come up in these discussions, and for good reason: With a career record of 603-178 (.772), he’s one of the greatest college basketball coaches in NCAA history. But as former head coach of the New Jersey Nets (1996-98), a transition back to the NBA could potentially make sense for Calipari with this team.

However, for a man who’s already fruitlessly spent hundreds of millions of dollars on this team, Prokhorov may not be willing to meet Calipari’s absurd asking price. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, coach Cal is looking for something in the neighborhood of 10 years, $120 million.

According to Calipari himself, he’s still focused on what he’s doing at Kentucky:

Everyone knows Calipari is a mastermind when it comes to the game of basketball. He’s won an NCAA championship and made six Final Fours (two of which were vacated). But for a guy who had a 72-112 record in his two and a half seasons in the NBA to have such an otherworldly asking price is a bit much, even for a guy like Prokhorov who’s basically handled personnel decisions like an ATM machine.

According to Woj, Calipari would also be looking for GM powers, with the intention of appealing to former Kentucky products DeMarcus Cousins and John Wall, who hit free agency in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Prokhorov stated in his press conference Monday morning that he’d prefer two separate candidates for head coach and GM, not one person filling both roles.

It seems highly unlikely that John Calipari’s long-awaited return to the NBA is coming in Brooklyn, but he’s worth mentioning as the kind of big name Prokhorov would want, especially since he’d actually have a chance at making this franchise respectable again — even if he didn’t get Wall or Boogie.

Next: No. 1

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