Nets fire coach Avery Johnson

The Brooklyn Nets announced on its official Twitter site that they fired Avery Johnson on Thursday afternoon. Johnson was named the team’s head coach on June 15, 2010. He had a 60-116 record with the Nets in his two-plus years with the team.

Johnson was the Eastern Conference’s Coach of the Month in October and November after a 11-4 start. But the team has gone 3-10 since then and are in third place in the Atlantic Division, six games behind the Knicks, with a 14-14 record.

Prior to joining the Nets, Johnson led the Dallas Mavericks to the playoffs three times, including a Western Conference title in 2005-06, the same year he was named NBA Coach of the Year.

The Brooklyn Nets have relieved Avery Johnson of his head coaching duties, Nets GM Billy King announced.—
Nets PR Dept. (@Nets_PR) December 27, 2012

Analysts reacted to the seemingly abrupt decision:

While not unforeseen given the Nets' struggles, firing Johnson caught some in the organization off guard. Clearly a Prokhorov decision.—
Ken Berger (@KBergCBS) December 27, 2012

It was believed that Johnson would be given more time to turn things around after nine losses in 12 games against mostly winning teams.—
Ken Berger (@KBergCBS) December 27, 2012