Uli Seit for The New York Times
The Nets won their first game under P. J. Carlesimo, center, who replaced the fired Avery Johnson.
In a quiet moment of a dreary Friday night at Barclays Center, a single voice screeched from the lower bowl, with emphatic desperation.
"We want Phil!"
The frantic plea of one disillusioned Nets fan could soon become a full-throated chorus across Brooklyn.
The Nets have firmly targeted Phil Jackson — the man with the 11 championship rings, the Zen maxims and the geometric offense — to replace the recently fired Avery Johnson.
No deal is imminent, no formal discussions have taken place, and it is not even clear that Jackson wants the job. But the search will start with Jackson and only Jackson, according to multiple people monitoring the process.
P. J. Carlesimo is on the bench for now, and he guided the Nets to a cleansing 97-81 rout of the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday, a day after Johnson was dismissed. Carlesimo was named the interim head coach, a title he will retain until the Nets identify a permanent replacement, whenever that day comes.
Team officials maintain there is no timeline for making a hire, and the owner Mikhail D. Prokhorov shed no light on the matter in a brief interview with reporters at halftime. Instead, he gave his full support, repeatedly, to Carlesimo, saying that he wanted to see how the team responded before making any decisions.
"P. J., he is the head coach," Prokhorov said. "I think we have a lot of trust in him. And really, I want him to lead the team."
Asked if he would be interested in a coach with 11 championships, Prokhorov smiled broadly as a dozen camera shutters snapped. He again pledged support for Carlesimo but said, "If it becomes necessary, you know who usual suspects are."
When Jackson's name was specifically mentioned, Prokhorov turned coy: "I never heard this name, you know."
A person with ties to the search called Jackson "the No. 1 choice," for all of the obvious reasons. He is the most decorated coach in N.B.A. history, he is available, and he has strong ties to New York, having begun his playing career with the Knicks and ended it with the Nets (then in New Jersey).
All other candidates are considered distant second choices, at least until Nets officials determine whether Jackson wants the job. That is an open question, even among Jackson's friends. It is far from certain that Jackson will coach again, and if so, whether he can be lured to Brooklyn.
"I think he will talk to Prokhorov and just see where the conversation goes," one longtime friend said — a theme echoed by others.
If Jackson is to return to the sideline, in any city, he will want to see a "path to the championship," another friend said.
Could that path go through Brooklyn? Possibly. The Nets' three stars — Deron Williams, Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez — would be natural fits in Jackson's triangle offense. Still, the Nets look like a team that remains a player or two from title contention.
When he purchased the Nets in 2009, Prokhorov set a goal of winning a title within five years. It is that urgency that prompted him to fire Johnson only 28 games into the season. Prokhorov said he made the decision last week; he did not explain why he waited until Thursday to make it formal.
"I think we have very talented players," Prokhorov said. "But they are capable of much more from what we have seen in recent weeks. And for me, this is totally unacceptable. So I respect Avery, and really I wish him well. But sometimes chemistry just isn't right."
Carlesimo, who has spent most of the last two decades on an N.B.A. bench, had no illusions about his status, calling himself "an assistant that's minding the store" and admitting, "I don't have a good sense of what's going on" with the coaching search. He is scheduled to have lunch with Prokhorov on Saturday.
Prokhorov has spared no expense as the Nets' owner, but his riches might make no difference to Jackson. Money is not a priority, Jackson's friends said, and he does not expect to match the $12 million annual salary that he earned with the Los Angeles Lakers. However, Jackson does want a voice in personnel decisions, and perhaps an assurance of a front-office job after his coaching term is complete. At age 67, Jackson is expected to coach only for another few years.
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