BOSTON — Jeff Van Gundy gives Nets ownership credit for being willing to spend whatever it takes to win. But the former Knicks coach thinks that the amount of turnover the Nets have had at their head- coaching position in recent years — Lionel Hollins is the team’s fourth coach in three seasons in Brooklyn — has held them back.
“Well I think, and it’s proven out in professional sports, stability wins,” Van Gundy said on an ESPN conference call previewing the NBA season Wednesday morning. “Everything starts at the very top and it gets passed down, so great ownership over periods of time will win out, and then having stability in your front office and having stability in the coaching end of it pays off.
“So they have had some things where they haven’t been stable. I give them credit for, even though the moves weren’t necessarily great moves, but for at least trying to give a great product to their fans, trying to win.”
Nevertheless, Van Gundy said he thinks the Nets have a chance to make a lot of noise in the Eastern Conference if they can stay healthy.
“I’m going to be very interested to see how they play this year,” he said. “I like their team. I think they’re a playoff team. But a lot of it goes to health as it always does and are Deron Williams and Brook Lopez going to be healthy? And if they are, they’re going to have a chance to be a top-four seed in the East.”
At the NBA’s Board of Governors meeting, the Nets were one of 17 teams to vote in favor of lottery reform, though the change failed to be put into place because the vote fell short of the required 75 percent to win approval.
But Hollins said the whole debate about tanking is something he isn’t concerned with.
“Teams win, teams lose,” he said before the Nets lost 100-86 to the Celtics in their preseason finale Wednesday night. “Some of the teams that are fighting for playoff position would probably hope they play those teams. It depends on the perspective you’re looking from. … There are all sides to this thing.
“Is there a finite, clear solution? Probably not. No matter what you change, people are going to be able to do what they want to do to position themselves. I want to be one of those teams in the playoffs going forward, so I don’t want to think about it.”
Then, after he thought about it for a moment, a smile crept across Hollins’ face.
“How many draft picks do we have coming up?” he asked, referring to the multiple picks the Nets traded to the Celtics last summer, drawing laughs. “It’s a moot point.”
The Nets left Williams (rest), Lopez (foot), Kevin Garnett and Markel Brown (stomach virus) home before making the trip to Boston. Joe Johnson and Andrei Kirilenko also were given the night to rest.
The absence of so many key contributors led to an expectedly flat performance in a 100-86 loss to a Celtics team that played all of its available rotation players.
Mason Plumlee had 15 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Nets, who finished the preseason with a 4-2 record. They will open the regular season back in Boston next Wednesday.
