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Saturday, April 15
Report: Nets to clean house
  Associated Press



NEWARK, N.J. -- The owners of the New Jersey Nets have decided to fire head coach Don Casey, general manager John Nash and team president Michael Rowe, the Newark Star-Ledger reported in Sunday's editions.

The newspaper based its report on discussions with two YankeeNets owners, who were not named, and a third person familiar with the team's decision-making.

Principal owner Lewis Katz disputed that a decision had been reached on Casey or anyone else in the front office, the newspaper said.

But the owners, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the YankeeNets organization fears a losing team will hurt the television network they want to launch next year and eventually use to broadcast Yankees, Nets and New Jersey Devils games.

They also said YankeeNets is determined to have a winning team in place by 2003, the year they open the new arena they're expected to build in Newark.

The Nets, who lost 15 of their first 17 games, take a nine-game losing streak into their final two games of the season Tuesday at Atlanta and Wednesday at home against Cleveland.

This would be the second coach the Nets have fired in as many seasons. John Calipari was let go last season.

Nash, a longtime NBA executive, has been with the Nets since 1996.

Rowe spent eight years as an executive with the Meadowlands Sports Complex before joining the Nets.

After beginning the season dismally, the Nets climbed to within two games of the eighth and final spot in the Eastern Conference on March 12 with an overtime victory over Milwaukee. But plagued by season-ending knee injuries to Stephon Marbury and Kerry Kittles, the Nets have lost 12 of their past 14 games to fall out of contention.

In his first full season as Nets coach, the 62-year-old Casey has guided the team to a 31-49 record.

A loss in either of their final two games will give the Nets 50 or more losses for the 12th time in their 24-year NBA history.