Nets Dismiss Head Coach P.J. Carlesimo After Early Playoffs Exit

On Sunday, one day after the Chicago Bulls knocked the Brooklyn Nets out of the first round of the NBA Playoffs, Brooklyn's management announced that the team has parted ways with head coach P.J. Carlesimo.

The Nets, who shelled out $350 million to get some good talent over last summer as they prepared for their first season in the Borough of Kings, are looking to go deeper in the 2013-14 postseason, and it appears their plan won't include retaining Carlesimo's services, ESPN reported.

The Nets had a solid year, taking the Bulls to Game 7 after finishing the season 49-33, but it apparently wasn't enough for the Nets brass, which will be looking for a third coach in recent months, after firing Avery Johnson in December.

Carlesimo led the team to a respectable finish, taking them 35-19 during his short period with organization, earning the fourth seed in the NBA's Eastern Conference.

"The Brooklyn Nets organization would like to thank P.J. for his efforts with the team in his roles as both head coach and assistant, and for his contributions to the team's success both on and off the court," Nets general manager Billy King, whose contract was recently extended by the organization, said in a statement. "We wish P.J. and his family only the best in the years to come."

The Nets do have a bright future, as they have a lineup that includes Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Brook Lopez and Gerald Wallace, who will only gel further over the summer, and many NBA watchers expect the team to further fill out its roster with some off-season key signings.

"I think we made enormous progress from where we were last year and what these guys accomplished this year, but to me it's a hill," Carlesimo said Saturday. "You're always trying to climb up the hill. You go up; you go back. But we thought we could get higher up the hill than we got."