Johnson stepping into a whole different world in Jersey

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Avery Johnson has the best winning percentage of any coach in NBA history. He won 150 games faster than anyone ever has. But, back then, he had a head start.

When Johnson took over as head coach of the Dallas Mavericks in March of 2005, his team already was good. The Mavs had a 42-22 record and a stacked roster with an MVP candidate leading the way. His job was to keep the Mavs on the path. And he did, leading them to the Finals a year later and pushing them to 67 wins in 2006-07.

Now, Johnson has an entirely different task.

The New Jersey Nets, at 12-70, had one of the worst records in NBA history in the 2009-10 season. They don't have much of a roster. But they do have some young talent under contract, a top-three pick in the Draft and more than $29 million of cap space.

So, after two years away from coaching, Johnson is back as the new man in charge of the Nets. His job now: to spur change.

"We feel we can go from worst to first," Johnson said at his introductory press conference Tuesday. "We feel if we add the right free agents and three really good Draft prospects to our existing roster, coming in with a new coaching staff for the most part, we feel that the team together can have an opportunity to be really good."

Johnson's "worst to first" proclamation was reminiscent of a prediction that Jason Kidd made when he first arrived in New Jersey in the fall of 2001. Kidd looked at a group of players that had won just 26 games without him and told the media that the Nets would win 40 the next season.

Kidd was way off. The 2001-02 Nets won 52 games and made the franchise's first trip to the NBA Finals.

The potential is certainly there for the Nets to be one of the most improved teams in the league. And with a new owner in place, a new arena to play in and a new coach, it shouldn't be too hard to turn the page.

"We did have a tough season last year, but nobody says we don't have talent," point guard Devin Harris said. "We have talent. I think we just lacked a little bit of direction. I think that's his job mostly, to get us pointed in that right direction."

Harris played three seasons under Johnson in Dallas before he was traded to New Jersey for Kidd. The coach and point guard had some issues, and Harris even used the word "dictator" on Tuesday.

Still, Harris is happy with the hire and cut short his vacation to be at the press conference.

"I don't think it was necessarily a bad thing," Harris said of Johnson being hard on him in Dallas. "He drilled me profusely on the things I needed to work on and because of that, I am a better point guard. So I can't fault him. I didn't like it at the time. I don't think any younger player would like it. But I'm seeing the benefits now."

Harris became an All-Star as a Net, but over the last two seasons he's lost his reputation as one of the league's better on-ball defenders. Clearly, getting his point guard to work hard defensively again will be one of Johnson's top priorities.

"We're going to get Devin back to playing the type of basketball that I know he's capable of playing," Johnson said.

In order to succeed offensively, the Nets will have to surround Harris and center Brook Lopez with shooters. That's president Rod Thorn's job this summer.

Defensively, a coaching change is all it takes to bring improvement sometimes.

"We definitely have the guys to do it," Harris said. "We just need a system that guys trust in."

"I don't know if everybody can be a great defender," Johnson added. "But I believe there's a margin of improvement that everybody can make individually. And there's a larger improvement that teams can make [collectively]."

Though Johnson's Dallas teams were known for their offense, they ranked 11th in the league defensively in 2005-06, fifth in 2006-07 and eighth in 2007-08.

"We didn't have really any great defenders," Johnson said. "Devin was my best defender on the ball, but he was relatively young and he wasn't playing that much. But we got them to a point collectively where they became a pretty good defensive team."

Johnson's reputation for being hard on his players was probably the biggest reason he was fired in Dallas two years ago. But as one of the younger teams in the league, the Nets need a strong voice on their bench.

"I want a coach that holds people accountable," Thorn said. "I think that's what Avery does, whether it's your best player or whether it's your 10th best player. His reputation is he holds people accountable. To me, that's a good thing."

And for Johnson, a fresh start and another chance to prove himself is a good thing, too.

"I understand the project that I'm taking on is different than what I had in the past," he said. "I understood that before I signed on the dotted line this morning. I just think the sky's the limit."

John Schuhmann is a staff writer for NBA.com. You can e-mail him here and follow him on twitter.

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