Prokhorov says he wants separate coach, GM for Nets

Brooklyn Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov said Monday that he'd prefer to hire two separate people to hold the positions of head coach and general manager.

"I prefer to have different people," the billionaire industrialist told a news conference in the wake of Sunday's dismissal of head coach Lionel Hollins and reassignment of GM Billy King. "I think there is a contradiction between the two jobs."

Prokhorov also addressed a report that King would continue on as a Nets adviser until the positions are filled.

"He can send me any of his ideas as a friend," Prokhorov said of King, "but for the time being it's not his job. And his position, for the time being, is under discussion."

He added that assistant GM Frank Zanin will oversee basketball personnel matters in the interim.

If it's truly Prokhorov's intention to hire two separate individuals, then it may preclude John Calipari from taking the reins of the Nets. The Kentucky coach reiterated his commitment to the Wildcats Monday morning in the wake of reports that his price tag to join an NBA team would come at $120 million over 10 years.

Related: Calipari reportedly asking $120M for NBA return, says he's staying at Kentucky

While there's no doubt that Russian oligarch Prokhorov has that kind of money, it's expected Calipari would want full control over basketball matters. The three-time Naismith Coach of the Year turned down the New Orleans Pelicans' vacancy last spring in part because he wasn't given that assurance, according to Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski.

Prokhorov predictably did not offer much when asked about Calipari on Monday, calling him simply a "great coach."

King's track record running the Nets was one of the most maligned for a general manager in recent pro sports history. Since 2011, King traded away draft picks that became players Damian Lillard and Enes Kanter, as well as dealing Derrick Favors, who the team selected third overall in the 2010 draft, months into his rookie season. The sum of those parts for the Nets was Deron Williams and Gerald Wallace. Their unprotected first-round pick this year - likely to be a top-5 selection given the Nets' ineptitude - is headed for the Boston Celtics as a result of the Paul Pierce/Kevin Garnett trade.

Related: How did Brooklyn get here? Billy King's worst moves as Nets GM

Prokhorov, who predicted an NBA championship for the Nets within five years after he became majority owner in 2010, is still optimistic the team can rebound in coming seasons.

"I hope we’ll be back not as a playoff team, but as a championship contender," he said. "This is my only goal."

The Nets, for the most part an NBA doormat in New Jersey before moving inside the five boroughs in 2012, employed Calipari as their head coach from 1996 to 1999.