Avery Johnson Says Brooklyn Nets ‘Aren’t a Championship Team’

Maybe Avery Johnson genuinely believes it, or maybe he just wants to temper the media storm in New York. Either way, despite the additions of Joe Johnson and re-signings of Deron Williams, Gerald Wallace, Brook Lopez and Kris Humphries, the Nets head coach isn’t ready to label his team as a title contender. Bold, yet fitting words for the business-like and methodical Johnson. Via the Forth Worth Star-Telegram: “The slew of moves should help the Nets improve on the 24-58 and 22-44 records they compiled during Johnson’s first two seasons. ‘We’re not there yet, we’re not a championship team,’ Johnson said. ‘We’ve got a lot of work to do, but at the same time we have a much better talent pool than we’ve had in the last two years.’ Whether that talent upgrade is enough to get the Nets into the Eastern Conference championship race alongside the world-champion Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics remains to be seen. ‘We’re ready to just get in training camp,’ Johnson said. ‘But I will say we’re much more versatile than we’ve ever been, we have more experience. Right now we look good on paper. Now we’ve got to try to take it from looking good on paper and getting in and apply the work to go with it.'”