Nets Contact Jackson, Like Brown And Shaw

TUESDAY, 10:51pm: A source tells ESPN that Jackson is still open to coaching if he has a say on the roster, tweets ESPN L.A.'s Ramona Shelburne.  Shelburne says that the legendary coach would prefer a front office gig, but would be willing to coach if he had power within the franchise.  Jackson is a in "listen mode," not "look mode," Shelburne tweets, adding that it would have to be a perfect fit, a la Pat Riley in Miami (Twitter links here).   

5:18pm: Jackson is not interested in a return to coaching and therefore will not become the next coach of the Nets, reports Tim Bontemps of the New York post, citing a league source.  Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski confirms the Post report, also tweeting that Jackson's inclination remains to make his NBA return in a "broader management role."

MONDAY, 8:30pm: The Nets have contacted Phil Jackson about the possibility of becoming their next coach, a source told Chris Broussard of ESPN.com.  After Jackson, the source says the list of current Nets' candidates consists of Larry Brown and Brian Shaw.

Nate McMillan, Jeff Van Gundy, and Stan Van Gundy aren't on the list, the source said, but that could change if the Nets strike out on their aforementioned top three choices.  Celtics coach Doc Rivers would interest the Nets though if the Celtics agree to let him out of his current contract, the source said.

Jerry Sloan is a long-shot candidate for the gig, even though Deron Williams recently endorsed him. Nets GM Billy King understands that Jackson is not likely to come to Brooklyn to coach, but he is open to bringing Jackson into the front-office, according to the source.  Jackson would perhaps join the Nets as the team's president while also getting a slice of stake in the club's ownership.

Shaw would be a likely coaching candidate if Jackson joined the Nets front office thanks to the prior ties between the two.  

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