Ex-Knicks point guard chooses Nets’ youth to coach
The Nets are adding to their coaching staff, with The Post learning ex-Knick Pablo Prigioni will join the group. He will aid in development, especially helping to groom a glut of young point guards who will be key in their rebuilding process.
The Knicks also had interest in hiring Prigioni, who spent 2012-15 in the Garden and helped them to their last playoff berth, in 2012-13. But in the end he opted to sign on with Brooklyn and head coach Kenny Atkinson, whom he has known for years through European basketball and Basketball Without Borders.
“I’m still learning from these guys,” Prigioni had told The Post during a weeks-long visit with the Nets coaching staff. Now he’s joining them, likely mentoring a trio of guards all 23 years old or under.
Prigioni spent most of his professional career in Spain, winning the Spanish Cup MVP Award in 2006 and twice being named All-EuroLeague second team. And when he decided to try his hand at coaching, that’s where he started.
After playing his final season at Baskonia in 2016-17, he retired and took over as head coach there in June. But he stepped down in October after starting 0-3 in EuroLeague and 2-3 in LigaACB.
His coaching career restarts in Brooklyn, albeit this time as an assistant under a regime that prioritizes player development and is open to foreign methods. And the 40-year-old Argentine will have a wealth of knowledge to pass on to the Nets’ young lead guards.
Prigioni had become a favorite in the Garden for his plucky defense and team-first play. Even beyond veteran Jeremy Lin — coming back from a season-ending knee injured suffered in the opener — the Nets have 22-year-old D’Angelo Russell, Caris Levert (23), Spencer Dinwiddie (25) and Isaiah Whitehead (23) all on the books.
Even if the Nets do move one of them and lessen the glut at the position, the guards who stay will be critical to their rebuild. Whether it be defense, leadership, shooting, they all will need individual development to reach their potential, and Prigioni has valuable experience to lend.