New Jersey Nets Avery Johnson remembers Russian hockey plane crash: NBA Update
After returning from Russia on Tuesday, New Jersey Nets head coach Avery Johnson doled out his sympathies for the families of the Russian Ice Hockey players, who died in a plane crash and termed it as a “devastating” experience
of his life.
Johnson’s residence was very close to the area where 44 people were killed in a plane crash including the Kontinental Hockey League’s team, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl to Minsk in Belarus.
The Nets’ coach said, “I was there and it was a devastating thing, it was very emotional, considering we were so close to where the crash happened. We fly so much as athletes and coaches and fly on different aircrafts. We don't
know the maintenance of the planes; we don't know the pilots. With all the travel we do, to see a plane like that go down and so many lives were lost, not too far from Moscow, was devastating.”
Johnson was in Russia with his team owner Mikhail Prokhorov. He was set to participate in a charity match on September 07th, the day on which the crash took place. Casting a thought on the fact that this could have happened
to anybody and the fact that NBA team also fly so frequently, he said;
"I mean, you basically just, you know, it’s emotional, because we fly so much, as athletes and coaches,'' Johnson said. "We’re gone all the time, and we’re flying on different aircraft that we don’t know the maintenance of the
different aircraft, we don’t know, necessarily, how old they are, and how many miles, and we don’t really know the pilots.
Later, Johnson also talked about his team and its preparation for the next season. According to him, the Nets’ management is considering hiring the former Portland Trail Blazers and Oklahoma City Thunder coach P.J Carlesimo to
strengthen the coaching staff.
Last season, the Nets’ performance was not impressive. They played total 82 games and won only 24, finishing a lowly 12th
in the Eastern Conference.
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