"Del obviously has been around the NBA for a very long time," Vandeweghe said. "I worked with Del in Dallas for two years he came in halfway through the season, helped Don Nelson, really I think, turn around the Mavericks. I saw what he did, I got to know him very well. We spent a lot of time together. He taught me a lot in those two years, talking about X's and O's. He's one of the brightest guys I think in the game.

"He's been in this role. He's been a head coach with a lot of experience and he's been somebody who's been in that support role, which I can really appreciate."

--So what can the Nets expect with Kiki Vandeweghe as coach? For starters, the younger players will play far more. And the pace is expected to be much quicker at both ends.

"At this point, you don't have training camp, you can't make radical changes," said Vandeweghe, who has no head coaching experience. "What we might do is simplify things a little for the young players, focus on the development of our young players. That's obviously going to be a big focus.

"Then on the court, I would expect we might play a bit quicker, make it a 94-foot game. We have a very fast team, players who are athletic, can run. We want to get out, open the court up a little. On the defensive end I would expect we'll be a bit more aggressive, more pressure, try, again, make the game quicker."

QUOTE TO NOTE: "Never in our wildest imaginations did we feel I would be standing up here introducing a new coach and we would be 0-17." -- Nets team president Rod Thorn, at interim coach Kiki Vandeweghe's introductory press conference.