While Jason Kidd seemed overmatched in his first few months as head coach, he figured it out shortly after the new year.

“I think some of the young guys have developed and the biggest thing with Jason is we have a system and identity,” Billy King said. “So now putting a team together, I know which players to add. That’s something we’ve been searching for for a while, is getting an identity so now in the offseason, Jason and I have already talked about the type of players he wants and have a feel for.

“That’s the key, you have a system. A lot of the credit, the players have played well, but Jason has been amazing. That one scout that took a shot at him early in the year, I wish he’d speak up now because it’s easy to criticize somebody when you have injuries, you have a new team, and you’re trying to put it together. Now, nobody’s saying how great of a job he’s done.

“A lot of success that we’re having is directly related to him.”

Kidd refuses to accept credit for the success.

“It’s a marathon and that’s the nice thing about the NBA season,” Kidd said. “You can be judged on the first game, but the ones who know best, you’re not judged until the end, and that’s when you look at our team. We’re a veteran ball club and no one in that locker room panicked. We kept playing. No one used any excuses. We kept getting to know one another from coaches to players, and we all felt that it could turn.

“We just had to keep working the process and that’s what guys did, and I don’t think we would like it any other way. I know it was tough there early on, but we understand what it feels like when things go bad so we can always reflect, and I think in the last couple of games, we’ve reflected and hopefully we’ve improved from those mistakes that we’ve made.”

Jorge Gutierrez has been fined $15,000 for his Flagrant 2 foul on Cody Zeller during the March 26th game.

Gutierrez was on his second 10-day contract in which he makes just $28,834 apiece.

Gutierrez signed a multi-year deal with the Brooklyn Nets on Friday.

The Brooklyn Nets have signed guard Jorge Gutierrez to a multi-year contract.

Gutierrez, who signed 10-day contracts on March 6 and March 16, has appeared in five games for the Nets, averaging 3.4 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 13.4 minutes per game. He scored a season-high 10 points versus Boston on March 21.

Mikhail Prokhorov backed away from his claim that the NBA had given him permission to make the Brooklyn Nets a Russian-based company without admitting that he had ever made it.

His company, Onexim Sports and Entertainment, issued a statement that described how during preliminary discussions with the NBA in the spring of 2013, the league “indicated its willingness to work with us in the event we need to re-register the ownership vehicle of the Nets as a Russian entity to comply with the Russian law regarding candidates for political office.”

The statement added, “This is a long process which may or may not come to fruition, and nothing is imminent.”

Making the Nets a Russian company might help Prokhorov’s political prospects.

Joe Johnson and Kevin Durant have been named the NBA's Players of the Week.

Johnson is the first member of the Brooklyn Nets to win the award since Devin Harris in 2009.

Brook Lopez underwent successful surgery on his left ankle earlier in March and the procedure will not affect his rehabilitation from foot surgery on Jan. 4.

Lopez was lost for the season after breaking a bone in his foot in late December.

The Brooklyn Nets expect Lopez to return to the court in June.

Lopez averaged 20.7 points and six rebounds in 17 games.

Jason Kidd has a frustrating start to his head coaching career as the Brooklyn Nets began the season 5-14 and entered 2014 with a 10-21 record.

Kidd retired from his playing career to immediately become head coach without any previous experience.

“There was never a panic, like, maybe I should have kept playing,” said Kidd.

Billy King said Friday that the Brooklyn Nets and Paul Pierce have not held discussions about a contract extension.

Pierce will be an unrestricted free agent after the season.

Pierce is averaging 13.4 points and 4.8 rebounds.

Jason Collins revealed he has received a gay taunt from one NBA player since making his return to the league on Feb. 23.

Collins, who became the first openly gay player in the four recognized major professional sports, inked two 10-day contracts with the Brooklyn Nets before signing for the remainder of the season.

"One player, one knucklehead from another team," Collins said. "He's a knucklehead. So I just let it go. Again, that goes back to controlling what you can control. That's how I conduct myself - just being professional.

"You can't control what other people are going to do," he said, noting that his mother's family is from Louisiana and he's looking forward to the trip."

The Nets are 10-3 since signing Collins and have avoided any signs of a distraction, welcoming the veteran center into the lineup with praise.

"Not just for myself, but I think for everyone. This shows that "distraction" is B.S," Collins said. "That it's about the team, it's about the sport," said Collins, who signed for the rest of the season last week. "I hope this shows all players that you can still have your life off the court and not have to hide anything. And still have your life on the court or on the field or on the ice, I guess, in hockey.

"That's a credit to my teammates and the entire Nets organization - from ownership to coaching to teammates to everyone."

Kevin Garnett has not played since Feb. 27 due to back spasms but said Thursday that he is feeling better and expects to return soon.

“These last five days I’m feeling better,” Garnett said. “[I’m] looking forward to getting back out there. Not going to go into details and specifics, but just know that I’m getting stronger, the process is going very well.

“I had a bit of a setback when I tried to come back the other night [against Toronto], but other than that I’ve been getting stronger ever since. We’re working on some different dynamics, and it’s working for me and I look [forward] to being out [there] soon.”

Garnett is averaging 6.7 points and 6.7 rebounds this season.

“Very [frustrating],” Garnett said. “But it’s a world in which I haven’t been a part of. I’d like to think that I’ve been known for my strong back and shoulders, but it is what it is, and I’m just trying to be a student of all of it, but at the same time being smart with everything, too.”