page_title: History of the Brooklyn Nets
section_title: 2012–2015: New era in Brooklyn and playoff contention
hierarchical_section_title: History of the Brooklyn Nets / 2012–2015: New era in Brooklyn and playoff contention
caption_attribution_description: English: Wordmark logo of the Brooklyn Nets NBA team
context_page_description: The Brooklyn Nets, a professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, was founded in 1967 and initially played in Teaneck, New Jersey, as the New Jersey Americans, later the New Jersey Nets. They are a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association, as well as an original member of the American Basketball Association. In 2012, the team moved to Brooklyn and were renamed the Brooklyn Nets.
context_section_description: In the 2012 NBA draft, Brooklyn selected İlkan Karaman, and traded for the duo of Tyshawn Taylor and Tornike Shengelia for cash. On June 29, 2012, Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic met with the Magic's new General Manager Rob Hennigan in Los Angeles and demanded a trade to the Brooklyn Nets. However, once again the trade was not able to materialize, and the Nets reportedly pulled out of trade discussions on July 11, 2012. Instead, the team traded for six-time All-Star Joe Johnson from the Atlanta Hawks. In return, the Nets sent Jordan Farmar, Johan Petro, Anthony Morrow, Jordan Williams, DeShawn Stevenson and a draft pick previously acquired from the Houston Rockets to Atlanta. On the same date, Deron Williams signed a five-year, $98.7 million deal to remain with the Nets. In addition, the Nets re-signed Brook Lopez and Gerald Wallace to four-year deals.
  The Brooklyn Nets played their first game on November 3, 2012, in a 107–100 home victory over the Toronto Raptors. The first game was originally scheduled to be against the crosstown New York Knicks; however, that game was postponed to November 26 due to effects of Hurricane Sandy, and the rescheduled game was won by the Nets in a 96–89 overtime victory in front of a sold-out crowd at Barclays Center. The Nets started the season strong, going 11–4 in the month of November, and as a result, Avery Johnson won Coach of the Month for the Eastern Conference. However, in an abrupt turn of fortunes, a rough stretch in December in which Brooklyn went 3–10 led to Johnson being fired as head coach, with assistant coach P. J. Carlesimo being named interim head coach until a replacement was hired. Johnson's firing proved to be a spark for the team as Brooklyn caught fire once more, going 11–4 in January, and heading into the All-Star break with a record of 31–22. Center Brook Lopez was selected to his first All-Star Game as the Nets' lone representation at the game.
  Riding a strong second half of the season from Deron Williams, the Nets clinched their first playoff berth since the 2006–07 season on March 21, 2013. On April 3, 2013, Brooklyn ended an eight-game road trip by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 113–95 for the team's 21st road win, clinching the first winning season on the road in the franchise's NBA history. Brooklyn played its first ever playoff series in the borough versus the Chicago Bulls. After defeating the undermanned Bulls in a blowout in Game 1, the Nets then proceeded to lose Games 2 and 3 before giving up a 17-point lead in the final minutes of the fourth quarter in Game 4 and losing in overtime. The Nets won the next two games, only to lose Game 7 in Brooklyn. With the season over, the Nets announced that Carlesimo would not return as head coach.
  To replace Carlesimo, the Nets hired Jason Kidd, who was one week removed from retiring as a player, to become their new head coach on June 12, 2013. To aid in Kidd's transition from player to coach, former Nets head coach Lawrence Frank was brought back to be his lead assistant coach, along with a staff of Roy Rogers, Eric Hughes, John Welch, Joe Prunty and Charles Klask.
  On June 27, 2013, the Nets and the Boston Celtics agreed in principle on a blockbuster trade (finalized July 12), dealing Kris Humphries, Gerald Wallace, MarShon Brooks, Keith Bogans (in a sign-and-trade), and Kris Joseph, along with three first-round draft picks (2014, 2016, 2018) and an option to swap the 2017 first-round pick, for Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Jason Terry, and DJ White. This created a starting lineup that had a combined 35 All-Star appearances, with Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Pierce, Garnett, and Brook Lopez together forming a new NBA "superteam". The Nets also signed Alan Anderson, Shaun Livingston, All-Star Andrei Kirilenko, and first-round draft pick Mason Plumlee to add further depth to the bench. With all of its off-season moves, Brooklyn ended up with a league-high payroll of $102 million, in addition to having projected luxury tax payments totaling $86 million.
  The 2013–14 season started poorly for the Nets, with rookie co
caption: Brooklyn Nets wordmark