Nets coaching search: Jerry Sloan says he’d listen to pitch to join Deron Williams in Brooklyn

Jerry Sloan, the former Utah Jazz head coach, would listen to a pitch by the Brooklyn Nets should they target him as a head coaching candidate. Sloan told CSNNW.com that he would "definitely listen if they called," although he hasn't been contacted by Brooklyn general manager Billy King.

Brooklyn fired coach P.J. Carlesimo this weekend after the Nets lost to the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the playoffs. Jeff Van Gundy was rumored as a target to fill in, and Phil Jackson's name has also surfaced as the Nets begin their search.

To take the Brooklyn job, Sloan would have to be comfortable joining point guard Deron Williams, who played under the longtime Jazz coach in his first five-plus seasons in the league. The history between the two is where things get interesting. Williams and Sloan clashed just before the head coach resigned, but Williams said he'd love to play for his former head coach, ESPN's Mike Mazzeo reported on Monday.

Also rumored to be a candidate for the Milwaukee Bucks' head coaching opening, Sloan told CSN Northwest that he didn't want to be linked to every head coaching vacancy.

With Williams, Sloan led the Jazz to the playoffs from 2007 to 2010, and in three of those seasons Utah made it past the first round. In 2007, Utah made it to the Western Conference Finals where it fell to the San Antonio Spurs.