The Nets will likely interview Jeff Van Gundy and Mike Brown for their head coaching vacancy by the end of the week, according to the Star-Ledger.

Nets president/general manager Rod Thorn has maintained that he is only going to talk to "four to six candidates."

Thorn was scheduled to meet with Avery Johnson on Saturday and Celtics assistant Tom Thibodeau is on his list as well.

Tom Thibodeau is waiting for an offer from the Hornets but sources tell Yahoo! Sports that he is eager to meet with the Bulls and Nets.

Thibodeau's top choice is the Bulls' head coaching position.

The Nets will meet with Avery Johnson about their vacant head coaching position on Saturday.

If all does well, the New York Daily News writes that Johnson could be hired as early as next week.

"He's hoping to have something finalized by next week," Johnson's attorney, Curry Cooksey said.

Nets president/general manager wouldn't confirm or deny the meeting, but did admit that Johnson is "a guy we're interested in talking to."

Nets president/general manager Rod Thorn is ready to begin interviewing head coaching candidates.

Thorn plans to talk to around six candidates for the job.

He said that he will not interview anyone over the Memorial Day weekend, but reports indicate that former Mavericks coach Avery Johnson will be the first to meet with Thorn.

"I don't have any comment about that," Thorn said.

The Nets have no timetable for hiring a new coach.

Nets president/general manager Rod Thorn has denied reports that the team is interested in Lakers coach Phil Jackson.

There were reports on Tuesday that New Jersey was trying to lure Jackson through "back channels."

"I have not reached out to anybody about Phil Jackson through any back channels, front channels, side channels or any channels," Thorn said.

There has been speculation that new Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov wants to make a big splash.

"You can't contact guys under contract. But I'm sure given Mr. Prokhorov's stature, anytime something comes up with money involved, he'll be discussed," Thorn said.

The Bulls aren't the only team that has connected Lakers coach Phil Jackson through back-channels.

ESPN's Chad Ford reported on Tuesday that the Nets are also trying to gauge their chances of luring Jackson away from Los Angeles.

Jackson's first coaching experience came with the Nets during the final two seasons of his playing career in 1978-79 and 1979-80 when he served as a player-assistant.

The Nets aren't in a hurry to hire a new head coach, but the New York Daily News reports that they want to talk with Mike Brown.

Brown was fired by the Cavaliers on Sunday night.

"There are a lot of good candidates out there and we are going to do our due diligence on all of them," New Jersey president/general manager Rod Thorn said.

The Nets are also believed to be interested in Boston  assistant Tom Thibodeau.

An NBA insider told the New York Post that Jay-Z's "dream scenario" would be for LeBron James to sign a short contract with the Knicks that allows him to opt out after three seasons and join the Nets when the team makes its move to Brooklyn.

Jay-Z owns a minority share of the Nets and is considered a close friend of James.

The Nets are hoping Avery Johnson will become their new head coach and the former Mavericks head man is reportedly interested in the job.

"Besides being a very good coach, the Nets really like the fact that Johnson has a lively, effervescent personality and he's good with the media," one league official said.

"Whether you like him as a coach or not, they think he'll help promote the team. He's good on TV. He's got a lot of pizzazz. And that's very important to Prokhorov."

Johnson reportedly wasn't scared off by the fact that the Nets lost the NBA Draft Lottery this week.

League sources say that Johnson likes the idea of working for team president Rod Thorn.

During a Yahoo! Sports video interview, NBA analysts Kenny Smith and Marc Spears predicted where LeBron James will wind up next season.

"He'll be in either New Jersey or New York," Smith said.  "He loves New York City, he loves the bright lights, and he wants to be an international superstar, not just a national superstar.  And I think that's where he thinks he can get it done at."

Spears sees James remaining with the Cavs.

"The champagne won't taste as sweet if he doesn't do it [win a championship] in Cleveland," Spears said, citing "a sentimental factor" that will ultimately sway James to stay.

Neither analyst picks the Bulls as his destination but Smith calls Chicago an "attractive situation" for James.  

Spears does not think James and Derrick Rose can coexist on the court but Smith believes that two great talents such as these would figure out how to be successful playing together.