So, could Monday’s NCAA Championship game against Butler be Mike Krzyzewski’s final game as Duke’s head coach?

If Mikhail Prokhorov, the Nets new billionaire owner has his way, it will be.

Prokhorov won’t be approved by the league until April 16, and according to those all-knowing but reticent  “anonymous” league sources, his first order of business is nailing down Krzyzewski to be the Nets head coach…and he’s willing to give him $12-15 million a season to help seal the deal, plus the dual role of coach AND general manager.

Krzyzewski’s name was first floated around for the Nets coaching gig back in February, to which Coach K gave a resounding nyet.  His reluctance to leave the program he essentially built from the ground up is well documented, but this time things may be different.

Here are 5 reasons why Coach K may end up taking the Nets job…

1. with a win over Butler, and a fourth national championship, Krzyzewski would be able to go out a winner
2. New Jersey has a boatload of young and coachable talent in Brooks Lopez, Courtney Lee, Devin Harris and Terrence Williams
3. as GM, Krzyzewski would have final say over free agents (the Nets have around $23 million available) and the potential first overall draft pick
4. Krzyzewski is 63-years-old, and has been head coach of the Blue Devils for 30 years, which means this may be his best and last chance at making his mark in the NBA
5. $15 million buys a helluva lot of pierogies and cabbage rolls.

And one ginormous reason he wouldn’t take the job…Mike Krzyzewski is Duke basketball.  Duke does not become the hated, successful, model of college basketball consistency that it is without the guidance and savvy of Coach K.  Taking his shot at coaching in the NBA would be a fatal blow to Krzyzewski’s legacy, whether he turned the Nets fortunes around or not.

When all is said and done, I can see Mike Krzyzewski saying nyet yet again to the New Jersey Nets, and if he does, I’ll admire the hell out of him for doing it.  $15 million per year is a ridiculous amount of money, a sum that most people would throw their allegiances out the window for in a heartbeat (me included)…except for, presumably, Coach K.

So yes, in a roundabout way, Mikhail Prokhorov will give me one less reason to hate Duke–so long as Mike Krzyzewski chooses loyalty over lots and lots of money.

[North Jersey]