YES Network.com

Rod Thorn had a serious look on his face as he made his way to the podium Tuesday and Kiki Vandeweghe was smiling. One man probably was hiding his real emotions, and it wasn’t the Nets president.

Vandeweghe is a pleasant man. He smiles often. So maybe he was in a good mood and just generally happy. But he really didn’t want to be the Nets head coach. He needed Thorn to convince him and the inclusion of NBA lifer and former co-worker Del Harris before Vandeweghe agreed to replace Lawrence Frank.

“Let me just say, Rod is a very persuasive guy,” Vandeweghe said Tuesday morning.

Maybe Vandeweghe was smiling because he doesn’t have to take part in the Nets’ potential -- and probable -- record-setting performance Wednesday night. If they lose to the Mavericks, the Nets will be 0-18, and establish a new futility mark to start a season.

Vandeweghe won’t coach that game. His debut is Friday night against the Bobcats. Maybe he doesn’t want to be a part of that record, but Vandeweghe is. Everyone associated with the Nets is.

It could be another concession Thorn made -- in addition to hiring an assistant Vandeweghe wanted and trusted -- because Vandeweghe never wanted to be the coach. He likes being in the front office. By many accounts, Vandeweghe wanted to continue being the Nets general manager, evaluating players and trying to find ways to upgrade the roster. Everyone knows he’s not shy when it comes to making deals.

Since he joined the Nets, they have traded Jason Kidd, Richard Jefferson and Vince Carter. Those three deals involved 16 players and two draft picks.

Those deals have played a part in the Nets being in this predicament, so now Vandeweghe gets a chance to see if he can make something with what he had a major hand in creating.

Vandeweghe will remain general manager, but he has a dual title now. His job going forward isn’t improving the club from the outside. It’s developing them from within. I believe that he's looking forward to it and will try his best.

That is a strength of Vandeweghe. He likes working with players, working on their game, giving them suggestions and advice that could help their development. He did it in Dallas with Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki and he believes he can with Yi Jianlian.

Everyone expects Yi to be his pet project because of his affinity for him. That’s the deal that will hang over Vandeweghe’s head more than the Kidd or Carter trade. That one appears to be the most lopsided because Yi has been a disappointment and been injured since getting here.

But Vandeweghe wants to develop all his guys. That was the crux of Tuesday's press conference. Reading between the lines that means Devin Harris, Brook Lopez, Lee, Yi, Terrence Williams and Chris Douglas-Roberts.

Once the Nets are healthy, it’s not likely you will see much of Trenton Hassell or Bobby Simmons or guys of that ilk. They weren’t in the original plans anyway, but you can expect guys like Lee, Yi and Williams to play maybe until they drop.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing. They need to get better. Everyone on the Nets does.

Those three, plus Harris, Lopez and Douglas-Roberts are the six the organization right now sees as the future of the franchise and the ones that are supposed entice the big free agents -- LeBron, Wade, Bosh, Amare -- to consider coming to the Nets.

The irony of it all is no one knows who will be calling the shots after this season.

Thorn is in the final year of his contract. Vandeweghe is, too. All the Nets assistants’ deals are up after this season. And the Nets will be under new ownership.

An educated guess is that Thorn survives longer than anyone. He is a good man, a well-respected basketball man who Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov should lean on heavily to run the day-to-day operations.

In the meantime, the Nets have some work to do to make something out of this year. If Vandeweghe does what he’s best at and works with and develops players, gets more out of Yi than any coach has, the Nets will consider it a successful season. Wins and losses don’t matter really.

It’s about the future, even if some of the people calling the shots and running the team now may not be here if and when things potentially turn around.

Al Iannazzone covers the Nets for The Record (Bergen County, N.J.).