Avery Johnson, CEO Brett Yormark talk about state of Nets

MILWAUKEE -- Avery Johnson and Nets CEO Brett Yormark had a little Christmas Day chat.

Yormark tweeted how he wasn't happy with the results on or off the court, creating a bit of a stir, and Johnson said Wednesday they had talked things over.

"He called me and talked to me about it to say that he's the CEO and they had some issues, I think, in the arena that he was disappointed with," Johnson said, "and it's the same thing I've been saying all along: we all have to get better, we have to improve. It's going to be a dogfight all year. Nothing's going to be easy.

" . . . Now is not the time to really analyze what's happened for us this year, because we haven't even gotten to the halfway point and we haven't played a full season with this roster. But I think I agree: we all have to get better."

Johnson said he's in constant communication with general manager Billy King, discussing the state of the team.

"Billy and I talk about it all the time -- we're not where we want to be," he said. "But I don't think we are where we're going, either. I think we still have great potential, but once we get everyone back in the fold, and figure out what's the next step, I think we'll be in good shape."

Avery: Brook not himself

In his last 10 games entering Wednesday night, Brook Lopez had averaged 16.0 points and shot just 45.5 percent. Those numbers are still down from the 18.7 points and 55.7 percent he shot before suffering his right foot injury.

"He hasn't really gotten back to his pre-injury explosiveness and that's an issue for us," Johnson said. "You can pretty much have a constructive argument that Brook was one of our top one or two players, and he just hasn't gotten back to that consistent explosiveness, going after rebounds, blocking shots, finishing in the paint, which is a big part of his game."