Brian Deakyne, staff writer
Yes, the Nets did make a serious run at becoming the worst team in NBA history, a mark no team--or fans--want to endure.
Certainly, their 12-70 record from this season is not something to smile about, but, as millions across the country watch the epic between the Celtics and Lakers, a storied rivalry, there's no reason to imagine why the New Jersey Nets can't be there.
Don't call me crazy just yet--hear me out.
After witnessing a season filled with empty seats, injuries, bad losses, close losses, and promotions that included the assumption of the number one overall pick, it wouldn't be too far off to predict more severely sub-par seasons to come.
But no, not for this team.
In fact, it really only was eight years ago when this very organization was deemed unstoppable, crowning themselves Eastern Conference Champions two years in a row.
So how is it, that a once-dominant team, has turned to brunt failure, disappointment and down-right embarrassment?
It certainly doesn't have to do with the players. With stars like Devin Harris and Brook Lopez, this is a team that was built for the playoffs. What it has to do with is attitude. Those aforementioned players do indeed have the talent to play with anyone, and it was proven in their 104-96 win at Boston on February 27th.
If Harris steps up and takes a captain-esque role, these Nets will have a team filled with fire, ambition, and most importantly, confidence.
Attitude isn't the only thing to look up to for the upcoming years. After several years of playing in the below-average Continental Airlines Arena (renamed the Izod Center), New Jersey will be moving to the luxurious Prudential Center, in Newark, home of the New Jersey Devils, for the next two seasons while they're plans to move to Brooklyn are under construction.
Also, earlier today, the Nets finally acquired a coach for a team that was without a general for a large majority of last season. Avery Johnson, previously the coach of the Dallas Mavericks and and ESPN analyst, reached a verbal agreement with New Jersey to serve as coach. With a career winning percentage of .735, the highest in NBA history, this move makes sense in so many ways.
Yes, the Nets did suffer from the lottery, which resulted in them acquiring the third overall pick, but, signs are showing that this team is on the rise once again.
With Avery's genuine and winning attitude on the bench, combined with a fanbase that is ready to support a talented team, there's every reason to believe that we will be watching the 2010-2011 New Jersey Nets in the NBA finals in approximately 365 days.
I know, my math is a little off, seeing as they will probably have their first NBA title in about 360 days or so.
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The 2010 Draft
by Adam Orecchio
Everything can change during the time period resting between All-Star Sunday and the 2010 NBA Draft for the basement-dwelling New Jersey Nets. But we do know one thing for certain:
The Nets Stink.
Ok. So now that we are clear on that, in all likelihood and barring a devastatingly shocking and improbable run that actually would cause more harm than good, New Jersey will be the odds on favorite to win the lottery.
But even as a favorite, there is still a strong possibility the Nets can fall out of the top spot. The only thing guaranteed is that New Jersey will be in the top four. So what type of player will the team be looking to add come draft day? Much of that depends on free-agency and what the Nets can accomplish with all that cap-space team president Rod Thorn worked so feverishly to clear.
This is where things get muddled. In roughly a month if everything clears and falls into place, it appears that Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov will be approved by the league to purchase the New Jersey Nets. What his plans are for the team is unclear. Will the current brass be clearing out their desks at season's end? Will the Mad Russian be a free-spending win-at-all-costs type owner in the mold of a Mark Cuban? Or will we see a bottom-line oriented, tight pocketed owner in the form of Los Angeles Clippers owner Mark Cuban? While I would venture to guess he'd lean more towards putting it all out there and getting a title, this type of thing is impossible to speculate.
The Nets are headed to Brooklyn in 2012. So being in a brand new arena with a rejuvenated fan base inevitably will lead to some excitement around the organization and if you want to put bodies in the seats in Brooklyn, you had better put a product on the floor worth watching; especially if the New York Knicks retool and become competitive again.
So what player should New Jersey target in this year's draft? I have always been a fan of the 'make a big board and take the best player available regardless of position' approach to drafting. When teams draft for positional need, it usually leads to mistakes.
Portland needed a center in 1985 and already had Clyde Drexler. So they filled a need by selecting Sam Bowie and passing on Michael Jordan (among others).
Conversely, Chicago last year already had a quality starter at point guard in Kirk Heinrich. But rather than going need and nabbing Kansas State's Michael Beasley, they went best player available and took Derrick Rose out of Memphis.
We all know the outcome if the Nets win the lottery. John Wall trades in his Kentucky Blue for New Jersey Net Blue. The Nets get a guy with star power who can be the face of the franchise and everyone lives happily ever after.
But followers of the team know it never ends up being that easy for New Jersey. So assuming D-Day arrives and some other team is on the clock first, what options does the front office have?
2.) Evan Turner-SG Ohio State
Dimensions: 6'7" 210
Anybody who watches Ohio State ends up talking about how good Evan Turner is. There really isn't anything on a Basketball Court he can't do. Slick handle, silky smooth stroke, gets to the tin at will, great rebounding instincts and the ability to pass the ball as well. The guy already has two triple-doubles under his belt,; which is almost unheard of at the collegiate level this quickly. A show stopping talent who will be star on the next level. I'd say he compares favorably to Paul Pierce, Caron Butler, and Brandon Roy.
3.) Demarcus Cousins-C Kentucky
Dimensions: 6'11" 275
The best player on Calipari's Wildcat roster thus far this season (that's right, I said it.) Cousins might be even more pivotal to Kentucky's season this year than John Wall is. In my opinion, he translates into a Power Forward at the next level. He has great power moves in the post and is a beast on the glass. He also possesses the ability to finish with either hand and na underrated mid-range jumper. This is a guy who has been flat out un-guardable at the collegiate level because of his brute strength and tenacity. The only flaw I have seen with Cousins is in his ability to pass out of the double team and his fluidity on the blocks. He has a propensity to turn it over when pressured and his moves down low are lack the finesse and technique he will need at the next level when the players he matches up against are a bit bigger and stronger than what he deals with now in the Big 12. Compares favorably in my opinion to a slightly more athletic version of Chris Kaman.
These are the guys I would go for should the Nets lose out on John Wall. But as we said earlier, everything changes between now and D-day.
Everything can change during the time period resting between All-Star Sunday and the 2010 NBA Draft for the basement-dwelling New Jersey Nets. But we do know one thing for certain:
The Nets Stink.
Ok. So now that we are clear on that, in all likelihood and barring a devastatingly shocking and improbable run that actually would cause more harm than good, New Jersey will be the odds on favorite to win the lottery.
But even as a favorite, there is still a strong possibility the Nets can fall out of the top spot. The only thing guaranteed is that New Jersey will be in the top four. So what type of player will the team be looking to add come draft day? Much of that depends on free-agency and what the Nets can accomplish with all that cap-space team president Rod Thorn worked so feverishly to clear.
This is where things get muddled. In roughly a month if everything clears and falls into place, it appears that Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov will be approved by the league to purchase the New Jersey Nets. What his plans are for the team is unclear. Will the current brass be clearing out their desks at season's end? Will the Mad Russian be a free-spending win-at-all-costs type owner in the mold of a Mark Cuban? Or will we see a bottom-line oriented, tight pocketed owner in the form of Los Angeles Clippers owner Mark Cuban? While I would venture to guess he'd lean more towards putting it all out there and getting a title, this type of thing is impossible to speculate.
The Nets are headed to Brooklyn in 2012. So being in a brand new arena with a rejuvenated fan base inevitably will lead to some excitement around the organization and if you want to put bodies in the seats in Brooklyn, you had better put a product on the floor worth watching; especially if the New York Knicks retool and become competitive again.
So what player should New Jersey target in this year's draft? I have always been a fan of the 'make a big board and take the best player available regardless of position' approach to drafting. When teams draft for positional need, it usually leads to mistakes.
Portland needed a center in 1985 and already had Clyde Drexler. So they filled a need by selecting Sam Bowie and passing on Michael Jordan (among others).
Conversely, Chicago last year already had a quality starter at point guard in Kirk Heinrich. But rather than going need and nabbing Kansas State's Michael Beasley, they went best player available and took Derrick Rose out of Memphis.
We all know the outcome if the Nets win the lottery. John Wall trades in his Kentucky Blue for New Jersey Net Blue. The Nets get a guy with star power who can be the face of the franchise and everyone lives happily ever after.
But followers of the team know it never ends up being that easy for New Jersey. So assuming D-Day arrives and some other team is on the clock first, what options does the front office have?
2.) Evan Turner-SG Ohio State
Dimensions: 6'7" 210
Anybody who watches Ohio State ends up talking about how good Evan Turner is. There really isn't anything on a Basketball Court he can't do. Slick handle, silky smooth stroke, gets to the tin at will, great rebounding instincts and the ability to pass the ball as well. The guy already has two triple-doubles under his belt,; which is almost unheard of at the collegiate level this quickly. A show stopping talent who will be star on the next level. I'd say he compares favorably to Paul Pierce, Caron Butler, and Brandon Roy.
3.) Demarcus Cousins-C Kentucky
Dimensions: 6'11" 275
The best player on Calipari's Wildcat roster thus far this season (that's right, I said it.) Cousins might be even more pivotal to Kentucky's season this year than John Wall is. In my opinion, he translates into a Power Forward at the next level. He has great power moves in the post and is a beast on the glass. He also possesses the ability to finish with either hand and na underrated mid-range jumper. This is a guy who has been flat out un-guardable at the collegiate level because of his brute strength and tenacity. The only flaw I have seen with Cousins is in his ability to pass out of the double team and his fluidity on the blocks. He has a propensity to turn it over when pressured and his moves down low are lack the finesse and technique he will need at the next level when the players he matches up against are a bit bigger and stronger than what he deals with now in the Big 12. Compares favorably in my opinion to a slightly more athletic version of Chris Kaman.
These are the guys I would go for should the Nets lose out on John Wall. But as we said earlier, everything changes between now and D-day.
Immortality is a Good Thing...Right??
No publicity is bad publicity; or so they say, right?
The Nets are a national story again. We see them on syndicated highlight extravaganzas. We talk about them on sports radio. We read about them in print. Heck, you are reading about them right now and chances are, if you are a fan, this isn't the first New Jersey Net-related article you've checked out today.
As you all know by now, the 2010 New Jersey Nets are chasing history. Immortality. Bizarro greatness. This young squad has a chance to do something that has never been done in the history of the league. And by all accounts' and as dirty as this feels to even write; I, along with many of my fellow Net fans, want to witness it.
Would it be better to wallow in mediocrity without a real shot at a title for the next five years? Would it be better to be playoff team that can only go so far and lacks the resources or the young talent to be a champion? Would it be better to be, say, the Toronto Raptors or the Utah Jazz?
As of today the Nets are 4-46. They are 28 1/2 games out of first place in the Atlantic Division. They have had three separate ten game losing streaks and may be in the midst of a fourth. With a coach that does not want to be on the sidelines and squad lacking even one all-star reserve; The Swamps lovable cast of losers have managed to fall a whopping 20 games off the playoff radar; and we haven't even seen the dunk contest yet. It's not even Valentines Day and New Jersey cannot finish the season at .500 even by winning out.
Epic futility. But INTERESTING epic futility nonetheless. Is it better to be historically bad or completely irrelevant? New Jersey may be awful, but at least they are intriguing, right? RIGHT?
8-74, here we come!
The Nets are a national story again. We see them on syndicated highlight extravaganzas. We talk about them on sports radio. We read about them in print. Heck, you are reading about them right now and chances are, if you are a fan, this isn't the first New Jersey Net-related article you've checked out today.
As you all know by now, the 2010 New Jersey Nets are chasing history. Immortality. Bizarro greatness. This young squad has a chance to do something that has never been done in the history of the league. And by all accounts' and as dirty as this feels to even write; I, along with many of my fellow Net fans, want to witness it.
Would it be better to wallow in mediocrity without a real shot at a title for the next five years? Would it be better to be playoff team that can only go so far and lacks the resources or the young talent to be a champion? Would it be better to be, say, the Toronto Raptors or the Utah Jazz?
As of today the Nets are 4-46. They are 28 1/2 games out of first place in the Atlantic Division. They have had three separate ten game losing streaks and may be in the midst of a fourth. With a coach that does not want to be on the sidelines and squad lacking even one all-star reserve; The Swamps lovable cast of losers have managed to fall a whopping 20 games off the playoff radar; and we haven't even seen the dunk contest yet. It's not even Valentines Day and New Jersey cannot finish the season at .500 even by winning out.
Epic futility. But INTERESTING epic futility nonetheless. Is it better to be historically bad or completely irrelevant? New Jersey may be awful, but at least they are intriguing, right? RIGHT?
8-74, here we come!
The Misunderstood Vince Carter
By Adam Orecchio
I was flipping through the local radio waves the other day and stumbled upon a heated discussion between one of the Tri-State’s local shock-jocks and a rabid Minnesota Vikings Fan over the merits and achievements of a guy by the name of Adrian Peterson.
The discussion centered around whether or not said player was “overrated” or not. Now, by any stretch, this is one of the top two running backs in the league. So far throughout his short career, he has been about as productive as ANY running back over the past decade. Yet based on his performance towards the end of the 2009 regular season, our radio host was claiming that Adrian Peterson was, indeed, “overrated.”
So my question is this. How did this whole “overrated” or “underrated” thing come about? And does it really matter? And if a player is said to be “underrated,” what are we exactly rating him against? For instance, if I claim that Giants running back Brandon Jacobs is a much better runner than Adrian Peterson, then I would be underrating Adrian Peterson. But, if I were to say Adrian Peterson is twice the runner Jim Brown was in his prime, then in that sense I am overrating AP (and showing everyone how retarded I am in the process.)
Which brings us to one of the most controversial athletes in recent memory (through no fault of his own): none other than former Net Vince Carter. When you look at the way poor Vince Carter’s career has played out; from the draft day trade to that stellar rookie season, followed by a legendary dunk contest and some completely unrealistic expectations, Vince Carter has become a guy who fans never could take to and a guy who is constantly slapped with the “overrated” tag despite putting up some of the most consistently stellar statistics in the league the last decade.
Since the ‘99-‘00 season, this is a player who has complied a 20+ point, 5 plus rebound and 4+ assist average. For a DECADE he has done this and still can’t shake the stigma for whatever reason.
One look at the Nets of this year will tell you all you need to know about Vince Carter. Just take a look at the way Devin Harris’s production has fallen off without VC to take some pressure off of him. Take a glance at how discombobulated (to steal one of Walt Frasier’s classic phrases) the Nets half court sets look without running the offense through Vince. And most importantly, sneak a peak at the win total of the team compared to last year at this point.
What does it all mean? I’m not really sure. As I said before I hate throwing words like “underrated” or “overrated” around. But if the Orlando Magic get over the hump this season and win a title, would that shake VC of the dreaded stigma he is stuck in with the NBA fanbase? It very well may. But as it stands now, Vince Carter just might be the most underrated player in the league.
I was flipping through the local radio waves the other day and stumbled upon a heated discussion between one of the Tri-State’s local shock-jocks and a rabid Minnesota Vikings Fan over the merits and achievements of a guy by the name of Adrian Peterson.
The discussion centered around whether or not said player was “overrated” or not. Now, by any stretch, this is one of the top two running backs in the league. So far throughout his short career, he has been about as productive as ANY running back over the past decade. Yet based on his performance towards the end of the 2009 regular season, our radio host was claiming that Adrian Peterson was, indeed, “overrated.”
So my question is this. How did this whole “overrated” or “underrated” thing come about? And does it really matter? And if a player is said to be “underrated,” what are we exactly rating him against? For instance, if I claim that Giants running back Brandon Jacobs is a much better runner than Adrian Peterson, then I would be underrating Adrian Peterson. But, if I were to say Adrian Peterson is twice the runner Jim Brown was in his prime, then in that sense I am overrating AP (and showing everyone how retarded I am in the process.)
Which brings us to one of the most controversial athletes in recent memory (through no fault of his own): none other than former Net Vince Carter. When you look at the way poor Vince Carter’s career has played out; from the draft day trade to that stellar rookie season, followed by a legendary dunk contest and some completely unrealistic expectations, Vince Carter has become a guy who fans never could take to and a guy who is constantly slapped with the “overrated” tag despite putting up some of the most consistently stellar statistics in the league the last decade.
Since the ‘99-‘00 season, this is a player who has complied a 20+ point, 5 plus rebound and 4+ assist average. For a DECADE he has done this and still can’t shake the stigma for whatever reason.
One look at the Nets of this year will tell you all you need to know about Vince Carter. Just take a look at the way Devin Harris’s production has fallen off without VC to take some pressure off of him. Take a glance at how discombobulated (to steal one of Walt Frasier’s classic phrases) the Nets half court sets look without running the offense through Vince. And most importantly, sneak a peak at the win total of the team compared to last year at this point.
What does it all mean? I’m not really sure. As I said before I hate throwing words like “underrated” or “overrated” around. But if the Orlando Magic get over the hump this season and win a title, would that shake VC of the dreaded stigma he is stuck in with the NBA fanbase? It very well may. But as it stands now, Vince Carter just might be the most underrated player in the league.
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