Too bad; young guy from the NJ area. He'll get another opportunity elsewhere down the road. It had to happen unfortunately. Maybe they'll re-hire Scott, ha. If they ever get the new arena done, it would be a nice fit for a guy like Van Gundy. I thought their roster wasn't miserable. No stars, but nice set of role players. How bad is the bench?
it's about time. not winning a single freakin game and consistently losing year in and year out is another way to get canned. JVG interested?
About time, the Nets have a nice set of role players and seriously they're 0-16? I know they're not a winning team but they should be a bit under the .500 mark. It was a pretty dumb move by Frank saying that Harris had to earn his starting spot back, I mean what was there to lose? It'd be shocking if they pick up their first win against the Lakers, hope the best for the Nets.
This reminds me of the 97 season when danny ainge was coaching the suns. his son repeated to him a joke that went "knock knock" "owen" "owen who?" "owen sixteen." its really sad that the kid died of beating. lawrence frank reminds me of joss whedon.
Frank had a good run, many coaches would have been let go long ago with their losing record. I don't see them attracting any of the big name free agents with their new arena, management and losing record issues but Rod Thorn can put on a hell of a show to attract FAs. I remember him wining and dining Sharif Abdul Rahim when he was a FA, he made a conference room presentation to him, escorted him to all the communities he might look at to live etc. Then Thorn found out about SARs knee problems, dropped him like a hot potato and the Kings signed him.
The Nets finally have all their players healthy and rounding into form. Think about this: Brooke Lopez, Devin Harris, Courtney Lee. If you add LeBron + a serviceable PF (David Lee?) and sprinkle in a couple of bench players, the Nets are finals contenders, maybe even championship contenders next season. I read somewhere they will have more cap space than any team in the NBA this summer. If LeBron leaves Cleveland, I'd rather him sign with the Nets instead of the Knicks.
....And playing in an empty arena as a lame-duck franchise with an owner in huge debt trying to cut payroll and survive until he can get public $$$ to finance his asinine arena/apartment complex/development. Hard to attract players that way. It's simply never had a chance at happening. They have had no interest organizationally in being competitive for a few years now. Forking over Jefferson for Yi and his mythical Chinese fan interest dollars (LOL, he ain't Yao, and this ain't 2002) symbolizes this.
Uh what? Take LeBron off Cleveland, and New Jersey is MUCH more attractive.. That's not even debatable. In fact, NJ is probably the most attractive place for next year. Devin and Lopez are all-stars, Courtney Lee, Terrannce Williams, and CDR are solid role players - just adding LeBron would make them contenders. LeBron + another big FA? They're the favorites. You do know the Russian billionaire recently bought them, right? You get on them for not being interested in competing bc they set themselves up to have a deep pocket in the deepest FA class maybe in history? Are you applying that amazing logic to the Knicks, etc who all made moves for cap room? To the Heat for not going after any help for DWade so they can have as much money as possible this offseason?
The arena and ownership change are far from a done deal. The latest is the courts did uphold NYS right to eminent domain but there is at least one more challenge to the arena by opposition groups. Having more cap space does not mean you can pay the player more, the Clevelands and Miami's can offer better monetary deals, it's going to be the intangibles that attracts the Lebrons and Wades. NJ doesn't have it, the Knicks have been talking about turning around that franchise for a decade now and the same might be the case for NJ. Why go to a team that's not winning as opposed to going to a team thats winning now, I look at SA and see how many vets they attract because the players go there to win. The deal is contingent on Ratner obtaining financing for the arena project and control of all the land required for it by the end of this year as well as approval by the NBA. There has been speculation that the Nets may move to Newark if the Atlantic Yards deal falls apart.
Harris and Lee can be their poisons sometime. Lopez is their only promising player, their fans are high on Terrance Williams so probably the kid can be developed into something.
Forgot to mention the likely top 5 pick they'll have too. This season will suck for Nets fans, but if I was one I couldn't help but be happy at the bright future.
What team is winning now that will have cap space? You can't really include Cleveland or Miami - without LBJ or Wade they'd be just as bad as NJ. Intangibles? How about: Devin Harris Brook Lopez Top 5 pick Courtney Lee CDR Terrance Williams Add that to their ability to offer contracts to more than one big free agent. The Nets could be downright scary next year if they land a big FA. Much more attractive than NY, or Cleveland/Miamis cast of role players.
They should go for Tom Thibodeau or Elston Turner, instead of some retread. They need some fresh coaching talent.
Have you ever been to a Nets game? you can yell obscenities from the upper deck and it will get picked up on TV. They've refused -for years - to move to the new Prudential arena in Newark which may generate some interest, in order to stay an unnoticeable and a sh-tty lame duck team. And their impending move to Brooklyn is at least 2 or 3 years off, depending on if and when the thing gets built. OH, and the sale to the Russian has not been approved yet and is contingent - hugely - on the financial black hole that the Atlantic Yards project You want to do a sig bet on all the awesome free agents the Nets will attract next year? I'm more than willing to guarantee you they don't land a premier player after fielding what is shaping up to be one of the worst teams in NBA history. Why would a player like LeBron waste his prime years on a rebuilding, lame-duck franchise? For the challenge? hahahah, sure. No because the Knicks are the New York Knicks, they play at Madison Square Garden, not some crappy franchise that nobody cares about in North Jersey that may or may not move to Brooklyn in a stadium that may or may not get built that may or may not be financed by a Russian billionaire - do you get the difference?
Yes, Sam - I'm sure they purposely avoid attention to remain unnoticeable and purposely sh-tty.. that makes perfect sense! Every move they've made was with this coming off-season in mind - the Jefferson trade, the Carter trade.. all to set them up with cap room for this summer. Sig bet on free agents they land seems pretty silly to take on for my part. First off - what would you define as a premier player? Do those players care more about winning or more about money? (IE signing with their current teams for the extra year.) LeBron said winning is his first concern - but that's also the standard PR answer. The Nets may have the worse record, but they definitely do not have the worse talent - a testament to Mr. Frank. The Knicks are GOD AWFUL, and do not have crap to show for it. Their best player, Lee, is a UFA next year. I'm not guaranteeing LeBron to the Nets - I was just saying from a personnel standpoint, the Nets are better than any of the other teams (read: CLE, MIA, NYK). Take the impending FA's off those teams, and the Nets blow them away in talent. LeBron wouldn't be "wasting" his time in New Jersey - they would be an instant title contender. Cleveland was also considered a horrible franchise until LeBron came and they've slowly acquired players around him. NJ already has those players, AND they're better than Cleveland's role players. You can argue the uncertainty of the owner, I'll grant you that. But LeBron on the team puts butts in the seats, period. They won't be losing money with LBJ as the face of the franchise and leading them deep into the playoffs year after year. The Knicks are the Knicks - who are TERRIBLE. You're arguing that LeBron wouldn't waste his time going to a "rebuilding" (unlikely) situation in New Jersey, yet think he'd go to New York? Whaaat? New York has NOBODY - whose gonna lure LBJ to the Knicks? Duhon? Nate Robinson? That's a joke. I'm not sure the mystique of Madison Square Garden is enough to overcome the sh-ttiness that is the New York Knickerbockers. Hell, D'Antoni hasn't even proven he can coach without HOF Steve Nash running his point and Amare in the block. Add to that they don't even have their first round pick, where as the Nets will have one of the top picks in the draft - it's a no brainer which franchise has a better future from a personnel standpoint.
