Nets on the Net: 1/12/10 Edition
Jan 12, 2010 Brooklyn, Develop Don't Destroy, Eduardo Najera, Kris Humphries, Nets on the Net, Shawne Williams, Vince Carter
Hey, I know that Sebastian Pruiti guy. Check out his breakdown of the critical possession of the Nets-Hornets game from Friday.
Rod Thorn on trades; more to come: “You’re probably going to see some major deals before it’s over with,” he said. “We’ll be talking to people on a daily basis to see if there’s other things we can do that we feel will help, whether it be short term or long term.”
Dave D’Alessandro profiles the two newest Nets, and wonders if their acquisitions makes the roster more “high-maintenance.”
Eduardo Najera is one happy dude now that he’s been traded; “Today is the first time I’ve been able to smile.”
In Orlando, our old friend Vince Carter may be headed to the bench in favor of JJ Redick. Orlando Pinestriped Post (formerly Third Quarter Collapse) has the analysis.
Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn is trying to connect the dots between Gilbert Arenas and Mikhail Prokhorov.
Speaking of DDDB and Daniel Goldstein, he’s “still not going anywhere.” Hat tip NetsDaily.
Nets on the Net: 1/3/10 Edition
Jan 3, 2010 Brook Lopez, Brooklyn, Develop Don't Destroy, Mikhail Prokhorov, Nets on the Net, Terrence Williams
Remember that sex scandal involving prospective Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov? Nevermind, according to today’s London Times: Three years after his arrest in the ski resort of Courchevel on charges of pimping, Mikhail Prokhorov, Russia’s richest man, has received an apology from the French authorities for embroiling him in one of the most ill-judged sex scandals of recent times.
Fred Kerber reminds us that Yi Jianlian did not have a good day yesterday: “I missed a lot of shots, man,” said Yi, who bricked 11-of-13 attempts yesterday in the Nets’ 94-86 loss to the Cavs — after shooting 33-of-61 (.541) in his previous four games after his return from injury. “The shots did not feel good. They did not allow me to drive to the basket, and just very good chance at making me think about it. It’s different from the other teams — they always have two bigs inside. That makes it hard to get to the basket.”
Terrence Williams talks about his good buddy Nate Robinson’s 41-point performance the other night against the Atlanta Hawks: “It’s a good lesson for everybody,” Williams continued. “You kind of see what his work ethic is. For the month he wasn’t playing, he could have been a typical player and pout and not really work on his game, and when you’re thrown in there and you shoot 3-for-14, it looks like, ‘See, that’s why the coach didn’t play him.’
Bleacher Report features a positive spin on the Nets: Let’s play the stat game. Chris Bosh leads the league in 20 point, 10 rebound games, tallying 20. Who’s second in the league you ask? That’d be Mr. Lopez with 14 through 33 games. That’s more than Dwight Howard, Amare Stoudemire, Al Jefferson, Tim Duncan, Zach Randolph, Carlos Boozer and David Lee; impressive enough for a second year player?
Daniel Goldstein, of Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn fame, is one of the final holdouts in his condo in Brooklyn, where Bruce Ratner is looking to build a new arena for the Nets: “I made a commitment to myself that I wasn’t going to be forced to sell. … I wasn’t going to be pressured or bullied,” he said. “I didn’t know what that would mean. But I knew I was committing myself to it.”
Nets on the Net: 12/15/09 Edition
Dec 15, 2009 Brooklyn, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Develop Don't Destroy, Izod Center, Nets on the Net, Prudential Center
What division? Chris Douglas-Roberts on Twitter: Just had a great team dinner. Everybody kind of opened up. We all laughed & kicked it w/each other for the first time. I think this is big.
CDR in a quick Q+A with USA Today: What you would be doing if you didn’t play basketball: “I have no idea. I never had a backup plan. That’s why I put 1,000% into this. … I’d be doing something in sports.”
An arena truce bill would put a $3 surcharge on all Prudential Center and Izod Center events in New Jersey, but could help facilitate the Nets temporary move to Newark. Here’s NJ state senate president Richard Codey in The Record: “We shouldn’t have two New Jersey institutions competing against each other and hurting one another economically,” Codey said. “This legislation would help ensure the financial stability of both venues.”
Al Iannazzone wearing his Nets Insider hat: “The Nets have to concentrate their effort on the defensive end. They’re a step slow, a few strides behind and aren’t getting help when they get beaten. More talking, better rotations, more focus all would help.”
Dave D’Alessandro also warns that the Nets need to get their defense together for tonight’s matchup with LeBron James and the Cavs: “Or think of it this way: In their last three games, the Nets have essentially turned into the laissez-faire defenders of ’08-09, yielding an average of 114 points on 50 percent shooting, while making stars out of the likes of C.J. Watson, Tyler Hansbrough, and Mo Evans. Now they’ve got to deal with LeBron James, perhaps the most perfectly engineered offensive specimen the sport has ever seen, and one who has averaged 36.7 points in his last four games.”
Scenes from yesterday’s “junk bond” demonstration by Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, the lead opposition for the Atlantic Yards development.
Former Nets coach Byron Scott is ESPN’s newest studio analyst.
Nets on the Net: 11/26/09 Turkey Day Edition
Nov 26, 2009 Brett Yormark, Brooklyn, Bruce Ratner, Courtney Lee, Develop Don't Destroy, Devin Harris, Kiki Vandeweghe, Lawrence Frank, Losing Streak, Mikhail Prokhorov, Nets on the Net
Al Iannazzone explains why he (and we) should be thankful.
Lawrence Frank is trying to resist playing Devin Harris and Courtney Lee big minutes as they come back from injury.
Meanwhile, the whispers about Frank’s future continue. If Frank gets fired, his replacement will likely come from in-house as the organization continues to pinch pennies.
Another article that gathers some reaction from the 88-89 Miami Heat and the 99-00 LA Clippers, aka, the two teams the Nets could soon be challenging for infamy.
Brett Yormark on WFAN yesterday.
There are still many steps that have to take place before Mikhail Prokhorov can take over as owner of the Nets.
The Atlantic Yards Report has some reaction from yesterday’s press conference by Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn regarding the Nets planned move to Brooklyn. Here’s some video as well:
Nets on the Net: 11/25/09 Edition
Nov 25, 2009 Brook Lopez, Brooklyn, Bruce Ratner, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Courtney Lee, Develop Don't Destroy, Devin Harris, Losing Streak, Nets on the Net
Chris Douglas-Roberts makes John Hollinger’s all-underrated team.
Ben Couch hosts a Q+A with Trailblazers.com.
Mark Miller of Yahoo blames Bruce Ratner for the poor start.
Marc Stein of True Hoop looks deeper into the bad start for Lawrence Frank.
Courtney Lee’s return was a lone bright spot for the Nets last night.
Despite the bad start, the Nets are doing a lot of charity work, making them winners off the court.
Bergen Record earns the best headline award for “Ratner a winner in court, a loser on one.”
In the aftermath of yesterday’s court victory, the New York Times looks at how the Nets still have their foundation in place with Brook Lopez and Devin Harris.
The Star-Ledger jokes that this could be a loooong good-bye for the Nets and New Jersey.
Daniel Goldstein, head of Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, wants NY Governor Patterson to stand by his position as a state senator to put a moratorium on the use of eminent domain.
Kenyon Martin is not a big fan of Bruce Ratner.
HoopsWorld says the Nets compare favorably to the 88-89 Heart and the 99-00 Clippers, the two previous teams that went 0-17 to start a season.
Nets on the Net: 11/17/09 Edition
Nov 17, 2009 Brooklyn, Dave D'Alessandro, Develop Don't Destroy, Devin Harris, Lawrence Frank, LeBron James, Mikhail Prokhorov, Nets on the Net
On the Brooklyn front, the state is expecting to start marketing tax-exempt bonds to build the arena in the next two weeks.
Meanwhile, Daniel Goldstein, Brooklyn resident and lead opponent for the anti-Atlantic Yards movement is not very happy with the offer he’s gotten from the state for his apartment. He’s also written an open letter to Mikhail Prokhorov that’s been published at the Huffington Post.
Milwaukee native Devin Harris got a bunch of phone calls Saturday night from people wanting to know if he saw Bucks rookie Brandon Jennings go off for 55 points.
Lawrence Frank isn’t paying attention to any “10 is enough” marketing efforts by the front office. He just worries about what’s on the basketball court.
Nets beat writer Dave D’Alessandro answers your mail.
Mike Celzic at NBC asks why would LeBron James want to come to the Knicks or Nets?
Over at the Nets Daily, Net Income breaks down some financials to help determine exactly how rich Mikhail Prokhorov is.
Gary Sussman is back with his latest edition of Sussman Sez, recapping the weekend in Florida.
Ben Couch says Courtney Lee was cheerful, though he may not be good to go until Saturday against the Knicks.
Nets on the Net: 10/30/09 Edition
Oct 30, 2009 Brook Lopez, Courtney Lee, Develop Don't Destroy, Devin Harris, Jarvis Hayes, Mikhail Prokhorov, Nets on the Net, Rafer Alston, Sean Williams, Tony Battie, Vince Carter, Yi
In Al Iannazzone’s report, Jarvis Hayes is expected to miss the next 2-3 weeks with a hamstring injury. Meanwhile, as expected, the Nets picked up the options for Brook Lopez, Courtney Lee and Yi Jianlian while declining on Sean Williams.
Courtney Lee talks with the Orlando Sentinel about his time with his former team, and why he still has love for Orlando.
But Lee tells Ben Couch that he’s going to approach them like any other team.
Some bullet-points on Lee, Tony Battie and Rafer Alston’s time in Orlando.
Devin Harris jokes about getting a chance to foul Vince Carter “one good time” tonight.
Blogger previews from Howard the Dunk.
Over at NetsDaily, Net Income talks about a cryptic e-mail discussing new potential names for the Nets after they (presumably) move to Brooklyn. These include “New York Nets” or maybe something without “Nets” altogether.
CCTV focuses on Yi’s performance in the season opener Wednesday night.
Atlantic Yards Report talks about the lowball offer Daniel Goldstein (of Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn) received for his Prospect Heights condo from the Empire State Development Corporation.
An opinion piece in the Star-Ledger talks about how the Nets in Newark could help “pay the rent” at the Prudential Center.
Another Lawsuit Could Block Brooklyn Move
Oct 19, 2009 Brooklyn, Develop Don't Destroy
Opponents of the Atlantic Yards development in Brooklyn, the proposed site that would contain a new arena for the Nets, filed another lawsuit today at the State of New York Supreme Court designed to sink the project once and for all.
In the suit, project opponents, which include the group Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn and 19 other community groups charge that the Empire State Development Corporation illegally abandoned the original purpose of the project, which was to remove blight from the Propsect Heights, Brooklyn neighborhood.
“Victory by the petitioners would doom the besieged development plan,” said a statement released by DDDB earlier today.
Cause for the suit come from a recent deal made between Forest City Ratner, the developer (and current Nets owner Bruce Ratner’s development company), and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority over the 22-acre rail yard site needed for the development. As explained in a Reuters report, Ratner originally agreed to buy the site for $100 million in cash at the time of closing, but the agreement has been revised to allow him to pay $20 million at closing and the remaining $80 million over a 22-year period. DDDB claims in its suit that this new payment plan will keep the site blighted and underdeveloped for decades.
Click here for more details of the suit from DDDB.
This is the fourth lawsuit filed over the site. Last week, a hearing was held in the Court of Public Appeals in Albany to contest the use of eminent domain for the project. Project opponents also filed a separate suit last week challenging the “sweetheart” real estate deal which involved the MTA selling the Vanderbilt Rail Yard to Ratner.
Not to sound like a broken record here, but at the end of the day, this all comes down to timing. December 31 seems to be an unofficial deadline for financing to be in place and construction to start on the Barclays Arena. In addition to any legal merit these lawsuits may carry, they also ensure that this timeline is disrupted, ultimately making this a game of clock management. The reason why this is important from a basketball standpoint is no Brooklyn means no Mikhail Prokhorov and his billions, and it also means this team will probably be up for sale again. And unless an ownership group looking to keep the team in Newark comes forward, who knows what that means for the future of the “New Jersey” Nets.
Nets on the Net: 10/18/09 Edition
Oct 18, 2009 Brooklyn, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Courtney Lee, Develop Don't Destroy, Devin Harris, Lawrence Frank, Nets on the Net, Vince Carter
Mikhail Prokhorov is coming to New York this week to meet with NBA officials and Brooklyn’s Bright Beach section, also known as “Little Odessa” is abuzz.
NetIncome over at NetsDaily looks at all of the trade options on the table for Vince Carter earlier this year and determines the deal the Nets made, was probably the best for the team. NI also compares Courtney Lee and Devin Harris to determine if Lee can follow the path to stardom like Harris did after the Jason Kidd trade two years ago.
Lawrence Frank is still deciding his team’s rotation.
The Nets are still shaky on defense, Fred Kerber reports.
NESN looks at the Prokhorov affect.
CDR, whose neck is hurting, has forced his way into the starting rotation.
Despite rumors that the New York Islanders are looking to move to Brooklyn once the Barcalays Arena is constructed, Newsday reports there have been no formal conversations between Bruce Ratner and the hockey team’s ownership.
Atlantic Yards Report talks about another lawsuit in the works for the Brooklyn project that will be filed tomorrow.
Some video from DDDB’s fundraising walk on Saturday:
Video from Atlantic Yards Press Conference
Oct 15, 2009 Brooklyn, Develop Don't Destroy
Prior to yesterday’s Albany hearing about the Atlantic Yards complex and the Nets proposed move to Brooklyn, Daniel Goldstein, the lead plaintiff in the case spoke on the steps of the New York Court of Appeals. Here’s the video of that press conference:
Here’s the plaintiff’s attorney, Matthew Brinckerhoff: