Nets on the Net: 3/10/10 Edition
Mar 10, 2010 Barclays Arena, Brooklyn, Devin Harris, Free Agents, LeBron James, Nets on the Net
Sebastian provides some of his expert insight of some mistakes the Nets made against the Grizzlies on Monday, over at his NBA Playbook site.
In a roundtable at SI.com, NBA writers discuss which downtrodden Eastern Conference team that would buy stock in if they had the opportunity, and naturally, the Nets are brought up.
Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com talks Brooklyn.
David Biderman of the Wall Street Journal kicks the Nets when they’re down, but then offers some support: By now you’ve realized that the New Jersey Nets aren’t just a sad-sack basketball team, they’re profoundly horrible. But even with a 7-56 record, there are several recent sports teams that were even worse.
Just how talented is Dallas? As Al Iannazzone notes, even without Jason Terry, Erick Dampier, Brendan Haywood and Tim Thomas expected to play tonight, they still have Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Caron Butler and Shawn Marion to lean on.
And that Jason Kidd fella is still a very productive PG, as Julian Garcia writes.
Brooklyn Paper with more on the designers of the Barclays Arena.
People are apparently buying Knicks season tickets at the fastest pace ever because they believe they’re going to sign LeBron James.
Nets on the Net: 3/9/10 Edition
Mar 9, 2010 Courtney Lee, Free Agents, Nets on the Net, Nets vs. 72-73 Sixers
With the Nets inching closer to all-time infamy, the Philadelphia Daily News gives a detailed look at the 72-73 Sixers. Fred Carter, the leading scorer of that team, wants to keep the record in Philadelphia.
Rudy Gay is quietly spreading the word that he would play in New Jersey, but the Memphis Grizzlies expect the restricted free agent to stick around: Grizzlies’ owner Michael Heisley told the Memphis Commercial Appeal, “I feel we’re going to sign him.”
Post columnist George Willis doesn’t blame David Lee for looking towards the Nets this summer.
Courtney Lee tells Al Iannazzone that he’s starting to regain that scorer’s mentality he had in college: “I was a scorer in college,” Lee said. “I went to the NBA and I had to switch my role. Just getting back into that scoring role like before, you have to be in tip-top shape and you have to definitely have your rhythm.
Thorn Wants 2, But Will We Get Any?
Jun 30, 2009 2010 Offseason, Brook Lopez, Brooklyn, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Courtney Lee, Devin Harris, Free Agents, Jay-Z, Rod Thorn, Terrence Williams
Here is audio from Rod Thorn’s conference call:
(Remove the audio player – it played automatically and it was getting annoying)
If the above player doesn’t work, click the link here. It is a pretty interesting listen, so if you get the time, check it out. The big thing that I took from this conference call is that Rod Thorn is going to be willing to spend in 2010. Thorn said that if he chooses, the Nets can offer two-max contracts. Having money is just half of the equation though, players are going to have to want to come to Nets (notice I didn’t say New Jersey).
Will that happen (I know this is real early to start talking about this, but this a much talked about topic among Nets fans)? Pessimistic Nets fans (and there are a lot of them) will tell you that it won’t. They will say things like “When have the Nets ever signed a big time free agent?” Or “Why would LeBron or anyone want to come to the Nets if they are still in NJ?”
Maybe I am just an optimist, but I think all that is a load of bull. Yes, I know the Nets haven’t signed a big time free agent in recent memory, but when have they been in position too? For as long as I can remember, the Nets have had a solid core of playmakers (Kidd, Martin, RJ, and Vince Carter have all been a part of the Nets at some point), and haven’t really had a need to go get a big-time free agent. They were always adding veterans who were supposed to be (excuse me for using a now tired theme after this draft) pieces to a puzzles, and it worked for the most part. The Nets were always in the playoff hunt, and while they were never seriously considered championship contenders, they were always competitive.
Despite this competitiveness, Thorn wanted a title team, so he decided to re-tool and start a youth movement. Brook Lopez, CDR, Devin Harris, Courtney Lee, and Terrence Williams are all under 25, and they are going to be big parts of the team this year. Despite the fact that we might be terrible next year as these young guys learn how to play, the future looks bright. Real bright. When looking at this young core (we also get 2 first round picks next year), a big-time free agent might see themselves as the guy who put them over the top. Take into account that most of the big free agents in 2010 are buddy-buddy, once one signs we might be able to snag another. Just imagine Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh joining up with Devin Harris and Brook Lopez. What free agent wouldn’t want to be a part of that team?
As for the whole Brooklyn/NJ thing. Brooklyn is going to happen, whether it be for 2 years from now or 3, it is going to happen. Now if Thorn can guarantee these potential free agents at least 1 year in Brooklyn (by this, I mean that we would need to at least break ground before next offseason), then in my opinion this won’t even be a factor.
One final thing I wanted to touch on that negative fans choose to ignore all of the time is our part owner. Yup, I am talking about Jay-Z. In our era, Jay-Z is an icon, a legend. A lot of these players would love to be able to say that they are playing for Jay-Z and having him watching all of their games. It is already common knowledge that Jay-Z and LeBron are BFF, and I am sure that Hova would be willing to use his “charm” to try to convince players to come over and play for the Nets.
When you combine all of these factors then add in all of the money, I think there is a very good chance that we land a top tier free agent in 2010. If not two.
Tags: 2010, Basketball, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, Hova, Jay-Z, LeBron James, NBA, NJ Nets