Nets on the Net: Blueprint for Greatness
Jun 30, 2010 Jay-Z, LeBron James, Mikhail Prokhorov, Nets on the Net, Rod Thorn
Well, now the Nets have gone and done it. Earlier this week, Al Iannazzone hinted that “big things” were afoot with this organization, and while the biggest dreamers in us might have thought it was going to be a major trade, I suspect it was in fact something a little more gleeful. Like, say, a 225-by-90-foot mural of Mikhail Prokhorov and Jay-Z on 34th Street and 8th, which is adjacent to some building the Knicks play in… can’t remember the name … it used to be an important part of New York sports culture but it’s hard for me to remember things that happened 20 years ago.
Still, despite the chatter focusing more on Miami and Chicago, and with the Nets firing a shot across the bow attracting attention of their own, the Knicks still believe they are major players for LeBron James.
Meanwhile, Dave D’Alessandro rolls out the team’s itinerary over the next few days. Interestingly enough, outside of Bosh, the team hasn’t scheduled anything (yet) with the other bigs out there, Carlos Boozer, Amare Stoudemire and David Lee. That’s not to say they won’t, but it seems pretty clear this team is aiming for the biggest fish first. Love the aggression.
Still, Steve Politi of the Star-Ledger has to throw cold water all over us mouth-foaming Nets fans and remind us that with Rod Thorn stepping down, but not “retiring,” it just doesn’t look terribly good for the organization right now.
Daily Link: Jay-Z Says Prokhorov Can Handle LeBron
Jun 6, 2010 Daily Link, Jay-Z, LeBron James
The Daily News this morning talks about a quote from Jay-Z that’s set to appear in the next issue of Rolling Stone Magazine. The Rapper/Mogul/Minority Owner of the Nets says he’s not going to push too hard on his buddy LeBron James to come to Newark next year.
Recruiting the NBA’s reigning two-time MVP is instead up to new Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov – and Jay-Z thinks the deep-pocketed Russian is up to the task.
I’m getting the sense that despite all the hysteria immediately after the Cavs were bounced by the Celtics last month, things are being set up for LeBron to return to Cleveland. With that said, I always thought the Jay-Z/LeBron relationship was a bit overstated in terms of recruiting him to the Nets. It makes for good speculation, but considering that Jay-Z’s involvement with the Nets ownership has always been superficial at best, I’m not going to get exciting dreaming up scenarios where the two decide to join forces to help the Nets win some games in Newark.
Nets on the Net: 3/16/10 Edition
Mar 16, 2010 Devin Harris, Jay-Z, Mikhail Prokhorov, Nets on the Net, Terrence Williams
Terrence Williams (more on him later) has some sage-like advice for himself in the latest from Dave D’Alessandro: “I learned you have to keep your mouth shut,” he said. “Honestly, that’s it. Because you get further with silence than you do speaking out or acting out. The lesson taught to me was to pay attention to other guys, and learn from them. I really wasn’t ready for that.”
Fred Kerber with some more TWill money quotes: “I want to get every rebound and every assist in the game. But one, I don’t play the whole game and two, I don’t think Brook [Lopez] would let me get every rebound,” Williams said. “Points will come . . . but assists and rebounds, that’s what I have to do.”
The Nets need three more wins to avoid infamy, but they’ll likely enter tonight’s game with Atlanta without Devin Harris.
NetsDaily continues its breakdown of all things Mikhail Prokhorov.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a little profile on Jay-Z’s business success.
Nets on the Net: 3/4/10 Edition
Mar 4, 2010 Brooklyn, Devin Harris, Jay-Z, LeBron James, Nets on the Net, Newark
The Barclays Center web site now has a countdown clock to the groundbreaking on March 11.
The New Jersey Sports and Exhibition Authority is still in massive debt, but the Nets move to Newark could help them out, according to a Business Week report.
The always kind (to the Nets) Kevin Pelton of Basketball Prospectus notes that with their expected assets this summer (draft picks, cap space), the Nets could very quickly resemble a 50-win team.
Michael Fensom of the Star-Ledger on last night’s game: Don’t be fooled by the Nets logo scrawled at halfcourt, this lame duck NBA arena belonged to James on this night. Fans jostled during pregame warm-ups near the Cavaliers’ end of the floor for a glimpse of No. 23. On the Nets’ end, Chris Quinn’s autograph didn’t seem as appealing to young fans.
In the New York Post recap, LeBron paid a compliment to the Nets again: “It’s a really good franchise, though. It’s not a franchise that’s lived long, but they’ve got a bright future. We’ll see what goes on in the future for this team. It’s really good, though.”
George Willis of the Post talks with sports marketing experts about LeBron’s financial potential if he came to the Knicks or Nets.
Julian Garcia of the Daily News asked LeBron about Jay-Z: Asked how Jay-Z is dealing with the season, James said, “He’s on tour, promoting (an album). So he has a lot of things going on. But he stays focused; he stays a member of this team. But I don’t ask him about the Nets. I’ve got my own team to worry about.”
Howard Beck of the New York Times has some fan response to Lebron: Desperation was in the air Wednesday night. Two minutes into the game, a fan bellowed, “Please come, LeBron!” — a plea that was easily heard across the morgue-like arena. Another wore a Knicks jersey stitched with “King James” and the No. 23. He held a sign reading: “119 days left. Please help us!”
Mitch Lawrence heard differently: Unlike Knicks fans, Net fans last night didn’t plead for James to sign this summer with the worst team in the NBA. They booed him. They taunted him. For all that, they deserve a round of applause.
Al Iannazzone talks to Devin Harris about LeBron: “Who wouldn’t want to play with this guy?” Devin Harris said before the game. “He’s a great player. But right now he’s on the other side of the court so we look to challenge him on the other end and the summer will take care of itself.”
Nets on the Net: 2/15/10 Edition
Feb 15, 2010 Jay-Z, Kiki Vandeweghe, LeBron James, Mikhail Prokhorov, Nets on the Net, Rod Thorn
Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting that Rod Thorn will likely not fire Kiki Vandeweghe for the alleged under the table deal he made with Del Harris to become head coach of the Nets. Meanwhile, Tom Barrise, is headed to coach Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Rod Thorn is on his way to Vancouver to meet with Mikhail Prokhorov, while those back in New Jersey are working on getting the Nets to Newark next season.
Jerry Colangelo told the Daily News he is interested in a return to the NBA under certain conditions: “I would have to have full autonomy,” Colangelo told the Daily News. “I’m not looking to become a general manager. But if the right job came along I’d be willing to talk to anyone. Life is all about opportunities.”
Jay-Z and LeBron James threw an after party during All-Star weekend which Rod Thorn attended.
Looking at the business side of basketball, the New York Times reports that it’s unlikely that LeBron James would help the stock of MSG, a recent spinoff of Cablevision owners of the Knicks, trading on the NASDAQ.
Nets on the Net: 9/14/09 Edition
Sep 14, 2009 Brooklyn, Jay-Z, Nets on the Net
In the ongoing courtship between Nets co-owner Jay-Z and Lebron James, Slam has a short report with Jay-Z saying he won’t pressure King James into coming to the Nets. “He’s my friend first so I wouldn’t do that to him if we didn’t have a chance of winning (the NBA championship,” Jay-Z said.
A little (very little) more insight into last week’s news that JR Rider is mulling an NBA comeback, possibly with the Nets. Hoopsworld says the Nets may let Rider try out with the team out of courtesy, but he will not be added to the regular season roster.
The Daily Record profiles PNY, the company that made a landmark practice jersey and facility sponsorship deal with the Nets.
The New York Observer talks with SHoP Architects about their company and their work designing the Barclays arena.
Justin Davidson of New York magazine says the new design is nice, but the Atlantic Yards development project is “too far gone to be rescued by a nice façade.”
Atlantic Yards opponents Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn write an open letter to SHoP.
On a league-wide note, the stat-tastic Charlotte Bobcats blog Queen City Hoops, has developed a new database that helps compare how NBA players defend.
Nets on the Net: 9/11/09 G.O.A.T HOF Edition
Sep 11, 2009 Jay-Z, John Calipari, Nets on the Net, Terrence Williams
Joe Favorito of Jersey Newsroom gives an interesting breakdown of all of the marketing efforts undertaken by the Nets in recent months.
Terrence Williams on Twitter today: playoffs is not wishful Thinking this year, no not cause of me but this team is fast an hungry an we work hard so we giving 110%
Former Nets head coach John Calipari was on WEEI’s Dennis & Callahan show in Boston today where he talked about his new book and how his experience getting fired from the nets “knocked me on my knees.”
We linked to a story yesterday about Jay-Z, Brooklyn and Lebron. The Plain Dealer in Cleveland links up today and the comments section features some pretty irked responses by Cavs fans regarding King James and Jay-Z.
Nets on the Net: 9/10/09 Edition
Sep 10, 2009 Brooklyn, Develop Don't Destroy, Devin Harris, Jay-Z, Michael Jordan, Nets on the Net, Rod Thorn
NBC New York talks some more about the new Barclays designs and links to video of Nets co-owner Jay-Z on the Late Show with David Letterman Wednesday night. Jay-Z sounded optimistic about the move to Brooklyn during the interview.
The New York Observer gives an overview of the many iterations of the Atlantic Yards development in pictures.
Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn discusses a new report released by New York City’s Independent Budget Office, which shows the Barclays arena would be a $40 million loss for New York City with an additional loss of $180 million in opportunity costs.
Continuing with their off-season trends of top 10 lists, Ball Don’t Lie lists the 10 best passers of the past decade with former Net and Devin Harris trading chip Jason Kidd ranking at the top of the list.
The Nets homepage has an interview up today with team president Rod Thorn who was the man who drafted Michael Jordan for the Bulls back in the day (in Rod we trust).
Fresh off of saying Brook Lopez will average 10+ rebounds this season, Dime says Devin Harris is one of five new players who will average 9+ assists.
Some photos of a recent Nets practice.
More “Summer of Lebron” Speculating
Aug 13, 2009 2010 Offseason, Jay-Z, LeBron James
Michael Arace of the Columbus Dispatch sees two potential scenarios unfolding during the “Summer of Lebron.” He either stays in Cleveland or he jumps to New Jersey.
Calling one of Lebron’s other potential suitors, the New York Knicks “mismanaged and malodorous,” Arace adds that the Nets have the benefit of minority owner and rapper Jay-Z to help lure James while also having the cap space to potentially add another superstar, like Chris Bosh.
Personally, I’m just relieved to read some sports commentary from outside the Big Apple that acknowledges some reasons why Lebron isn’t going to automatically gravitate towards the Knicks if he spurns the Cavs next year. The Knicks haven’t been relevant in more than a decade and if the Nets could establish any sort of stability with the Brooklyn/New Jersey situation in the coming year, I think they have as much of a shot, if not more, to land Lebron instead of the Knicks.
Posted by Mark Ginocchio
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