Daily Link: What’s Up With Rod Thorn? And Mannix Responds to NAS
Aug 13, 2010 2010 Offseason, Daily Link, Rod Thorn
Former Nets President Rod Thorn was introduced yesterday as President of the Philadelphia 76ers stunning many around the league who didn’t realize Thorn would be so quick to take on a new job after mysteriously leaving the Nets last month.
Thorn continues to say there’s no ill will towards his old team and there are no nefarious reasons for his leaving:
“I was never retired,” Thorn said Thursday. “I just retired with the Nets.”
Still seems like something is up to me. And the timing of Thorn’s announcement couldn’t have been worse. So I wish him well, but not the best if that makes sense.
***
In other news, earlier this week, I ripped on SI’s Chris Mannix for giving the Nets a C- in his off-season report primarily because they weren’t doing enough to conserve cap space. My point was that after the signings of Travis Outlaw, Jordan Farmar, Johan Petro and Anthony Morrow, the Nets still had a ton of financial flexibility while only barely passing the NBA mandated threshold for minimum team salary.
Totally expecting my opinion to enter the void of the interwebs, I was shocked to see a response from Mannix yesterday. For starters, I give total kudos to Chris for addressing my criticism publicly and not dismissing it as the rantings of some mouth breathing superfan. However, after reading his defense, I still think his argument has major holes:
My problem isn’t the money; it is the number of years over which the money is being paid. You want to give Petro $3.5 million per year? Fine. I mean, you have to wonder why the Nuggets, who were practically ready to hold open tryouts for a big man most of the summer, weren’t interested in re-signing him, but whatever. You want to hand Outlaw $7 million annually? The Blazers traded him and the Clippers weren’t in any rush to bring him back, but I’ll buy that too. And $4 million on average for Farmar? Sure, go ahead.
It’s the lengths of the contracts that are ridiculous. Five years for Outlaw. Three for Petro and Farmar. It’s true, none of these contracts put the Nets over the cap, and with newly acquired Troy Murphy and Kris Humphries coming off the books next season, New Jersey will likely have $20-plus million to spend.
But when you are rebuilding a team from the ground up, maintaining as much financial flexibility as possible is the key.
I get it, and in a vacuum, Mannix is right, but the problem is, in this bizarre off-season where guys like Drew Gooden and Darko Milicic were getting crazy deals, who were these players being signed for 1-2 year deals that would have also kept the Nets mildly competitive? The Nets could have went out and signed a bunch of D-Leaguers to 1-year deals and then they would have been dealing with the min. salary threshold again. They could have traded the last of their assets for a bunch of expiring contracts and then be faced with the same problem with rebuilding an entire roster next summer.
At the end of the day, after the Troy Murphy deal, the Nets are going to have more than enough money off the books to procure a game changing player via free agency next summer while also having 8 players from this year’s roster still under contract with experience playing together. The Nets missed out on their superstar, but have gone out and acquired a batch of young players who seem to tie-in to a specific system so they can grow together and be ready for the day that the Nets CAN acquire a superstar either via trade or free agency. I’m comfortable with this style of team building and I just don’t see how Mannix sees this as spending for spending sake. If he gave the Nets a C- and left it at the Nets whiffed on the big FAs and didn’t get the #1 pick, there’s no arguments for me. But by trying to add some depth to his reporting, I feel Mannix is still exposing his lack of insight about the Nets’ specific situation – which is understandable with many of these national writers who are paid to follow the Celtics, Lakers and Heat, not the Nets.
Daily Link: Nets New GM Not in a Rush
Jul 16, 2010 Billy King, Rod Thorn
With the news cycle starting to slow down somewhat, for the time being, I’m going return to doing the “Daily Link” approach and give you some early morning fodder for discussion, rather than dump a bunch of links into your lap which all say essentially the same thing. If you all don’t like the format, let me know in the comments.
With that said, new Nets GM Billy King was formally introduced yesterday, while outgoing team president Rod Thorn got the rare opportunity to introduce his successor. Say what you will about Thorn, but he’s been class all the way during this process, though I wonder if after some time has passed if we’ll ever get the real dirt behind why he decided to leave so abruptly after Mikhail Prokhorov made it known how badly he wanted him to stay (money? power? clashing with Avery Johnson?).
King, somewhat acknowledging that he’s made some bad moves in his time in Philadelphia, says he’s grown up a little in Dave D’Alessandros’ report:
“I’m wiser,” said the 44-year-old GM. “When I took over Philly, I was 32 years old. I did a lot of listening to guys like Rod, Donnie Walsh. Jerry West and Wayne Embry. I think now I have a better understanding and probably a little more patience. In Philly, we tried to do a lot of things quickly. In this league, if you do some things and it doesn’t work, you’re punished for a while.”
Devin expressed his opinions a little bit earlier in the week, and I’d like to echo and say I’m not wild about this hiring, but it’s also pretty clear that this is Avery Johnson’s team right now and King seems to be a bit of an empty suit if you believe the reports. Whether that’s true or not, in an attempt to be positive on the King hiring, the NBA is a sea full of bad contracts that were handed out by GMs not just named Billy King. In Philadelphia, he took his shot with an undersized headcase as his team’s focal point, and he even got to the Finals one year. You can’t say that about a lot of GMs.
The Rod Thorn Years
Jul 15, 2010 Retrospective, Rod Thorn
With tomorrow expected to be Rod Thorn’s last day with the Nets organization before he either edges into retirement or finds another job in this league, I thought it would be appropriate to relive the highs and lows of his tenure with the organization. It was undoubtedly a roller coaster with Thorn, who was the NBA’s executive of the year in 2002 while the organization found itself in back-to-back Finals before vying for the worst record of all-time in the latter stages of his time here. For the sake of avoiding arguments, I’m not going to rank these highs and lows – but feel free to use the comments section to dispute or arrange what I’ve put down.
Nets on the Net: More on the Off-Season
Jul 13, 2010 2010 Free Agents, 2010 Offseason, Nets on the Net, Rod Thorn
On a day where the Nets are expected to announce their free agency pick-ups, the beat writers are taking stock in the team’s off-season. Al Iannazzone says the team hopes they can sneak into the playoffs next year if everything breaks right – though so far, in the team’s coaching search, draft lottery pick, GM position and free agency pursuit, nothing has broken right. Meanwhile, Daniel Marks, an admitted Nets fan writing for Dime, believes the Nets didn’t have such a terrible summer.
Dave D’Alessandro believes the vacant GM position is between team VP Bobby Marks and former Sixers President Billy King.
For the vacant PF position, Fred Kerber believes with Udonis Haslem off the board, the team will go the trade route or look to sign Phoenix Suns “energizer” Louis Amundson.
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.
Some evening News for Nets Fans
Jun 28, 2010 2010 Free Agents, Keyon Dooling, Mikhail Prokhorov, Nets on the Net, Rod Thorn
Well, we’re officially in the busy season with rumors and speculation regarding free agency and the Nets GM vacancy, so here’s a round-up of the day’s news.
After some conflicting reports, Rod Thorn tells beat writing stalwart Dave D’Alessandro that it’s “time for me to go.” A replacement will be hired in a timely matter and should not impact free agency, Thorn said.
Mitch Lawrence mentions Raptors executive Maurizio Gherardini as a potential replacement for Thorn – sure to bring international flavor to the roster though if he had a hand in signing Hedo to that awful contract he has some ’splainin to do. Dime runs down some other potential GM candidates.
Forget GMs. Henry Abbott and Marc Stein have separate pieces discussing the impact of good ownership on recruiting free agents. Both mention Mikhail Prokhorov as a major plus and lure for the Nets.
When discussing the Nets summer plans for recruitment, Al Iannazzone baits us all with this nugget: “There’s something else big that’s coming, too. Just wait.”
Goodnight and good luck to Keyon Dooling. A class guy all the way who was officially waived today.
For you summer basketball junkies, the Nets released their summer league roster today.
Nets on the Net: Lots of Free Agency Talk
Jun 28, 2010 2010 Free Agents, Nets on the Net, Rod Thorn
Marc Stein is reporting after the Nets meet with LeBron, they’re recruiting contingent, which includes Mikhail Prokhorov, Jay-Z, Avery Johnson and Rod Thorn, will meet with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
Dave D’Alessandro runs through some misconceptions headed into free agency, including Rod Thorn’s retirement status, the charm of Prokhorov, and whether Bosh or Rudy Gay are worth/will get max deals.
Is New Jersey a likely landing spot for David Lee?
Likely successors to Rod Thorn: Nets VP Bobby Marks, Thunder GM Sam Presti and Hornets GM Jeff Bower. Unlikely: fired Portland GM Kevin Pritchard and former Phoenix owner Jerry Colangelo.
Nets on the Net: LeBron Coming? Colangelo Not Interested?
Jun 27, 2010 2010 Free Agents, Coaching, LeBron James, Mikhail Prokhorov, Nets on the Net, Rod Thorn
Hey guys – with about 500 things going on with this team right now, I thought I’d bring back the fuller a.m. link dump rather than the single links I’ve been doing since the season ended in April. However, I urge you guys to comment on the news that way you have been with the daily links:
So, one of the biggest things about Mikhail Prokhorov signing on to the Nets was this idea that with his money, charisma and business drive, he could change the decades-old negative perception around the organization. And if you read this morning news about LeBron James and his free agency plans, Prokhorov could be enough to snag the world’s most coveted free agent. Al Iannazzone reports that Prokhorov and co. will be the first to make their pitch to James once free agency opens later this week. The Frank Isola/Mitch Lawrence Daily News New York Knick cheerleaders CONTINUE to dismiss this notion that LeBron would never sign with the Nets because it would involve this horrifying notion of playing 10 minutes outside of NYC in Newark for 2 years before moving to Brooklyn (I’m still waiting for a non-speculative report from someone who is not Isola that explains to me how two years of Newark and three years of Brooklyn could damage LeBron’s marketability compared to him just playing at the World’s Most Famous Arena for the World’s Most Embarrassing Owners in the Dolans). However, Iannazzone quotes someone close to LeBron saying: “He’s coming to New Jersey.” While that source is about as reliable as Jalen Rose telling people he’s 100% certain LeBron might leave Cleveland, there’s food for thought there.
Meanwhile, in one of the most rational pieces I’ve read yet on LeBronmania, Steve Politi of the Star-Ledger weighs the pros and cons of Newark.
Dave D’Alessandro reports the Nets might have to give up a piece of their young core (Devin, Courtney or TWill) in order to shed some of their dead financial weight (Yi) to make a run at two max free agents.
Sam Arnick of Fanhouse chides the Nets for not having a “plan B” in place with Rod Thorn leaving on July 15. Meanwhile, top candidate Jerry Colangelo says he doesn’t know anything about being in line to replace Thorn.
Did Russian spies push Rod Thorn out of the organization?
Former coach of the year Sam Mitchell has been taken on as one of Avery Johnson’s assistants while Tom Barrise and John Loyer have also been retained as assistants.
Rod Thorn Stepping Down July 15th
Jun 25, 2010 2010 Offseason, Rod Thorn
One of my favorite sayings about the Nets (and one I used a ton when trying to explain any Nets’ move) was “In Rod We Trust.” After July 15th, that saying is going to be pretty much useless because according to ESPN’s Chris Broussard writing for ESPN New York, Rod Thorn is stepping down:
Thorn, the Nets president since 2000, is under contract through June 30 but will remain for two weeks to help the club through the first two weeks of the free-agency period.
Thorn is not being forced out by new owner, Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, and there is no tension between the two, according to sources.
“They’ve given Rod everything he could want,” a league executive said. “This is entirely his decision.”
Many people are going to remember Rod Thorn as the “Man who drafted Michael Jordan,” but what he did in New Jersey is going to always stick with me. Thorn did a great job of bringing in talent and also getting rid of talent at just about the right time. He somehow kept the team competitive, creatively bringing in big player after big player, retooling instead of rebuilding. And when he finally decided to rebuild, he swiftly made that decision and took a roster of older, big salary players and stripped the roster down to a young core, most of them still on their rookie contracts.
Despite the 12 win season last year, I think that Rod Thorn did a fantastic job of putting this team in a very good position to turn around quickly. Usually rebuilding takes 5-6 years (just look at teams like Indiana and Detroit) but Rod Thorn has put the Nets in a position to make the playoffs next year, even if LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, or Chris Bosh don’t come to New Jersey.
Moving forward, the obvious choice for the new Nets GM has to be just fired Portland GM Kevin Pritchard. In case you don’t know who Pritchard is, he is the man who turned the Blazers around in short order and he wasn’t fired because he was doing a bad job (there was some ownership issues there). Prokhorov was willing to give Rod Thorn $8 million over two years, and in my opinion I don’t think he’d have any reservations about opening up his check book and writing down a hefty sum to sign Pritchard, one of the best GMs in the league…even if he’s unemployed.
Why DeMarcus Cousins Isn’t The Pick
May 27, 2010 2010 Draft, 2010 Offseason, Brook Lopez, DeMarcus Cousins, Mikhail Prokhorov, Opinion, Rod Thorn
Regarding this year’s NBA Draft, conventional thinking has John Wall going first to the Washington Wizards and the Philadelphia 76ers, in all likelihood, selecting Evan Turner, the second best prospect by most standards. So, how about the Nets with the third pick?
What I gather most from what I’ve read of New Jersey Nets owner, Mikhail Prokhorov, is he likes to take calculated and minimized risks in business. Sure, a certain amount of luck is needed to succeed, but for the most part, he seems like he makes moves with a purpose (his recent media circus around the tume of the NBA Draft Lottery and his ownership becoming official being an obvious example). So, just knowing that, I don’t think he would chance having a potential seemingly issue-laden player on his team, drafted third overall in Prokhorov’s first NBA Draft, despite this player’s talent. It’s a new beginning for the Nets and DeMarcus Cousins shouldn’t be a part of it. Read the rest of this entry »