Nets Insider Videos
Nets are a rudderless ship with no captain in sight
Who is the leader of the 2023-24 Brooklyn Nets?
It isn't Spencer Dinwiddie, whose minutes have been shrinking, and body language is showing signs of frustration with limited playing time.
The same can be said for Cam Thomas, whose answers with the media are becoming shorter by the day as he gets frustrated with losses piling up and his minutes shrinking.
Jacque Vaughn is alienating veteran players and young guys alike as the locker room has been tuning out the coach that is already under siege.
Sean Marks has not made public comments since before the season started and while owner Joe Tsai has been present a handful of times this season, he's given no clear direction for the franchise.
All signs point to this being selling season ahead of February's trade deadline for the Nets, but with Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson as centerpieces, a complete rebuild isn't exactly in the cards.
So, will Marks be able to pick up the pieces from this season, add draft capital, while adding impact rotation players at the same time?
It's proposition and Nets fans have shown they're not exactly the most patient type. Serious doubt has been cast on Vaughn's coaching future with the club, adding to the uncertainty to where exactly this team is headed not only this year but in the seasons to follow.
Marks was in a difficult position when he took over as general manager in 2016 and successfully built an enviable culture that had been destroyed by Brooklyn's first failed Big 3 project.
While Marks had two superstars in Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant dropped into his lap, and a third force his way out to join Brooklyn in James Harden, none of those pieces remain, just the rubble.
Many fans have even been clamoring for the team to relocate again and return to New Jersey since the product they're putting on the court is not up to snuff.
There is no magic sauce or formula that Marks can cook up to fix all these problems, but the first step will be to identify a direction, whether that is retooling, rebuilding, or trying to go big game hunting after available superstars.
The Nets are currently in NBA purgatory, not holding their own draft picks and they're an afterthought in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
Things have been bad for the Nets before and even bad since the move to Brooklyn, but this season may be a new low for a franchise that has experienced its share of them.
With Nets floundering in Brooklyn, move back to NJ not crazy after all
The Nets have played in eight different arenas since the franchise's inception in 1967. That's an average of a new home every seven years. So by that math, the Nets are overdue for a change in city and venue.
Brooklyn lost for its 16th time in its last 20 games and suffered yet another late game collapse on Tuesday to the Knicks. The Nets forfeited double digit leads and eventually lost to Portland, Miami, Los Angeles Clippers and Knicks over the last ten days.
The Nets were in the driver's seat against the Knicks but fell apart down the stretch with questionable lineup decisions, shoddy shot selection and just overall poor basketball.
Knicks fans took over Barclays Center in full force and have now won four in a row in the area rivalry. Mikal Bridges, who scored 36, was booed on his home floor for missing a late free throw.
So with a Knicks takeover in Brooklyn, a max exodus of stars over the past few years, a billionaire owner in Joe Tsai, who lost a chunk of his large fortune with Alibaba stock plummeting, is a return to the Garden State possible?
Call me crazy, but it's not as farfetched as it once was. The Nets have now been in Brooklyn for almost 12 years. Two failed superstar eras later that produced just two playoff round wins, zero divisional titles or banners, it's clear success hasn't exactly been aplenty in the borough.
In 35 years in New Jersey, the Nets won six division banners, two Eastern Conference Championships and hosted five games at the Meadowlands.
Yes, the Nets played in a half empty building with a 50/50 split of opposing fans and the home crowd. But with revamped transportation hub in the Meadowlands serving MetLife Stadium, the infrastructure is in place to create a convenient situation for basketball fans looking to attend games in New Jersey.
Things would have to completely spiral out of control on the basketball side and financial hardship would need to be so extreme that it would force Tsai to sell both the team and arena, both of which he owns outright.
The reality is, the Nets have seen some dark times in Brooklyn and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight to the suffering this season.
As the Nets aim to be a big market team and take local and national attention away from the crosstown Knicks, 12 years since their move to Brooklyn, it appears they're further than ever from taking the city by storm.
The Knicks historically have always been the biggest show in town and while the Nets tried to make headway and steal the limelight in recent years, so far they have failed to do so.
Who knows what the future holds for the nomadic Nets, but things will need to brighten up in Brooklyn quickly, otherwise cries for another relocation may get louder by the day.
Executive shares successes and challenges of near three decade career with Nets
The Nets 28-year stay in the Meadowlands is the longest at one venue in the team's now 56-year history.
Terminello sits down with Randy Zellea of Backsports Page and Rick Laughland of Nets Insider to reflect on the Jersey Days and all the ins and outs of what was happening both on the court and on the business side of the team.
Nets could add two-time Finals MVP if his super team flops
Vince Carter's No. 15 not yet retired by Nets, joins YES broadcast booth
Carter played five of his illustrious 24 seasons with the New Jersey Nets, forming an original big three alongside Richard Jefferson and Jason Kidd. Carter will be eligible for the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024 and his longevity along with his theatrical dunks and scoring prowess will almost assuredly land him in the hall in Springfield, Massachusetts.You watched part of his legendary career on YES while he played for the Nets, now he’s going to break down the action!
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) October 24, 2023
Welcome back @mrvincecarter15, the newest addition to our #NETSonYES coverage. One of the greatest basketball players of his generation. pic.twitter.com/97BgFISlfd
A limited number of autographed author copies of new #Nets history book are still available! Order direct today for $30 by sending us a message @NetsHistory! @dbearak #netsworld #Durant #Irving #nba pic.twitter.com/hbBdREm4XQ
— Nets Insider (@NetsHistory) July 6, 2022
Former Nets exec reflects on Jersey days, move to Brooklyn
Join Nets Insider's Rick Laughland and BackSportsPage's Randy Zellea as they welcome former New Jersey Nets and Brooklyn Nets executive Fred Mangione on the show.
Mangione served in roles ranging from Senior V.P of Ticket Sales to Chief Marketing Officer to Chief Operating Office with the Nets. He started his career with the Nets Organization in 1999 and stayed with the team until 2017.
With nearly two decades of experience including: back-to-back NBA Finals runs, a record-setting 12-70 season, an NBA lockout, a move to Brooklyn and redefining the Nets brand, Mangione has seen the good, the bad and the ugly from both the business side and the basketball side of the team.
A limited number of autographed author copies of new #Nets history book are still available! Order direct today for $30 by sending us a message @NetsHistory! @dbearak #netsworld #Durant #Irving #nba pic.twitter.com/hbBdREm4XQ
— Nets Insider (@NetsHistory) July 6, 2022
Mangione oversaw the business operations at three different arenas and spoke to the challenges of growing and maintaining a fan base with all the dizzying changes swirling around the team over the last twenty years and really throughout franchise history.
Simulation determines best Nets team ever
Have you ever imagined how the 1976 ABA Champion New York Nets would fare against the 2003 Eastern Conference Champion New Jersey Nets?
How about the 2020-21 Brooklyn Nets against the 1975-76 New York Nets?
Well, courtesy of WhatifSports, you can see any team in sports history take on another all-time team, either current or historic.
Of interest to Nets fans is what team is definitively the best of all-time.
Selecting three of the best Nets teams of all-time, we let the simulation do the work!
The first matchup saw the 2002-03 New Jersey Nets take on the 2020-21 Brooklyn Nets
The results might shock you!
So naturally, the next matchup we'd all pay to see is the 1975-76 New York Nets against the 2020-21 Brooklyn Nets. Those results may shock you, too!
And finally, Dr. J's 1975-76 New York Nets take on Jason Kidd's 2002-03 New Jersey Nets.
Does the winner of this matchup settle once and for all the best Nets team of all-time?A limited number of autographed author copies of new #Nets history book are still available! Order direct today for $30 by sending us a message @NetsHistory! @dbearak #netsworld #Durant #Irving #nba pic.twitter.com/hbBdREm4XQ
— Nets Insider (@NetsHistory) July 6, 2022
We like to think so! Once again, the results are quite stunning!
The Simulation possibilities are endless, but according to this set of simulations, the 2002-03 Nets rated as the best team in franchise history!