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Showing posts with label New Jersey Nets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Jersey Nets. Show all posts

Like Kidd, Irving escapes Nets to win a ring in Dallas

 


Jason Kidd and Kyrie Irving have quite a bit in common. Kidd is and was a Nets franchise legend, while Irving wore out his welcome with ownership and the fan base before he even came close to reaching that stature.

Kidd spearheaded a run to consecutive NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003. His best chance came in 2003 facing the San Antonio Spurs. The Nets went back home to New Jersey with the series tied 1-1 and three straight games at the Meadowlands. 

The Nets were only able to win one out of three and went back to San Antonio for Game 6 with a thirteen point third quarter lead. 

That game slipped out of their grasp with San Antonio's bench, led by Speedy Claxton, pulling the Spurs to the finish line. 

Kidd tried to gut things out in the 2004 season despite requiring microfracture surgery. Kidd essentially played through the injury and push surgery off until the offseason. 

The Nets were dethroned as the two-time reigning Eastern Conference champions by the eventual champion Detroit Pistons. 

After that, ownership turns its attention to a potential move to Brooklyn and was unwilling to resign Kidd's critical running mate in Kenyon Martin. 

Former Executive of the Year Rod Thorn swung a blockbuster deal to replace the sign and traded Harden with a disgruntled superstar from Toronto and Vince Carter. 

The Nets had some success but ultimately could not break through in an Eastern Conference with the Miami Heat featuring Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal gatekeeping as well as LeBron James and the Cavaliers.

Eventually, Kidd grew disillusioned with the direction of the franchise and was ultimately traded to the Mavericks. 

Kyrie in the other hand, was supposed to be a leader for Brooklyn, but instead created limitless distractions for himself and the organization. He engaged in wars with the media at large. 

The Nets fell laughably short of their lofty goals. So, to compare Kidd's tenure with the Nets to Irving's is an insult to Kidd's legacy. 

After his trade from the Nets, Kidd won a ring with Dallas in 2010-11 behind Dirk Nowitzki's greatness against Miami's big three of Wade, James and Chris Bosh.

Now, Irving can do the same behind Doncic's greatness with the very and franchise. 


Nightmare NBA finals matchup will rock Nets' World

 


The Brooklyn Nets don't have a dog in the fight. 

They snapped a playoff streak of four consecutive seasons this year. 

That doesn't mean that Nets fans don't have a rooting interest. 

It looks like Brooklyn fans will have to root for the lesser of two evils.

If things continue down this path in the Conference Finals, the nightmare matchup of Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks against the Boston Celtics will be a reality. 

You couldn't cherry pick two teams that Nets fans would want to see in the finals less. Perhaps Kevin Durant with the Phoenix Suns or James Harden with the Los Angeles Clippers would be the only exceptions. 

So the question becomes if a Boston- Dallas final is in the offing, who should Nets fans root for.

Irving recruited superstar talent to Brooklyn, only to burn down the house a few seasons later. The Celtics used the unprotected picks the Nets sent them in the Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry trade to draft Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. 

The Celtics will always be a rival of the Nets. The two teams met in the 2021 playoffs with the Nets big three of Irving, Durant and Harden disposing of the Celtics in five games. 

Boston flipped the script in the 2022 playoffs, sweeping the Nets and thereby precipitating Durant's trade request. 

While Irving is among the most unlikable players to ever put on a Nets uniform, the presence of former New Jersey Net great Jason Kidd on the coaching staff and the historic rivalry with Boston, makes the Mavericks the lesser of two evils for Nets fans. 

Knicks on verge of something Nets' Big three never achieved

 


The New York Knicks defeated the Indiana Pacers 121-91 to take a 3-2 edge in the Eastern Conference semi-finals on Tuesday night. 

The series will turn back to Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indiana for Game 6 with the Knicks looking to close it out. 

The Knicks have not been to the Eastern Conference Finals since 1999.

 In that lockout shortened 50 game regular season, the Knicks advanced as the number 8th seed all the way to the NBA finals.  

They eventually fell in five games to the San Antonio Spurs. 

That feels like a lifetime ago, but the Nets best chance at a championship feels like yesterday. 

Even with Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden, the Brooklyn Nets never even reached an Eastern Conference Finals. 

In fact, the last time the Nets were in the Eastern Conference Finals was in 2003 when they were making their second of consecutive runs to the NBA Finals.

Not since the team relocated to Brooklyn to start the 2012-13 season have the Nets advanced past the second round of the playoffs.

Meanwhile, a Knicks squad without Julius Randle, OG Anunoby and Bojan Bogdanovic is doing something that a super team in Brooklyn could not achieve. 

It goes to show that togetherness, grit and hustle go just as far, if not farther than talent.

Durant, Harden and Irving had plenty of talent, but were sorely lacking in the intangible area of leadership. 

Barclays Center is early quiet while Madison Square Garden rocking between the Knicks and Rangers playoff runs this spring.

The Nets better regroup in short order because this Knicks core isn't going anywhere anytime soon. 

Like Kidd before him, Carter will not be enshrined in Basketball HOF as a Net

 


It's almost indisputable that Jason Kidd's most productive years were with the New Jersey Nets. The same can be said for Vince Carter. 

When Kidd was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018, he was  enshrined as a Maverick. Yes, the team that drafted him and he won a championship with as a secondary star.

Carter will also be going into the Hall with the team that drafted him, the Toronto Raptors.

When Air Canada left Toronto, there was much vitriol from the Raptors fan base.

So why is it that two all-time Nets will be memorialized in Springfield, Massachusetts, with another franchise? 

It likely has a lot to do with the Nets running away from their history. Upon the move to New Jersey, the Nets did a terrible job of honoring the Long Island era of basketball. The same can be said upon the move to Brooklyn, when the Nets tried to treat the relocation as a rebranding of a new franchise. 

As the years go on, and the Nets are further and further away from those back-to-back NBA finals berths. Some of the great moments and legends of those years are being forgotten about. 

The Nets public relations staff has done an extremely underwhelming job of welcoming in former alumni and spearheading initiatives to honor the team's history. 

The Nets have finally reportedly decided to retire Vince Carter's number, which is something that is years and years overdue. 

So while there may be some some hard feelings from Nets fans that wanted to see Carter and Kidd with New Jersey Nets gear in Springfield, the organization is as much to blame as anyone.  Sadly, there is not a single player, coach or executive enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame as a Net. 

 

Brooklyn Nets tease retiring Vince Carter's No. 15

 


It's about damn time. The Brooklyn Nets are late to the party, better late than never.

Soon to be Hall of famer Vince Carter will have his name enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame this summer. 

Carter is an all-time legend, but somehow the Nets organization has waited all this time to lift his No. 15 into the rafters. 

This latest tweet by the Brooklyn Nets indicates that a retirement ceremony could be in the offing. 



Carter has already announced, despite his unceremonious departure from Toronto, that he will go into the Hall of Fame as a Raptor.

Perhaps if the Nets were a little more proactive and retired his number and honored one of the franchise's greats sooner, he may have gone in as in New Jersey Net.

While this will be a bittersweet moment for the part-time YES analyst, many Nets fans have been hoping for this day for many years.

As has been the case throughout Nets history, they've been a day late and a dollar short on many occasions. At least Carter will get the tribute he deserves for some terrific years during the New Jersey Nets era. 


 

Former Net legend's playoff run with Mavs impossible to support

 



Jason Kidd is synonymous with greatness. He is among the top 75 players to ever touch an NBA basketball. He is in the pantheon of great NBA players and arguably the top Nets player of all time. 

So why would it be so difficult for a Nets fan base to root for the Mavericks head coach and his pursuit of a title?

It has nothing to do with Kidd's unceremonious ending in 2008 as a player in New Jersey or as a head coach with Brooklyn in 2014. 

In fact, Kidd's contributions to the franchise will always be remembered more for the good times than the challenging ones.

The reason why it's impossible for the Nets faithful to pull for the former face of the franchise is that he hitched his wagon to Kyrie Irving. 

Irving made big promises upon signing with Brooklyn, including finishing the job that Kidd had started in New Jersey, by winning a championship. 

Brooklyn fell laughably short with Irving missing the playoffs during the bubble year with an injured shoulder that required surgery. Irving then suffered a leg injury in the 2021 playoffs, followed by being swept by his former team in the Celtics in 2022. 

Irving could not stay healthy and was far from a leader during his time in Brooklyn. He was in fact one of the main culprits for why the team's big three blew up from the inside out. 

There's no question that Irving was among the most talented players to ever wear a Nets uniform, but he will never be a beloved player in this borough after he single-handedly dismantled a super team.

So while Kidd winning his second championship with the Mavericks and first as a head coach would be a storybook tale, Irving's presence on the roster makes Nets fans cringe at the thought of him enjoying success with another franchise. Especially after he burned this one to the ground. 

No Sleep in Brooklyn: Nets are becoming the butt of every joke



There aren't many smiles right now in Nets World, but the outsiders are laughing at Brooklyn's futility. A record of 4-17 over the last 21 games is not just bad, it's downright embarrassing. 

Not since the 0-18 start to the 2009-10 season where the franchise was playing the string out in New Jersey have things looked this bad. 

Yes, there was a rebuild under Kenny Atkinson in Brooklyn, not one but two failed Big Three star experiments. But at those three junctures the Nets defined a direction, no matter how misguided it was. 

All-in for three aging stars, all-in for three prime stars with supersized egos and break it all down to reset the organization and the culture. 

Brooklyn now find itself in NBA purgatory. With Houston owning the Nets picks and swaps through the 2027 NBA Draft, there is no incentive for the Nets to tank. 

If you look up and down the roster, it's hard to fathom how this team could be a whopping ten games under .500 just after the midway point of the year. The Nets don't have overwhelming superstar talent like they've had in years past, but this roster should be good enough to be around or above the .500 mark and avoiding a play-in type scenario. 

As things stand now, Brooklyn is fighting tooth and nail with Atlanta just to be in the play-in and that's with Mikal Bridges, Cam Thomas and the rest of the supporting cast.

Where do the Nets turn from here? 

Big game hunting in the form of Zach LeVine or Dejounte Murray are possible scenarios with the latter being a more feasible option and better fit. 

Do the Nets lurk in the weeds and wait for the next disgruntled superstar to ask out or be traded and make a play for him?

If that's the case, Marks will need to resupply his draft stock in a hurry to make it happen. The reality is, the more the losses pile up, the worse things look in Brooklyn and for Jacque Vaughn. 

It's never easy trading away not one, not two, but three superstar players, but that's the situation that Brooklyn is in, searching for a direction, hope and positive vibes. 

After a 13-10 start, punctuated by a win over Kevin Durant and the Suns, the Nets looked to be a fun, selfless team that could surprise a lot of people this season. 

From that point on, everything that could have gone wrong, has gone wrong. 

Mired in a brutal stretch of basketball, the Nets are looking for leadership. Vaughn's words seem to fall of deaf ears and the roster is filled with too many nice guys. Bridges, Thomas or the rest aren't the alpha-type of personalities that will get in guy's faces to challenge them.

The results are what they are and until the Nets find their footing and get things right, the pressure cooker is going to be piping hot for Vaughn, Sean Marks and Joe Tsai to get things right before they go from bad to worse in the borough of Brooklyn. 





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



Lou Terminello is synonymous with the New Jersey Nets era of the franchise. Having joined the club in 1981 when the team opened Brendan Byrne arena. 

Terminello is a well-respected name in Nets history and ascended from a role of Director of Sales to Vice President of Partnerships and Sales upon his departure from the team. 



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

February's trade deadline is sure to be compelling. 

With superstars changing teams as frequently as ever, there's an outside chance the Nets could be on the receiving end of another mega-deal.

 The Los Angeles Clippers have stocked up on talent, albeit aged and oft injured talent that has yet to mesh together. 

 With Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kwahi Leonard and Paul George joining forces, the Clippers have a formidable roster on paper. 

 However, things have been far from rosey since trading for Harden as The Clippers have lost all three games he's played with them and four overall. Los Angeles sits at 3-5 in a conference loaded with championship hopefuls including the: Nuggets, Lakers, Warriors and Mavericks.

 Should things continue to spiral out of control, Leonard may look to get out of LA and the organization's feelings may be mutual for a player who's been injured, more than he's played.

The Nets are a true proven star away from being a true force in the East and while Leonard comes with his share of injury baggage and isn't exactly a larger than life personality, his track record as a big time playoff performer is unquestioned. 

Vince Carter's No. 15 not yet retired by Nets, joins YES broadcast booth

Half man, half amazing may have hung up his basketball shoes but he's going to be a big part of the Nets family moving forward. 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.

Somehow, the Nets have yet to retire VC's No. 15. The Nets have often been late to the party honoring alumni, but with more former Nets coming into the fold in the broadcast realm, hopefully things are slowly improving. 

Carter will join Jefferson and Devin Harris as former Nets working for the YES Network. The Nets legend turned analyst will be sure to delight fans as a blast from the Jersey past brings his talents to the broadcast booth in Brooklyn.

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.

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?

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!





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