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The Nets Blow

MFS62 Jun 25 2015 06:18 AM

Chunks. I'll have to relish the Nets' first round pick this year because the next few years it will good to be Jewish. I'll get to celebrate Passover twice each year. (Peter Vecsey thought that line was very funny) Look up "clusterfuck" and you'll see the Nets logo. I sure can pick 'em. (shaking head) Later

Frayed Knot Jun 25 2015 06:41 AM Re: The Nets Blow

There are so many things I don't understand about basketball. Not about the game itself necessarily (although there are plenty there too) but I mean the business surrounding it and the general ways in which things are done. In this case it's why the two NYC-area teams have, for the most part, consistently sucked during the majority of the 20th & 21st centuries yet seem to have had about 7 of their own 1st round draft picks over the last three decades or so meaning they've dealt away the other 53 for various warm bodies little noted nor long remembered. OK, maybe those figures aren't exactly exact, but it seems to me that in a sport with such limited roster space, and where one or two players can make such a huge difference, and which skews so young that picks can make such an immediate impact, that you'd want to hang onto the two draft picks you get each year, or at least only trade them for a guaranteed superstar or several good players who can fill a variety of holes at one time. Instead, I keep hearing about teams in a situation where they have no good players on their roster [u:3o7auhj1]AND[/u:3o7auhj1] have no 1st round draft n various years starting with the current one but also heading into the next decade. And in some cases the only reason it's not worse is that the league had to step in in order to save the teams from themselves by passing rules as to how many future picks a franchise is allowed to send away.

MFS62 Jun 25 2015 01:55 PM Re: The Nets Blow

I can only tell you my observations about what happened to the Nets. I'm not too versed on what happened to that other team and am sure their fans will be glad to tell you. Since you say you don't follow basketball that closely, I'll try some baseball analogies, some more realistic than others. The Nets were second citizens in this market, trying for star power to create a bigger market share. Sometimes, that resulted in winning teams, two of which went deep into the playoffs around the turn of the century. Think Mets. Then, they were bought by a Russian megalomaniac billionaire, who wanted to win it all, and would spend whatever it took to do it. Think George Steinbrenner on crack. The owner had played basketball in Russia and had owned a very successful team in their national (small n) league. I guess in that league, if you have one or two superstar level players, your team will be successful because of the overall even level of talent there. I'm guessing that he bought the Nets with that model in mind. To implement his plan, a GM was hired who had been spectacularly ineffective elsewhere. Perhaps the only reason he was hired was he "knew the Division", having worked for (I use the term loosely) Philadelphia. The team was to be moved to Brooklyn, right in the face of that other team in town. He began his work. I can't quickly think of a recent major league baseball team that brought in a GM who had been incompetent elsewhere and expected championship results. Now about the draft situation. The NBA had put a rule in place that said a team could not trade away its First round selection in two consecutive years. This was to protect teams from doing something stupid. The rule should have been named after the Nets. Back to the plan. The model was to bring in super players to get the team to at least the NBA finals. The Nets already had an All Star center and an All Star point guard. The center was (and still is) injury prone and the guard has had long stretches of disinterested play. They also had a shooting guard who had prior All Star appearances and was generally serviceable. So the GM went out and made a trade to bring in two All Star caliber front court players. The problem was their ages. One had age and no game, one had age and lame game. They were both on the cusp of being production challenged. Think Jason Bay and Curtis Granderson. To obtain those two players, the Nets surrendered three first round picks in the next five years. When you consider the ages of the players they obtained, and the lack of performance, the Nets traded the future for the past. The two players are no longer with the team. This was to have been one of the years they would keep their first round pick. But, to obtain that shooting guard, they traded first round drafting position wit the other team. They thought they would have a good record (giving up a high number pick) and the other team would be bad, improving the value of the draft pick they obtained. Naturally, the other team had a great year, and swapping picks worsened the Nets drafting position. Its painful to continue, but I hope that has given you some insight into how and why the Nets are in their current situation. Later

MFS62 Jun 25 2015 08:57 PM Re: The Nets Blow

They select Chris McCullough, a 6'9" forward from Syracuse University. He was inured in the early part of last year and is rehabbing. He's coming home to NY City - He's a Bronx kid. They needed to get younger and quicker on the front line, and it looks like they did. If healthy, he'll play a lot of minutes. Later

Edgy MD Jun 25 2015 09:03 PM Re: The Nets Blow

I don't understand why people are drawn into the drama of lotteries, and first-round talent, and salary caps, when the whole stinking business undermines everybody's best interests except the ownership conglomerates. They love that soap opera crap, even as most teams shart their way through it every year.

Frayed Knot Jun 25 2015 09:24 PM Re: The Nets Blow

MFS62 wrote: I can only tell you my observations about what happened to the Nets. I'm not too versed on what happened to that other team and am sure their fans will be glad to tell you. Since you say you don't follow basketball that closely, I'll try some baseball analogies, some more realistic than others. My questions were more rhetorical and generic than actual. I understand THAT NBA teams trade their future for help now for all kinds of reasons. I'm just amazed that they do it so poorly and so often especially in a sport where the draft has the potential to provide the most immediate help and where the captive (and free) feeder system is so closely followed and, theoretically anyway, the most mistake-free. From what I can tell, for instance, the 76ers have had a top 3 draft pick for several years running and have still somehow managed to remain among the worst sports franchises in the history of sports (including the Washington Generals) over the past few years as they continually draft guys who they know can't play due to injuries and then deal those players away and tank the following season in the hope of getting even more draft picks who then they waste all over again. Why anybody has paid their way into a 76ers game during this present decade is a total mystery to me. That folks do the same to Knicks games -- especially at THOSE prices -- baffles me too, only to a slightly lesser degree.

d'Kong76 Jun 25 2015 09:30 PM Re: The Nets Blow

I still think they should be called the NY Nets.

Frayed Knot Jun 26 2015 06:08 AM Re: The Nets Blow

U.S.-based pre sports teams whose name specifies neither a city nor a state: Brooklyn Nets -- yeah, I know, Brooklyn used to be its own city, but it's not 1898 anymore Golden State Warriors -- that might be the nickname for the state but it's not the state. Plus the fact that California isn't looking too golden these days Carolina Panthers + Hurricanes -- 'Carolina' isn't a state. North & South are but you don't get to claim both by specifying neither. Tampa Bay Rays + Bucs + Lightning -- Tampa Bay is the body of water, the city is just Tampa. Afraid that the folks in St Petersburg would ignore you otherwise? New England Patriots -- would probably have been an insult to keep the name Boston after moving the stadium to a nine hour drive away (eight if traffic is light) Rocky Mountain Oysters -- Just seeing if anyone was still paying attention

MFS62 Jun 26 2015 07:47 AM Re: The Nets Blow

So in the second round, the Nets drafted a shooting guard from Notre Dame. I was very happy. The Nets have been as good at scoring as the Mets. A desperately needed player. So, what do they do? The trade him, and the young center who has shown flashes of being very good when their oft injured center has been in one of his oft modes, for someone else's draftee ("a good defender") and a 35 year old point guard. Oh, and that oft injured, and only remaining, center can become a free agent in a few weeks and could sign with another team. That would make the Nets the world's most expensive donut. This is depressing. Later

Frayed Knot Jun 26 2015 07:56 AM Re: The Nets Blow

And that's the other thing about the NBA draft I have trouble understanding, that these teams can't seem to get rid of their just-drafted players fast enough. I mean Kobe Bryant was a Charlotte Hornet for like five minutes before they dealt him to LA. IIRC it was even known beforehand that they were going to draft him just to spin him off. How'd that work out Charlotte? There was even some dude a couple of days ago who got traded four times in one afternoon. It's like the only plan is no plan at all, or at least one that changes every three months. I suppose the better teams actually have plans and stick to them but those seem to be the exception rather than the rule which is why something like the last 35 NBA championships have been won by the same nine franchises. Good thing they've got a salary cap in that league or they might have a real problem with lack of parity!!

d'Kong76 Jun 26 2015 09:33 AM Re: The Nets Blow

I've eaten just about everything except Rocky Mountain oysters... added to food bucket list.

Mets – Willets Point Jun 26 2015 10:17 AM Re: The Nets Blow

I remember the Patriots-Panthers Super Bowl was a game where the teams claimed to represent 8 states combined.

Rockin' Doc Jun 26 2015 06:36 PM Re: The Nets Blow

d'Kong76 wrote: I've eaten just about everything except Rocky Mountain oysters... added to food bucket list. You haven't really missed out on anything special. I must admit the taste wasn't so bad, but the texture and mental image kind of over powered the actual taste for me.

MFS62 Jun 26 2015 09:00 PM Re: The Nets Blow

And that's the other thing about the NBA draft I have trouble understanding, that these teams can't seem to get rid of their just-drafted players fast enough... I suppose the better teams actually have plans and stick to them but those seem to be the exception rather than the rule which is why something like the last 35 NBA championships have been won by the same nine franchises. Good thing they've got a salary cap in that league or they might have a real problem with lack of parity!! IMO, the answer was in the movie The Silence of the Lambs (1991) Hannibal Lecter: First principles, Clarice. Simplicity. Read Marcus Aurelius. Of each particular thing ask: what is it in itself? What is its nature? This is the NBA. That's why. And doing things that look strange is part of its nature. Later

MFS62 Jul 01 2015 08:24 AM Re: The Nets Blow

CBS Sports is reporting that both Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young will re-sign with the Nets. Later

MFS62 Jul 10 2015 08:49 PM Re: The Nets Blow

The Nets have reached an agreement to buy out the contract of Deron Williams: http://www.netsdaily.com/2015/7/10/8930 ... -agreement I've heard it said that the two happiest days in a boat owner's life are the day he buys it and the day he gets rid of it. I'm about to have my second Deron Williams happy day. I don't know who will play most of the minutes at point guard (there are three others in camp) but this will be addition by subtraction. It will free up cap space (well, hopefully just avoid a luxury tax penalty) and have someone in the lineup who isn't trying to live off a reputation, but trying to earn one. Later

Nymr83 Jul 13 2015 08:19 AM Re: The Nets Blow

Nets signed Bargnani... a great day for Knicks fans knowing he won't be back!

d'Kong76 Jul 13 2015 04:05 PM Re: The Nets Blow

I can't read his name without seeing Barfnani.