Showing posts with label Brooklyn Nets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brooklyn Nets. Show all posts

Friday, June 28, 2013

KG, Paul Pierce, and Terry to Brooklyn

Looks like the retirement community in Boston is moving to Brooklyn.

In a blockbuster deal, the Celtics have agreed to trade away Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Jason Terry to the Brooklyn Nets. The deal required KG to waive his no trade clause which he did. In return, Boston gets Kris Humphries who has an expiring contract, Gerald Wallace, Kris Joseph, MarShon Brooks, and Keith Bogans on a sign and trade and that's just the players they get. The Celtics also get the Nets' first round draft picks for 2014, 2016, and 2018.

The deal though agreed upon cannot be executed until July 10th.

Man, I thought the slightly sub-par draft class was going to be the big news coming from last night.

Brooklyn is going all in seemingly cashing in every chip they can to try and make a championship run over the next couple of years. Despite their ages, Kevin Garnett (37) and Paul Pierce (35) can still be very effective. Terry, I guess, can be as well but he's not on the same level as Pierce or KG are.

The Nets now get these three veterans joining Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, and Brook Lopez. It seems like a great team but I wouldn't make them the favorite for making the Finals. They might be a contender but these three coming to Brooklyn are old and the Nets have a new coach that just retired from playing the game.

However, seeing this move happened combined with the fact that the Pacers pushed Miami to the brink in the Eastern Conference Finals and that Chicago will be getting Derrick Rose back after his bout with pussyitis, I can no longer say for sure that the Heat will make the NBA Finals next year. I am still leaning towards Miami but I can't guarantee it.

P.S. Unless they pull off a big off season move themselves, I can guarantee the other New York team won't make the Finals.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Jason Kidd Hired to be Coach of the Nets

Straight from a jersey on the floor to the sideline in a suit.

Jason Kidd, who last played for the Nets franchise in 2008, has been hired by the Brooklyn Nets to become the team's next head coach. P.J. Carlesimo was the team's last head coach and he was put into that spot on an interim basis after the Nets fired Avery Johnson last December. However, Carlesimo was fired after the Nets were booted from the NBA Playoffs in the first round losing to the Bulls in seven games.

As for Jason Kidd, he doesn't have any coaching experience and just retired after the Knicks were eliminated in the 2nd round of the playoffs. He does have a playoff ready team to lead with a star point guard in Deron Williams and that might help considering he knows a thing or two about the position (ha ha ha).

Still, the no coaching experience worries me. It might take Jason Kidd a while to get used to coaching in the NBA which means Brooklyn could be in for a wild ride next season.

Friday, December 28, 2012

Nets Fire Avery Johnson as Team Slips to 14-14

Well the "Brooklyn Nets being great" idea was fun while it lasted. I think the Jeremy Lin phenomena lasted longer than this.

The Nets had a pretty good start to the season with it being their first in Brooklyn. They started the year 11-4 and were giving the New York Knicks a run for the city's attention. Then December crept around and put an end to all of that. The Nets went on a 3-10 skid with their last game being beaten by the Bucks 108-93 on Wednesday. With the team 14-14, the Nets decided it was time to make a change.

The head coach of the Nets, Avery Johnson, was fired yesterday. He was actually named the Eastern Conference's coach of the month in November but December just seemed too much for him. Johnson was with the team ever since the beginning of the 2010/11 season. Assistant P.J. Carlisemo was named the interim head coach as the search begins for a replacement.

Panic button pressed by the Nets as they look for new leadership. Certainly they will try and see if Phil Jackson wants to give this team a shot but considering that their top player is PG Deron Williams and that the rest of the team is average, it's not likely that Phil Jackson would want to coach the Nets. That being said, whoever they do hire would have to be good enough and command enough respect to coach/deal with Deron Williams. He needs both of those things right now.

Friday, November 2, 2012

No Game in Brooklyn, No Room for the Steelers, and a Marathon

The topic of the week has certainly been Hurricane Sandy and the devastation that it has brought along the East Coast, especially the New York Tri-State area. While sports is certainly the last thing on anyone's mind who's in the middle of this natural disaster, it has nonetheless been talked about to some degree.

One of the big opening games of the NBA season were to feature the Brooklyn Nets playing their first regular season game at the Barclays Center against the New York Knicks. Mainly because of the flooding to the subways in NYC, the game has been postponed. Certainly a disappointment but understandable.

Then there's a couple other sporting events that seem to be on schedule despite what has happened.

The Steelers-Giants game that is set to happen Sunday at Metlife Stadium is still currently scheduled despite the fact that the Steelers have nowhere to sleep the night before or Sunday night. The hotel they were supposed to stay in Sunday night doesn't have any power. The team is going to fly into Newark Sunday morning, have a pregame meal near a hotel, and then go to the game. Afterwards, the team will fly home by charter.

Then there is the New York City Marathon. It is scheduled for Sunday and it is 26 miles long and goes across all boroughs of New York City of which significant portions do not have power or other necessary services. The Marathon has not been postponed for several reasons which are financial ones mostly.

Should either the football game or the marathon be postponed or canceled? Either event has to be given the following question: is there anyone that is not going to be getting relief or aid of some kind because of this event? To better put it, is there something better that the city, cities, or states can do with resources put in either event that would help relief efforts?

P.S. My view is that the marathon should not be held anyway. Better good can come out of those overseeing the event, yes, but the marathon happening anyway in the middle of this natural disaster leaves a bad taste in the mouth of plenty of Americans and those in need of aid. I certainly hope that there isn't any significant kind of backlash on the streets of New York City because of this, especially towards the runners who are innocent in all of it.

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Deron Williams Going to Brooklyn

The Nets made a huge gamble a season and half ago when they acquired Deron Williams through a trade. While Williams at the time probably didn't think he wanted to be on the team for the long term, the Nets got him in hopes that he would come around. That has happened earlier today. In the midst of the Joe Johnson trade and the team trying to acquire Dwight Howard, Deron Williams has agreed to come back to the Nets. He agreed to a contract worth $98 million over five years instead of picking the Mavericks who could only offer $75 million over 4 years because of the CBA.

Deron Williams stays with the Nets and is their main attraction moving into their new stadium in Brooklyn... for now. With Johnson and Williams locked up, Dwight Howard is the only question mark remaining. Or maybe Howard isn't a question mark? Sure, Williams wasn't going to make his decision just waiting for Dwight Howard but that doesn't mean that his decision to stay with the Nets wasn't influenced by it at all. Maybe Williams heard that a deal is close and decided to stay on board. Maybe he thinks that the Nets will eventually get Howard whether it be this year or next.

It's hard to decipher what Williams true reasons were for staying with the Nets. It may have just been about the money. Either way, this move along with the Joe Johnson one makes the Nets a playoff team. If they can add one more piece to the puzzle, they can become something more.

Nets Get New Player... Not Howard

The Nets have a big year coming up: they have a new arena, they are relocating to Brooklyn into that new arena, and they need good players to attract fans and contend for a title. The last two things are on hold right now. The Dwight Howard saga in Orlando has had the Nets waiting for a trade to be made or for Howard's contract to expire. After Howard opting into the Magic for another year and several negotiations before and after that fact with the Magic, it seems that the Nets are trying other things. The Nets made a knee jerk trade for Joe Johnson of the Hawks in exchange for 5 players and a 1st round draft pick. The trade puts the Nets in an awkward situation as they gut some of their team for a "star" in hoping to get Deron Williams to come back and excite the fan base in Brooklyn.

This one is a a bit difficult to understand. I know that the Nets need to get some excitement going into the team and I know that their chances of getting Howard are small but Joe Johnson isn't going to get them the excitement they need. Johnson by himself makes the team alright and they probably endure in Brooklyn. They still, however, need Howard or Williams to play in Brooklyn with him if they want to go somewhere in the postseason. They need both for a title run.

They gave up a lot for Joe Johnson and they might just stuck with him and him alone.

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Dwight Howard Asks for a Trade to Brooklyn

What a Surprise? The 'Dwight Howard wanting out of Orlando' saga continues. Sources say Rob Hennigan, the new GM for the Magic, apparently met with Dwight Howard, the star of the team, on Friday for the first time. During the meeting, Dwight apparently stated that he wanted to be traded to the Brooklyn Nets. The interesting part of it all is that people close to Howard have said that he felt blackmailed into signing the "opt-in" clause of his contract by way of a trade he didn't approve of. Howard is even looking into the possibility of voiding the 1 year opt-in based on the blackmailed charge that probably won't stand.

Man, things just don't seem to get better in Orlando. By the sounds analysts seem to be making, it seems that Dwight Howard will get his wish. Maybe not right away but I would bet that a deal would get done by the pre-season. The intriguing part is whether or not this influences contract talks between Deron Williams and the Nets. Deron hasn't made up his mind yet where he wants to go and would love to play with Dwight but the fact is that he is not going to wait for Orlando to make a move. Deron make a choice where to play within the next couple of weeks, regardless of Dwight's situation. The Nets, however, have a window of opportunity here to get both Williams and Howard on the same team and make themselves an instant playoff contender.

While it is fun to speculate what will happen, I must say that this is a first meeting between Hennigan and Dwight Howard. I know Dwight has his heart set on leaving Orlando but this could all easily be the result of a rough first meeting in which Hennigan might want to try and let time heal the wounds further. The team has changed coaches for Dwight and management for Dwight. They might not trade him so easily.