Been Down So Long, Looks Like Up to Us

Cant wait for the draft lottery.
All the experts are saying that John Wall is >>>>>>> Durant, Rose, Anthony, etc. when they entered the draft.
This guy will turn this franchise around.

Duh not like hes buying the nets for fun.

if we get wall i’ll be estastic…happy we have prokorov…rebuilding will be much easier with $$

we all know that even though we wil end up with the worst record, we wil still only get the 4th pick!

If Prokovov is allowed to take over and Ratner is not ousted before the team really does move, I hope the Nets fall to 4th in the l;ottery and that leBron signs with the Knciks.

Getting Proky and Wall at the same time would be perfect timing. If Ratner was still going to be in charge, our future would still be dismal.

AMEN !!!!!!

Isaac you should be thrilled that Ratner got Proky in here…
the guy wants nothing more than to win and he will spend at all costs to win

a quote on quote true nets fan such as yourself would realize that

When the Nets finish with the worst record, they will win the lottery. Stern don’t want Wall goin’ to no Minnesota. He wants him in Brooklyn, just like he wanted Lebron in Cleveland when the Cavs had the worst record.

Book it!

I really do think the nets will get the number 1 pick just like how the knick got Ewing. People are going to say that it was rigged for years to come. Stern likes to help out people he likes and he LOVES the idea of Basketball in Brooklyn.

at smartnetsfan:

“Isaac you should be thrilled that Ratner got Proky in here…”

Actually I was pretty thrilled with the previous ownership -you know the group that oversaw us going to back to back NBA Finals which included coming within TWO WINS of an unthinkable NBA Title after the team had won ONE NBA PLAYOFF SERIES prior to their tenure.

I think we were in pretty good shape – possibly on the way to becoming the Devils of the NBA until this fraud arrived and was handed a professional sports franchise he could absolutely care less about.

Finding Prokorov was a complete fluke for Ratner and without him his ridiculous project was about to completely collapse in his face. That is far from brilliant smartnets fan.

Money helps, but bad decisions hurt a lot. Kiki must go. Thorn too. THis is a horrible assemblage of players. What a mess of a roster. 14 role players. Even the Knicks are light years better.

I bet Proky keeps Thorn and Kiki and gets a new coach. As for the players, like a true Russian aristocrat, they are just cannon fodder.

@ Issac

YES INDEED! You are 100% right. That is what a true NEW JERSEY NETS fan can see! AND IT STINKS!

thanks Justin – I wish there were more of us here. I think a lot of the New Jersey folks have given up hope on this team and don’t even bother to follow this pitiful situation any longer.

Justin how are you more of a “true nets fan” than I am?

Please, I have been a fan of this team since the early 80’s when I moved to the area as a ten year old.

I live in Brooklyn with my family since 1998 and my children are Nets fans.

I work in Manhattan.

I am been going to games at IZOD for ages, I favor a move to Newark in the mean time to give NJ a good show on the way out in a modern arena.

I am in favor of the move to Brooklyn and I do realize the greater benefit of the Atlantic Yards project, which the arena is the center piece of.

But does that make me less of a Nets fan than you? Please, everyone, stop with the nonsense.

at NetLogic:

It’s not nonsene. Since you say you are a longtime fan of the team dating back to the 80s, you should actually know where us pro-Jersey fans are coming from. Just because you moved to Brooklyn and it’s now convenient for you does not mean you should salm those of us that are loyal to New Jersey. I commuted to the Meadowlands from Brooklyn for most of the time I have followed this team. Even those Brooklyn may be my roots my affinity for this team grew in New Jersey – and that is where the team belongs.

When I moved to the area, I was living in Manhattan, UWS…

I commuted to the Meadowlands as well, for Nets games, usually 20-30 times per year, season tickets in my family for ages, 123 row 3 – same seats since they IZOD opened.

You’re such a fan, you want this team to be successful, correct?

I want it to be successful but not to the benefit of Bruce Ratner. he has ruined everything I loved about this team including the “Jersey pride” by taking the words New Jersey off almost everything affiliated with the team, especially the road jerseys.

He has driven away long-time big-dollar customers like Frank Capece and his friends that used to line the coutside seats. Passionate fans like him used to make the games fun -he was more into it than the cheerleaders/dance squad.

Team morale was at an all-time high when Ratner conned the team and league into accepting his bid – it has been all downhill since. Back to back Finals leading into his arrival and now all we can do is hope to get the #1 pick in the draft after possibly setting the record for the worst finish in league history!!! It is outrageous and I honestly don’t know how anyone that calls themself a Nets fan can support this crook.

So you would be OK wiht the contracts of Kidd, RJ, and VC in their current playing shape, with no bench at all because of those contracts – oh and forget about Lopez and CDR too, we don’t get that fortunate in the draft…maybe with CDR

The Rat saved the day – Proky is on the way

Thorn and Kiki need to be fired, and Prokho needs to have 1 on 1’s with all 6 of the young core players and make his judgments from there.

@ Netlogic

I may be younger than you, but, I too have been a fan for many years. I have been following the team since the late 80s. I started going to games in the mid 90s. The reason I followed this team was because of their NEW JERSEY roots. We were always the underdog or the ones across the river, less talked about than the Knicks. BUT, that is what I loved. I grew with the team and I saw the team’s popularity growing leaps and bounds when we were winning; right before the RAT swooped in with the intentions to use the Nets as a crutch for his real estate dreams. So, don’t tell me I should thank the RAT for tearing apart our CHAMPIONSHIP team and then to slap us in the face worse by removing the NEW JERSEY from their name. The thing I and most Nets fans held near and dear to them with this team; state pride. We finally had a winning product on the court to root for after decades of losing. That was until the Rat crushed the buzz. It is no wonder why players such as K-Mart and Kidd blame the RAT for the team’s collapse. Besides, we would not be hailing Prokovov as some type of savior if things were not so GOD awful under the RAT!

@ Netlogic

And yes I would want Kidd, RJ and Vince right now more than this mess. You forget that at this point Kidd just resigned with Dallas at a far more reasonable contract for his age and Vince has one more year left on his deal. Vince did not get hurt when he was with us. (thank you Tim Walsh) He had a solid five years of service and was still playing great last year. If I am not mistaken, Kidd is still leading the Mavs to potentially a division title. No Jason Kidd team would be 3-34!!!!! He could be 50 and I would say that! RJ, bled NEW JERSEY blood. His contract is bloated, but, he too is a winner. If we can pay Bobby Simmons almost 12 million, I would take back RJ at 14 million instead. We still probably, would have gotten the tenth pick that year Kidd was traded, so Brook would have been here with those three. Kidd would have made Brook a beast down low with his exceptional passing and decision making. In addition, what do we have now instead of those three? We have to watch Yi every night play no defense, Bobby Simmons riding the pine, Courtney Lee shooting bricks (hopefully he gets better) and a team that has NO leadership! Yeah, so we may have more cap room now, but, until I see STAR bodies in uniform, that means very little to me. Bottomline, we have a lame duck team again, that has become the laughing stock of the league. We have sunk almost as low if not lower than the Knicks had the last couple of years under Isah Thomas. I never thought I would see that. But, I will thank the RAT!

Nets got the first pick of the decade on 2000, will the same thing happen this decade? NETS FANS WE PRAY!

Finally a good writer in Chris Mannix of SI.
Why couldn’t the ESPN writers be so fair.

guys – Justin GETS IT. He is true Nets fan – I agree 100 percent with his two posts above. You want to know what being a Nets fan is all about – read his comments from 12:12 and 12:31 AM.

While it is true that Kidd would have made Lopez a STUD (more so than he is now) there is NO WAY we would have had the 10th pick with a chance at him…are you guys serious? Think about what you are saying…a team with Kidd, RJ and VC would have been bad enough to be a lottery team, yet all you would rather have that?

What a joke…the biggest issue that team alwasy had was money – beacuse of the contract $ tied up with those three we would never have been able to build a proper bench, a winning bench.

Isaac – Justin and you are no more true nets fans than I am. no more…stop saying that it is complete garbage

We are not saying that you are not a NETS fan, we just have WAY different views when it comes to the importance of the RAT finding a new owner for us. If the RAT was such a great owner, he would not be selling the team once he gets his real estate venture out of the way. If you want to win, then we NEED to pay for high priced star quality players! That is how the NBA works my friend! OR you are left with the garbage product you see today! HMMM, which would fans want to see? This lame duck team? If I am not mistaken, we also traded Kidd close to the end of the season that year for Devin. We were struggling that year, so, when Devin came on board we did not all of a sudden go on some horrible losing streak. We had already been headed to a potential low lottery pick. (10-14) So I still believe we had a shot at Brook.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007-08_New_Jersey_Nets_season

They finished with 34 wins. You are telling me that without a trade, they don’t finish with more than 40 wins?

How does that make them a 10-14 pick?

at netlogic:

I really am not sure where you are coming from on so many issues.

First off the Kidd for Devin trade was a COMPLETE DISASTER. Kidd is still averaging nearly 9 assists per game and is still a top 3 or 4 playmaker in the game (yes defense has let down, but Devin never played any!). Devin is not suited to play point guard and has made not one player on the Nets better since his arrival. Kidd routinely turned marginal players into stars and in some cases all-stars. Everyone said this was a move for the future. Guess what, Kidd is still great this year, will probably have one more solid year and Devin being with the Nets beyond next season looks like a big question mark. So great move for the future! Yes it isnt likely the Nets would have gotten Brook if Kidd were still here but let’s say they did. Could you imagine how much better Brook would be with Kidd?? It’s beyond imaginable.

Secondly, Ratner is a complete fraud. He never had any interest in this basketball team? How can you not realize this??? He has used the team as a pawn in his overall operation. His plan from the start was to make billions of dollars and the Nets were nothing more than a useful tool to help fulfill his own greed. If Prokorov didn’t fall into his lap, he would have been completely screwed! Despite Prokorov having billions of dollars, there is no guarantee that will equal major NBA success. Cuban has billions too and except for one year, they have not sniffed an NBA Title. The team was in great shape until Ratner’s arrival – we were coming off back to back NBA Finals appearances for goodness sake!!

Finally, if you can’t stand the Meadowlands (I happen to like it), there has been a brand new arena waiting for the Nets to play in their home state. It’s called the Prudential Center and it is home to one of the most successful franchises in American professional sports.

Now please tell me – where am I wrong here?

Couple things I disagree with you on, starting with the Nets first…

I think it is too early to judge this trade…especially with Devin this year and his wrist injury and as reported, being told to “feed the post” to his 7 foot big men.

This is a move to the future – Devin is 26 years old – Kidd 36, Kidd may still be playing at a high level but his skills are declining (so are his knees) It goes back to the point of being able to build a team, which Rod was never able to do because of the contracts of Kidd, RJ and VC together. I don’t want to imagine Brook playing with Kidd because the reality is that wouldnt happen.

Next, I do realize this is a real estate move for Bruce – the arena is going to be the centerpiece of a greater development for Brooklyn. Of course there is no guarantee of Proky building (buying) a winner, but the man LOVES to win, LOVES to be in first place and from a fans perspective I LOVE that.

Finally, and this goes back to how this is a business – I am excited the Nets have a change to play in a modern arena for two years before the Barclays Center is up and running. That being said, the way for the Nets to be profitable is by being the sole tenant in an arena where revenues are not shared. Sponsors dollars, suite dollars, merchandising dollars and probably most important TV dollars are not shared. I don’t know if it has been reported or not, but I’d have to imagine that the Nets TV deal with YES will skyrocket once they move to BK. (same cannot be said for Newark)

You say the Pru Center is home to one of the most successful franchises in American sports – but that is a little deceiving, no? The Devils won all their cups at CAA. They still have not figured out how to market and sell a product…let’s not confuse the master mind of Lou Lamorello to build a team, versus the awful job he as done running his business – so much so that Jeff Vanderbeek has created Devils Arena Entertainment to oversee all arena/team related business.

Additionally, the NEts will be playing in your backyard – you are from Brooklyn, correct? It is beyond me why you would not like this? You’re whole point here is that you are mad because they are leaving NJ – they are still the same Nets whether they are in NJ or Brooklyn…now – if they went to KC/Vegas or Seattle as some have speculated I could see why you would be pissed, but not for this.

Your logic doesn’t make any sense to me – the only thing I see from you is a personal hatred towards Bruce Ratner.

at Netlogic:

First off – I appreciate your lengthy and detailed response to my arguments.

We obviously don;t agree on the Kidd trade – I didn’t like it from day one and it has gotten progessively worse. Devin will never be an elite NBA point guard – he has a score-first mentality and he isn’t even a great shooter – I will take Kidd until he is 40 over this guy.

Secondly, I concede the Devils don’t market their team well but neither do the Nets. They say they are a greater NYC team and they take the New Jersey off of everything – that is basically saying screw you New Jersey fans – thanks for putting money in our pockets for 30 years, we no longer need or want you, goodbye. yet they expect us to keep showing up until their arena is built in Brooklyn! It is absolutely sickening.

Finally, yes I am from Brooklyn but like I have said countless times, I had a chance to root for a New York team all along but I went with New Jersey. Most of the things I used to love about this team had to do with where they played and what they were all about until Rayner arrived.

So yes I do desoise Ratner but I hate Prokorov too for possibly resuing his project that many in the know felt was on its way down. I will never support wither one of them and if the team moves to Brooklyn, I will be without my favorite team in my favorite sport. There are many that can call themselves Nets fans but very few like me can say the Nets are their favorite team in all of sports. This is what this pathetic piece of garbage Ratner is threatening to take away from me, just like he is threatening to take away the homes and businesses of others. All in the name of greed. I am not sure how you or any others can support this.