I don’t think either team is going to be signing ANY free agents until 2012, so what difference does it make?

But the Knicks have no core now Gallinari, Chandler, Curry, Douglass, 2nd rounder please netsdaily that is not better than what the Nets have.

No one tell LeBron.

Hollah!

the knicks will be a skeleton team. they would have to reup mcgrady or lee. even if they signed wade and bosh it would be…

wade
chandler
gallo
bosh
???

we still have the better roster to add players too. and we have our picks.

And no draft picks, reliable talent, or guarantee that anyone wants to come play for them.

We have the same issue with the last point, but the other two are FAR different.

Like JJ said, the knicks have no real core, and no draft picks. It seems pretty unlikely they’d be able to entice two max players with that surrounding cast. I don’t expect us to make as huge a splash in FA as some might have been expecting but we at least have building blocks and picks to build a team, at least over 1-2 years, without a big name FA this year, if the Knicks miss out what does that leave them with?

http://offthedribble.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/16/behind-the-numbers-the-knicks-mcgrady-and-the-cap/

Not so fast on them having enough for two max free agents.

So what? That’s the only asset the Knicks have left at this point.

And a decent coach.

@ Shawn Carter -

Your posts continue to impress and inspire….

Hollah!!

the knicks are so stupid cause if they strike out in free agency houston will swap the pick in 2011 and dont have a pick in 2012 and they still need to sign role players which quality role player will still cost you 2-5 million per and have no pick this year

the nba and the cap is designed to make teams win mostly in the draft and by making good trades this is not baseball

We got better players than they will plus a load of good picks plus a lot of money too. 6mill won’t make a difference

omg lol

They may have worse players, but they also have Walsh, D’Antoni, and MSG— that’s worth a lot more than Thorn, Kiki, and Newark. Oh, but Thorn will hire a great coach… sure.

How come I can’t find ANY comments from Jeff Van Gundy about possibly coaching the NETS? Is google busted or has the beat writers forgotten bout him?

Mike D’Antoni and his many, many championships?

Until his teams start playing stifling defense, he’ll win nothing.

So what..
Who cares about cap space
Who would Lebron want to play with on the Knicks?
The Nets have 2 potential all stars, young players, draft picks and cap space.
The Knicks are still being miss managed and the coach doesn’t care about defense.
TMac? Wooooooo I could beat him 1 on 1, let’s see if he can still dunk…. LOL
Galinari?
Harrington?
DLee is good
And a fat center that can’t on the court for 9mil per year?
CMON SON!

I a not worried.

Nets want to have the worst season ever and Knicks got Tmac

Steve Nash Made D’Antoni a great coach. What has he done since he,s been in NY. NADA!!!!!

How many times have I said that Nets fans don’t want Keyon Dooling automatically considered in the cap space calculation.
No accountant can know the cap space for these reasons.

Until there is a draft and then confidential word comes about what the FAs are thinking, no decision should be made about the future of Dooling. He would only be better next year after being fully recovered from his surgery. The Nets wouldn’t know if they would trade Harris. Every team needs a very good backup PG. He is priced just right at 3.8 million.

Besides, the Nets will probably be playing for a top FA in 2011 when Dooling and Yi (hopefully before) would come off the books.

11 max deals, 4 max caliber players…it doesn’t take a math wiz

Trust me, you know how easy it’s going to be for Donnie Walsh to pawn Toney Douglas, Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari (Can only see him being traded for LeBron James) Eddy Curry & Future 1st Round Picks in sign-and-trades (ahem, CHRIS BOSH) to get another team to snag. The Knicks just blew everyone else out of the water today. I won’t be surprised if the Knicks land two big free agents and solid role-players to go with them. Plus just do straight up cap-absorb trades since they’re so far under. The Knicks did it, the Nets need to start winning games and get a shovel into Barclays Center so a player wants to go to the team. Otherwise just stick to the draft.

@ no show…

You made an excellent point. However, the knicks will go over to pay that luxury tax. They don’t have a good core and the fact that D. Lee is possibly gone that they may not be able to get a replacement… unless they get Bosh. So let me get them straight which I believe is their BEST case scenario.

PG – ?? 2nd Rd Pick #1
SG – Wade
SF – Gallinari
PF – Bosh
C – Curry?

Bench

PG – Douglas
SG – ?
SF – Chandler
PF – ?? 2nd Rd Pick #2
C – ???
 to sign to help them out?
Seems like Question Marks to me!! Who are they going to bring to help?

And they pass us in attracting talent. Why are we keeping Yi on the books? Does anyone think he will amount to anything? How we he attract anything here? Yes, Devo and Lopez and keep our fingers crossed that we get Wall, but the rest should have been used to attract a name.

@ Barry from Brooklyn – Exactly.

What ESPN and others isn’t saying, is that the Knick would have to use well over 1/2 of their cap space to sign DLee and McGrady. Only with DLee and a healthy McGrady would the Knicks be at all attractive to a top FA, but they still would be well short to get DWade+Bosh.

(I am so glad the Knicks traded away Nate. He was the most exciting Knick and would have won lots of games for them. Its also good for keeping him away from TWill.)

LeBron will keep his 17 million guaranteed and stay another year in Cleveland, regardless of how much cap space any team has. He will probably never sign for more than 3 years with any team anyway. There is no reason for LeBron to “take a chance at this time”.

It depends if you’d rather play for a team with Galo and some other garbage. Or Brook Lopez, Devin Harris and potentially John Wall or Evan Turner.

Too bad the Knicks don’t have anything else…Zing!!

The Nets are 5-49….

Regardless, the Knicks have a WAY better shot at landing a free agent than them. The Clippers and Bulls are also ahead of the Nets. So are the Thunder actually.

And how do the Nets have talent? This talent has gotten them 5 wins. The Knicks didn’t lose much talent and still got a point guard and T-Mac.

Also, The Nets have two potential all-stars? Who? Again, the Nets have 5 wins. The Knicks have an all star in Lee, who they might be able to sign now because of this deal, and they have Gallinari and Chandler, two very promising young wings.

So this is how it turns out:

Knicks get Amare and Jo Johnson and have to pay max contracts.
Maybe they keep an injury prone McGrady, but they lose DLee to the Nets.

Result is Knicks are borderline playoff team with no cap space or top Draft picks going forward.

Nets with Turner and DLee are still better than Knicks in 2010, with cap space and draft picks for 2011.

@jerry25

Nate wouldn’t have won anything for the Knicks but dunk contests.

@geo
Any chance that if Nets can prove that Yi lied about his age (by 3 years) that his contract for next year can be voided??

@jerry25

David Lee isn’t signing with a 5 win team. The Nets aren’t getting anybody in free agency and will be a horrendous team for years to come. John Wall isn’t going to make them a good team his rookie year, and the chances are they won’t even get him.

@mills
He already won some games for Knicks THIS year (despite not being used), but fortunately D’Antoni doesn’t like him.

KNICKS SUCK for YEARS to come!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

@kombayn Are you serious? Its not going to easy to unload any players contract this summer let alone bad ones. And as the trade deadline showed no one I repeat no one will take Eddy Curry’s contract on unless they get a huge return included. Curry not going anywhere.

Nets fans complain a lot about Devin but this put it in perspective. Curry make more than Devin right now and Devins salary goes down in the last year of his deal.

Knicks fans must be fuming at this point.

Eddie House will be their star player next year!
Maybe Tracy McGrady when he isn’t having back spasms.

Maybe Knicks will get someone good with Houston’s draft pick next year (LOL). They will have to wait 2 more years to get another top pick, all while they wallow in the cellar of the NBA.

@ mills – I think it goes like this: Thunder>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Bulls/Clippers >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Knicks/Nets.

@ Mills the knic have decent players right now like Harrington and Lee. Players that under contract next year that why they have more wins. Make no mistake what they do have under cotract next year is a lot worse than the nets. And they certainly don’t have under contract anyone that will ever make an all star team.

Mills – The NBA is the easiest league to turn around a team. Look at it this way, if you sign two players, that’s 2/5 of your starting roster! So, if the Nets have Lopez and Harris + two other top free agents…that’s 4 out of 5 all-star caliber players! That is much more attractive than anything the Knicks have to offer. Plus, the Nets have MUCH more draft picks (potentially including the #1 this year).

The Nets are SIGNIFICANTLY more attractive to FA’s than the Knicks…not even close

We gotta hope we’re more attractive than the Clippers. I know we’re the nets and have an awful recrod but its the clippers right? Right?

The Nets should be extremely attractive to any FA this year…a core of Lopez, Harris, Lee, Williams, Wall (hopefully). Add in TONS of draft picks in the next couple of years and NJ is a very attractive place that with 1 or 2 All-Stars would compete for championships for years to come

I read the Fanhouse article. All I can say is that there will be way more slots available than there are below max level players. Certainly Miami will get either Boozer or Amare. LeBron and Bosh aren’t going anywhere.

That leaves well overpaid contracts for the others and a lot of screwed up teams for next year. I would settle for giving DLee a near max contract and be done with it for this year. Fill the remainder roster with 1 year contracts in August. Maybe Boone and Hassell will still be around.

Knicks fans and Nets fans arguing over who is less attractive to potential FA’s me think of the cripple fight from south park.

Shea23, Lee isn’t under contract next year, if they sign him they’ll only have 21 million left in cap room, which will be enough to sign one max and fill out the rest of the roster for 4 million.

Gina, that was actually pretty funny

I really hope LeBron goes to the Knicks. I can’t stand him so wouldn’t root for him even he was a NEW JERSEY Net. But since the team is still trying to go through with this ridiculous plan to move into Brooklyn, it would only be fitting for the Knicks to officially reclaim the city by signing this complete jerk.

@Gina
Why do you assume that at the beginning of July that the Knicks will offer DLee 12 million per and he accepts, with no guarantee of anyone else coming like DWade?

Won’t DLee first see what is available elsewhere? Won’t the Knicks first try to woo Bosh and DWade for a while, and wait for a definite rejection before turning attention to DLee?

@mills says “David Lee isn’t signing with a 5 win team. The Nets aren’t getting anybody in free agency and will be a horrendous team for years to come. John Wall isn’t going to make them a good team his rookie year, and the chances are they won’t even get him.”
 
are you serious? the Nets will sign at least one contract this summer

Um i heard T-Mac won’t be playing.

dude, no free agent on earth is signing with a 5 win team. You can’t argue that. Lebron isn’t dying to play with Devin Harris or Brook Lopez (he’s already has Ilgauskas for all these years,) and he definitely isn’t dying to play in New Jersey for a team without a coach or a fanbase.

The Knicks and Nets aren’t together in terms of free agent attractiveness. Bosh and Wade have already said they won’t consider the Nets, and every major outlet out there now thinks this trade makes the Knicks the frontrunner out of the teams (without a marquee free agent already) to sign one.

Basically we need to find out who our coach is going to be fast, but I think as bad as things are we are going to be alright. Were going to have a good draft regardless there are 4 legit players, were going to get someone in here that can help in the free agency. Thorn is a smart enough man to not Max out the wrong people. Our core is soooo young. Brook is like 21 lol, like Jets with Sanchez, we have the next two years to build a championship caliber team. Don’t discount the allure of Jay-Z on these young players in the free agent Market TRUST ME, they all look up to him. Prudential arena is the truth, and they don’t have to live in Newark, Edgewater, Manhattan baby lol.

Big Z = Lopez? lmao

Mills all of your claims are wrong its hilarious.
- You compared illgauskus to Lopez..:/
- No coach? You don’t think Prokhorov is going to bring in a big name coach this summer?
- No fans? They would sell out every game in the Rock with LeBron..EASILY.
- No FA is going to sign with a 5 win team? Yeah maybe one with no future and no owner looking to spend. Oh wait, the Nets have the richest owner in the league coming in with a boatload of draft picks and young talent.

…good try though.

Hay jerry22.
Someone may think you are me!

jerry25

it all depends on where the nets land in the lottery. if they win the john wall sweepstakes then i believe u can c harris gone and the nets will pick up a huge free agent this offseason and the next 1 as well as resigning all of our young players that the franchise wants to keep (lopez, yi, and clee)

Lets talk of better news. Syracuse and Wesley Johnson are playing. Wesley appears to be a Stud again and he should be available for the #4 pick. Apparently his recent injury had hurt him, but he should be fine for next year.

There probably will be 5 or so future All Stars available. The trick is to get one, and that they fit (Cousins will be an All Star, but not sure if he fits).

Anyone care to report details on Wesley Johnson’s recent play?

Honestly the only players in this league who deserve Max contracts are LeBron,D-wade, and Kobe. Bosh isn’t good enough to carry a team, you push him around a bit he’s done. I feel Joe Johnson is a good player, but you can get someone like him cheaper, that can help this team out, if he’s not going to get you to a championship in the next two years why do it, he’ll be in his 30’s. Call me crazy but I think when it’s all said and done Brook will be better and more valuable then both of them.

There are not many 20-4-4 guys who shoot ~40% from the 3.

@mills…“dude, no free agent on earth is signing with a 5 win team. You can’t argue that.”

We’ll we had a bunch of people argue that quite well. Truth is the wins this year don’t matter…let me repeat that – the wins this year don’t matter.

James + Devin Harris + Brook Lopez + two scrubs = top 4 playoff seed. Now add in an emerging Lee, Williams, a top rookies (John Wall?), and a boatload a top draft picks…that’s a top team for a decade (yes 10 years!)

You can’t argue with that!

@Isaac
I agree. James seems like an arrogant jerk, and I don’t want to have to root for him.
I’d much rather get Wade, if either are even realistic.
After that, I think Joe Johnson could be the outside shooter we need to open the lane for Harris to drive and Lopez to post.
Still want a defender/enforcer at the 4 who’s better than Humphries and for Yi to come off the bench, if he’s here at all.

Congrats to the Knicks and their fans! I hope they get Lebron, Wade and Bosh. They cleared their cap for it. All I want this offseason is either the #1 or #2 pick. If Lebron or Wade want to come here, I will be happy. One thing I dont want is to sign any 2nd Tier FAs like Joe Johnson, Amare, or David Lee. I would rather go with a good coach and these young players and our draft picks. What I would like is to move up in this draft to get another lottery pick to get Monroe or another young PF.

The Knicks using bandades again.

lol I heard the Knicks are trying to get MJ, Dr.J, LeBron,D-Wade,Larry Bird, hahahaha. LeBron is like the cute girl in class, and the Knicks are the stalker dude that just stares at her all day.

Stay with me this is sort of lengthy but will explain a completely different perspective.
For those who say the Knicks have nothing have to come to the realization that other than Harris and Lopez and a pick the Nets have nothing as well. Lee, CDR, Yi, Humphries, Twill are all bench players and can easily be replaced. Nobody wants to play with any of those 5 guys, they don’t stand out in any way to free agents and are horrible enough to form the core of the top 3 worst franchises in sports history. As we have seen a lottery pick means absolutely nothing and if you actually do research you will see these players don’t pan out more often than they do.
Now lets look into it a little more in depth. Nets only have money for one max, Knicks have money for two, or they can keep David Lee if all fails, sign one max and add a player like Camby. Add a mid-level exception and veterans minimum to that as well (Tmac anyone, hopefully he proves everyone wrong). Danilo is basically in his rookie year and expect him to break out next year, say 18-19 and 6, Wilson Chandler would be the second best player on the Nets and none of the Young talent not named Lopez comes close to him. After struggling his first month because he just came off injury he has averages almost 18 and 6, shooting close to 52% from the floor, and lets not forget he is 22, which is much younger than Yi, Lee, and around Twills age. Toney Douglas given good minutes would also put up better numbers than the 5 young players I had listed for the Nets if he was getting the same opportunity they were. Sergio can also stay for 2 million and is only 23, watch for him to put up great numbers with D’Antoni. So there maybe less “talent”, but more REAL talent that is actually above average players.
You might say hey the roster is still very bare. Well in these tough economic times, this is where Curry comes in. His 12 Million dollar expiring contract is like gold. Expect someone like the Hornets to bite ala the Jamison trade this year for a player like Okafor or David West.
So best case scenario for the Knicks is something the Nets can’t even come close to dreaming, is it risky? Yes definitely but they are actually in a position like no other team as well to become a dynasty almost overnight.
Best case scenario 2010-2011 knicks after trade deadline;
Lebron, Bosh, Okafor, Gallo, Chandler, Tmac, Douglas, Sergio, 2nd rd pick. D’Antoni only plays and 8 man rotation, they can add small pieces along the way to get a little more depth.
Add all that and the allure of NYC, a popular coach, a storied and wealthy franchise that is also pouring over 500 million into remodeling in the heart of the city to usher in a new Era and the Knicks actually have a chance for a summer Mr. Proky can only dream of.

They would be in a good position… if they didn’t give up their next two first round picks! That TMac trade was such a bad trade for them. Plus they don’t have a real cornerstone like Lopez, Gallinari is good, but not 20-10 good like Lopez

@ Gina Yeah I left out not in the comment that should have been obvious if you the read the comment as a whole. Meh

“Plus they don’t have a real cornerstone like Lopez, Gallinari is good, but not 20-10 good like Lopez”

- Give Gallo another year this is basically his rookie season, plus wait till the Nets actually get talent that can win games and see what happens to the Lopez 20-10.

Guys remember we have to offer extensions to Brook and hopefully a good draft pick this year at least. Remember that before you strart throwing out crazy talk like a max contract for David Lee.

Before anyone throws anything else out this year means a good draft pick from this year. Not we have to offer extensions this year.

I’d be fine with David Lee at a reasonable 10-11 million contract. But to be honest what I’d really like to see is a guy that can play defense and contribute somewhat on offense. Ala Kenyon Martin type, anyone else feel this way.

I assume TMac trade wasn’t conditional on physical.
What if TMac can’t play this year, as rumored? Knicks could be worse than Nets down the stretch.

I read that Houston tried to get Amare at deadline with lots of good players. However, Phoenix declined because they refused a conditional physical!!! Apparently Amare will need surgery sometime. He is damaged goods.

Wesley Johnson was a disappointment in 2nd half, but Syracuse held on for win.

@Shea23:
LeBron will play for Nets for lesser contract in 2011, as long as he wins a Championship before then.
Yi’s 4 million will be gone, one way or another.
Nets have to get an All Star level FA, what ever it costs, to attract another in 2011.
DLee would give the right chemistry, along with Wall/Turner.

@Shea23
DeMarcus Cousins is the KMart type, if only he shows more maturity the rest of the NCAA. Nets should seriously think that route, if they get #3/#4 pick.

Knicks are back in Starbury days.

Just traded away their top #1 draft pick from 2009. Nothing for 2010. Houston pick for 2011; Nothing for 2012.

Maybe Knicks will offer McGrady a Max Contract after not playing this season!

Seriously, I would value Nate Robinson above McGrady.
TNT guys all think Nate is much better than House, for Boston. Nate can give 25 pts. off the bench, including lots of pts. in the paint (TNT quote)

Cousins seems immature…but nets kinda need that. A player who shows emotion and isnt afraid to get into peoples’ faces/

I agree Shea. If you believe in Brook, you have to compliment him. That means you need an aggressive, rebounding, defensive oriented, athletic 4.

This 4 also needs to develop a 15ft J. The best comparison guy I can think of that would have played very well with Brook is a Charles Oakley or Buck Williams type. Guys that dont need to be fed in the post but will get you boards, play tough d, and enforce (yeah, I know Oakley wasnt athletic but he had everything else)

@mills

dood, the Nets have 5 wins because of so many reasons, but as strange as this might sound, it has nothing to do with their talent. First of all, so many things went wrong to start the season. Their floor leader was shelved before he ever got into any rhythm. The cloud of uncertainty regarding Lawrence Frank left the team in disarray. The guy who replaced him, Kiki, has no coaching experience and is on the job on a temporary basis.

The Nets weren’t winning any fans support whether they were good or not. So they did what they felt was the right thing to do…play your young players and see what you got. First and second year players like Courtney Lee and Terrence Williams are getting tremendous experience. The team has assets going into the offseason, by way of draft picks and youth. The Nets are STILL in a better position than the teams you named who also have cap space.

I don’t where you heard Wade saying he wouldn’t sign here. IF anything, he’s been the biggest proponent among all the expected FAs to what the Nets are doing. He recently said, and I’m paraphrasing, “everyone in the league knows what the Nets are doing, and that they’re on the verge of building something special”. As for Bosh, is it just me, or is just a younger version of Jermaine O’Neal…a player who’s more likely to break down cuz his frame won’t be able to last playing smash mouth BBall….winning basketball. Bosh just doesn’t strike me as someone who can carry a team on his own.

Anyway, I know you’re a Knicks fan and you have reason to rejoice. Just try and keep things in perspective.

i dont care about cap space knick fans……. you want the most cap space….take it….. what attracts me ….. a billionaire Owner… Brook Lopez… 10 draft picks in three years…. playing in Newark…. creating a new brand in Brooklyn…. yuppp that makes me happy

so all you knick fans out there…. enjoy your cap space …

@ Blazin pp face

Thank you, thank you and thank you

I have been saying this all day…it should be fairly obvious that we are in a better position…

When will the national sports writers and bloggers begin to talk about our position and how it still rivals the Knicks and their 4 players under contract and no first round picks until 2013

They dont have a franchise center and a top 4 draft pick though.

@Andy

Thank you I’ve been saying that about Cousins for weeks now.

After watching tonight’s game on TNT I really miss Keyon Martin this doesn’t make any sense none.

I believe Houston has right to swap picks with Knicks in 2011, but at least they Will have a chance to blow a first round pick again.

Cavs – Nuggets game was fantastic – overtime for Denver.
LeBron was upset with himself for 1. letting a ball go out of bounds due to laziness, missing lots of free throws and slipping on the final shot to win.

I wouldn’t assume Denver would lose to Lakers. Melo was LeBron-like. KMart was great too.

Knicks moves give them about a 1% chance for a great future, about a 15% chance for a very good future and about a 50% chance for a disaster for years to come.

I wouldn’t be celebrating, if I was a Knicks fan.

@jerry25

KMart played fantastic just comes to show how much of a mess we are giving away talent all these years for what cap space to do what with?! Overspend on players.

I just looked at 2010-2011 Knicks roster as of now:
http://hoopshype.com/salaries/new_york.htm

The team = 1. Gallinari, 2. Douglas, 3. Chandler and 4. Eddie Curry. #4 is a liability. Did I miss anyone?? The Knicks are basically starting from scratch. Recipe for Disaster.

Even when Boston pulled off their move, they had a top draft pick to deal, at least.

1. is not a liability… hes going to be traded as an expiring contract. The three people under contract are young and talented and I would take over any 3 under 25 players on the Nets. Nothing wrong with having 3 very young and good players, one good trade chip, and 40 million to spend. Chandler, Gallo, Douglas would be the 2nd, 3rd and 4th best players under the age of 24 on the Nets in that order.

@ wonderinng aloud:

Yes many many things have contributed to the 9 the Nets putrid and grotesque display:

Off court: team sale, moving, bad fan support,etc

On court: injures, no coach, absolutley no leadership, bad effort, no heart and ……………lacking talent. Like making a shot. Saying it has “nothing to do with lacking talent” is lacking any common sense.

The fact is that the young players are being over-rated simply because they are young. How many young players turn out as crap? Many. Most of the Nets young talent between Harris and Lopez is of the role/bench variety at the best.

They need to upgrade with at least 2 solid proven professional players with talent and leaderhsip skills (or else forget it) to mix in with Lopez, Harris, and the other young players (shoud not be relied on) if they want to start sniffing around contention land.

Problem is, only a few of the big ticket free agents have those leadership skills from what I can tell. If they could get a couple of those guyys to sign to play in Newark (doubt it) it woud be great.

@summer2010:
“Add a mid-level exception and veterans minimum to that as well (Tmac anyone, hopefully he proves everyone wrong).”

I dont think u completely understand the concept of MLE.

@smg
you are right i made a mistake, you need to be over the cap for the MLE. Still if the cap is around 56 million, Knicks have 39 million to spend. That’s enough money for the 2 max free agents and a 3 million dollar offer to tmac.

All you thinking Knicks aren’t going anywhere with all this capspace are in complete denial.

Thorn dropped the ball. The deadline passed and Thorn did absolutely nothing is a disgrace. Thorn must love the current team we have now. Like I said earlier today, I strongly feel, we’re likely to start 2010-11 season with basically the same pathetic roster today plus top 3 draft pick. DISGRACE!

Some of u guys are tripping? The Knicks got better today. They have more cap space then us and just got Macgrady. WE on the other hand are praying on the draft. What if we get the 4 pick in the draft? No Evan Turner. No Wall. No Cousins. YEA but will get some PLAN B Character from Russia or from Europe. Open your EYEZZZ!!!! The nets sat on there hands today and did nothing.

 Why coudnt we get Jamison at least???!!!! You guys think we can trade for Turner or Wall but no body is gonna trade with us. They not gonna want that Mavs pick when they go deep in the playoffs. They not gonna want YI or Harris or a Stupid future pick when u have a stud like Wall or Turner.

 Watch next year the Knicks gonna get a nice FA or maybe two and make the playoffs. We on the other hand will be 25-56 with our 4 rd pick and Yi and Courtney Lee

damn johnY read my mind i think we are pyschic. That should tell u something is wrong not to mention we will have the worst record ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

@SpiderMan, exactly. Couldn’t have said it better myself. Thorn is taking us nowhere. 2010-11 we’re 25-56 the same stiffs with Yi and 3-4th pick playing in Newark.

IM PISSSED AS U CAN SEE LOL THIS TEAM ORGANIZATION SUCKS

The fact that Thorn did NOTHING today tells FAs like Lebron/Wade that Nets are not serious about making drastic changes. Put yourself in Lebron/Wades shoes; think like a superstar baller. Why in the world would you sign with the current Nets? Nets can’t offer you more money. You have to wait 2yrs before Brooklyn, at least. Even in 2012-3, playing in Brooklyn would NOT measure up to MSG.

What gets me real angry is that it appears Yormark, Thorn, Kiki aren’t really bothered about the Nets current bleak situation. Yormark is happy our 5win team is getting (negative) press. Kiki was quoted even today with being satisfied by our current roster. Thorn is quoted daily claiming to have no idea who talked to whom about what.

U know I was thinking if you remember Shaq wanted the Nets to move to Brooklyn I believe he has some part in the prudential arena could be wrong, but he’s from Newark. I wonder if he might be in LeBron’s ear about coming there help turn things around at least 4 those 2 yrs B4 Brooklyn???. Just a thought

My last post I meant Newark in the beggining

I may sound like a bad fan but what do you consider a bad fan when it comes to this team! I really don’t want the Nets to sign any big free agents although I do but I just want this whole foolish plan of cap space to blow up in Thorn and Kiki’s face! How can Kiki possibly sit here and say we have a very good team? My boy we’re 5 wins with half the season over! what 29 games left?! how are we a good team?! How do we not trade with all these expiring contracts?! Again all these questions and no answers. Now here we have a whole bunch of teams right now with cap space Thorn and Kiki what do you say to that?! F.A’s are going to wanna look past all those teams and sign with us?! When we have 5 wins going for the record worst of all time! This franchise is all wrong by the time Proky takes over it’ll be TOO LATE! MAN OH MAN THIS TEAM GIVES ME MIGRAINES!

Figures. The Nets can’t win at anything, not even getting the most cap space.

I just checked the Basketball Register. Cap Space has never scored a point in the NBA.

I will say this however: if Tracy McGrady walks onto the Garden floor and is suddenly the Vince Carter of 2004 (doubful but possible) then everything changes.

The real story yesterday is IF McGrady can play at a high level, then they have a leg up.

It sucks being a Net fan. We really are horrible at everythng we do.

russ, at least we’re in better position right than the knicks right now.

A great read on the buffoonery of Knicks’ management:
http://disciplesofclyde.com/?p=867

Boy do knicks Management need help that’s an even sadder franchise over there pheww I know it sucks to be a Knick fan.

The Nets have an All-Star. He was not healthy this year but as of late he’s been pretty good. The Knicks have a “REPLACEMENT” All-Star.

we have proky, 6 millions wont make the difference….

some1 who spends 50k on breakfast! will gladly pay lebron and wade’s butt surppasing the cap space!!!

:D :D :D go proky go :D :D :D

And when Boston pulled off their move they got 2 core players, along with Pierce, and kept some of their young players, like Tony Allen and had the pick to take Rando, the Knicks are depending on signing players who may not even hit FA.

Other than having Salary cap space, the only thing that makes what the Knicks moves mean something is if they land Lebron….not anyone else. JUST LEBRON! No matter what the Knicks do with the capspace however won’t bring them a legit contender for a while. The main difference between the Nets cap space and the Knicks is that the Nets are in a better position that all they’ll really need is to use some of it to get a ONE marquee player while using the rest filling out the roster with pieces that make up a championship squad. Whereas the Knicks, if they sign TWO marquee players, how do they build the rest of the team? They’d end up having to trade Gallo or Chandler, to get draft picks or veteran role players but it still wouldn’t be enough. The Knicks are NOT as flexible as it looks because of the amount of cap space they have. If they wanna bring a contender into the Garden, then they’ll need to be smart with that money and not blow it on just two players. IF they land Lebron, then I think their best move is to use the rest of the money wisely which means not signing another star but spreading the assets around for a longer term plan. Lebron would have to know it would still be another 2 to 3 year project with the Knicks.

The Nets just have better flexibility with their cap space because of their current talent, and they’ve stuck to a plan which they started 3 years ago. And that’s what it comes down to.

agree w NI, mcgrady’s health & effectiveness can really shift this in one huge direction or another. not sure if you can read anything into mcgrady’s excitement in coming to NY, but maybe it’s a sign of what other top NBA names are thinking? hey he is getting paid anyway so what difference would NY or sacto make for 30 games?

People forget that not many big free agents would want to come to a team that might not even make it to 10 wins this season.

The Nets don’t need big time free agents. That’s why they are in a nice position. Get lucky with future draft picks and have cap space to use for key players. Make a key trade and in a couple of years we might be very good.

Buying the championship is the cowards way out.

By the way, where do you think players like Howard, Kobe, LeBron, Garnett, Paul etc. came from.

Answer = Draft.

Basketball is the EASIEST sport to improve in. Think about it, you only have to play 5 players at a time…and the Nets already have all-star quality players at 2. The problem is the supporting cast sucks and/or is young. So, if the Nets sign a top FA like a Wade, that would give them 3/5 of their starting team as all-star quality + TONS of extra flexibility to sign FA’s and draft better players.

Guys like Wade know this…why wouldn’t Wade want to play with Lopez and Harris. He know’s that would make the Nets an instant top 4 team in the East with TONS of room for improvement through free agency and the draft.

@NYScratches;

  You hit the nail right on the head. Basketball is the one major sport (Hockey 2nd) where one player can make a big difference. Put LeBron, Kobe or Garnett on our team and I bet
we would make the playoffs even with all our young inexperienced players.

Does anyone really think Proky is going to stand idly by and let this mess continue. The guy is loaded for a reason, he goes all out when he does something. And for him the NBA is a huge stage. Remember the Knicks were always the team that could outspend the Nets no matter what, that is all going to change.

I doubt that lebron is going to leave Cleveland….They get him players to help him , unlike Ratner did for JKIDD…..

Why even mention the Knicks here?

Nobody said that our team will improve overnight but guys have some patience. The season is almost over. Let’s see what the new owner would od to improve this team once he’s approve as the new owner.

@summer

The fact you would take Douglas over Williams and Lee shows your utter lack of bball knowledge. He’s a combo guard that really isn’t good at either position.

Could Wade and Lebron win it all with Danillo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Toney Douglas, Luke Ridnour, Udonis Haslem, Marcus Camby and Mike Miller? …I’m not so sure.

I think it is CRUCIAL to point out that come July 1st the Knicks will only have 4 players – Eddy Curry, Danilo Gallinari, Toney Gouglas, and Wilson Chandler – under contract. They own two second round draft picks. So that right there is 6 players. Lets say they somehow sign to max players, they still only have 8 players and will need to use the mid-level (which I’m not sure they’ll have), the low-level (again I need someone to clarify them owning this as well) to fill the roster, as well as undrafted free agents and D-League talent.

We have Brook Lopez, Devin Harris, Courtney Lee, Terrence Williams, Kris Humphries, Yi Jialian, Jarvis Hayes, Keyon Dooling (maybe), and Chris Douglas-Roberts. Add two first round picks and our second and we have 12 players. Add a max contract and a close to max contract and we have 14. Finally finish the roster off with something – either way, despite the cap space advantage the Knicks have we are in infinitely better shape.

I don’t care if you think Lee, TWill, Yi, Humphries, and Dooling are nothing. They are living basketballs players – not empty roster spots. That’s a lot better than what the Knicks have going forward.

Knicks would not have gambled their future like this if they didn’t believe 100% they are getting lebron and wade/bosh. something tells me deals are already done under the table. nets will have to settle for second tier guys and hope their core plus John Wall/Evan Turner is enough to make the leap to elite.

The Knicks figure even if they don’t get LeBron or Wade they can still put a decent team together with 2nd tier free agents. Since they lost their #1 pick this year and last years #8 was a bust, what the heck. Don’t like the strategy but I guess they thought they had no other choice.

All in…

Only eight teams have enough cap space to sign at least 1 max FA. Some of those teams like the Clippers and Minnesota will have a tougher time then the Nets in attracting the best FA’s.

That is why the Nets cap space is very important. 2nd Tier FA’s will be in demand and cost plenty. I.E. Johnson, D.Lee, Boozer etc.

Did any of you see how Lebron got of the court like a little girl after missing 4 threes in a row and getting J by Carmelo?
After that game I just saw how Lebron really is SORE LOSER I wouldn’t want him on my team anyway what a girl, I think Carmelo deserved some respect after jaying him in the face and then playing great D on him also. (He should have gave him at least a handshake).
And it wasn’t like a playoff game like last year vs. Orlando where it was more intense and more on the line.

I think the Nets’ future just got a lot dimmer with the success NYK and CHI had in freeing up cap space. They are not going to beat NYK, CHI or MIA for the top free agents. 2010-11 looks like another lottery year. It may be 2011-12 before they break through to the elite level.

I agree that NY and Chicago freeing up more cap space for next offseason negatively impacts the Nets. Even if both those teams strike out on Lebron/Wade/Bosh, the other guys like Joe Johnson, Amare, Boozer, Lee, etc. will not have more options. As far as who has the most cap space headed into free agency….I would not yet say that the final numbers are settled. Depending on who we draft, Harris and/or Yi may be traded to a team with enough cap space so that the Nets do not have to take back equal salary. No one really wanted Jared Jeffries so the Knicks had to throw in so much sweetener to get rid of him. If Harris finishes out the year strong, he would likely be in demand provided we are in a position to trade him.

@mt57;

 “It may be 2011-12 before they break through to the elite level”.

 If this is the Nets “dim future” count me all in. LOL

The result of the Knicks’ trade yesterday was to free up enough cap space where they could effectively recruit the elite free agents in pairs. They knew their team was not good enough to convince a Lebron to sign there…but they felt if they could bring along a Bosh with Lebron, then they would be a top team that both Lebron and Bosh would see as a great situation.

Although the Nets do not have the cap space to sign a Lebron and a Wade straight out, I do believe that they may also be able to recruit these guys in pairs as the Knicks plan on doing. Difference is, the Nets may try to sign one guy outright, and for the other guy, a sign and trade could potentially be developed involving Harris, Yi, young talent, draft picks. So I think we will be right with the Knicks in that recruitment game.

If Proky is willing to go over the cap space limit, and pay the penalty, we will still have more money to spend then any other team. Just like the Yankees.

Lol at whoever said that buying a team is the cowards way out. Winning 5 games all year is the way brave teams build they team up. Toney Douglas has played 13 minutes a game and averaged almost 7 ppg, shooting 47 percent and playing great defense. On the Nets he would average at least 15ppg. Whats the fascination with Lee, CDR, Twill etc?? Just because they were given this opportunity to average 10ppg getting 11-12 PER on one of the worst teams in sports history means nothing. Enjoy being a second tier team in NYC and stop dogging on the Knicks when you guys are the most worst group of players/fans to even be put together in professional sports. Keep telling yourselves that you feel sorry for Knicks fans because it is so rosy in Jersey – selling 2,000 tickets a game, having Nets players deliver you pizza, getting jerseys with Lebron’s name on them for free, turning commercial breaks during games into a circus with free tacos, not having an arena, not having a coach, having a mystery man as your owner who you all gush about like hes a savior and living off what you call is “young talent” and making excuses that its not because you are not talented that you have 5 wins but its the fact that Devin Harris (who always gets injured) was hurt for a few weeks.

It’s not the same as the Yankees though because there’s not an actual cap just an lt threshold in baseball. In basketball anyone who’s willing to pay the fine can’t just spend over the limit whenever they feel like,

And to Chris2, I’m not convinced a team, even with Lebron and Bosh, could compete, when that would effectively be their entire team, except Gallinari but can he play guard, since Lebron plays sf? They wouldn’t be able to bring back Lee and they’d have to fill like 7-8 more roster spots at league minimum prices. And they’ll have no picks til 2013 to try and build through the draft, I really find it hard to believe any of the stars would think that set up would be good enough to truly compete.

They have a pick in 2011, and by 2012 someone will DEFINITELY sign so 2012 pick will be in the late 20s, which they can easily buy for 3 million.

Rumor has it that the Knicks feel very confident that at least one big FA is going to sign with them. I wonder which one?

@summer2010
“Still if the cap is around 56 million, Knicks have 39 million to spend. That’s enough money for the 2 max free agents and a 3 million dollar offer to tmac.”

Wrong again, with cap around 56m, signing 2 max means eating around 33.6m in cap space, combined with committed salaries of 21.5m heading towards free agency, the Knicks are left with only a million under the cap, that is practically is .. a minimum salary (for tmac).

My estimation of Knicks’ committed salaries refers to http://www.nba.com/2010/news/features/art_garcia/02/18/trade.aftermath/

@Gina
The Knicks would also have Wilson Chandler who is a really good player. And lets say they are able to resign Sergio Rodriguez for a minimal salary. A team of-

Rodriguez – Douglas
Chandler
James
Gallinari
Bosh – Curry

…would be elite. I think they need a center obviously to battle Dwight and eventually Bynum in the playoffs, so I would not deem that automatic champions, but they would still be very good. Lebron could play PG for them or even PF. And in one season, they can spend their mid level on additional depth. So yes, the Knicks are a threat now.

Rodriguez – Douglas
Chandler
James
Gallinari
Bosh – Curry

Elite team? Absolutely not. James would be an idiot to come to NY for this team b/c the team in Cleveland is much better.

Face it, NJ is a better place for James. Lopez alone (ranked as the #1 draft choice of the past two years by ESPN) will be an elite center for years. Add in Harris, who has proven to be an all-star when he’s the #2 guy on the team…and its much better than anything the Knicks can offer. Now, throw in a top draft choice this year and several more draft picks the next couple of years and the choice is even clearer!

Nets have a MUCH BRIGHTER future than the Knicks…no doubt about it.

I also feel that Cleveland did themselves no favor by trading for Jamison. They were a minor move away from being able to resign James and any other max free agent out there this summer. As it stands now, their team is pretty much set in stone for next year and the next few years actually. Jamison seems like a very good player now, but he is getting up there in age and I can easily see him falling off rather drastically. In fact, if Jamison underperforms in the playoffs this year, it would almost force Lebron to leave because Cleveland has left themsleves nary an avenue to improve that team.

@NY scrathes

That potential Knick team wins 55 games. Lebron to any team in the league is near elite, pair him with another top 10 player in Bosh…and it is an elite team. Sorry. Think of all those Laker teams that had the two great players in Kobe and Shaq and not much else.

Chris2

The main difference with comparing to Kobe and Shaq is that there is NO Shaq this year. Bosh doesn’t compare at all to Shaq…not even close. Plus, the supporting cast those years were much better.

And, my point was not that the Knick team you listed would win 55 games or so…my point was that the Nets team with those Bosh and James would be significantly better…truely elite.

Face it, Knicks may be good (win 55 games or so in the best case scenario), but they will never be elite with that model.

Sorry Knick fans but no way Lebron goes their just because they are in NY….you have to be kidding me. Newark and Brooklyn are only mins away from Manhtn. An all-star PG and C and possibly the #1 pick we will have. The ONLY way to rebuild is to hit rock bottom and aquire draft picks and talent first then free agents. You should know this since you’ve spent 10 years going after free agents first!!!

@NY scratches

I agree that the current Nets team with Lebron and Bosh is better than the current Knicks team with Lebron and Bosh. But the Nets cannot add both of them to their current mix – they do not have the cap space to do so. The only way you get both of those guys is to ship salary out, definitely the all star PG Harris, along with other pieces. So you cannot make the direct team by team comparison.

Its true that Bosh is not of the caliber of an in his prime Shaq, but Lebron is (I believe) significantly better now than Kobe was back when he was winning the titles with Shaq.

Saying the Knicks will never be elite with a core of Lebron and Bosh is ridiculous. Even if they have holes the first year, (provided the CBA stays similar to what it is now) they can continually add pieces via free agency. They would be a team many players would desire to play on…to win a title.

With the projected money they can spend, Could the Nets afford 3 free agents, namely Wade, Lee and Johnson?

that prediction is wrong knicks have 17 million under contract.

Definitely not, they can only sign one max guy so I think they’ll have like 30 or so million to spend, that’s one max player at 17 million and one mid level, at 10 million, and 3 million more or so left over. Lee will be a mid level player more than likely and Johnson will either be mid level or max if someone gets desperate.

30 million to spend if the cap is 47, which it wont be. The article you read probably gives them a payroll of 23 because it counts cap holds, but if the Knicks fill it with real players they can spend that money any way the want. Ther will have AT LEAST 36 million this summer and that’s if cap is really low. If you give Bron 17 mil, Lee 10, they still have 9 to spend. 5 for tmac, 2 for sergio and the other 2 on 2nd rounders and cap holds.

Scenario:

Nets win draft.

Trade for Harris, Mavs pick to Detroit or Sixers for Brand or Hamilton and higher pick.

Trade G.S. future first and CDR for Brand or Hamilton from team with lower pick.

Pick up option on Dooling and resign Hayes

TEAM

Wall/T. Will/Dooling
Hamilton/Lee/M. Almond (signed this year from Dev. League)
T. Will/Hayes/Second round pick
Brand/Favors/Yi
Lopez/Brand/Russian Center