ESPN has released their "Front Office Rankings," to which the Brooklyn Nets can boast yet one more thing where they are ahead of the New York Knicks in. However, it's not as parade-down-Flatbush-y as it seems. Out of 30 teams in the NBA, the Brooklyn Nets come in at No. 29 overall, which means that only one team is worse off and, again, that's the New York Knicks.
How did it get so bad? Last season the Nets were ranked 15th overall on this list. Well, Chad Ford explains:
"Those bad teams -- the Lakers, Nets and Knicks -- have so many resources and believe so strongly that their big markets will lure top talent that they've lost their ability to innovate. They tried to spend their way to a championship while the other teams above them (with the exception of the Heat) have used innovation to get there."
"No one has squandered more resources and been a bigger cap violator than the Brooklyn Nets these past few years.'
With Brooklyn, moves the Nets made seem to have been based on generating interesting stories rather than sound business practices. For years, there has been talk of horrible player relations behind the scenes, where players act like fools with no consequences. The anecdotes of Chris Douglas-Roberts and Terrence Williams wreaking havoc in locker rooms and practices are legendary. Those guys are gone, but the cost in dollars without the wins suggest ineptitude.
In a companion piece, ESPN ranks Billy King and Nets chairman Dmitry Razumov as the worst GM/executive combination and Mikhail Prokhorov, who brought the Nets to Brooklyn as second worst owner. Bottom line: The Nets are currently on the outside looking in, in the Eastern Conference playoff race, and are currently all out of excuses.
- NBA - Why the NBA's top franchises win - Chad Ford, Kevin Pelton and David Thorpe - ESPN Insider
- NBA Front Office Rankings 2015 - ESPN
- NBA: 2015 Front Office Rankings -- Top executives - ESPN
- NBA: 2015 Front Office Rankings -- Top owners - ESPN
- Nets Front Office Ranks 29th Out Of 30 Teams In ESPN Rankings - Devin Kharpertian - The Brooklyn Game
- ESPN: Nets GM, chairman the worst in the business - Devin Kharpertian - The Brooklyn Game