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Iannazzone: Enough Blame to Go AroundNovember 22, 2009, 5:18 pmAl Iannazzone, writing for YES, pins the blame for the Nets’ problems on everyone, from Bruce Ratner to Jason Kidd to Lawrence Frank. There’s Ratner’s unwillingness to spend–except when it came to Vince Carter; Rod Thorn and Ed Stefanski’s draft choices; everyone’s desire to keep Kidd happy and an inability to find durable replacements for the “Big Three”. He’s not crazy about small ball either.  Why The Nets Are Where They Are Today - Al Iannazzone - The Nets InsiderPosted in Abdur-Rahim, S.; Carter, Vince; Frank, Lawrence; Harris, Devin; History; Injuries; Jefferson, Richard; Kidd, Jason; Lee, Courtney; Martin, K.; Ratner, Bruce; Stefanski, Ed; Thorn, Rod; Wright, Antoine; Yi, Jianlian | 56 Comments » |
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November 22nd, 2009 at 5:29 pm
Ok, so finally Iannazzone thinks the great Frank is not immune to criticism. I bet the Frank’s lovers will come up with something so everyone is to be blamed except Frank.
November 22nd, 2009 at 5:31 pm
If brooklyn falls through, you’d be crazy to think Prokhorov wants any part of this disaster.
November 22nd, 2009 at 5:43 pm
Its not really a disaster. WE will have 25 million in cap space next year with basically all good young players on the team. We sign some players and a new coach and we are set
November 22nd, 2009 at 5:50 pm
$25 million in cap space without money is just that cap space. Just trying to be realistic.
November 22nd, 2009 at 6:02 pm
We’re set for what?
Some fans just used Jennings and Bogut as an excuse for why the Nets were inferior to the Bucks. What makes our young players special compared to the young talents in other teams?
November 22nd, 2009 at 6:03 pm
I’m looking forward to our draft pick because it’s looking like it will be a top 5 pick in what the analysts are saying is a great draft. Although the Dallas pick is going to be a late first rounder, its possible it will still become a good young player, and our own 2nd rounder may net us a good player as well, as it should be somewhere between picks 31-35. If we get the top overall pick, its likely John Wall. If we get anything other than the top pick, hopefully we can come away with that legit PF ‘moose’ that we need. If we don’t get Wall, I have a feeling we will go hard after Rickey Rubio. Thorn and Kiki may have already made a push for during the last draft. I am guessing Ricky wants no part of losing tons of games in the frigid winters of Minnesota, and with our bevy of young talent and draft choices, we may have what it takes to get him. Beyond that, I am hopeful our cap space will turn into All Star players. We will have to wait and see how Brooklyn turns out, if Prokhy is approved, and if we are able to present a team that could be seen as a winning team going forward.
November 22nd, 2009 at 6:04 pm
Seems like he’s blaming organization and management more than the coach, and I have to agree big time on that.
November 22nd, 2009 at 6:07 pm
@ A.M. – I say we keep Harris, Lee, T. Williams, S. Williams, and Lopez and dump EVERYONE ELSE associated with this team in any way.
November 22nd, 2009 at 6:13 pm
@diehard
What about CDR? He’s a stud!
November 22nd, 2009 at 6:13 pm
What about CDR? He’d be a great 6th man.
November 22nd, 2009 at 6:23 pm
What if we get the number 1 pick? We have to give up Harris that will land us a good trade for a SG or PF. Then sign 2 free agents. John Wall will be our starting PG with Twill coming off the bench. Harris wont be needed anymore!
November 22nd, 2009 at 6:27 pm
CDR is not a 6th man if you think Lee is a starter.
CDR shows as much potential as Lopez. Those two make me hopeful about the future, along with Harris, that is.
November 22nd, 2009 at 6:43 pm
@A.M.
With you on the blame game priority list. The Nets blew every draft choice from the second round in 2002 to the first round in 2008.
November 22nd, 2009 at 6:57 pm
Mikhail Prokhorov !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Where are you?
November 22nd, 2009 at 7:05 pm
I don’t see how we are as horrible as everyone says if we are missing nearly everyone good except Lopez, and CDR(even he missed a few).
Keyon and Jarvis are HUGE pieces to our team, and were usually both in the play to end all the games last year. You cant replace those guys. Add the rest of our starters to the mix, and its just a bout of bad luck.
As far as missing in the drafts… please, you could say stuff like that for every team in the NBA. Its mostly all luck outside of the top 3.
November 22nd, 2009 at 7:20 pm
I find it funny that Abdur-Rahim is the first tag listed. Funny.
@diehard – Add Hayes, CDR, maybe Dooling, and maaaaybe Yi to that list, and I’m down.
November 22nd, 2009 at 7:25 pm
A lot of what Iannazzone wrote is gibberish. I’ve never been a fan of his analysis; it’s very amateurish and not well thought-out. To his points:
1. Bruce Ratner — True, but after the Nets went to the Finals twice, it was clear that they had peaked. The Jazz went to the Finals twice in a row and gradually declined with Stockton and Mallone at the helm. History shows patterns, and clearly the same was going to happen with an ostensible Kidd-led Nets contender. Sure, Ratner is not interested in basketball, but if the Nets had Prohkorov as owner back in 2003, I’m not sure it would have mattered. They had peaked and clearly they were on a course toward inevitable gradual decline.
2. 2001 Draft day deal — Gibberish Monday morning quarterbacking. By the time you get to the second round, all of the picks are shots in the dark. Was anybody asking for Arenas the day before or even after the draft? Also, there’s no telling how players develop in different systems within different roles on different teams. It’s all hypothetical, and not very substantive as an argument.
3. Kidd’s input — Van Horn was traded to make way for Jefferson at SF. Mutumbo was considered to be an upgrade from MacCulloch. Rodney Rogers was a neutral move to get a shooter to replace Van Horn. Mourning was a roll of the dice; D’Alessandro wrote the day after the signing it had the potential to make the team the class of the league. Where was Iannozzone writing the opposite?
4. Kenyon Martin trade — HELLO? We’ve been over this a million times – his knees were shot. Why mention this and not the Kittles trade based on the same principled criticism?
5. Failed physicals — Agreed. But, remember, at least they ultimately chose not to sign Abdur-Rahim. They could have said screw the medical advice and signed him anyway. It could’ve been worse.
6. Antoine Wright — Agreed, but see my point #2.
7. Carter’s Deal — This is Iannozzone’s strongest critique. The Carter deal was a disaster from the day it was proposed, because the Nets were bidding against themselves and overbid at that. Ratner was trying to show the fans he was willing to make amends for the Martin and Kittles salary dumps and learned the wrong lesson.
8. Big Three’s replacements — It’s far too early to be judging the Courtney Lee era. At least wait till the beginning of next season to judge this.
9. More draft whining — Agreed. At some point, the law of averages catches up with you, and if you are drafting busts year after year, there’s probably something wrong with your scouting and talent evaluation. I blame Stefanski (he hasn’t done much with the Sixers, either, BTW).
10. The Sale — Agreed. More cost cutting rather than winning player acquisitions.
11. Injuries — We all said this is a 25 win team. Take away 3/5ths of that team’s starting lineup and you have a single digit winning team. None of this is rocket science.
12. Small ball — In the regular season, you can win playing small ball, at least somewhat. Otherwise, Nellie wouldn’t be a Hall of Fame coach.
13. Not playing to win — Ehh, this is his opinion, not based on substantive evidence. Maybe he’s right…
How about mentioning there’s no home court advantage whatsoever, no leadership (no galvanizing personality), no PF at all, really, in terms of actual power, no leadership from the top that the onus is on the players to win (if executives don’t show signs that winning is important to them, then why should the players care, either)…
There’s so much more.
November 22nd, 2009 at 7:42 pm
I got two reasons we suck, Ratner bought the team and Opie is the coach. As an owner I would keep 3 people. Thorn, Lopez and Swat. I like Harris and CDR but would use them to aquire and PF. I also like Hayes and Dooling but they are replaceable. I’m not sold on Lee but it’s early.
November 22nd, 2009 at 7:57 pm
I was always a supporter of Swat and I’ve always wanted him to get some playing time, but what’s with all the love all of a sudden. Even when everyone was down on him, I hoped he would stay on the team and get a little playing time because of his energy and athletic attributes. But his play over the past few days have transformed him from dump to gold. I’m standing by my ground; Swat is not our answer, but he does not hurt this team. He is a quality player off the bench.
November 22nd, 2009 at 8:10 pm
Too bad that CDR’s stellar play is being overshadowed by this lousy season start. Anyway, GREAT effort CDR. Keep it up!!
November 22nd, 2009 at 8:15 pm
Frank likes Small Ball, and we keep losing becaus of small ball.
November 22nd, 2009 at 8:23 pm
I agree with Iannazzone. I would add in particular as far as Frank is concerned. He lacks cred having not played the game.He does not train his player hard to develop stamina the full game. That was the secret of Reilly. Frank’s team most of the time lose in the fourth quarter because players run out of gas.
November 22nd, 2009 at 8:46 pm
@Chris2
Rubio would be the biggest waste of time. He has zero offensive game and he was so afraid of competing with another rookie in Minnesota that he chose not to come to the NBA for 2 years. That move alone already shows he has no heart, why bother?
November 22nd, 2009 at 9:14 pm
@TheMann
I know very little of Ricky Rubio, but NBA talent evaluators seem to think he is a incredible talent who makes everyone around him better. Those types of guys are hard to come by. As for his staying in Spain instead of coming to Minnesota, that was his personal choice and we do not know the details about the situation regarding the true reasoning behind the decision. From what I have read, the fact that he was drafted lower than what we thought he would be, meant that what Minnesota could not offer him enough money for the buyout he needed to give to his Euro team so he would need to pay out of his own pocket. In any case, even if it did show immaturity on his part, he is 18 years old. He is only a kid and he has years to grow his game and the way he goes about his business. If we get an increidble talent like a Lebron, maybe its not something we would pursue, but if we strike out in free agency and do not get Wall, Thorn is going to want to make a splash via trade and I expect him to pursue Rubio.
November 22nd, 2009 at 9:24 pm
I blame the VC trade, because the Nets would have been good had he never been traded to the Magic in the first place.
November 22nd, 2009 at 9:27 pm
From an overall big picture standpoint, Ratner is obviously the main reason the Nets have returned to laughingstock status after all that was done (namely getting Jason Kidd) to finally make us a winner.
Aside from everything that has gone wrong under an owner that could care less about basketball, keeping this poor excuse for an NBA coach season after season is the next biggest problem. Take a look at the list of coaches that have won in this league. None of them have resumes that of Lawrence Frank. They are people that have played in the NBA, have had great success in the NBA. Gregg Popovich is a rare case of someone that had made it without that pedigree – but take a look at Pop and then take a look at Lo. One clearly commands respect – the other doesn’t.
The only way we ever get back on track is if Ratner finally gives up and gets this team in the hands of people that can get it to Newark permanently, bring in a real coach, convince Thorn to say on for 2-3 more years unless you can find somone of his caliber to replace him and find people to put around Brook Lopez and build a future finally!
November 22nd, 2009 at 9:46 pm
What about the RJ trade??
we are still waiting for Yi to produce
The Nets traded a potential all star and got nothing in return
November 22nd, 2009 at 9:48 pm
@ Chris 2
Who would they want? CDR straight up? Would I really part with him. Nope! They will ask for him because the don’t want T.Will in a package deal.
I don’t think we need Rubio and I know you are assuming getting a #2-5 draft choice. That would be just horrible. I will keep Harris and the point and just draft a bruiser at the PF. Then sign Rudy Gay for 5 yrs 65 mil. If we get a max player at PF then fine. But it looks like:
Harris/Dooling/(S. Collins)
CDR/C. Lee
Gay/T.Will/Hayes
Yi/(Favors)
Lopez/(Varnado)
November 22nd, 2009 at 9:53 pm
bobby simmons is terrible this year.
he should just stay home
November 22nd, 2009 at 10:27 pm
@ djheavyduty – Agreed – that was perhaps one of the most lopsided trades ever made in NBA history, except for the draft night trade between the Blazers and Bulls a few years ago!
November 22nd, 2009 at 10:33 pm
If some of you didn’t keep rambling about how old JKidd and VC were, they probably would have stayed rather than demand to be traded.
November 22nd, 2009 at 10:46 pm
And yes tack on the RJ trade – one of the most pitiful deals in NBA history. Yi was brought here as a marketing gimmick (probably another one of Yormark’s “brilliant” ideas). I can’t honestly believe Thorn or even Kiki saw any real potential in this dud, to say nothing of how useless Simmons is. Absolutely disgraceful after all that RJ brought to this team.
November 22nd, 2009 at 10:49 pm
@ Tal Barzilai – The Carter trade was a money-saving trade, plain and simple.
November 22nd, 2009 at 10:57 pm
I think the decision not to draft Danny Granger was perhaps the worst one ever made by Thorn. Imagine how much better we’d be right now with a Granger-Jefferson-Krstic-Monta Ellis core than with a Harris-Lee-Sean Williams-Lopez core.
November 22nd, 2009 at 11:30 pm
i remeber throughing my slipper against the wall in anger and confusion as the nets picked wright…
November 22nd, 2009 at 11:30 pm
remember throwing*
November 22nd, 2009 at 11:31 pm
LoL. Krstic and RJ!? Please. Granger yes, but who is to say he would have even developed with the teamw e had compared to on Indiana where he was forced to mature faster, at that time frame. Much like CDR and Twill are being forced to develop faster now.
Imagine if Brook went to a team that already had a center, like his brother did. Its destiny baby!
November 22nd, 2009 at 11:47 pm
The drafts are not really something you can criticize I think. It’s not like anyone imagined Gilbert Arenas would be the player he is now, a lot of the guys he states are the guys no one ever sees coming. It’s just easy to say we passed on a good player because we already know what they’re gonna be.
November 22nd, 2009 at 11:49 pm
Oh Please..You guy’s with this RJ Dream…He was soooo over rated…He was a Ball stopper……He was only as good as JKIDD made him…We were lucky to get rid of his contract at all even if we did get garbage in return….We were nothing before JKIDD and we are nothing after him…We need a guy (Rubio) who makes other players better…Trade Harris for the rights to Rubio (Harris will get hurt again , unfortunately) , Get Lebron and a High lottery pick…..Please , Let the RJ thing go already…..
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:20 am
at NetFan48:
No one said RJ is a Hall of Famer. But despite Kidd obviously taking him to another level, he was still a very solid player for this team that had a lot of confidence, took pride in being a Net and competed.
Would you agree he is worth more than Yi, Simmons, Hassell, Najera and Boone combined? I would certainly say so.
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:37 am
Calm down.
Look… I know that Jefferson trade was lopsided but what else was on the table at that time. Did the Nets need money at the time… Yes!… and they still do. They were losing money fast. Was Jefferson a product of Kidd being able to find people… Yes and No. Jefferson is a #3 option on a good team. He is there for the kick out or for slashing.
Yi was/is young and has a chance to be a serviceable player. It was a salary dump trade to get whatever valuable.
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:53 am
Tru… He wanted to stay a Net and I always respected that.
November 23rd, 2009 at 3:01 am
Most of these points make me very angry.
#1…. You can’t criticize the Nets or any other team for passing on late 1st round or 2nd round players that develop. Nobody can see these guys emerging into superstars. If anybody knew they were gonna be this good they would be top 10 picks. And it looks like we got a pretty good player in CDR anyway.
#2 In the NBA you have to decide if you want to be a 45 win team and lose in the 1st or 2nd round of the playoffs or rebuild, clear cap space and eventually compete for a championship. By trading Jason Kidd the Nets chose to do the latter. They traded Kidd who was clearly not the player he was 2 years ago, the Nets got Harris who is an up and coming PG and will be the PG on the team for years and years. With Richard Jefferson, he has clearly lost some hop. When he first got to the league he was an electrifying dunker. Right now he struggles to get above the rim. Although he is still rather young I do see some signs of early wear and tear on his body. Why not trade him for a young athletic 7 footer? We weren’t winning the championship anyway.
#3 The VC trade cleared a ton of cap space for next year and we got Courtney Lee. He did start on the Eastern Conference Champions.
#4 Trenton Hassell has to be one of the worst NBA players I have ever seen. He appears to be moving in slow motion, his spring is like a slow jog, he is constantly late getting back on defense and he forces bad shots on offense. It is not in Hassells game to go for a steal. A more fair criticism would be that they didn’t double Wade as soon as he got the ball.
#5 Is it that big of a deal that the Nets passed on Carl Landry?? Would he make a difference on this team? Don’t think so.
The bottom line is that instead of winning 45 games and losing in the 1st or 2nd round of the playoffs for years to come with Kidd RJ and VC we chose to rebuild. While it is frustrating to watch now, at least we can see that they have a plan in place for the future. Its also not like they gave away any of the big 3 for nothing like the Bucks did with RJ to the Spurs. The Nets have the pieces in place to make a solid run for the next few years. The biggest question is will they be able to get a big time free agent to come to NJ?
November 23rd, 2009 at 4:26 am
Bruce Ratner is despicable, I hate this greedy pig, but yeah, I also think that management should get lots of blame. I would say Thorn’s biggest mistake has been keeping this lame coach for 7 seasons.
As for the RJ trade- I find nothing to regret about it. RJ ain’t a difference maker and his contract is ridiculous. There are plenty of players like him in this league. What makes RJ a superior player to Maggette, Richardson…? We got a nice young player in Yi. Look at what the Bucks got for him- absolutely nothing. Stop evaluating this trade. Time has done it for us.
I also believe that Carter is worth that contract, esp in the right situation. I understand why they traded him, but I find a lot more to complain about this trade than about RJ’s deal.
November 23rd, 2009 at 4:35 am
And yes, I hate it when Frank goes small. Frank is stubborn. I wouldn’t be surprised if he played himself at C.
November 23rd, 2009 at 5:08 am
face it the nets organization didn’t do anything right surrounding the star players that they had..example…vc and the magic are number 1 right now in their conference…jkidd and the mavericks are number 2 right now in their conference…coincidence u say?..i think not. i say good management work. face it the nets have not had good management skills in yrs.
November 23rd, 2009 at 10:19 am
Bruce Ratner is the reason why this team is on it’s way to breaking the record for lowest win total of the season, point blank.
And LMAO @ the guy saying CDR would be a good sixth man. CDR is looking like he’s a legitimate starting two guard and he’s only getting better.
November 23rd, 2009 at 10:31 am
I guess nobody loves you when your down and out.
For some strange reason I’m enjoying this season.
Wish we could get a win, but as long as the team plays hard, I’ll cheer them on.
November 23rd, 2009 at 11:01 am
Good column by Iannazzone. There is one theme that runs through it but does not get enough attention – Since the Kidd acquisition, they constantly choose guys who lack fire and presence in the paint. They get rid of Kenyon and never really replace him at the 4 or in spirit. You look at the guys we draft and guys we pass over and it is constant — we pass over 4s like Millsap who are tough guys who have fire and can board and get 4s like Rodney Rogers and Sean and Boone who look good on paper but don’t bring it to the court. And in terms of fire, Krstic and Collins never had any. Boone and Yi lack fire. Simmons lacks fire. In particlar, ownership has overinvested in Yi because of its desperate need for revenue instead of recognizing his lack of fire and moving him for someone who cold make a difference. CDR and Dooling and BLo and Twill seem to have some fire, so maybe they are keepers. They need to add a guy at the 4 who has energy and passion and plays hard around the rim and in the lane.
November 23rd, 2009 at 11:10 am
Al wouldnt dare blame fans for never coming out, however.
November 23rd, 2009 at 11:11 am
@Mike
My enjoyment of this season is qualified. As a long time CDR fan, I’m pleased to see his emergence as a bona fide NBA caliber player. I’ve always felt that CDR just needed minutes to establish himself.
I’m anxious to see how this young players collage of Devin, Brook, CDR, Sean, TWill, lee and Yi pans out. My hope is that they will develop a chemistry that showcases each of their strengths and that our starters are picked based on performance and continued merit.
I think the frequent injuries to key players has had a huge negative impact on this season’s start; but I don’t think it’s irreversible.
Maybe with tomorrow’s game, we’ll just see our young guys have a go at the more experienced teams to see where we wind up. It can’t be worse than where we are. Some of these vets on this team are sabotaging the Nets efforts with their bad play, specifically Alston and Simmons. I expect Jarvis Hayes and Dooling will actually help the team provided they return to full health. But for now, let the young guys play! GO NETS!!
November 23rd, 2009 at 11:27 am
@Jeff;
I agree with all you said. I also think that playing the young players should be the most important objective right now. Simmons looks and plays like a zombie. Hassel and Alston should be playing limited minutes. Najera should just stay home. I would rather lose with the young guys then win, with the fore mentioned veterans.
November 23rd, 2009 at 11:33 am
sounds good until youre down to eight players with some of the young players in the trainers room or home sick. Harris just got back. Maybe we see Lee in Denver. Yi wont be back til December. Hayes, who the Nets see as part of their youth movement, may be the last man back. CDR missed time with swine flu.
You play who’s healthy and I got no complaints about Trenton Hassell. (You could also note on the positive side that Hassell, Alston and even Sean Williams all showed trade value.)
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:39 pm
I have a feeling, even if we had no injuries, Frank would still be mixing and matching lineups. His revolving door rotations make me dizzy. What I love about Frank supporters, is that there is always some excuse for his failures. Players hurt, too many young players, no fan support, ownership crisis, poor drafts, bad calls, Yi, and so on and so on and so on. I think Frank should not be fired, but he should improve his coaching. Players need to improve and so do coaches.
November 23rd, 2009 at 1:46 pm
at mt57:
“Since the Kidd acquisition, they constantly choose guys who lack fire and presence in the paint.”
Absolutely correct. The missing ingredient for that NBA Title (even when Kenyon was here) was a true beef-eating rebounder and shot bloxker in the paint aka a difference maker. For whatever reason, Thirn has shied away from players like that ever since he got here and he has had some tradeable parts to try and acquire someone decent along those lines. Alonzo was the closest he came to getting that guy but we all know how he turned out in Jersey before becoming a key role player on Miami’s 2006 title team.
November 23rd, 2009 at 3:26 pm
The Nets mainly pass on guys with passion and fire because they know the head coach cant handle those kinds of players. Larry Frank can not deal with players with strong personalities which is exactly why he let Kidd and RJ run over him. He’s too scared to step up to the plate and get in their faces and tell them what’s what. I’m sure if they knew CDR had that fire before the draft, he wouldnt have been drafted either. You need a volatile player or 2 on your roster because they are usually the guys that play hard, stretch the rules to win and hate to lose. With a weak head coach it’s hard to keep those types of players under control so you get this mess known as the Nets. Fan support is no excuse for the Nets losing and Larry Frank’s poor coaching. Besides, if you want fan support, take the team out of a literal swamp and move them to a place where there is mass transit, night life, and entertainment. If you’re cashing a multi-million dollar check year after year, you play regardless of who is or isnt in the stands. There could be one fan in the building, it wouldnt matter if the coach can keep the team focused.