This week, we try to wrap our heads around the concept of "Coach Kidd," devoting most of the Off-Season Report to his hiring, particularly the rift between pundits and players on Kidd's elevation. One group is skeptical, the other ecstatic.
Sam Amick reports that if Pete D'Alessandro gets the GM job in Sacramento --and he's been given permission to talk with the Kings-- Bobby Marks would join him. D'Alessandro is currently assistant GM in Denver and a candidate for that job as well.
We don't have the date for the announcement of a new head coach. Nor do we list the schedules for each of the Euro-Nets games in the FIBA Eurobasket. Otherwise, we try to be complete, adding September 8, the day for the Moscow mayoral election.
It's a bit of Nets history that Adrian Wojnarowski weaves Thursday morning, a detailed look at how the Spurs came very close to signing Jason Kidd in July 2003, just two weeks after San Antonio had beaten Kidd and the Nets in the NBA Finals.
We look at what's going on with the coaching search, post some draft notes, peer into the future of commuting from Manhattan and New Jersey to Brooklyn, examine how the Nets are aggressively marketing the Islanders and review the Emory College thing.
"The Association: Brooklyn Nets" is back and in the most intriguing bit, Billy King is seen working the phones at the trade deadline, listening as Danny Ferry, the Hawk GM tells King the Nets proposal for Josh Smith isn't enough.
We update our listing of the Nets trade assets, not that we hear there's a trade afoot! It's just that we haven't updated things since the last signings and cuts. We look at where the Nets are in terms of salary, draft picks, draft rights and cash.
Overall, you'd have to give them an "A" for the off-season, maybe even an A+. We grade each of the Nets moves since Billy King and Bobby Marks took over. We try to avoid "Incomplete" because you could give that grade to all the moves at this point.
we look at numbers from Friday re: the lack of congestion and unruly behavior; share what we hear about who's doing well; update roll-outs; congratulate Jake Appleman on his book contract to pen the definitive history of the Nets; plus a final note.
With Thursday's expected signing of Josh Childress, the Nets off-season will be over. So, in eleven weeks between the draft and now, the the Nets have committed $335.7 million in cash money to 14 basketball players.
