King recaps season with media

[NyCeEvO]

He seems to be working with the idea that since everyone will have cap space in 2016, free agents will decide to come based on the quality of the roster. I can understand believing Brook would be a positive asset for free agents, but Thad? Smh...

the issue is, if we extend lopez/thad and cant move deron then we wont even have the money to offer a max contract. which would be irresponsible. i dont care if there is a 0.00000000000000000000000001% chance you land durant, if you dont clear the money to at least have the chance you are an idiot

Agreed. I'm hoping that he can't be this stupid. Yet we've seen what he's done in the past so we can't put anything beyond him.

[MrDollarBills]

I busted out laughing when I read the garbage about trying to do things like the Rockets, Hawks, and Spurs.

You know how those teams got to where they are? By not doing the same dumb **** the Nets have been doing the last several years

[Prokorov]

It's funny how Hollins told Brook that he can become dominant if he gets a post-game. For years, people have been talking about Lopez having a great post-game but Hollins knows what it means to have a true, effective post-game. No more of this 3-5 seconds of pounding the ball to get position and then a slow lumbering step towards the paint for a hook shot. While Brook makes those shots at a pretty good clip, everything needs to be faster. Marc Gasol's shots are one/two-steps then a shot is going up. If Brook can get that, he can be way more effective down there.

its ALWAYS been my contention that lopez isnt a back to the basket low post player. he is at his best when he can face up and drive on other bigs. thats how he gets to the FT line, thats how he gots most of his points at the rim. When he posts up he usually settles for poor position further out, and pounds the ball and often takes fades/off balanced shots.

he is also outstanding when he can catch in the paint and just go up with it.

Hollins is correct. Brook will be dominant once he gets a low post game. too often (vs. antic, milsap for isntance) he doesnt take frequent advantage by pinning them down, drop stepping and getting a layup/dunk/foul. he also is very inconsistent dominating the offensive glass vs. smaller players. to me that was what disappointed me from brook in the atlanta series.

so far he has responded well to hollins, hopefulyl that continues. this is EXACTLY what brook needed. tough love, humility, and accountability

[Prokorov]

I busted out laughing when I read the garbage about trying to do things like the Rockets, Hawks, and Spurs.

You know how those teams got to where they are? By not doing the same dumb **** the Nets have been doing the last several years

the hawks got where they are by jettisoning their long term contracts, maximizing cap space, and not giving max deals to anyone on their team:
-trade djohnson for expirings
-let josh smith go
-didnt give out any max deals

the spurs got where they are by being insanely lucky and insanely smart;
-fell ass backwards into duncan
-drafted elite euros parker and ginobili
-got everyone to buy in
-didnt give out any huge max deals

the rockets got where they are by creating enormous amount sof cap space and assets, gutting their team to a complete shell, then using those picks and cap space to aquire stars
-gutted team of all real salary
-traded away anyone ona deal for crap
-didnt give any max deals
-traded picks space for Harde
-used caps apce to get dwigth
-were able to sign smith cause they werent in the lux tax

all 3 of thos teams relied on cap space, draft picks, and not giving max deals to guys who dont deserve it

we are liek the complete opposite of that. king wants to throw big contracts at all fo our free agents, doesnt want to clear cap for a big free agent class, and doenst have cap room or picks to trade for guys who may be in the next harden type situation

[NyCeEvO]

Great job NyCeEvO.

I'd re-sign Lopez, but only if the contract is reasonable... not the max(20M). I'd re-sign him for the 16 million he is making today without hesitation. I'd do it because... he's one of the few assets the Nets have. So, he should be re-signed not as a building block, but as a trade asset. If Lopez is signed to his max contract, even with the cap jump... I don't think he'd be very attractive.

I would not re-sign Thad Young long therm, if his price is the over 10 million per year. He just feels like he is so average on all aspects of his game and he was totally absent from these playoffs. He doesn't bring any intangibles to the team, like he's not a leader, he doesn't really energize the team... he is just a passenger. Some days he looks great, very efficient, but more often than not you can't feel his impact. It sounds as if because this was one of the few good deals King made... that you're now going to overvalue him.

Both you and Prok make good points about Brook being on a max.

I don't know what Brook and his agent's #1 concerns are. If his agent is trying to get him max money, the logical thing would be to either opt-in or sign a short deal (e.g. 3yr deal with the 3rd year being a PO). Either way, I'm fine with an opt-in or a shorter near-max.

As we've all stated, this Thad Young talk is bonkers. I don't know what King sees in him as being a foundational piece for the franchise. What a fool.

Obviously, the Nets are limited with their cap space, so these guys have some leverage I guess...(and in a scary way it does feel like it will happen...). Still, I think it would be so horrible to commit to salaries beyond those of Joe Johnson and Deron Williams. The goal should be win next year - YES - and by winning, you know, get to the playoffs, well at least not hand the Celtics a high pick. But with the bigger picture being... having a clean slate in two seasons(stretch/trade Deron).

Since Boston has our pick next year, we should just have our entire focus towards the 2016 offseason. The primary concern should be stockpiling assets for stars that may be traded at next year's deadline or clearing cap space.

Being good enough so we don't hand Boston a lotto pick (while terrible) can't be the primary goal for next year. We need to be concerned about us and being able to make the best presentation possible for why a free agent should want t join the Nets in 2016.

If we sign enough guys just to win (especially with Billy at the helm) means taking a huge chunk of salary cap to overpay solid players and being stuck as a treadmill team for another 5 years. Depending on what we can get back for any deals involving D-Will or Joe, we may not need to do much to make the playoffs and have a few assets going forward while maintaining cap flexibility.

[NyCeEvO]

He has a point on that. Still... we know most fans will want to have a chance at competing in Free Agency, rather than settling for scraps and be looking at mediocrity for years.

But King always sounds like he's making excuses to justify things, rather than owning up the mistakes made. The line about Houston and draft picks is so ridiculous.

And YES - it's crazy how the Russian guy doesn't care about his money. Spent ridiculous money on luxury tax, all to waste... and still he hasn't learned a thing or gives a sign that they're trying to change their philosophy and adapting for the future?

You don't have to say he SOUNDS like he's making excuses. He IS doing that.

This guy is a spin artist of the highest order. I don't know if the media has an opportunity to respond or ask a follow-up question but someone should've had the confidence to call him out and state the fact that HOU and the other teams all had draft picks, quality players, and expiring draft picks.

The funny thing is that I remember when we traded for Joe Johnson and some Nets fans (i.e. VC4P) were fuming because Harden was dealt for shortly after. At the time, we definitely had assets comparable to what the Rockets gave up. If King would've done his homework, there's a chance he could've landed Harden.Instead we got a much older JJ along with his cap-killing contract. I can't believe King has the audacity to talk about trades that we can't even dream of making since we don't have the assets.

[NyCeEvO]

the hawks got where they are by jettisoning their long term contracts, maximizing cap space, and not giving max deals to anyone on their team:
-trade djohnson for expirings
-let josh smith go
-didnt give out any max deals

the spurs got where they are by being insanely lucky and insanely smart;
-fell ass backwards into duncan
-drafted elite euros parker and ginobili
-got everyone to buy in
-didnt give out any huge max deals

the rockets got where they are by creating enormous amount sof cap space and assets, gutting their team to a complete shell, then using those picks and cap space to aquire stars
-gutted team of all real salary
-traded away anyone ona deal for crap
-didnt give any max deals
-traded picks space for Harde
-used caps apce to get dwigth
-were able to sign smith cause they werent in the lux tax

all 3 of thos teams relied on cap space, draft picks, and not giving max deals to guys who dont deserve it

we are liek the complete opposite of that. king wants to throw big contracts at all fo our free agents, doesnt want to clear cap for a big free agent class, and doenst have cap room or picks to trade for guys who may be in the next harden type situation

You should send this post to Billy King. Educate him, please.

[kerry kittles]

What worries me most about King and Thad is that he history of compounding mistakes:

Huge mistake #1: Trading a high 1st round pick for Gerald Wallace

Huge mistake #2: signing Wallace to a bloated contract: 4 years/$40 million as he couldn't let the guy he just gave up the #6 pick leave.

Mistake #3: Gerald Wallace doesn't live up to his contract. Gives up 3 picks moving him and getting back Pierce and KG.

The only thing that remains from this timeline of compounding mistakes is Thad, a guy King loves and drafted in Philly. If he walks then this whole chain of events is broken. I believe King is holding on because to lose Thad is admitting the prior mistakes. He's the link to all the former trades, all the assets we gave up.

[NyCeEvO]

What worries me most about King and Thad is that he history of compounding mistakes:

Huge mistake #1: Trading a high 1st round pick for Gerald Wallace

Huge mistake #2: signing Wallace to a bloated contract: 4 years/$40 million as he couldn't let the guy he just gave up the #6 pick leave.

Mistake #3: Gerald Wallace doesn't live up to his contract. Gives up 3 picks moving him and getting back Pierce and KG.

The only thing that remains from this timeline of compounding mistakes is Thad, a guy King loves and drafted in Philly. If he walks then this whole chain of events is broken. I believe King is holding on because to lose Thad is admitting the prior mistakes. He's the link to all the former trades, all the assets we gave up.

Ah, so instead of letting the chain of mistakes end, he feels compelled to continue it because he doesn't want to admit defeat. This wouldn't surprise me in the least if it were true lol.

[Lamak]

Not sure about the building around Thad Young. I think he brings a lot of things to the table, but as a starting PF, he got killed rebounding at times, but his offensive game is advanced. Not really sure who else could do the things he can beside Lopez.

[MrDollarBills]

I busted out laughing when I read the garbage about trying to do things like the Rockets, Hawks, and Spurs.

You know how those teams got to where they are? By not doing the same dumb **** the Nets have been doing the last several years

the hawks got where they are by jettisoning their long term contracts, maximizing cap space, and not giving max deals to anyone on their team:
-trade djohnson for expirings
-let josh smith go
-didnt give out any max deals

the spurs got where they are by being insanely lucky and insanely smart;
-fell ass backwards into duncan
-drafted elite euros parker and ginobili
-got everyone to buy in
-didnt give out any huge max deals

the rockets got where they are by creating enormous amount sof cap space and assets, gutting their team to a complete shell, then using those picks and cap space to aquire stars
-gutted team of all real salary
-traded away anyone ona deal for crap
-didnt give any max deals
-traded picks space for Harde
-used caps apce to get dwigth
-were able to sign smith cause they werent in the lux tax

all 3 of thos teams relied on cap space, draft picks, and not giving max deals to guys who dont deserve it

we are liek the complete opposite of that. king wants to throw big contracts at all fo our free agents, doesnt want to clear cap for a big free agent class, and doenst have cap room or picks to trade for guys who may be in the next harden type situation

I agree with you 100%

And I think that our lack of draft picks is what scares me about just going through with the scorched earth option and having no salary. We have nothing if we get turned down by the top FAs. Walking away with nothing in 2016 if we strip the roster will be a nightmare.

we have nothing to trade, nothing to offer FAs except max money.

Billy King has painted himself into a corner, and now we see that his response is to spend 40 mil on Lopez + Thad.

[Paradise]

I know your stance on lopez, but are you really ok with extending a long term deal to Thad Young? I know the cap goes up, but tying 34-38M between brook and thad really puts a hinder on what we can do to add top end talent to this team. If the idea is to keep brook, im not sure how giving thad a long term deal can be part of that plan.

Yeah, I am alarmed at the 'build' word in the same sentence with Thad. I like Thad and I would like him to be here but not on some 5 year deal. I just hopes he opts in and saves this bald idiot from himself.

seems he doesnt plan to use 2016 free agency to try and bring in a top player. he is going to extend who we have and look to trade our expirings for the best players he can. I can easily see a rudy gay type being brought in for joe johnson.

the pipe dream of adding a star in 2016 is on life support

I didn't take it that way. I think he means he doesn't believe in the blank canvas/pure cap idea. To me, he wants to establish a foundation instead of hoping we luck out in 2016. We would still have space to chase but probably with a couple key pieces here already. I'm guessing Brook, Markel, Bogey, Plumlee, Thad & our 2015 1st round pick.

It's not a bad idea on paper but it also truly requires Deron to be totally off our cap.

[Prokorov]

Not sure about the building around Thad Young. I think he brings a lot of things to the table, but as a starting PF, he got killed rebounding at times, but his offensive game is advanced. Not really sure who else could do the things he can beside Lopez.

"do what he does" what you mean brick mid range jumpers and go over his shoulder for a lefty hook? i wouldnt call thads offensive game 'advanced'. he basically scored on energy and having a quirky left handed delivery near the rim. he takes tons of awful shots. i can do without another guy who falls in love with long 2s

[Prokorov]

I busted out laughing when I read the garbage about trying to do things like the Rockets, Hawks, and Spurs.

You know how those teams got to where they are? By not doing the same dumb **** the Nets have been doing the last several years

the hawks got where they are by jettisoning their long term contracts, maximizing cap space, and not giving max deals to anyone on their team:
-trade djohnson for expirings
-let josh smith go
-didnt give out any max deals

the spurs got where they are by being insanely lucky and insanely smart;
-fell ass backwards into duncan
-drafted elite euros parker and ginobili
-got everyone to buy in
-didnt give out any huge max deals

the rockets got where they are by creating enormous amount sof cap space and assets, gutting their team to a complete shell, then using those picks and cap space to aquire stars
-gutted team of all real salary
-traded away anyone ona deal for crap
-didnt give any max deals
-traded picks space for Harde
-used caps apce to get dwigth
-were able to sign smith cause they werent in the lux tax

all 3 of thos teams relied on cap space, draft picks, and not giving max deals to guys who dont deserve it

we are liek the complete opposite of that. king wants to throw big contracts at all fo our free agents, doesnt want to clear cap for a big free agent class, and doenst have cap room or picks to trade for guys who may be in the next harden type situation

I agree with you 100%

And I think that our lack of draft picks is what scares me about just going through with the scorched earth option and having no salary. We have nothing if we get turned down by the top FAs. Walking away with nothing in 2016 if we strip the roster will be a nightmare.

we have nothing to trade, nothing to offer FAs except max money.

Billy King has painted himself into a corner, and now we see that his response is to spend 40 mil on Lopez + Thad.

we have draft picks 16-17 and forward. we have more then just free agency to use that cap space. if you want draft picks, cap space has proven to be the easiest way to stock pile them.

id rather "strike out" in free agency and still have cap space then overpay marginal players and lock ourselves into basically the same core that just stunk it up.

[Prokorov]

I know your stance on lopez, but are you really ok with extending a long term deal to Thad Young? I know the cap goes up, but tying 34-38M between brook and thad really puts a hinder on what we can do to add top end talent to this team. If the idea is to keep brook, im not sure how giving thad a long term deal can be part of that plan.

Yeah, I am alarmed at the 'build' word in the same sentence with Thad. I like Thad and I would like him to be here but not on some 5 year deal. I just hopes he opts in and saves this bald idiot from himself.

seems he doesnt plan to use 2016 free agency to try and bring in a top player. he is going to extend who we have and look to trade our expirings for the best players he can. I can easily see a rudy gay type being brought in for joe johnson.

the pipe dream of adding a star in 2016 is on life support

I didn't take it that way. I think he means he doesn't believe in the blank canvas/pure cap idea. To me, he wants to establish a foundation instead of hoping we luck out in 2016. We would still have space to chase but probably with a couple key pieces here already. I'm guessing Brook, Markel, Bogey, Plumlee, Thad & our 2015 1st round pick.

It's not a bad idea on paper but it also truly requires Deron to be totally off our cap.

if he maxes out lopez, extends thad, that space is already very close to not being able to give even 1 max deal depending what he does with guys like mirza. and if he moves joe for someone signed longterm like rudy gay then we cant offer a max for sure

[NyCeEvO]

We're just going to have to wait and see what happens. This situation is still pretty fluid.

Imagine LMA leaving Portland to go to Dallas or San Antonio. Lopez could entertain the idea of getting max money, while playing on the same team as his brother and being closer to home. If Lopez goes, it doesn't sound like Thad wants to stay and I sure hope in that scenario King lets him go.

Then you're talking about a weird scenario in which you're forced into a rebuild because of the decisions of other players. JJ is not going to want to play on a team that is sure to be lotto-bound. If you send him away for pieces, you got D-Will, Jack, Bogs, Plumlee, guys from a JJ trade, and the young guys.

The first domino to fall will be Thad Young's decision to opt-in. The deadline for him is June 22.

We might as well sit back and just wait for 40+ days for something newsworthy to happen. Until Thad makes a decision, we'll be here speculating.

[NyCeEvO]

Lenn Robbins did a video recap with Billy King yesterday. It's 3min30 sec long.

Here's the link: http://www.nba.com/nets/robbins/king-sa ... priorities

[SpeedyG]

We're just going to have to wait and see what happens. This situation is still pretty fluid.

Imagine LMA leaving Portland to go to Dallas or San Antonio. Lopez could entertain the idea of getting max money, while playing on the same team as his brother and being closer to home. If Lopez goes, it doesn't sound like Thad wants to stay and I sure hope in that scenario King lets him go.

Then you're talking about a weird scenario in which you're forced into a rebuild because of the decisions of other players. JJ is not going to want to play on a team that is sure to be lotto-bound. If you send him away for pieces, you got D-Will, Jack, Bogs, Plumlee, guys from a JJ trade, and the young guys.

The first domino to fall will be Thad Young's decision to opt-in. The deadline for him is June 22.

We might as well sit back and just wait for 40+ days for something newsworthy to happen. Until Thad makes a decision, we'll be here speculating.

Things are not looking good based on his comments. Let's hope that somebody saves King from himself...

[Prokorov]

We're just going to have to wait and see what happens. This situation is still pretty fluid.

Imagine LMA leaving Portland to go to Dallas or San Antonio. Lopez could entertain the idea of getting max money, while playing on the same team as his brother and being closer to home. If Lopez goes, it doesn't sound like Thad wants to stay and I sure hope in that scenario King lets him go.

Then you're talking about a weird scenario in which you're forced into a rebuild because of the decisions of other players. JJ is not going to want to play on a team that is sure to be lotto-bound. If you send him away for pieces, you got D-Will, Jack, Bogs, Plumlee, guys from a JJ trade, and the young guys.

The first domino to fall will be Thad Young's decision to opt-in. The deadline for him is June 22.

We might as well sit back and just wait for 40+ days for something newsworthy to happen. Until Thad makes a decision, we'll be here speculating.

we SHOULD be rebuilding. whether its a minor rebuid where you put your faith in lopez as the centerpiece or in a blow it up where you put your faith in being able to use your cap space to aquire picks and players via trade and free agency

there is no scenario where we shouldnt rebuild, and should roll over the majority of this core

[Paradise]

I know your stance on lopez, but are you really ok with extending a long term deal to Thad Young? I know the cap goes up, but tying 34-38M between brook and thad really puts a hinder on what we can do to add top end talent to this team. If the idea is to keep brook, im not sure how giving thad a long term deal can be part of that plan.

Yeah, I am alarmed at the 'build' word in the same sentence with Thad. I like Thad and I would like him to be here but not on some 5 year deal. I just hopes he opts in and saves this bald idiot from himself.

seems he doesnt plan to use 2016 free agency to try and bring in a top player. he is going to extend who we have and look to trade our expirings for the best players he can. I can easily see a rudy gay type being brought in for joe johnson.

the pipe dream of adding a star in 2016 is on life support

I didn't take it that way. I think he means he doesn't believe in the blank canvas/pure cap idea. To me, he wants to establish a foundation instead of hoping we luck out in 2016. We would still have space to chase but probably with a couple key pieces here already. I'm guessing Brook, Markel, Bogey, Plumlee, Thad & our 2015 1st round pick.

It's not a bad idea on paper but it also truly requires Deron to be totally off our cap.

if he maxes out lopez, extends thad, that space is already very close to not being able to give even 1 max deal depending what he does with guys like mirza. and if he moves joe for someone signed longterm like rudy gay then we cant offer a max for sure

I don't think Mirza is coming back unless he accepts the qualifying offer. I hope King tries to revisit the Joe to Detroit deal.