Congrats to JKIDD

[fasca]

He got his 100th td tonight. Its kind of funny, his fist once since the trade, and that 100 happens on the last game of the season. Well it took a while, but congrats!!! Jkidd i will be rooting for you in the playoffs

[Cruzeirao]

Congrats Kidd.

I watched the game today and he was great. His best game in this season.

I will be rooting for Kidd too in the playoffs.

[NetsForce]

Yeah that was a great game by Kidd, what a way to get his 100th triple double too.

[MrDollarBills]

[dacher]

Kidd and Dallas bench carried them. I'm all pumped for that first round series. We all know Kidd is all about the playoffs. Byron Scott and his Hornets are going to be have their hands full.

It's going to be a tough series. Dirk's playing hurt and I think Howard is too. If Dirk was healthy, I'd give the edge to the Mavs.

[SpeedyG]

Kidd and Dallas bench carried them. I'm all pumped for that first round series. We all know Kidd is all about the playoffs. Byron Scott and his Hornets are going to be have their hands full.

It's going to be a tough series. Dirk's playing hurt and I think Howard is too. If Dirk was healthy, I'd give the edge to the Mavs.

Howard has been stinking it up (mavs fans have this love/hate relationshipt with him it seems, though mostly hate recently from what I see), settling for far too many jumpshots.

But the Mavs go where Kidd takes them. Dirk will get his, but Kidd will need to somehow neutralize Paul for them to win...either statistically, or imposing his will on the game.

[superLuigi21]

i love kidd, but cp3 will dominate that series ... good work on the triple double, i caught a couple of minutes of the game and one play that really stood out was kidd throwing up a brick from 3 but following his shot and grabbing the rebound to reset for another shot.. classic jkidd moment, esp. on the brick part

[jerseyjac]

i love kidd, but cp3 will dominate that series ... good work on the triple double, i caught a couple of minutes of the game and one play that really stood out was kidd throwing up a brick from 3 but following his shot and grabbing the rebound to reset for another shot.. classic jkidd moment, esp. on the brick part

we shall see...you know what they say about the playoffs...

[Rich Rane]

-= original quote snipped =-



we shall see...you know what they say about the playoffs...

It's what comes after the regular season?



Congrats, Kidd. Still a supporter. Still watching.

[jerseyjac]

-= original quote snipped =-



It's what comes after the regular season?



Congrats, Kidd. Still a supporter. Still watching.

Its where the stars come out to play and where legends are made...

Kidd does not fear Paul...I'm looking for a Kidd vs. Baron type showdown here...I think Jason gets a chance to shine and look young again...the playoffs always takes a couple of years off your body and Kidd always plays at another level/speed...

[jeff1624]

Nice to see Kidd get his triple Double on the last game of the season, versus the team they'll face in the playoffs AND against Paul.

[mack69]

i will not be rooting for the guy.

Go Rockets!!!!!!!! Go Utah!!!!!!!! Go Cavs!!!!!!!

[MrDollarBills]

I'm happy that Kidd got that team to the playoffs, so I give him kudos for helping us obtain his current team's 1st rd pick this year and in 2010. The chips are falling in place perfectly for us thanks to him.

With that said, I think Chris Paul will embarrass him and make him look like he's out there on ice skates. I don't see Kidd being able to defend him, regardless of nostalgia or his recent level of play.

[Rich Rane]

I'm happy that Kidd got that team to the playoffs, so I give him kudos for helping us obtain his current team's 1st rd pick this year and in 2010. The chips are falling in place perfectly for us thanks to him.

First, Kidd hurt us by getting Dallas into the playoffs. If they had missed playoffs, we would've gotten a pick in 2011. Dallas in 2011 will not be better than Dallas in 2010.

And I'm sorry, but what are the chips that are falling into place? I see us slowly, but surely moving into years of mediocrity for a good few years even into Brooklyn.

We have a penny-pushing and an inept basketball-minded owner. We just went 10-20 after losing Kidd and for a team over the salary-cap, it's atrocious. Attendance is getting worse than it already has been. Horrible attendance with really low ticket prices means we waste money on expenditures for the remainder of the time at the Izod Center. With the move to Brooklyn, do you believe Ratner will shell out his wallet on the team for at best 1st round exits? Hell, look at our free agents this offseason. It wouldn't be surprising if Ratner pulled a post K-Mart year when he pretty much sold the team and hired D-League guys like Rodney Buford, Jabari Smith, and Travis Best just to save money rather than re-signing some of our guys to bigger long-term contracts. We get under the cap, we don't receive an MLE. If we're still over the cap, what's going to make Ratner give permission to Thorn on using the given MLE? And even if permission is given to Thorn, who the hell would we use it on other than splitting it for pieces of trash (Magloire last off-season).

With Kidd gone, we have no attractive piece at all that would entice other players to play here. VC's reputation is known throughout the league. RJ's reputation is pretty much a semi-franchise player that's always injured even though he played an entire year this year. Harris this year has shown he's more of an undersized 2 than a real 1, even though he is a fine undersized 2. We play in an area nicknamed "The Swamp". Sure we all here like to think Jersey is a great place to live, but judging the Turnpike route from Newark to the Meadowlands, how many players on away teams would love to live here? This means trading for certain players may be even harder as we could be one of those teams that don't want to report here. Free agents will probably look elsewhere before looking our way. And picks? Sorry to say it, but the drafts don't look too well not only this year, but for the next two.

Let's look at the potential targets we'll be looking into. We have Elton Brand who just had an injury season. May be enticing to some fans, but probably not enough for Thorn, Kiki, and Ratner, who will be looking to lowball LAC management. Same would go for JO. Injury filled season. They would be looking to lowball Indy management. These are three guys that will always be looking for the smart move rather than the risk. It's very comforting at that, but only when you're at the top of the mountain rather than the bottom third of the league.

And finally, we have Frank. Sure, he's a guy that takes the blame. Sure he's one of the best coaches in the league off the timeout. Sure he's a great player's coach. But from the locker room before tipoff to the locker room after the buzzer, the guy doesn't know how to coach. Because of him, we'll be losing more games than we have to (Of course he's doing this already). We'll have more bad-looking seasons that just pushes upcoming free agents away.

So once again, what are the pieces that are falling into place perfectly? And please do not mention the LeBron in 2010 sweepstakes.

[MrDollarBills]

Dallas is a crap shoot. You don't know what will happen with them in 2010. I look at their pick as an asset.

If Frank gets off to a bad start next year he'll be gone, and i'm fairly confident in Thorn and Kiki's abilities to retool this roster with what we have, which is picks, expirings, trade pieces, and some cap room.

I can't worry about if Ratner starts penny pinching, its out of my control. All i can do is sit back and see what happens and choose whether to devote my time to watching a purposefully half a * * product, or not.

[dacher]

I'm loving watching Dallas right now. Vintage playoff kidd. i hate to see him leave NJ, but I knew he had to, and i'm really glad where he went. It's been a long while I thought it was such a shame how the team was misbuilt around Kidd, and Kidd's gifts was totally being wasted. We saw he could still do his stuff on Team USA, the problem has never been Kidd. Kidd makes players around him better, but his teammates have to want it. He's the ultimate assist man, catalyst, enabler for others. He gives a great push, but you still have to be the one to climb the wall. It's not some voodoo magic. Thorn hasn't brought in the right kind of player with the urgent hunger and desire and mental toughness to get better and win right now. Too many complacent players who act like they are entitled to win, take it slow or too satisfied with just getting a paycheck.

He's not doing much now.

Hey, I'm glad either way. If Kidd does well, I get to enjoy Kidd in the playoffs, and bring back some good Net memories. If Kidd crashes, then we where 100% right to trade Kidd, and it was a trade where Thorn robbed Cuban.

[Rich Rane]

Dallas is a crap shoot. You don't know what will happen with them in 2010. I look at their pick as an asset.

Didn't question this. It still would've been better had they not make the playoffs this year and we get their 2009 and 2011 picks.

If Frank gets off to a bad start next year he'll be gone, and i'm fairly confident in Thorn and Kiki's abilities to retool this roster with what we have, which is picks, expirings, trade pieces, and some cap room.

What in the last five years since Frank's been coaching this team has given you any indication that Thorn doesn't like him? Same goes for Ratner, Kiki, and the players and their feelings toward Frank. I hate to say this, but as much as we hate the guy we're all going to have to get used to the fact Frank's not going anywhere anytime soon.

And retooling? As much as I like Thorn, how many years did he have to satisfy his captain? Ratner's business-minded head sure doesn't help our cause. Kiki's ideas will all be reviewed under those two.

And let's once again look at our trading assets:

Draft picks: Drafts look weak for the next two-three years. If we're stuck in the 11-20 zone, no one could complain Nets FO isn't trying.
VC: Long-term contract; known around the league as a quitter (not saying he is)
RJ: Long-term contract; known around the league as injury-prone (not saying he is)
Cap Room: If we sign our FAs long-term, we'll be near or over the cap. Under the cap, we have no MLE. Over, Thorn's record on using the MLE has been dismal. As of next season, we virtually have no expirings.

I can't worry about if Ratner starts penny pinching, its out of my control.

And as a fan, what do you control in the Nets Organization? You sure as hell can't force Thorn or Kiki to make a trade. You can't entice other players to play here. You can't tell any of our current players what they're doing wrong. You can't tell Frank what's going on.

All i can do is sit back and see what happens and choose whether to devote my time to watching a purposefully half a * * product, or not

Hard times separate the bandwagoners and the real fans. Which one will you be? If this team keeps going down the path it's going...look once again for pre-Kidd years.

[MrDollarBills]

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Didn't question this. It still would've been better had they not make the playoffs this year and we get their 2009 and 2011 picks.

That's your opinion, who knows what Thorn and Kiki will be able to do with our lottery pick and their pick this year? Dallas in 2009 might still be a good team, its not as if Cuban will sit back and let his team go into the crapper. You have no idea what will happen, meanwhile, i look at the here and now and i for one am glad we have their pick this year. Having an asset is never a bad thing dude, EVER.

What in the last five years since Frank's been coaching this team has given you any indication that Thorn doesn't like him? Same goes for Ratner, Kiki, and the players and their feelings toward Frank. I hate to say this, but as much as we hate the guy we're all going to have to get used to the fact Frank's not going anywhere anytime soon.

And retooling? As much as I like Thorn, how many years did he have to satisfy his captain? Ratner's business-minded head sure doesn't help our cause. Kiki's ideas will all be reviewed under those two.

If the roster at the start of next season is in better shape than it is now and the Nets still get off to their same atrocious start that has become common place under Lawrence Frank's watch, I for one think that a change will be made, albeit two seasons too late. It's not about Thorn giving indications that he didn't like him, Thorn didn't give any indication that he didn't like Byron before he canned him to appease Jason Kidd.
And what does Thorn having years to "satisfy" his captain have to do with THIS SUMMER? What Thorn did over the past years to appease some guy that quit on this team just so he can go over to the Mavs to get schooled by a kid half his age in a playoff series has nothing to do with whats going on right now...you need to let him go dude, seriously.

And let's once again look at our trading assets:
Draft picks: Drafts look weak for the next two-three years. If we're stuck in the 11-20 zone, no one could complain Nets FO isn't trying.
VC: Long-term contract; known around the league as a quitter (not saying he is)
RJ: Long-term contract; known around the league as injury-prone (not saying he is)
Cap Room: If we sign our FAs long-term, we'll be near or over the cap. Under the cap, we have no MLE. Over, Thorn's record on using the MLE has been dismal. As of next season, we virtually have no expirings.

That's your assumption about the drafts looking weak for the next two three years, do you mind backing that up with some type of fact? You don't know what will happen in college basketball or abroad and what players will be available to the Nets when that time comes. You are making assumptions about a process that is more or less a GAMBLE. Until the Nets use those picks to draft an outright bust, the only thing you can say is that multiple picks is an asset, not a liability.

What FA's are we signing long term? Thorn may let Krstic -and- Diop walk if the offers are too ridiculous. I don't see thorn getting into any bidding wars over Boki Nachbar...and we have no expiring contracts on deck? What???? What well of information are you pulling this from man?

And as a fan, what do you control in the Nets Organization? You sure as hell can't force Thorn or Kiki to make a trade. You can't entice other players to play here. You can't tell any of our current players what they're doing wrong. You can't tell Frank what's going on.

You're right, and your point is? That falls in the same boat as me not worrying about Ratner penny pinching, if he does, the only thing i can do is get upset about it, which at the end of the day is futile. The only thing i can do is not spend a dime on the product, like a lot of people will do if there is a conscious effort on the part of the front office to not make this team competitive/a contender.

Hard times separate the bandwagoners and the real fans. Which one will you be? If this team keeps going down the path it's going...look once again for pre-Kidd years.

There's a difference between hard times(rebuilding) and a team's ownership doing whatever it can to cut costs and purposefully put a garbage product on the floor, for you to even insinuate that i'm some type of bandwagoner for speaking my mind about that issue is a load of crap Rich, this may have been the second time since i've been posting here where i've seen you come at me from that angle and i think it's pretty pathetic, if you want to call someone a bandwagoner you might want to look in the mirror, because you sure seemed ready to jump ship when Kidd got traded, going by your point of view one would think the NJ Nets franchise started playing basketball in 2001. I have been a Nets fan since 1991 and have gone thru years of losing, and I have no problem going through a rebuilding effort(or retooling) to get this team back where it needs to be, but if I see Ratner and co cutting costs and not giving a damn about what they put out there on the floor, I have no problem not devoting my time, money, and attention to the product until i see things change, i may be a loyal fan but i'm not some fool that will tolerate garbage like that, that doesn't mean i will be running off rooting for another team or ex players on other teams either. That has not happened yet, because from what i've been seeing, the front office has been trying to get things right and the trading of Jason Kidd for picks and a top 10-11 PG in Devin Harris was a solid move, so i see no reason to accuse them of selling the fans out. But i'm sure you would have much rather had this team handicapped with Kidd's contract and his pissy passive aggressive attitude?

[Rich Rane]

If the roster at the start of next season is in better shape than it is now and the Nets still get off to their same atrocious start that has become common place under Lawrence Frank's watch, I for one think that a change will be made, albeit two seasons too late. It's not about Thorn giving indications that he didn't like him, Thorn didn't give any indication that he didn't like Byron before he canned him to appease Jason Kidd.

It's a star's league. When a choice is to be made between your star and your coach, the owner and general manager will appeal more to the star. Simple business. In Scott's case, it was Scott or the team. In Frank's case, it's Frank alone because no one else in the organization is against him. Frank's expectations won't be high for him next season with the way we played this season. Not to mention he just signed an extension. We can't just cut him loose like the Knicks have done with Brown and Isiah. We're not that ballin'.

And what does Thorn having years to "satisfy" his captain have to do with THIS SUMMER? What Thorn did over the past years to appease some guy that quit on this team just so he can go over to the Mavs to get schooled by a kid half his age in a playoff series has nothing to do with whats going on right now...you need to let him go dude, seriously.

Love the irony here. Kidd break your heart? Once again after months of this, you've learned nothing on accusations without proof. To top it off, you tell me to do something you can't do. Not to mention you posted in a congratulatory thread to Kidd to stick it to him. I'll simply dismiss this one again.

Anyway, my point with Kidd is that he's a franchise player. All he needed was a couple of more pieces for a good run. We trade our biggest star, are others become older, and guess what...we're farther away from the goal. Do you think it'll be easier for Thorn and Kiki to build around borderline All-Stars?

That's your assumption about the drafts looking weak for the next two three years, do you mind backing that up with some type of fact? You don't know what will happen in college basketball or abroad and what players will be available to the Nets when that time comes.

I'm actually an avid college sports fan...okay just an avid college basketball and football fan. I travel...a lot. Reading and watching local, national, and international sports sections on the road are one of the few things that keep me sane. You could go to multiple draft sites and they'll tell you the same: they don't look too well. For starters, take a look at our candidates in nbadraft.net's 2009. If you say things are looking up and we'll pick in the second third of the draft, you'll be looking at saviors in Tyler Hansborough, Jordan Hill, or Patrick Patterson. Oh joy...what I'm saying is that drafting isn't going to be enough for this team to see surface again. Packaging them will be even harder than Thorn's ever tried. Can you really not see that?

What FA's are we signing long term? Thorn may let Krstic -and- Diop walk if the offers are too ridiculous. I don't see thorn getting into any bidding wars over Boki Nachbar...and we have no expiring contracts on deck? What???? What well of information are you pulling this from man?

And let's say we don't sign anyone. That's nine players excluding our available three draft picks and including Swift picks up his option (he's not going to get +$6 million anywhere else). And excluding those draft picks, brings us within 5 million of the cap. Our roster would be...

Boone
Williams/Swift
RJ/Hassell
VC/Ager
Harris/Williams

Here's a small list of FAs. Who could we sign for the $5 million?

Big Names: Baron Davis (Player's Option), Maggette (PO), Brand (PO), Marion (PO), Artest (PO), Jamison, Arenas (PO)
Restricted from Rookie-Expiring Contracts: Josh Smith, Josh Childress, Okafor, Gordon, Deng, Ariza
Other FAs: Pietrus, Barnes, Ellis, Gibson

Keep in mind signing just one of the last four will cost us that $5 million, meaning we have no chance at the other two categories.

You're right, and your point is? That falls in the same boat as me not worrying about Ratner penny pinching, if he does, the only thing i can do is get upset about it, which at the end of the day is futile. The only thing i can do is not spend a dime on the product, like a lot of people will do if there is a conscious effort on the part of the front office to not make this team competitive/a contender.

The main reasons why anyone posts on their board is to vent and express their opinion. On this board we take players, management, situations into account on our posting. Why not ownership? You could continue to talk about Thorn, Kiki, and the direction of the team, but Ratner as a majority owner does have a part on this team. You might want to take him into account when you post about the team's status, future moves, etc.

There's a difference between hard times(rebuilding) and a team's ownership doing whatever it can to cut costs and purposefully put a garbage product on the floor,

Isn't the point of rebuilding to cost cut on purpose to get under the cap to sign upcoming big names and high draft picks? Hey, you might not even have to worry about that. Ratner's got a middle of the pack team treading the salary cap. The combination of VC, RJ, and Harris will keep the team in the second third of the league. The possibility to cost cut to rebuild for a quicker start in Brooklyn has a high chance of taking place though. Hey, the entire reason for bringing Kiki in might be to cost cut like he did in Denver. Either way, rebuilding, cost cutting, whatever you want to call it gets higher draft picks so we might select someone decent in the upcoming weak drafts while at the same time, getting money to sign upcoming FAs...something we can't exactly do right now in our situation, yet you still seem very optimistic.

for you to even insinuate that i'm some type of bandwagoner for speaking my mind about that issue is a load of crap Rich, this may have been the second time since i've been posting here where i've seen you come at me from that angle and i think it's pretty pathetic, if you want to call someone a bandwagoner you might want to look in the mirror, because you sure seemed ready to jump ship when Kidd got traded, going by your point of view one would think the NJ Nets franchise started playing basketball in 2001.

No need to get so defensive. You simply mentioned whether you would spend your money on a team in hard times.

As for my opinions, mine have just been realisitic scenarios going by what has happened in this team's entire history. Sure, I admit I get negative, but what one part have I said isn't realisitic? You're talking about how things are looking up and how well we'll do in the upcoming season. I admire the optimism. I surely do, but there comes a line between optimism and fanaticism and it looks like you're looking at just that. From your words that the Nets are turning a corner after being further away from a Finals appearance in the last seven years, I have no idea where you get your inspiration from. I seriously would love to know because based on basketball organization track records, we're headed for mediocrity once again.

I have been a Nets fan since 1991 and have gone thru years of losing, and I have no problem going through a rebuilding effort(or retooling) to get this team back where it needs to be, but if I see Ratner and co cutting costs and not giving a damn about what they put out there on the floor, I have no problem not devoting my time, money, and attention to the product until i see things change, i may be a loyal fan but i'm not some fool that will tolerate garbage like that, that doesn't mean i will be running off rooting for another team or ex players on other teams either.

Once again, not questioning your loyalty, you simply brought it up, next...

That has not happened yet, because from what i've been seeing, the front office has been trying to get things right and the trading of Jason Kidd for picks and a top 10-11 PG in Devin Harris was a solid move, so i see no reason to accuse them of selling the fans out. But i'm sure you would have much rather had this team handicapped with Kidd's contract and his pissy passive aggressive attitude?

Go to my post history and find if I had ever stated trading Kidd for Harris was a bad move. Can't find it? Of course you can't. I've never said that. If I'm angered at the Nets FO, it's more for NOT doing what they should've. Abdur-Rahim (Can't say he would've had the same problems here), not firing Frank, not finding a big man, not trying harder in trade discussions (Thorn never shows his hand (emotions), we all know, but he couldn't even make it look like he hard for KG, Gasol).

Kidd's contract was for +$20 million next season. Couldn't care less if he literally took a piss on the Nets FO. He could've sat next season for all I cared since he was an expiring. He would've only hurt himself. If he left, we would've freed up more cap space and enticed other FAs with more money. We traded him for a good young PG and two picks. I'm fine with either scenario. But in either case we're further from where we were when he was here. Unlike you though, I know the fans are going to feel worse than they are now before it starts to get better. I just don't understand how we're closer to a championship. I mean, does resenting Kidd resolve our problems? Cause if it does, I will resent the ish out of him. Until them, forgive me if I'm not to Kidd what Toronto was to VC.

[SpeedyG]

I actually now feel what good Toronto fans feel when they see a fellow Raptor fan spewing garbage like this on the general and other boards here at RealGM.

Quite embarassing.