Diatribe #6 - May 17, 2005
Do What You Gotta Do
Wow, it sure has been a long time since we last spoke in this space. Something like the beginning of the season, to be exact. Oh, the grand plans I had to bring coverage, comments, and the occasional diatribe to you. But, sometimes, the best laid plans...

In any case, here we are, weeks into the off-season already, and we don't like the feeling of all of this idle time. We would suspect neither do Rod Thorn and Jason Kidd. For all the face-saving the organization did to dull the pain of losing Kenyon Martin and the rest, from stealing Vince Carter to shedding Alonzo Mourning to hastening the development of Nenad Krstic to get themselves into the playoffs, a first round sweep wasn't exactly what anyone had in mind either.

What to do, then? The season, sabotaged from the start, then made worse by the injury to Richard Jefferson and the lack of production from the role players brought in to save money, I mean, to help fill roles on the roster, wasn't exactly smooth sailing by any means. Starting off without Kidd and with the likes of Jacque Vaughn and Eric Williams on the court, scoring 70 points was a struggle. And certainly not fun to watch. With RJ carrying the squad, and Kidd returning, some headway was made, though it certainly wasn't pretty.

Then, with Mourning blabbering on about this "not being what he signed up for", the big move was made by Thorn, picking up Vince Carter for what amounted to spare change. Now, the Nets had something to talk about - the Big Three of Kidd, Jefferson and Carter would make things interesting.

That lasted about a week, or as long as it took Richard Jefferson to injure his wrist. RJ would miss the rest of the regular season as Kidd and Carter found some mutual interests and made an inspired run for the playoffs. And make those playoffs they did, with Carter carrying the Nets down the last month of the season unlike any Net had before. But we all know how it ended, against a Shaq at 50% of his peak and a young phenom named Dwyane.

Clearly, the Nets were not build to go deep into the playoffs. Forget about the fact that they had no one to match up against Shaq - that's only the start. Lacking depth, the Nets couldn't get a defensive stop if their life depended on it, forcing them to hope for missed shots or turnovers to keep themselves in the game. Oh yeah, they couldn't be counted on to make shots from outside, especially since they didn't seem to have anyone to pound the ball inside to except for Krstic (and kudos to him for doing an excellent job).

And, most disappointingly, the Big Three failed to move the needle, failed to come up with superhuman performances that brought the team to victory. Carter couldn't figure out a way to carry the team on his back, and he didn't get nearly enough help (RJ was great, but he couldn't exactly be expected to help carry the Nets in first games in four months). And Kidd, while racking up some stellar stats, couldn't find a way to take control of the games with his magical leadership abilities and on-court vision.

Worst of all, the Nets, a running team for the past three seasons under Kidd, just looked slow.

Time to rebuild, retool, whatever you want to call it. Who stays and who goes? I asked all of you and got back some pretty interesting responses. Now, I suppose, it's my turn to let you know what I think.

Let's break it down into five parts:

1. Trade Ownership
Of course, first off, I think the team, for all the positive moves made for the franchise in the short-term, needs new, NJ-based ownership. The Nets are finally starting to do some of the right things for the fan, but it's only because they don't want to lose anyone before they get their groove on to Brooklyn. It's bad enough playing to half-empty crowds - no one wants it to get any worse. And it has gotten better over the course of the season, I have to admit.

But the Nets don't belong in Brooklyn. And shame on you, David Stern, for proclaiming from your high-horse that "New Jersey blew it". How can anyone possibly believe that you "practically begged" for the Nets to stay in NJ?

Sell the team to a combined ownership group that includes Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi and Joe Piscopo for all I care. Just keep the team where it is.

All right - on to the remaking of the roster, Joe style. We'll assume whatever money needs to be there will be there, and since we're no expert in salary cap manipulation, we won't even try to match up contracts or dollars to make it work. We'll make the suggestion - someone else can figure out how to pull it off.

2. Do What You Gotta Do
Every year we hear the same "Thorn is hot for Kevin Garnett" rumors and dismiss them with a wave of the hand. But if it's at all possible, there's your first step right there. Your bold move. Your reason to trade Carter or anyone else save Kidd to attempt to win a franchise (and you don't bother to make the trade if Kidd is sent to Minny or elsewhere in return).

I would love to see Carter combine with Kidd and Jefferson for a whole season, and was admittedly as energized as anyone when he worked his magic night in and night out and helped turn things around in a big way. But the Nets need height and bulk, and no one gets you there faster than KG. Hell, throw in whatever you need to to make the deal work - first round picks, cash, Carter, even Krstic, whom I would hate to lose.

But you thank Carter profusely for making NJ matter again and you make that deal. Imagine Kidd, Garnett, Jefferson, Collins and a shooting guard to be named. Or better still, Kidd, Garnett, Jefferson, Krstic and a shooting guard.

All you can say to that is, "wow".

What are the chances it could happen? The Wolves need to rebuild, are talking about paring salary and want to shed some dead weight. The Nets could take on anyone from the Wolves except for Latrell Sprewell to make salaries work and still come out ahead (what, you're not a big Troy Hudson fan?).

You not as enamored with Richard Jefferson as you are Carter and want RJ moved, you say? Well, RJ's at the front end of his new contract, making $10 million but counting as only $5 million or so for trading purposes. So you can't get equal value back. Sounds like RJ's staying to me. Plus, no one puts fannies in the seats like Carter - so another reason that Minny might not think it so bizarre to trade Garnett for Carter.

KG too far-fetched? Then go out and fleece the Clippers for Elton Brand. Brand would be a good fit as well, a good inside scorer and rebounder and someone who'll thrive by being out of LA (he's not doing too badly there, but imagine what Kidd could do for him). And what about Carter as a Clip and Kobe as a Laker? The fight for LA's bragging rights...

Or see what you can do about prying Ray Allen away from Seattle. Ray's a free agent, so if you can't sign him outright, see what it would take for a sign-and-trade. He's the shooter everyone wants, and if you can then move Carter for KG or Brand, so much the better. I just wouldn't make him the first option, since we're talking about piles of money here, potentially, between Garnett, Kidd, Jefferson and Allen, if you went after him. Even without the services of Krstic, that's some team you'd have there.

Imagine this starting five:

PG Jason Kidd
SG Ray Allen
SF Richard Jefferson
PF Kevin Garnett
C Jason Collins

Next to impossible, but dream a bit, anyway. It would probably only put the Nets about $10 - $20 million over the cap (I haven't checked salaries yet, but I'm certain this would blow the doors off the cap), but hey, let's dream big. Email Joe if you can figure out how to work the cap, all you cap-ologists out there.

See what I'm getting at here?

Make the grand gesture.

Thorn should absolutely not be afraid to shake up the roster, especially if he's serious about keeping Kidd and surrounding him with championship-caliber talent. I'm all for signing a forward like Donyell Marshall or Shareef Abdur-Rahim, but there better be a bigger move in the works, or the Nets might just be a first-or-second-round-casualty again next season.

More than likely, the KG, Brand and Allen scenarios aren't achievable for one reason or another. But you've got to make the attempt.

Hey, and while we're dreaming, go out and re-acquire Kenyon Martin. At least some of the guilt might go away, Bruce Ratner.

3. Find The Big Forward
OK, back to reality. We all agree the Nets need a big body up front to do some of the dirty work. Assume that will be Thorn's primary objective this off-season, regardless of how it transpires. Put Marshall on top of the wish-list and work from there. If that fails, get Abdur-Rahim or some other serviceable forward like Stromile Swift (if you get get him cheap AND knock some sense into him), Kwame Brown (bad idea), Tyson Chandler (restricted), Keith Van Horn (oh yeah, baby, he's back on the market) or Danny Fortson (who's probably shorter than you like and a bit of a head case).

4. Sort Through The Rest Of The Roster And See What Fits
There are only two untouchables as I see it - Kidd and Krstic (and if you can get Garnett by including Krstic, then he's obviously not untouchable). Jefferson's not going anywhere either, most likely, if only because of the value-proposition. Carter will be around if he's not traded.

So there are four Nets guaranteed to return for the 2005 - 2006 season. I'll bet Jason Collins, with a rather large contract himself, is close to untradeable and in any case he's well liked by management. So he's the fifth beatle.

Anyone else on the roster going to stick around? Cliff Robinson, if he can be signed cheaper than the $5 million he's making now? Do I want Cliff to stick around? Veteran presence never hurts, but the guy's as old as I am (yup - Cliff and I are the same age - only I certainly don't have the skills he does at such an advanced age).

I say Travis Best returns as well. Travis earned his keep, backing up Kidd and providing some offense off a bench that was sorely lacking in just that.

Jacque Vaughn comes cheaply, works well with Kidd and turned out much better than expected. Joe should apologize for all the mistreatment he heaped upon poor Jacque. I guess he stays, because again management is appreciative of the skills he brings to the table.

So now I've got seven players. I'm not sure what to do with Zoran Planinic, who's an interesting talent but still to uneven for my tastes. Maybe we keep him around as well, so that Krstic has someone to talk to.

Make that 8 Nets returning.

Rodney Buford? History, despite his interesting month or so of play.

Ron Mercer? You mean he has the option to return or not per his contract? OK, if he elects to return, cut him immediatey and eat whatever buyout you need to. Let him know we just didn't think it was working out.

Brian Scalabrine? How can you not like the big fellow? With a nickname like Veal? He's Everyman - but he should stick around only if all other options don't pan out. Of course, you run the risk of losing him by waiting to see what else turns up, but hey, that's life.

Jabari Smith and Billy Thomas? Thanks for coming, have a nice day, and best of luck to you in the future.

So, according to Joe (who's now back to reality), we have:

G Jason Kidd
G Jacque Vaughn
G Travis Best
G/F Zoran Planinic
F/G Vince Carter
F/G Richard Jefferson
F/C Jason Collins
F/C Nenad Krstic
F Donyell Marshall

Pending the moves for Garnett and Allen, of course.

5. Fill Up The Rest Of The Roster With Valuable Role Players
With 3 roster spots remaining, the Nets have a screaming need for a backup power forward/tough guy and a shooter, and anyone else that might prove useful.

At backup forward, go out and find yourself someone useful who can do some things like rebound and defend for you, like Mark Madsen or Brian Grant or maybe Cliff Robinson's back in the mix after all. Can you afford Samuel Dalembert? If you can, you have my blessings to acquire him and use him opportunistically as a shot-blocker and rebounder.

A backup shooting guard? Hey, how about Kerry Kittles, who can be signed on the cheap if he's healthy (and I would guess there's no guarantee of that...)? If not Kittles, then Jon Barry, perhaps? If Carter and Jefferson remain together, than one of the two will be the shooting guard, so the need for someone to make baskets is great but not as critical if Carter is moved. Raja Bell might be a nice pickup.

Another large, role-playing forward or center would round things out nicely. You could probably convince me to keep Scalabrine, but why not try a fresh face (since that seems to work out so well in Netland...) like Dale Davis (isn't he as old as Cliffy, Joe?, or even Aaron Williams. Perhaps if you're keeping the first round draft pick, he gets the spot (can anyone say, "Sean May"?)

We'll talk about the draft at a later date. I'm still not convinced that Thorn will be holding on to the pick this year (or potentially next year's pick).

Now you've got:

Starters:
PG Jason Kidd
SG Vince Carter
SF Richard Jefferson
PF Donyell Marshall
C Nenad Krstic

Reserves:
G Travis Best
G Jacque Vaughn
G Kerry Kittles
G/F Zoran Planinic
F/C Jason Collins
F/C Dalembert/Madsen/Robinson
F/C Davis/A. Williams/Sean May

I haven't cleared up too much, or made too many changes to the roster, at least in my reality version of the state of the Nets 2005 - 2006, now have I? It's certainly not the roster I would vote for, but who knows how much change Mr. Thorn and his sidekick Mr. Stefanski can whip up this offseason? My alternate, unaffordable and unobtainable fantasy roster is much better, though, ain't it?

Starters:
PG Jason Kidd
SG Ray Allen
SF Richard Jefferson
PF Kevin Garnett
C Jason Collins

Reserves:
G Travis Best
G Jacque Vaughn
G Kerry Kittles
G/F Zoran Planinic
F Donyell Marshall
F/C Mark Madsen
F/C Dale Davis

The Nets are older, but hopefully ready to finally win a title.

Ah, a little dreaming never hurt no one. Just don't hold your breath, if you know what I mean.

But make the bold gesture, anyway, Rod and Ed. Some way, some how. Convince Jason Kidd your serious about finally putting the pieces together to win it all. Convince Netsfans you have the stones to roll the dice again and come out a winner (see Kidd, Jason).

What do you think, Netsfans? Will the Nets attempt a blockbuster off-season move? Or will they just fill in around Kidd, Carter, Krstic and Jefferson? Email Joe and let us know your thoughts.

-Joe

Archive | Backlash | Bio | Calendar | Champagne's Blog | Diatribe | Game x Game | History | Home | Joe Netsfan's Blog | Media | Opponents | Players | Playoffs | Search | Specials