When the Brooklyn Nets somehow acquired Andrei Kirilenko for the low, low price of $3.18 million for next season (and a player option for roughly the same amount the following season) it was reported that executives around the league were furious, due to what they believed to be foul play, behind the scenes. Owner Mikhail Prokhorov and Kirilenko have ties in Russia, and it was under the assumption that the forward was accommodated in ways that don’t necessarily show in
When you think about what Tracy McGrady used to be and what he is now, it’s generally considered a sad thing. McGrady, who many believed to be an equal to Kobe Bryant (or better, depending on who you ask) in his prime, just finished the previous season as a bench-warmer with the San Antonio Spurs at the age of 34. It just doesn’t sound quite right, does it? No one envisioned the superstar’s career to wind down in such an anticlimactic way, but
This summer, the Brooklyn Nets transformed themselves from pretenders to contenders. However, the transformation came at a steep price. Owner Mikhail Prokhorov has the NBA’s only nine-figure team payroll, which translates to an $87 million luxury tax bill. (He can afford it. He is the NBA’s George Steinbrenner). Nets GM Billy King also mortgaged the future by trading first-round draft picks in 2014, 2016 and 2018 with the right to swap first-round picks in 2017 as part of a trade with Boston
When certain NBA owners are unable to attain a coveted player via free agency, they seem to feel the need to lash out or downplay what that player meant to their franchise. Mark Cuban has done this a number of times: he said the Dallas Mavericks were better off by not signing Deron Williams in the summer of 2012, and basically said the same about Dwight Howard after missing out on the center this summer. We all know about the
BROOKLYN — Two significant things about today’s Brooklyn Nets news conference — what was said, and what wasn’t said. First, the latter: The word “Knicks” was not mentioned one single time. It would have been like being at a wine-tasting, and uttering the word “Thunderbird.” No bigger sign of disrespect than treating an adversary as though it does not exist. Because in the new world of the Nets, the only other team that merits mention, the only other team that is in
BROOKLYN — On the bright side, the Nets’ season ended with a playoff game, in a new arena, in a new home, with a young, urban crowd decked out in black Brooklyn gear. Walking through the Barclays Center during the night, I counted one — yes, just one — “New Jersey” jersey being worn by a fan — equaling the number of “Sex and Drugs and Rap” t-shirts I saw. Sitting to the right of me near the mid-level press row
Opportunity doesn’t knock twice. For the Nets, a banged up Bulls team gave the Nets a chance to stay in this series. Thanks to Brook Lopez, Brooklyn is still alive. Home playoff games afforded the Hawks the chance to reverse their fortunes, but how drastically it turned this series around is astounding. And who will get the opportunity to shine for the Thunder in Russell Westbrook’s absence? All this and more in today’s StatBox playoff breakdown. [Read more…]
Just in the nick of time, Memphis found its elite defense on Thursday night. But where was it hiding? Should the Nets reconsider its contract extension of its general manager after its offensive performance against the Bulls? How can Brooklyn get back in this series? Is Milwaukee’s backcourt worth keeping? The answers to all these questions and a whole lot more in today’s StatBox breakdown. Milwaukee’s backcourt problems continue There are very few teams that could survive a poor night in the