Friday, July 16, 2004
Bruce the Rat Sails to Sea...
Screw politics, today. Let's get our priorities straight here!0 comments
Somewhere Micheal Ray Richardson is still saying, "The ship be sinking!"
Somewhere Chris Morris is smiling, because today New Jersey Nets fans across the NY-NJ area are writing "Trade Me!" on their shoes.
Somewhere, Derrick Coleman is shaking his head, "I told you, man, 'Whoop-de-damn-doo!'"
NYTimes: Nets' Run Seems Over as Martin Is Traded
Bruce C. Ratner, who is about to be approved as the team's new owner, intends to move the Nets to a new downtown arena in Brooklyn within the next four to five years.
When the move is made, all those newly acquired draft picks will help give the team a drastically different look from the club that walked off the Detroit Pistons' court less than two months ago after losing Game 7 in the Eastern Conference semifinals. But for now, Brooklyn is a concept, and the loss of Martin is a reality.
It was a fun couple of years there, having a real grown-up, NBA basketball team, instead of the accursed Swamp Dragons. Having owners, magagers, coaches and players who actually had talent, and who brought dignity and fun to their jobs. It was fun being able to actually root for heroes—in a Nets uniform, of all things! Having the feeling of potential victory when you turned on the TV to watch a game was heavenly.
At the same time, it's been apparent that—even with a stunningly increased talent level—the key to the Nets recent success was its chemistry. The whole always felt more formidable than the sum of its parts. The bonding among the players was always visible, and was a force few other teams could contend with. It was most clear when someone joined the team who didn't fit in, or when even the loss of a minor bench character could create a major hole in the overall unit.
So, now the joy of watching the Nets is gone. Bruce the Rat could care less about basketball; the Nets to him are an anchor attraction to his real estate rape of downtown Brooklyn—no more, no less. I guess he couldn't talk Neimann-Marcus into opening a flagship store there, so he'll try a sports module.
"People like sports, right? Then go buy me a sports team. Doesn't matter what; just get me something. You're saying this is a heavily Black neighborhood that I'll be tearing apart, right? OK, great then, go buy me a basketball team, that'll calm 'em down!"
Bruce the Rat has had the team sell the rights to this year's draft pick, and since last year's was a bust, there's no help coming from there. They've let go their higher-priced role players from their bench, with no replacements in sight. Now, they've completely mangled the entire contract scenario with Kenyon Martin, the team's emotional and power leader, until they were hoodwinked into relinquishing his rights to a dog-eared team in Colorado, getting only a few first-round draft picks over the next few years, which have so many conditions attached to them they're guaranteed to yield only marginal players at best, in return.
The Nets are now left with Jason Kidd, the aging superstar whose addition to the team three years ago sparked its phenominal turn-around from laughingstock to league power, who has just had serious knee surgery and whose effectiveness is now questionned. His emotional state is also in question since he just signed a lifetime deal with the Nets on the basis of their promises to him of their commitment to being competitive on a championship level. How long until Kidd joins the legions of disgruntled Nets players?
They have an emerging superstar, Richard Jefferson, who works best as a second option, using his speed and agility to surprise opponents who were focusing on the first option. How long does it take before RJ realizes that, with Martin gone, Kidd angry and hobbled and with no other support, there is no first option, and that the entire NBA has set its sights on denying him any access to the basket? Ever.
The burden now rests squarely on these two.
How long will it be before they're walking up the court, instead of flying up at breakneck speed like before, thereby giving the few remaining fans a good, clear look at the "Trade Me!" written on their sneakers?
posted by Gotham 12:22 PM
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