On Tuesday night, the New Jersey Nets held a reception for about 40 season ticket holders at the Barclays Showroom in Midtown Manhattan. That would be the showroom in advance of the Barclays Center. And that, dear friends, is where the Nets have been rumored to be moving in 2010. There's been a lot of speculation about the development, whether it will get done, how the progress is going, and if the New Jersey Nets might end up just staying in New Jersey.
At the reception, team officials told the ticket-holders that "Brooklyn is happening" and said they plan to break ground on the new development in the fall.
The team also verified that they will be called the Brooklyn Nets, and that there might be a logo and color change. No word yet on whether they intend to change the logo to a silhouette of James. But don't worry, Cleveland fans. What with your dramatic trade for Michael Redd... no. Well, I mean, with the fact that you landed Elton Brand...no. Um... no worries! Everything's fine!
But while losing his biggest endorsement and (most likely) his starting gig has to sting, at least he can go to bed at night sleeping on a pile of money. He's set to make $21 million this year, the final year of his contract, and there's a good chance he won't have to do anything to earn it. While he's still going through the motions of preparing to play for the Knicks this year, no one on the team actually expects that he'll be around come the start of the season. From Alah Hahn of Newsday:
Most of the Knicks players aren't expecting Marbury to be there, despite his reported plans to come to Las Vegas this weekend to participate in voluntary workouts with other Knicks veterans while the team prepares for the NBA Summer League opener Monday. Marbury's effort to show up in Vegas is viewed by some teammates as a ploy, not a sincere effort.
"He's trying to show he's still dedicated," said one Knicks player, who asked not to be identified. "Come on, man, your teammates know. We see it every year."
Patrick Ewing is considered one of the most popular New York Knicks of all time. He is also a coach on a professional basketball team. You would think, then, that he might get a shot at some sort of coaching position with the 'Bockers should spots in the staff clear out. They did, and he did not.
So, uh, what gives Donnie Walsh? You know, since you never told him the first time around.
Ewing, head coach of Orlando's summer-league team, said he spoke with Knicks President Donnie Walsh during the predraft camp in Orlando.
"Donnie just said why I didn't get an interview [with the Knicks] was because we [the Magic] were in the playoffs," Ewing said.
Asked why the Knicks couldn't wait until Orlando's postseason ended, Ewing said, laughing, "I don't know. That's what I was told."
Right. That's like saying that you never called a girl you met because your cellphone. (Read: Come up with a better fib.) Ewing did not get the call because, as Ziller has previously mentioned, he likes to chat it up with dancers before the game instead of preparing his players.
So, it's not a real knock on Walsh for using that excuse, but a simple "I wanted to let Mike fill out his own staff, Pat" would have sufficed.
After calming down and evaluating I looked at the opportunity here. An opportunity to get back to the playoffs and I really don't think the Nets are going to be headed there in the next couple years. They've voiced that with some of the moves they've made.
The two moves, of course, being Jefferson's trade (for Yi Jianlian) and the Jason Kidd-Devin Harris swap. To be honest, the point guard maneuvering likely served to make the 2008-09 Nets more potent than the previous version. But Jeff's right: there's no way to dust the Yi/Bobby Simmons acquisition as anything but "building for the future."
Meanwhile, though some have penciled Milwaukee in for contention for a lower Eastern playoff seed, it seems like Jefferson's ability has been sold short. He's a greater scorer (9th per-game last season) but an efficient shooter who gets to the line and takes the bad three sparingly. His rebounding has fallen off -- with little team-based excuse -- in recent years, and (as Jefferson admits in the presser) his defense needs to be resuscitated. Let the magic of Scott Skiles' perfectly manicured fingertips take control.
Just the other day, I asked myself, "What do the Knicks need?" And of course the answer is "Another offensively shaky and underwhelming point guard!" Because you can never really have enough of those.
It is in that spirit that the Knicks today signed free agent point guard Chris Duhon to a two year, $6.5 million contract. The former Bull is expected to compete with Stephen Marbury for the starting point guard spot, according to the report by the New York Post today.
Duhon does have some potential. He scored 34 against Golden State this year (but then again, who didn't score against Golden State), and had 22 against Milwaukee. He also had a whole lot of the dreaded DNP-CDs. He's solid in some spots, brilliant occasionally, terrible in stretches, and mediocre a lot of the time. However, you have to wonder how much of that was the coaching in Chicago which was less than supportive of guard play. Compare that with D'Antoni's speed-first guard system, and this could turn out well.
The Magic were said to be heavily interested in Duhon as support for Jameer Nelson, but apparently their indecision on Duhon versus Keyon Dooling was enough to convince Duhon to head to New York, for what may have been less money. With Duhon off the books, it's likely that Dooling will resign with Orlando.
One Marc Berman story on the Knicks' rebuilding plan, annotated: "Other young free-agent point guards available for mid-level money are Chris Duhon, Brooklyn's Sebastian Telfair, Keyon Dooling and Tyronn Lue."
"The Bulls, who desperately tried to get David Lee in the Eddy Curry deal three years ago, are also expected to shop Kurt Heinrich and restricted free agent Ben Gordon."
I hear this Kurt Heinrich fellow could be a real catch. Much better than that Kirk Hinrich guy.
Those mistakes are cosmetic, sure. But when Berman then tosses a theory like this at the wall, you give a little less credence, yeah? Golden State's Monta Ellis is a wonderful point-guard-of-the-future candidate but that has to be a sign-and-trade scenario because Warriors general manager Chris Mullin would match a two-year deal. Walsh and Mullin are close, making a transaction doable.
Ay ay ay. Ellis would not sign a two-year deal with the Knicks or anyone, not when teams would line up around the block to give him a five-year deal. And Mullin isn't going to hand his "wonderful point-guard-of-the-future" over to the Knicks just because Donnie was nice to him in Indianapolis in the '90s. I understand contrasting the Walsh regime with the Isiah Thomas Reign of Terror, but at some point the nonsensical Pollyanna theorizing becomes a farce, yeah?
The roster around LeBron James is, for the most part, lamentable. The Global Icon carried his team almost single-handedly to the Finals in 2006-07 and to a seventh game against the would-be NBA Champions this season. He's basically a two-time defending MVP without any trophies. He desperately needs some help.
Danny Ferry takes plenty of lumps for the minor disaster around LeBron, but at least he tries. He has spent plenty of Dan Gilbert's money to put guys who at one point could play a little around James, and he pulled off a major trade at the deadline (though the return package remains circumspect). And apparently, he's off to an active start this offseason, according to the Newark Star-Ledger's Dave D'Alessandro.
As they were putting some of the finishing touches on the Richard Jefferson-Yi Jianlian deal, the Nets received a call from the Cleveland Cavaliers, who offered them Wally Szczerbiak and his expiring, $13.2 million salary for Vince Carter.
According to two Eastern Conference executives, who asked for anonymity so as not to spill Rod Thorn's secrets, the Nets considered it -- but not for very long.
The one thing Ferry has in his favor: he can take all the bad contracts he wants, because the single goal going forward is proving to LeBron this team can take him back to The Finals repeatedly. Teams will always been pawning off stars for expiring contracts, and so long as you employ LeBron you wouldn't be slipping into that Knickerbocker despair.
The funny thing about this trade offer, of course: Ferry wants Carter to help LeBron win a title and resolve to stay in Cleveland. Thorn would want to trade Carter to help free up the cap space to sign LeBron. I imagine these two teams will be hesitant to work with each other in the next few seasons.
The Stephen A. Smith Heckling Society of Gentlemen is one of the true American traditions revolving around the NBA Draft. Just like Stephen A. himself, the Society gets in everyone's face and yells a lot. Only with a sock puppet.
In the video below, you will see nine minutes of heart gripping hilarity along the lines of Triumph the Comic Insult Dog. Highlights include (the entire freaking thing really) attacking Kenny Smith (2:25), "E tu, Bilas?" (3:00), the parading of the first round draft picks (3:25) in which Kevin Love drops a Cheesy-Doodle line (3:50) and Stephen A. "writes" a letter to ESPN (6:00). But seriously, watch the whole thing.
Thank you, kind sirs, for making my Friday less painful. Oh via AA, and of course, it's dedicated to Leitch, who's leaving or something today.
New York took Italian forward Danilo "The Rooster" Gallinari with sixth pick. New York fans did not respond kindly.
As the crowd assembled at Madison Square Garden did on every mention of Gallinari before the draft began, Knicks fans booed and booed and booed. When the cameras hit them, they booed. When Gallinari told Stephen A. Smith he thinks New York is the best city in the world, they booed. When he smiled uncomfortably, clearly fearing for his life, they booed.
FanHouse friend Nathan Fowler is at MSG. He said that before the draft, fans were particularly rough in mocking the Rooster's highlight reels. But assuming Gallinari is in fact legit -- which everyone says he is -- they'll get on board. I mean, Quentin Richardson's corpse and Jared Jeffries manned the position last season! The Knicks are immediately better for this pick.
Memo to Fran Fraschilla, though: This guy, no matter how good he becomes, isn't pushing sneakers in this country.
On Tuesday night, the New Jersey Nets held a reception for about 40 season ticket holders at the Barclays Showroom in Midtown Manhattan. That would be the showroom in advance of the Barclays Center. And that, dear friends, is where the Nets have been rumored to be moving in 2010. There's been a lot of speculation about the development, whether it will get done, how the progress is going, and if the New Jersey Nets might end up just staying in New Jersey. 
You have to feel a little sorry for 
Crisis averted, if you let the reports 
Just the other day, I asked myself, "What do the Knicks need?" And of course the answer is "Another offensively shaky and underwhelming point guard!" Because you can never really have enough of those. 
One 
The roster around 
New York took Italian forward Danilo "
