son of oakley

He he, they asked me if I were interested and I had the same reply. And so we have Fordy, whoever he is.

truth

You have to pay to moderate???

Thats an interesting concept...

truth

Alfa,have you watched Tyson play??

I just watched the Nets Bulls game..I retract everything i said..hes pathetic..30 minutes,1 point,got lit up by Kristac,and looks LOST....Alfa,he makes TT look like Larry Bird..

And Curry isnt much better....

BTW,if Vince and kidd stay healthy you dont want to face those guys in the playoffs

rashidi is dead right..Thorn is one hell of a GM...

If you boil it down they ssentially,they traded Mourning,Atrain, and a maxed out Kmart for Vince Carter and the Clips first round pic which will not be protected next year...

Great move letting Kerry go and Kristac has game...

son of oakley

I don't know, those are two pretty big, pretty maxed-out "ifs".

Kinda like if we were to have somehow (and I know it denies the reality of the situation) tried to build our team around a maxed-out Camby and McDyess. Sure it could be a great frontcourt, but do you bet the house on it?

But I know what you mean on a talent/chemistry level.

FWIW, I posted this on another board yesterday:

I agree NJ got a good deal for Vince, but I don't see how they are set up nicely by this move. They had a team that could perennially contend for the EFC, but they let Martin go, which killed that. Then Kidd has been a shell of himself, killing so much hope for anything positive in the near term. Now in this Vince deal they additionally gutted their front court.

Meanwhile, these past years they were losing money even while winning. The one good thing they had going for them was a young Jefferson and 3 1st rd picks. If Kidd could get healthy and they could move him for youth they'd be well poised to rebuild. Instead they take on a brittle maxed-out former star, while dumping their front court and most of their chances to replenish their depleted team (2 draft picks).

This is just sooo risky for them. Kidd and Vince both have to be considered significant health risks, and they don't sell seats even when they go to the finals, so what they hell is a part time Wince with a one legged Kidd gonna do for them? Sure they'll sell a few more seats this year as a sort of high flying novelty act, but long term, if this experiment fails, they will have blown a great opportunity to rebuild, and nobody will go to games. And even if it succeeds I really doubt they can get themselves "deep" again in talent and standings for several years - and Kidd's window of opportunity is not all that long now.

I agree I'm being a bit pessimistic here but that's how I see it, I really don't see the big picture upside for the Nets. Just another wrong guy at the wrong time, if you ask me.

truth

Oak, I love the Carter signing as brittle as he is.For the Nets,it made all the sense in the world

From a business,bottom line perspective it was a no brainer.Simply,carter will put bodies in the arena,something Kmart can not do.I am not saying the Nets with carter are better,but if Carter can elevate every now and then,hes worth the price of admission.I read somewhere that sales are up 40% since the signing.At an avg price of $100 per,if another 3000 people show up,thats 300k per game,plus all the extras...

Supposedly Carters first home game is sold out..Thats 1 million extra in revenue...If you like the sound of the cash register opening and closin,you have to LOVE this trade..

From a basketball perspective,they kept the best pick,the clippers first rounder which is unprotected inn 2006..i think.Thats a very valuable pick

They dumped Mourning,Atrain and Ewil.Ewill is the only guy who was playing.And guess what? KMART is NOT a max money guy,and Kiki is an idiot.He coughed up those 3 draft picks when he never had to.

True its a gamble,but the deal is all upside,very little downside.The picks they traded were Denvers and Philly,but i think protected.

And they still may trade Jason Kidd.I thinkThorn is the best in the business.Portland would probably give up SAR and telefair,and at this point Randolf may be available.dallas deparately misses Nash and who knows what Nellie would do.

BTW,have you watched them play?Kidd,RJ and VC may be the most entertaing trio in the NBA....

Oak,I LOVE that move by Thorn

son of oakley

Well I guess I can't argue witht he sales, if that's what they are, though I really don't get it myself. I was a season tkt holder for many years, selling most tkts and going to a few choice games and all the playoffs. I NEVER chose to go to a regular season Raptors game to see VC. Just not my cup of tea.

As for what else Thorn will do, I guess we'll wait and see.

Like I said, I think they got a good deal for Wince, but I just don't get what their direction is. They aren't going to the ECF with this squad, but with Kmart they might have. So are they out to turn over the whole squad and rebuild on the fly a la Isiah? Or are they trying to keep things together as much as possible?

The thing is Jefferson is their guy, and he's shown he can still put up numbers without Kidd. But the team has shown that inspite of his numbers they don't win without Kidd. I just don't see how they fill out their squad while keeping Kidd, nor do I see how they win without him.

So I'll say this, if you and Rashidi are right, and Thorn has it in him to make them ECF contenders again, then yes, he's worth his weight in gold. But if they carry three maxed out guys and go nowhere, instead of three maxed out guys who go to the ECF, then how impressed can I be?

truth

Oak,Kmart was the fault of the Goldman partners.They were looking strictly at bottom line.Ratner was against it,but he felt it was over his head as he wasnt a basketball man.And Thorn feels max guys are stars who draw fans.To be honest,Kmart is not worth max money plus 3 first round draft picks...

The ECF??? If Kidd stays healthy as well as Carter,that team is NO joke.Kristac is getting time,playing well and he schooled Chandler last night.And he is a mean European..

Keep in mind that Kittles has been injured the whole year,so with Kmart,they have ZERO perimeter game and no halcourt game.They do with Vince

They also have DRAFT picks.The one they retained is the Clips first rounder,non lottery protected in 2006.That is a REAL pick.And the Clips second rounder.And they did trade away their first round pick,but I cant recall for what or who.....

Thorn will add a big,possibly Dalembert with the Clips pick.He is a great GM.I think he STOLE Vince.You realize come playoffs if we payed them,TT would cover RJ and Crawford would cover Vince....


not a pretty thought

son of oakley

LMAO, no it's not.

You make a good case, it'll be interesting to see how it plays out. Just looked to me like they went 50% in one direction (rebuild) then decided to high tail it back to win now. If Thorny pulls it off (again) and makes them for real then he is the man.

truth

I honestly think they were going to rebuild...And Thorn even said he was shocked that he landed Carter...It was just to good a shot to pass up...

Think about it...ATrain somehow fell out of the rotation..Mourning was poison..Ewilliams is a decent player,good bench guy..The two draft picks were the result of Kiki pulling a Laydumb and they are protected....

I hate to admit it,but i look foward to watching the Nets...

son of oakley

Saturday night 7:30.

Hopefully Wince wont get hurt between now and then....

truth

LOL..WINCE

I like that...thats gonna be a GREAT game