Would You Watch “Hard Knocks: New Jersey Nets”?

HBO will debut the New York Jets go round on “Hard Knocks” on August 11th.  The show will no doubt once again set records for the cable network and already has fans campaigning for their team to get the nod next season.

The folks over at Dime Magazine started thinking about which NBA teams would be the best fit for a 24/7 style show and the New Jersey Jets came in at No. 3.

You have a team coming off one of the worst seasons in NBA history, in close proximity to New York City, with some characters on the squad like Brook Lopez and Terrence Williams.  And then there’s Avery Johnson, who just sounds funny.  I don’t know about you, but I would love to hear a conversation between Mikhail Prokhorov and Jay-Z.

Yes, Yes, Yes!  How fantastic would this show be?  The YES Network really should work on getting clearance from the NBA to film this show.  It would get higher ratings than the Nets games.

Plus, you already have a theme song ready to go: “Hard Knock Life” by minority owner Jay-Z.

The other four teams suggested were the Minnesota Timberwolves, Kentucky Wildcats (?), Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat.

Here’s hoping that Jay-Z and Mikhail Prokhorov have a Blueprint to Reality TV.

Tags: Reality TV

Harris Optimistic About Young Nets

During a recent trip back to Wisconsin, Devin Harris was dishing on everything from the importance of a good support system to his desire to be an All Star.

The main message he had for the youngsters that he met with was that sports are not the only way to make your dreams come true.

“Plan for your future.  Have other things on your plate as well,” he said.  “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”

It’s a message that the New Jersey Nets are currently trying to sell their fans.  LeBron James and Dwyane Wade may have decided to pass on playing for the Nets, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other ways to be successful.  From the sound of it, Harris has already bought in to what Avery Johnson and Mikhail Prokhorov are selling.

“We’re an improving team.  Our main goal is to get back to the playoffs,” Harris said.

“We’re a young team but I think we’re still good enough to get there.  We want to erase that terrible season we had last year.  We look to continue to get better as we go along.”

Maybe Harris is just playing the good soldier because I think we all know it would go over real well for him to rip off a nice “We’re going to be God awful, but at least I’ll get my points!”.  But I really think this young Nets team will come into training camp ready to shock the world.  All eyes will be on the Heat and to a lesser extent the Celtics and Magic.  New Jersey will be pegged to be one of the worst teams in the league with another chance at the top pick in the lottery and it’s hard to imagine that won’t fire these kids up.

Being optimistic in July isn’t going to put anything in the win column for the Nets, but it’s a great place to start.

Tags: Devin Harris

Prokhorov Defends LeBron

The last place I expected to find someone defending LeBron James and his “Decision” was the owner’s box at the Prudential Center.  But that’s exactly what we have on our hands, after Mikhail Prokhorov wrote a letter to the editor for USA Today to defend the “Miami Thrice”.

In addition to saying he has been surprised by how negative the commentary directed to James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, Prokhorov wrote that he stands behind “The King”.

“I want to say that I support LeBron, the best athlete in the NBA.  He had a truly difficult choice to make.  Any move he made was sure to be viewed as wrong, and to leave many unhappy fans.  Basing his decision on achieving results on the basketball court shows that the sportsman won the day, not the showman or the businessman.  What is wrong with that?”

But don’t worry Nets fans, the owner is not just going order his team to fold for the Heat.

“I will be happy for us to beat the Miami Heat in the conference finals, maybe not this season, but in the very near future.”

We can all get behind the idea of beating the Heat in the conference finals (or really in any game) but I hope Prokhorov isn’t expecting fans to get behind his rallying cry supporting James.  Heck, if you believe the rumors, his high profile minority owner won’t be standing with Prokhorov here either.

Tags: LeBron James, Mikhail Prokhorov

Brook Lopez Makes Team USA Cut

After a less than stellar week with Team USA, Nets center Brook Lopez made the final cut for the roster headed to the World Championships.

USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo — like the rest of us — noticed how much Lopez struggled, but he also knows basketball and knows that he can play.

“We’re giving him the benefit of the doubt,” Colangelo said.  “He knows he has a lot to show in New York to be under consideration to make this team.  But he wanted very much to have that shot and opportunity, and we’re willing to do that for him.

“When somebody has that type of attitude you’re going to give them a little bit of rope.”

Colangelo failed to mention that the only other player pushing him at center was little known JaVale McGee.  As bad as Lopez was, it’s hard to argue that someone like McGee would be better for Team USA — or any team for that matter — than Lopez.

From here on out, if Lopez wants to stick around he needs realize that his past production will only last for so long.

“Certain players were told they’re right on the bubble and that New York is really very critical and important [for] the final roster,” Colangelo said.

Next up for Lopez and the team’s only other center on the squad Tyson Chandler, is training from August 10-16 in New York including an exhibition against France on the 15th.

If Lopez plans to leave New York with the team, he will have to bounce back in a few weeks with a better performance.

Tags: Brook Lopez

No Favors = No Paul

Yesterday, the Nets were seen as being in the running for New Orleans Hornets PG Chris Paul.  But if you listen to the Nets staff member that spoke to the Post, that isn’t going to happen because the team is unwilling to give up Derrick Favors.

“He has a chance to be scary good,” the staffer is quoted as saying.

I don’t think anyone would disagree with that statement, but I have one better: Chris Paul is already scary good.

Paul is, right this moment, a top 3 point guard at the ripe old age of 25.  We aren’t talking about bringing in an over-the-hill player hoping to rediscover their youth or an unproven kid that needs to improve his game.

Without including Favors — and all of that potential — there is virtually no way the Nets will even get a call back from the Hornets.  Sure, taking on Emeka Okafor’s bloated contract is nice, but every other team calling New Orleans is willing to do the same thing.

Even if they go the extra mile (as I suggested yesterday) and also absorb the final two years of James Posey’s deal, the Nets would need to shed Favors deal to make everything fit within the rules of the salary cap.

Besides needing to include Favors, the other necessary step to any Paul deal is finding a third team to take Devin Harris.  The Hornets do not want anything to do with the nearly $27 million owed to the Nets point guard over the next three seasons.  Charlotte still seems to be the most likely facilitator, but we have seen how gun shy they can be when it comes to pulling off a big trade.

First things first: making Favors untouchable makes Paul unattainable.

Tags: Chris Paul, Derrick Favors

Nets Enter Chris Paul Sweepstakes

After meeting with Hornets management, New Orleans point guard Chris Paul released a statement that he hopes to remain in NOLA.  But according to Ken Berger at CBS Sports, the All Star still wants out and for the first time publicly, the New Jersey Nets are said to be in the running for Paul.

Along with the New Jersey, New Orleans is looking at Orlando and Charlotte as having attractive assets in an eventual trade.

A source told Berger that Paul “doesn’t think they’re good enough and he’s put LeBron’s people around him for a reason.  And he doesn’t want to wait two years and be 27 years old trying to get on a championship team.  He wants to do it now.”

Even though the Nets were not on Paul’s list of teams he wanted to be traded to, New Orleans doesn’t want “to let CP3 dictate the teams and they can’t look like they are being held hostage by his trade demands.”

For the Nets — or any team — to be in the running for Paul, they will need to take back the contracts of Emeka Okafor ($53.2 million over the next four years) and/or James Posey ($13.4 over the next two years).

Because they didn’t overspend after missing out on big name free agents, New Jersey has the financial flexibility to absorb both Okafor and Posey’s contracts in a deal if they can find a home for Devin Harris.  That team, presumably, would be the Charlotte Bobcats.

This is what a three-team deal between the Nets, Bobcats and Hornets would look like. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets

Jay-Z & LeBron On The Outs?

It’s usually a good idea to ignore most “gossip” when it involves athletes, but this is one that was just partially-confirmed by a source close to the Nets.

According to Media Take Out, the friendship of Nets minority owner Jay-Z and LeBron James has been strained thanks to James decision to take his talents to South Beach.

“Jay Z was supposed to be able to bring stars to [the New Jersey] Nets – or at least have access to them.  [During the time that LeBron was making his decision] he didn’t even take [Jay Z's] calls.  It made [Jay Z] look like he couldn’t deliver to the Nets management.”

The insider continued, “If [Jay Z] would have landed a star player, he could have been seen as a legitimate asset to the team.  Now they see him as just dead weight.”

The relationship between Jay-Z and James was the reason I felt New Jersey (and eventually Brooklyn) would be the choice if LBJ decided to leave Cleveland.  Clearly the hip-hop mogul agreed and it’s taking a toll on their once strong friendship.

I’ve heard that ultimately the two will patch things up, but that Jay is still hot over being completely left in the dark during the free agency process.  While he disagreed with James’ decision to play for the Heat, it was finding out the same time as the rest of the country that is at the root of the problem.

The issue here is that almost universally across the sport we were all wrong about LeBron James.  We thought he was just like his friend, with a desire to be the biggest and best ever.  But it turns out that James isn’t built that way.  He doesn’t have that killer instinct or need to be the best in the world.  Instead he would feel more comfortable being a smaller part in a well oiled machine, not the machine itself.  Once Jay accepts that, things should go back to normal for the duo.

There is zero truth to the idea that anyone associate with the Nets sees Jay-Z as “dead weight”.  He is, and will continue to be, a vital part of the franchise as it prepares to move into the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Tags: Jay-Z, LeBron James

Terrence Williams: Johnson A Great Coach For Me

It took Terrence Williams a few months to “get it” during his rookie season.  After slogging through the beginning of the season, showing up late for practice and sleep walking through games, Williams had an awakening that helped him show Nets brass that he has the potential to be a building block.

Now with a new regime in New Jersey, Williams has to prove himself all over again.  But to hear him talk about the situation, the Nets second year forward thinks Avery Johnson is the right man for the job.

“I think he’s a great coach for me,’’ Williams said.  “Just because of his presence, him being the ‘general’ and stuff that he wants.  He demands it.  That’s the great part that I love about him because the stuff that he wants, he’s going to say it and he expects you to do it.  It’s not like previous coaches where they don’t really speak up.  He says what’s on his mind and I respect that.’’

Lawrence Frank and Kiki Vandeweghe, we’re looking at you.

We all know that Kiki wasn’t build to be an NBA head coach, so it’s no surprise to hear Williams rip down his sideline abilities.  Frank, on the other hand, is not a guy I was fond of but he was never shy about raising his voice in the huddle.

Williams says he’s ready to not only improve his game, but the team as a whole.

“I have done a lot of work this summer and hopefully it shows.  And keep continuing to work.  I enjoy making plays for others.  I like the old style of Gary Payton, and once I think I work on that the more I will be able to help us win.’’

Tags: Avery Johnson, Terrence Williams

Lopez Could Get The Boot From Team USA

Brook Lopez got through his first week with Team USA basketball in Las Vegas but wrapped it up in a familiar way: with a loss.

The Nets center only played 13 minutes for USA Blue in a 114-96 beat down by a Kevin Durant’s USA White squad.  In those few minutes, Lopez only scored two points and not much else.  Making matters worse he was outplayed by the likes of JaVale McGee, putting his once solid roster spot at least somewhat in question.

Managing director Jerry Colangelo has said that he wants to keep Tyson Chandler, McGee and Lopez all on the roster, but it’s clear early on that this team will not need much in the way of back to the basket scoring.

That’s not to say that Lopez can’t help Mike Krzyzewski’s Team USA, but it isn’t the craziest thought that the squad could go very small and only carry Chandler.  In that case, the team would be in a bind if Chandler were to get hurt, but in international games they would get away with moving Lamar Odom to play center.

As much as it would be a shot to Lopez’ confidence to be cut, I don’t think anyone in New Jersey would be complaining.  Avery Johnson and the Nets will need to get off to a fast start to help put last season to sleep once and for all, which will require a flat out dominant performance from Lopez.  The best way for that to happen is to have him as well rested as possible.

Odds are that Lopez will make the final Team USA roster, but it wouldn’t be so bad for the Nets if he didn’t.

Tags: Brook Lopez

Devin Harris Has Yet To Meet Mikhail Prokhorov

The New Jersey Nets have had plenty of turn over this offseason, but so far Devin Harris has survived the changes and will open the season as the starting point guard.  But just because he has been kept around that doesn’t mean he has had the chance to meet the man that will sign his paychecks.

Harris has, however, heard only good things about Mikhail Prokhorov.

“They say he has a little more knowledge about basketball because he used to play.”

“They’ll do whatever it takes to win and that’s the type of owner you want to play for,” Harris said.  “A lot of times you are stuck by salary caps and so on.  But the teams that do well have the owners that do the necessary things to go over the top.”

Harris also said that there would not be any lingering bitterness with the man Prokhorov hired to run the team, coach Avery Johnson, even though the two did not get along during their time together in Dallas.

“I’ve matured a lot since then and I think he is coming in with a different kind of mind-set.  I think it will all work out for the best.  We’ve continued our relationship since that point in time and I’m anxious to work for him again.”

Obviously no one expected Harris to step out and rip his new coach, so it will be important to watch how these two stubborn men respond to the team’s first rough patch.

Tags: Devin Harris