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November 30, 2009
0-17: Nets match NBA’s worst start to a season
Firing the coach didn't work. Maybe try firing the owner?
When the New Jersey Nets finally reached an inauspicious NBA record, the Staples Center’s public address announcer let the crowd know all about it.
At least he had the tact to wait until the Nets were out of earshot after their 17th straight loss.
The undermanned, undertalented Nets matched the worst start to an NBA season Sunday night, with Kobe Bryant scoring 30 points in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 106-87 victory.
A few hours after New Jersey fired coach Lawrence Frank, the Nets had little prayer of keeping up with the defending league champions, who won their sixth straight game. Despite apparently playing hard for temporary head coach Tom Barrise, New Jersey fell behind by 27 points in the first half and went into history with yet another whimper.
...New Jersey must beat the Dallas Mavericks back home in the East Rutherford swamp on Wednesday night—perhaps while playing for the club’s third coach in three games—to avoid sole possession of an embarrassing NBA record.
...Guard Rafer Alston compared the Nets’ roster to an awful poker hand, saying Frank “wasn’t dealt a royal flush. It’s almost like he had a pair of 2’s, and he tried to fight.”
NoLandGrab: "A pair of 2's," and a joker in the owner's box.
Additional coverage...
NY Daily News, As New Jersey Nets owner Bruce Ratner works on cheap, Lawrence Frank gets booted
In all three cases, the Nets took back less talent than they sent out, a doomed strategy if there ever was one. But it was Ratner's master plan. Because of his own financial woes, the Nets pared their salaries to around $57 million, only about $5 million more than the team with the lowest payroll, Oklahoma City.
So if there is anyone to blame for the current crisis, it starts at the top.
The Star-Ledger, Politi: Rod Thorn is the last reason to believe in NJ Nets
Firing Lawrence Frank now is like throwing the captain of the Titanic overboard after it hit the iceberg.
Why bother? To borrow the famous quote from Micheal Ray Richardson, the ship be sinking anyway.
The Nets kept the coach around this long for one reason: They were too cheap to hire his replacement, just like they were too cheap to keep this team from becoming a national joke.
...The stain of this historic losing streak belongs on the owner’s legacy alone, which might offer fans some solace — if Ratner cared about anything but his Brooklyn real estate deal.
NY Post, Winless Nets give boot to head coach
A spokesman for Prokhorov said: "He has no comment. Bruce Ratner is still the Nets owner."
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, Bruce Ratner the Destroyer
What else would anyone, any fan, expect when the owner buys a team as a tool for a corrupt land grab? The chickens have come home to roost at the Izod Center.
NBA Fanhouse, Frankly Speaking, Frank Takes the Fall
Thorn plans to meet Monday with others in the organization, including owner Bruce Ratner (assuming he can break away from his architectural sketches), to decide on the interim coach.
NY Observer, Today in Local Sports Coverage: The Da Vinci Coach
Yesterday, after an 0-16 start, the Nets finally canned coach Lawrence Frank, sparing him the ignominy of entering the record books with the rest of the team last night, as they tied the record for season-starting futility by losing number 17 in L.A.
The New York Times, At 0-17, the Nets Tie an Unwanted Record
The Times manages to publish a lengthy story on the Nets record-tying loss and the firing of Lawrence Frank without once mentioning the name of its development partner, Bruce C. Ratner.
CBSSports.com, Frank becomes cap-space casualty
But clearing the books for a move to Brooklyn -- and selling the team to someone who could actually take it there -- was more important to owner Bruce Ratner than keeping Vince Carter, who didn't want to talk about the whole thing Sunday night. Asked for his comment on Frank's firing, Carter said simply, "None. I don't want to talk about it, if you don't mind."
the east coast bias, Bye bye, Lawrence
I suppose after a coach goes 0-17 in the NBA, a firing is in order. But New Jersey Nets coach Lawrence Frank got screwed, and screwed hard, by a team and an ownership more concerned with clearing money for this supposed move to the Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn than with putting a competitive team on the floor.
Posted by eric at November 30, 2009 10:24 AM