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December 1, 2009
Let's be Frank, winless Nets are a mess
ESPN.com
by Chris Sheridan
On Sunday night, the New Jersey Nets lost 106-87 to the Los Angeles Lakers in a game in which they stayed competitive for roughly five minutes. They are now 0-17, tied for the worst start to a season in NBA history, and will have former franchise cornerstone Jason Kidd in the house when the Dallas Mavericks attempt to tag them with the unprecedented and dubious distinction that an 0-18 record would carry with it.
The Nets are a bigger mess than they've been at any time since 1976, when former owner Roy Boe had to sell Julius Erving to the Philadelphia 76ers to raise the money to pay the indemnity fee the Nets owed to the New York Knicks for infringing upon their territory when the NBA and ABA merged.
...The dismissal of Frank was described by one source close to the team as a "mercy firing," a decision that ultimately had to be approved by Bruce Ratner. The lame duck owner is in the midst of selling the team to Russian oligarch and billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, who hopes to become the point man for the team's eventual move to Brooklyn.
But that move is still contingent on bonds being sold, property being condemned and temporary restraining orders being avoided -- all before Dec. 31, when Ratner needs to have broken ground on the Brooklyn complex to secure financing through a set of expiring tax-free bonds. If a master closing on the Brooklyn project is not completed by Jan. 1, the deal with Prokhorov, as presently constituted, would be off.
Plus, the NBA's board of governors still must sign off on the sale after an exhaustive background investigation of Prokhorov is completed.
Related coverage...
SportsBusiness Daily, Nets Sale To Prokhorov Still Faces Months Of Uncertainty [Trial subscription/registration required]
The Nets still could "face months of ownership limbo before" the NBA BOG votes on Bruce Ratner's sale to Mikhail Prokhorov, according to Chris Sheridan of ESPN.com.
AP, On Basketball: Future hopes make Nets hopeless now
The trades gave Nets management what it wants: plenty of salary cap space for the loaded class of 2010, a chance to immediately upgrade the team into a contender by the time it hopes to make its long-planned and much-delayed move to Brooklyn.
NoLandGrab: Truth be told, cap space was a secondary consideration. Ratner's more immediate need was to reduce expenses with the team losing upwards of $30 million per year, and patience over those losses running thin at Forest City headquarters in Cleveland.
HoopsVibe.com, Chris Bosh, LeBron James, and Dwyane Wade should consider New Jersey Nets’ upside
On the surface, the Nets seem to have little chance at signing a top free agent next July. However, with a declining salary cap, Bosh, James, Johnson, or Wade should see the possibilities with a fixer-upper like New Jersey.
NLG: "Fixer-upper?" At 0-17, and counting, the Nets are a tear-down.
NetsDaily, Sheridan: Nets at All-Time Low
Now, that’s saying something...
Posted by eric at December 1, 2009 10:41 AM