Check out the Associated Press piece here:

http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/news_details/article/678/2009/september/08/nj-nets-to-add-sponsor-logo-to-practice-jerseys.html

Check it out:

“People will come to see LeBron, Kobe and Wade regardless, but you’re inviting fans of the opposing team to openly cheer for them and wear their jerseys in your building to boot.

James is going to look in the crowd and see more than half of the nearly three-quarters filled Izod Center wearing his jersey. It will almost feel like he’s in Cleveland. Something is wrong with that.”

You can read the full story here:

http://www.northjersey.com/sports/pro_sports/56825147.html

“Maybe this summer is the quiet before the storm of 2010. But there seems to be some dark skies ahead for the area NBA teams and no guarantee of relief next summer.”

You can read the full thing here:

My Thoughts:

Spot on. Even if the Nets youngsters prove they belong in this league this season, they’ll be hard pressed to stay above water for very long. Sure they’re a bit faster and even a bit bigger, but they aren’t nearly as dynamic and considering Courtney Lee’s feelings, they may even be a bit more disgruntled.

At this point, seeing them with more than 30 wins seems like crazy talk.

“With no big-names on their roster following the trades of Jason Kidd and Vince Carter over the past 18 months, the New Jersey Nets have taken a novel approach to ticket sales this season _ they’re marketing LeBron, Kobe, K.G., Dwyane and Dwight Howard.

The Nets on Thursday announced a special 10-game “Match-Up” ticket plan through which their fans can also get a collection of reversible jerseys with the uniforms of LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Dwyane Wade and Howard on one side and the jersey of the Nets’ player that will match up against the visiting star on the other.”

Read the rest of the article here, as it gets much better:

http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/news_details/article/678/2009/august/13/no-kidd-or-carter-nj-nets-to-market-opponents.html

Editor’s Note:

Not a good time to be a Nets fan, especially with moronic advertizing like this going on. What about Devin Harris? Why not market around him? The guy has a great season last year and was hurt for a large majority of it. Why not show him some love? What about Brook Lopez too?

This move shows this team has already waved the white flag for the season as this is a move I’d expect from the Flint Tropics, not the New Jersey Nets.

It looks like the crying will continue into the preseason.

“After the season ended, (we were) talking about what he needed to do, what we needed to do to get back to the Finals,” Magic center Dwight Howard told the New York Post. “He was ready to get back in the gym and work on it and he got traded so he’s hurting.”

Editor’s Note- Insert world’s smallest violin here.

http://www.201.net/issues/2009/08/features/Brett%20Yormark%20Profile.story

My thoughts:

Pretty interesting to see the day to day activities of a CEO, but it means nothing if this team can’t find a way to win this season, especially when trying to attract free agents and keep their young players developing.

“It’s an opportunity, it’s just who wants it,” Carter said Wednesday at his annual basketball camp inside the Nets’ practice facility. “Devin can do it. He has seen it done and he’s been around, it’s just if he wants it. He has definitely established himself in the NBA as a player and that’s the next level for him.”

My thoughts:

Without Carter drawing attention from opposing defenders, Harris will have his hands full. Only time will tell if he’s ready to be a real leader and not a part of an effective one-two punch like he was last season.

With Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson gone, the team has some holes to plug, but Davis, may not be the answer. The team already has Brook Lopez, Josh Boone, Tony Battie, Sean Williams and Yi Jianlian who can play power forward and center if they have to, so if Davis joins the team, it means one of these guys have to go.

Should be interesting to see where this develops.

A consistent scoring threat, Carter could always be counted on. Anderson was still rough around the edges, but had the capability to be a damn good bench player or someone who could hit a big three and contribute on the boards.

Rafer Alston is going to be a small part of next year’s team, unless Keyon Dooling gets hurt. Courtney Lee is a step up from Bobby Simmons, but it may take him some time to get used to New Jersey. Tony Battie makes the most of his time on the floor and will be a sleeper success in New Jersey. However, when it’s all said and done, the Nets will be lacking the star power and sheer dynamism to win more than 35 games next season.

That is unless Terrance Williams can be the swingman the team is hoping he can be and Devin Harris and Brook Lopez continue to develop. If that happens, then maybe the Nets sneak by a few teams early in the season and unlike this past year, can stay consistent and sneak into the playoffs in an always weak Eastern Conference.

For my taste however, they are still a few pieces away from being a .500 team.

Alston’s take from Yahoo Sports:

“I’m excited not only to be with the Nets but to be able to play in front of family and friends, and also the opportunity to help a franchise turn things around,” Alston told Yahoo Sports. “I know we have a lot of young athletic guys. That’s one thing I stressed to Kiki (general manager Vandeweghe) and Rod (team president Thorn) is that I’m very excited to be on the court with a lot of young athletic guys, although I’m getting old.

“Most people get down about a trade. I had the opportunity to get traded from a contending team to another contender. Now I have a chance to help a team turn things around,” concluded Alston.

My Thoughts: He could have been shocked, but the guy is obviously adept at handling the media and is ready to play this upcoming season. While his role will most likely be smaller, Alston did a good job here of playing his cool and giving cliché answers. Nevertheless, he should be a good option off the bench.

Lee’s take from Yahoo Sports:
“Going all the way to the Finals on a good team, just expecting to regroup for next year and make it back to the playoffs again, and to get the news that you’ve been traded—it definitely was a shock but it’s one I have to live with,” said Lee.

My Thoughts: He was honest. Most young players say things like this and when they get older, they learn to keep quiet. Overall, I think it was more of the media trying to look for a story here. On my depth chart, Lee looks to get big minutes and while Orlando was the better team, he will have an opportunity to be a better player in New Jersey. After the first few games, he’ll understand that too.