Le Basketbawl

There are currently five NBA teams that are without a head coach; and after the Playoffs there could possibly be a couple more. Recently there has been all sorts of buzz about Philadelphia and Chicago but there has been virtual silence on the situation that New York Vinnie believes may be the most intriguing of the bunch. Now the reason there has been little action on that front is the fact that the New Jersey Nets are waiting for their new Team Owner Mikhail Prokhorov to be approved by the NBA Board of Governors. “The New York Times” recently reported that the vote for the billionaire from Russia should take place on Tuesday May 18.

Until Prokhorov takes over the team no moves will be made regarding the future of the franchise. The new owner could come in and fire Team President Rod Thorn and General Manager Kiki Vandeweghe on his first day although that is highly unlikely.

However once that situation is resolved; New York Vinnie thinks it will be interesting to see who New Jersey brings in as the new bench boss. Because even though the Nets played like Total Frickin Crappolla this past season they have the core of a pretty good roster. And with the right guy as the coach and one of three Free Agents that are available this summer the Nets could go from the sewer to contender in the NBA Eastern Conference next season.

There was no history made in New Jersey this past season; it was just another lousy NBA team as they would finish with a record of 12-70. Although it looked like a lock that they would end up with less than 9 wins for most of the season they got lukewarm during the last few weeks and won some games. However even with the team firing Lawrence Frank early on and putting Kiki Vandeweghe; who was totally clueless as head coach three players on the Nets roster showed that they are for real this year.

New Jersey has three assets in center Brook Lopez, point guard Devin Harris and shooting guard Courtney Lee; now add a Bosh, Boozer or Stoudemire to that mix you have a very strong starting lineup. With putting either Chris Douglas-Roberts or Terrence Williams in as the starting small forward you have one of the better starting lineups in the Eastern Conference. 

New York Vinnie believes that Carlos Boozer would be the perfect guy to go to the Nets and take that team to the next level. He has the numbers and he has the right mind-set to be a leader on New  Jersey. Boozer has now been in the NBA for eight seasons and will be 29 years old next November; so you are getting him right in his prime years. He was a member of Team USA in 2008 and is a key reason that the Utah Jazz made it into the second round of the Playoffs this year.

The Nets will have money under the cap available; and they can bring in a Chris Bosh, Amar’e Stoudemire or as New York Vinnie suggests Carlos Boozer. In a Conference that had its eighth seed at 41-41; a team can move up in the ranks pretty quickly. If the Nets are smart they bring in the right guy as coach and sign Carlos Boozer to a long term deal.

If you are a regular here at “The House That New York Vinnie Built” Le Basketbawl then you are well aware that I have been looking forward with great glee to the New Jersey Nets setting a record at the end of the season. As of Sunday the Nets  are on pace to easily become ”The Worst NBA Team Of All Time” as it looks like they will come far below the 1972-1973 Philadelphia Sixers record of 9-73. Right now New Jersey is at 4-46 and will easily come in far below the infamous mark set 37 years ago.

The Nets have not done too many things well over the past couple of seasons which has led to their present situation. One man who has rightfully shouldered a lot of the blame is New Jersey Team President Rod Thorn; who has made some Frickin terrible moves. However New York Vinnie agrees with one decision that he made according to reports from the “Star Ledger.”

According the reports from the paper; the reason that Del Harris left the Nets last Tuesday as an assistant coach under interim coach and General Manager Kiki Vandeweghe was that the veteran coach’s agent was told quite bluntly that his client would not become New Jersey’s head coach next season. The paper reports that the agent Warren LeGarie suggested to Thorn that the Nets President send Vandeweghe back to the front office and allow Harris to take control of the bench to prepare for next season.

Reports indicate that Thorn told the agent “Hold it right there. All due respect, he will not be the next head coach here. So if he has any delusions about that, you should let him know it’s not going to happen.”

Frickin Del Harris is 73 years old and took one team the 1981 Houston Rockets to the NBA Finals where they lost to the Celtics. We are not looking at Riley, Jackson or Auerbach here! He has not been a head coach in the NBA in forever. New York Vinnie for once thinks that Rod Thorn did exactly the right thing. Del Harris is not the future for any team especially one that is starting from scratch like the Frickin Nets!

With a record of 2-21 you would not things could get any worse for the New Jersey Nets. However you would be wrong because now the team is starting  to rot from within. The  in-fighting has started; the sniping and the pointing of fingers which  is what really destroys a team is in full bloom right now in New Jersey. Earlier this  week it was veteran point guard Rafer Alston complaining to the media about the team’s lack of enthusiasm. Friday night after the Nets lost to Indiana Pacers another player decided to voice his displeasure to reporters.

Saturday “The Star-Ledger” reported that a guy that New Jersey is looking at as part of the future of their franchise is none too pleased with the present situation of the team. According to reports Nets point guard Devin Harris spent half-time  talking with New Jersey Team President Rod Thorn about the “lack of direction” that the team had in huddles. After the game  Harris spoke with  reporters about his thoughts on the team and what prompted the conversation with Thorn.

Harris told reporters “We’re a little divided as a team right now. We got to find a way to pull it together. Obviously, what’s been said in the paper. . . .It’s a little rough right now. It’s no secret. You guys have written it. But it’s a team that wants to win. And we care. Obviously our record doesn’t show we’ve been playing well, but everybody comes to work every day. We have to find a way to coexist as a team and play well together.”

Yo Devin; there is an old saying in New York Vinnie’s neighborhood “Never Let Them See You Sweat.”  You My Man did exactly that on Friday night; you told reporters and in turn the public all your team’s dirty little secrets. If you were not a divided team before you certainly are now that this Crapolla has hit the papers. However Devin you are wrong about one thing; your team does have a sense of direction. It’s just headed the wrong Frickin way. And to top things off My Man with that statement you  have started  the process of becoming a former member of the New Jersey Nets.

Mark New York Vinnie’s words down on this; because this is something you can take to the Frickin Bank. Devin Harris will either be traded (if the Nets are smart) or will leave the team as a Free Agent (if the club is not smart) as soon as he is capable of doing so. The waters have now been Frickin sullied and once that Crapolla becomes public it all comes down to just a matter of when.

The New Jersey Nets have a head coach in Kiki Vandeweghe who has never coached at any level. Of course there is a “lack of direction” in the huddles because Kiki has no idea what direction to send you in! You can not have on the job Frickin training in the NBA during the season. However that is what is happening with the Nets.

The New Jersey Nets do not have a lot of valuable assets on their roster however Devin Harris is one of them. If Rod Thorn is smart he lets this die down and then next summer Harris is in a deal that gets them some young talent that might help solve the Nets problem with a “lack of direction.”

What is it that makes a “Team” a “Team” ? New York Vinnie realizes that there are many different interpretations but in my mind there is only one true definition. A “Team” is when the whole is greater than the sum of the individual parts all working towards the same goal.

You can take 12 players and put them in the same NBA uniform and let them dress together in the same locker room but that does not make them a “Team.”  If everybody is just looking out for themselves instead of wanting what is best for the group then they are just 12 guys wearing the same uniform. That is not a “Team” not in New York Vinnie’s mind.

The “New York Daily News” reported on Thursday that New Jersey Nets veteran guard Rafer Alston complained to reporters Wednesday night after his club lost to the Golden State Warriors 105-89. Alston did not complain about the loss; or the sub-standard play of his teammates. He was complaining that nobody on the club was cheering for other guys wearing the Nets uniforms.

Alston said “It’s mind-boggling sometimes when you don’t see the guys behind you doing that. That’s more hurtful than anything, is to not cheer your teammates on who are out there trying to get the job done. That’s the way I was taught to do it; Play together and root for your teammate, whether you’re in the game or not. The good teams do that. They stay together, no matter how the game is going.”

Yo Rafer; it is quite apparent that you have not figured out where you are My Man. You are no longer playing for the Houston Rockets or the Orlando Magic those are legitimate “Teams.”  You now play for the Nets a group f 12 individuals who wear the same uniforms and dress in the same locker room but they are only looking ot for themselves. Devin Harris, Brook Lopez and Courtney Lee who are the three most talented players on the squad must be counting down the days until Free Agency is an option for them.

Rafer My Man; you have been spoiled playing for true ”Teams” over the past few years but that is not the case now. The club you are on is looking for leadership; if you truly want the mind-set to change that much then be Frickin pro-active about it. New York Vinnie is sure you would only be welcomed by interim head coach Kiki Vandeweghe to step up and make what you want happen. It is real easy to complain about something but it takes actual effort to change things. Are you willing to take on that role Rafer?

Friday night the New Jersey Nets ended their flirtation with perfection as they would finally win their first game of the 2009-2010 NBA season beating the Charlotte Bobcats 97-91. With that win came to the end of the Nets chance to run the table and have a “Perfect Season” with a record of 0-82.

Now although New York Vinnie is extremely disappointed that the dream is over there is still a Huge Consolation Prize that New Jersey is still in the running for. The Nets at their present pace could blow the 1972-1973 Philadelphia 76ers futile season out of the water and could quite easily end up as the “Worst Team Ever” in the history of the NBA.

That edition of the Sixers currently own the worst  regular season record in the entire history of the league as they ended that season with a final mark of 9-73. If you do the math you will come to realize that every  time Philadelphia lost 8 games that year they would get a victory. However if the Nets who are now 1-18 so far this season stay at their present clip they would end up with a new NBA record as they would finish the season at 4-78!

Now as New York Vinnie wrote on Friday before New Jersey defeated Charlotte the odds of going 0-82 for a season were truly minuscule are there are so many bad teams that play currently in the NBA. The Bobcats aren’t even near the bottom of the heap; so even if the Nets had lost Friday night chances are  the streak still would have been broken. However with the right attitude and a little bit of luck New Jersey could find themselves in the NBA record books at the end of the year!

Now for those of us that would like to see the Nets make NBA history this season a discouraging site was present at the Izod Center Friday night. It looks like the team’s new bench boss New Jersey General Manager Kiki Vandeweghe may actually know how to coach. That would definitely be a major stumbling block in the Nets march towards immortality.

The other factor not in their favor is the fact that some the club’s better players such as Devin Harris and Courtney Lee are now back on the floor after missing extended time with injuries. This could also prove to be a fly in the Vaseline for New Jersey to win less than 9 games. However as we who follow the NBA are well aware injuries occur on a daily basis so all hope is not lost.

The New Jersey Nets have their work cut out for them if they truly want replace Philadelphia as the “Worst Team Ever” but if they play as the have through the first 19 games it is definitely a reachable goal. As the old saying goes “Records Were Made To Be Broken” and the Sixers record is attainable for the Nets. It all comes down to how badly do they want it?

The “New York Daily News” reported Monday that New Jersey Nets General Manager Kiki Vandeweghe will become interim coach of the team after the Nets dismissed former head coach Lawrence Frank this past Sunday. Vandeweghe even though he has never coached before in the NBA was considered to be the leading candidate for the position mainly because he was already under contract.

Vanderweghe will not be coaching the team until Friday so the Nets will most likely have assistant coach Tom Barrise lead the club against Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday. Barrise was at the helm Sunday when the Nets lost to the Lakers putting them in a three way tie for the worst start in NBA history. A loss to Dallas would give them the infamous title of “Worst Start of All Time.”

Nets Team President Rod Thorn was asked what was it about Vandeweghe that gave him the confidence to give him his first head coaching gig in the NBA. Thorn responded “I think Kiki because of his knowledge. I think Kiki because of his personality. I think Kiki because of his ability to work with young players, to get the best out of young players, he’s a natural for this job. He will continue with the development of our young players. I think he will be an excellent teacher and coach for this team.”