Le Basketbawl

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!

Back in the day when NBA veteran guard Rafer Alston was a “Playground Legend” he carried the nickname of  “Skip-To-My-Lu.” New York Vinnie believes that now his nickname should be “The Traveling Man” as he is on the move once again.

The “South Florida Sun-Sentinel” has reported that Alston was given a buy-out on his contract Tuesday from the New Jersey Nets making him an unrestricted Free Agent. According to the reports Alston will sign a deal for the rest of season with the Miami Heat. That deal has already gotten one player off the Miami roster and there may be more changes yet to come.

In a separate move designed to clear salary-cap space; Miami traded guard Chris Quinn and a second round NBA Draft pick to New Jersey and will get a conditional second round pick in return. Alston is expected to sign a deal that will pay him the pro-rated portion of a veteran minimum salary.

Alston told the paper he is pumped about going back to Miami; he played there in the 2003-2004 season but then signed a Free Agent contract with the Toronto Raptors. The veteran said “I’m coming. “I can’t explain in words how excited I am. I’m really excited. The time when I was a free agent, I didn’t want to leave. But when the offer came from Toronto, at that point in my career I never had that type of deal, for more money.”

Unfortunately though Alston found out something that New York Vinnie could have told him up-front; Money can Not Buy Happiness. Alston would end up being traded to the Houston Rockets and then last season was traded to the Orlando Magic and was a big part in the team reaching the NBA Finals. He was traded in the off-season along with Courtney Lee in exchange for Vince Carter.

Alston will have to clear waivers before he can sign with any team. He told the paper “I don’t know how it works. I know I have to clear waivers. If that happens, I definitely want to get back on the floor as soon as possible.”

Alston told the paper that he expects to be a reserve for Miami. The veteran said “I’ll come off the bench and help out, helping out Arroyo and Chalmers. And whatever happens after that, I’ll be ready for.”

Speculation has been building that Carlos Arroyo may be cut by the team although Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra thinks that the veteran is an asset for his club. The Heat coach said “I like Carlos. His teammates like him. It’s hard not to. He’s a veteran, who’s been through a lot of wars. He’s had every kind of role. He’s been through adversity. He’s been the third point guard, the backup point guard and he’s been a starting point guard. That’s unique and it’s also a specific role we need for this team.”

The Heat may have soured on second year point guard Mario Chalmers now is second season but New York Vinnie does not believe he will be moved. Whether Arroyo survives the long haul remains to be seen.

The “Associated Press” reported Wednesday that New Jersey Nets point guard Devin Harris will not face any further sanctions from the NBA after being ejected from a game Tuesday night when he committed a flagrant foul two. Harris ended up taking down Cleveland Cavaliers forward Jamario Moon by the head in the fourth quarter Tuesday night as the Nets lost to Cleveland 99-89. Harris was immediately ejected from the game which automatically happens when you are assessed with that penalty.

Moon told reporters after the game  Tuesday night that he diid  not believe the Nets guard was intentionally trying to hurt him. He said that he believed that Harris was going for the ball and accidentally grabbed him by the head throwing him to the floor. The Nets could ill-afford to be without their point guard as they attempt to dig their way out of the worst start in NBA history.

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 NBA has been in existence for over six decades; that is far before many of us were even thoughts never mind actually walking on this planet. There have been a lot of bad teams during that time period but there can only be one team that is designated the “Worst Team Ever.” The 2009-2010 version of the New Jersey Nets has started making a run for the title and have made a promising start after kicking off the season 0-18.

Up until Wednesday the Nets were also-rans; sure they held the record for the worst start in NBA history but it was a hollow title! After all they were locked in a three way tie with two teams that had accomplished the feat long before the Nets did. However now the Nets are special; they own the title all by themselves and that is quite an accomplishment.

But New Jersey has only just started on this journey into history! Their next challenge awaits the 1972-1973 edition of the Philadelphia 76ers who as of this point are truly the “Worst Team Ever.” The Sixers that year had a record of 9-73 and although other teams have challenged that mark not one team has come even close to tying it or better yet beating it. The Nets at their present pace not only are on course to break that record they could absolutely blow it out of the water. By attaining 9 victories that season the Sixers had to average a win after every 8 losses. So far New Jersey has gone 18 games without a win which is double the rate of ineffectiveness that Philadelphia had that season.

However what New York Vinnie would truly like to see although I would say the odds of this happening are almost Frickin nil would be for New Jersey to go the “entire season” without a win! Now realistically New York Vinnie believes there are far too many impediments standing in their way to accomplish that. There are too many other bad teams in the NBA for New Jersey to maintain their perfect record. However until they do get that first victory that dream remains alive!

Now New Jersey fans are handling this totally the wrong Frickin way. That does not surprise New York Vinnie as New Jersey is a state with a major inferiority complex. It is understandable after all their next door neighbor is the “Empire State” and it is tough for them to live in our shadow. But this is the state’s chance to carve out their identity their own niche as the state in which the “Worst Team Ever” resides.

So instead of walking around with your heads down and your thoughts all negative take Your Old Pal New York Vinnie’s advice and embrace your Frickin place in history. In fact New York Vinnie with apologies to the “Late Great GodFather of Soul James Brown“ has even come up with a cheer for you to chant at the games! “Say It Loud! We Stink And We’re Proud!” Because bottom Frickin line there are a lot of bad teams but there can only be one that is known as the “Worst Team Ever.”