Painful Year Lies Ahead as Nets Begin Rebuilding

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun
NY Sun
NEW YORK SUN CONTRIBUTOR

Never has the name “new jersey” been more appropriate than this year, as the cost-cutting Nets unloaded several key players in the off-season and severely lowered expectations. When we last saw them play in the Meadowlands, they were one good minute away from eliminating the eventual champion Pistons in the second round of the playoffs. Fans who watch tonight’s opener against Miami will be shocked by the change of fortune since then.


After a dreadful off-season, the Nets are no longer looking to defend their three straight Atlantic Division titles. In fact, it will take a minor miracle for them to make the playoffs. This Nets season will be less about who is on the team than who isn’t. Lost in the off-season were several veteran stalwarts, including All-Star forward Kenyon Martin, ball hawking guard Kerry Kittles, and key reserves Lucious Harris and Rodney Rogers.


The loss of Martin was the most jarring because it highlighted the change in philosophy under new owner Bruce Ratner. A year ago, the Nets were willing to spend money to go for a championship despite the paltry crowds in East Rutherford. As a result, free agents Jason Kidd and Harris re-signed and Alonzo Mourning came to join them – luxury tax be damned.


Ratner arrived with different ideas. With his Nets playing in an empty building in the ‘burb, he hatched a grand plan to move the team to Brooklyn, and only then break out the checkbook. In the meantime, there was the small problem of Martin becoming a free agent. The front-loaded offer sheet he got from the Nuggets was too rich for the Nets’ blood, and they were forced into a sign-and-trade that cost them their best young player.


Once they lost Martin, the Nets decided to go whole hog and rebuild. They traded Kittles to the Clippers for a bag of yarn, bought out the contracts of Harris and Rogers, and made no effort to get comparable players in return.


Back in the swamp, Kidd chafed at the sudden dismantling of his Eastern Conference powerhouse. He’s also attempting to come back from off-season microfracture knee surgery – an operation that has left other players (e.g.Brian Grant, Chris Webber, and Penny Hardaway) a shadow of their former selves.


With Kidd in his 30s, it doesn’t make sense for a rebuilding team to keep paying him max dollars when they could trade him for a younger player of similar talent. The rumors du jour have him headed to Portland for Shareef Abdur-Rahim or to Minnesota for Wally Szczerbiak, but don’t hold your breath. The Nets need to show that Kidd is healthy first, and that could take a few months.


Kidd will start the year on the injured list, leaving the point guard spot to the trio of Zoran Planinic, Travis Best, and Jacque Vaughn. It’s hard to know which of the three is the least qualified, but it’s safe to say that the Nets will have the NBA’s worst point guard rotation until Kidd returns. Planinic at least offers the potential of improvement from his disastrous rookie season, while Best and Vaughn are veteran roster-fillers who have already proven to several other teams that they’re not a long-term solution.


Shooting guard is another triage area. The starter will be either Rodney Buford or Ron Mercer. Buford is reasonably athletic but soft on defense and a poor shooter, which is why he’s collected more splinters than points in his NBA career. Mercer, meanwhile, is the kind of guy who looks decent enough when you’re watching the game, until you look at the stat sheet afterward and realize he went 4-for-11 and never got to the line. But he’s the better defender, which could endear him to coach Lawrence Frank.


With Martin gone and Kidd likely following, Richard Jefferson is the new centerpiece of the franchise. He signed a six-year, $78 million extension in the offseason and will look to build on his near-All-Star caliber numbers of a year ago. To do that, Jefferson will have to improve his shaky outside jumper because he’ll lose some easy dunks while Kidd is on the shelf. Jefferson might lead the NBA in minutes this year because of the Nets’ lack of other options.


By default, the starting power forward will be Eric Williams, even though it’s not his slot. Williams is everything Frank loves – a tough, dedicated veteran who is an aggressive help defender. But he’s about two inches too short for the position and his 32-year-old body may break down under the nightly beatings.


Clever-but-limited Brian Scalabrine backs him up, and may see the majority of the action against bigger forwards who push Williams around. Underrated southpaw Aaron Williams also should be in the frontcourt mix because he’s one of the few Nets who can score. However, he lost a step last season and isn’t the defender that the other two are.


The biggest mystery is at center, where the Nets will see if they can salvage anything from the misguided Mourning signing. After last year’s kidney transplant, ‘Zo has miraculously come back to the Nets’ active roster on opening night. If he displays even a glimpse of the Mourning of old, he should easily displace Jason Collins as the Nets’ starter – at least until GM Rod Thorn unloads him. Like Kidd, Mourning has little interest in spending his twilight years with a fixer-upper like the Nets, and he should generate great interest at the trade deadline if he shows a return to health.


Should Mourning’s medical problems flare up, Collins will step in. Three years of mediocrity inexplicably have earned him a $24 million extension, although his willingness to bang and take charges is valued in the Nets’ system. Rookie Nenad Krstic’s arrival was much anticipated, but he’s been slow to come around and will spend the early part of the season on the pine.


One bright spot for the Nets is Frank, who is perhaps the best young coach in the business. His maniacal preparation and focus on defense are reminiscent of a younger and better-groomed Jeff Van Gundy, and GM Rod Thorn was right to extend his contract. He deserves better than seeing his team stripped for parts in the offseason, though his coaching will make the Nets’ rebuilding quicker and less painful.


But Frank won’t be able to stop the Nets from a freefall in the standings in 2004-05. Kidd is hurt and there’s no guarantee he’ll come back as an All-Star point guard. With or without him, the Nets are a lead-pipe cinch to finish last in the NBA in 3-pointers; they don’t have a post player either. Barring a return of the circa 1998 version of Mourning, the expansion Bobcats might be the only offense worse than New Jersey’s.


As a result, Nets fans should treat every victory as a pleasant surprise. They’ll still hustle like crazy on defense – Frank won’t accept anything less – and they’ll still get out and run when Kidd is playing. But nobody can shoot, they’ve lost their frontcourt stopper, and the bench is a disaster.


The defense will allow them to grit out some victories, and the Nets might outrun a few teams with tired legs, but it’s tough to eke out 78-75 wins every night. Ratner’s cost-cutting will keep his losses – and the Nets’ wins – to a minimum. The only additional expense he’ll incur is the bus fare to send Rod Thorn to Secaucus for the lottery.

NY Sun
NEW YORK SUN CONTRIBUTOR

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.


The New York Sun

© 2025 The New York Sun Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The material on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used.

The New York Sun

Sign in or  Create a free account

or
By continuing you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use