Blackjack
01-09-2010, 10:19 PM
Spurs' Jefferson rues Nets' slide (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Spurs_Jefferson_rues_Nets_slide.html)
By Mike Monroe - Express-News
Richard Jefferson's first season in New Jersey ended in the 2002 NBA Finals, and he repeated the trip in 2003, when he was part of a Nets team that fell victim to the second of the Spurs' championship runs.
Watching from afar as the Nets opened the 2009-10 season by setting a dubious record for the worst start in league history 18 losses in a row before finally beating the Charlotte Bobcats on Dec. 4 was difficult for a player who still has friends inside the organization.
You feel for them, said Jefferson, acquired by the Nets on draft night 2001 in a swap of first-round picks with the Houston Rockets. You feel for the people who are there. You feel for the fans.
Before the Nets traded Jefferson to the Milwaukee Bucks on June 26, 2006, he had played on teams that compiled a seven-season record of 314-260. His only losing season in New Jersey was his last, when the 2007-08 Nets went 34-48.
One by one, Jefferson watched the Nets jettison the key players from the two NBA Finals teams. Kenyon Martin and All-NBA point guard Jason Kidd preceded him on the departure list. All-Star forward Vince Carter followed.
A lot of guys worked extremely hard to build up the respect that the team started to get, he said. There's nothing else you can say. You make your bed, you have to lie in it.
I don't know what has to be done, whether it's Brooklyn or Newark, or moving to someplace else at this point in time. You wish them the best, but what really can you say? It only took a season-and-a-half before you traded the last player who was part of anything significant in the organization. Then you have the worst start in the history of the NBA.
Bonner's progress: Power forward-center Matt Bonner, who suffered a fractured fourth metacarpal bone in his right hand on Dec. 19, isn't ticketed for a return to game action until mid-month, but he spent 30 minutes before Saturday's practice session shooting jumpers with his right hand.
Bonner previously had been shooting strictly with his left hand. He continues to wear a light protective cast on his right hand.
Finley getting close: Based on his run through a vigorous set of agility drills before Saturday's practice, veteran forward Michael Finley's return from a Grade 2 left ankle sprain appears to be right around the corner.
Finley suffered the injury Dec. 5 against the Nuggets, at which time the timetable for his return was set at four to six weeks.
By Mike Monroe - Express-News
Richard Jefferson's first season in New Jersey ended in the 2002 NBA Finals, and he repeated the trip in 2003, when he was part of a Nets team that fell victim to the second of the Spurs' championship runs.
Watching from afar as the Nets opened the 2009-10 season by setting a dubious record for the worst start in league history 18 losses in a row before finally beating the Charlotte Bobcats on Dec. 4 was difficult for a player who still has friends inside the organization.
You feel for them, said Jefferson, acquired by the Nets on draft night 2001 in a swap of first-round picks with the Houston Rockets. You feel for the people who are there. You feel for the fans.
Before the Nets traded Jefferson to the Milwaukee Bucks on June 26, 2006, he had played on teams that compiled a seven-season record of 314-260. His only losing season in New Jersey was his last, when the 2007-08 Nets went 34-48.
One by one, Jefferson watched the Nets jettison the key players from the two NBA Finals teams. Kenyon Martin and All-NBA point guard Jason Kidd preceded him on the departure list. All-Star forward Vince Carter followed.
A lot of guys worked extremely hard to build up the respect that the team started to get, he said. There's nothing else you can say. You make your bed, you have to lie in it.
I don't know what has to be done, whether it's Brooklyn or Newark, or moving to someplace else at this point in time. You wish them the best, but what really can you say? It only took a season-and-a-half before you traded the last player who was part of anything significant in the organization. Then you have the worst start in the history of the NBA.
Bonner's progress: Power forward-center Matt Bonner, who suffered a fractured fourth metacarpal bone in his right hand on Dec. 19, isn't ticketed for a return to game action until mid-month, but he spent 30 minutes before Saturday's practice session shooting jumpers with his right hand.
Bonner previously had been shooting strictly with his left hand. He continues to wear a light protective cast on his right hand.
Finley getting close: Based on his run through a vigorous set of agility drills before Saturday's practice, veteran forward Michael Finley's return from a Grade 2 left ankle sprain appears to be right around the corner.
Finley suffered the injury Dec. 5 against the Nuggets, at which time the timetable for his return was set at four to six weeks.