2Cleva
02-11-2007, 03:26 PM
SWAMP EXODUS
By PETER VECSEY
February 11, 2007 -- IF IT'S not already a living lock, the time has come, the walrus says, for the 24-27 Nets to make a command decision - today, not tomorrow, not next week and definitely long before the Feb. 22 trade deadline when any leverage they may own now will be lessened or lost - to deal Jason Kidd and Vince Carter.
Should the franchise's two paramount players survive that cut-off date New Jersey consequentially is at the (no) mercy of Kidd's age (34) and Carter's contract opt-out option (this summer), as well as the recuperative powers of Richard Jefferson and Nenad Krstic.
Even if all four of those stars were to fall into perfect alignment next season, assuming an at-ease position would only prolong the inevitable, short term, at best. It's the fourth quarter. The wishing-and-praying-things-would-work-out-phase clearly has expired.
Two straight summers Rod Thorn and Ed Stefanski, duty-bound to avoid the luxury tax, attempted to surround Kidd, Carter and Jefferson with halfway competent understudies in hope of keeping the playoff ball/title dream alive.
Last season's good try was blunted by Cliff Robinson's untimely five-game suspension. This season is going nowhere worthwhile, either, regardless of how many games Carter can win at the end by his lonesome, or how much luck the Nets may latch onto for all the above reasons.
Time and the control of assets are dissolving on the double. Failure to dramatically renovate the roster, by getting something for Kidd and Carter while the getting is good, will trigger long-term damage.
Radical surgery, not masking tape and Band-Aids, is what's needed. Thinking creatively and constructively is what's required. Unlocking and reloading is what the situation demands.
A couple weeks ago, I revealed the Lakers had offered a couple first-round draft picks and several expiring contracts for Kidd. Chris Mihm, Aaron McKie, etc., and Jordan Farmar were mentioned.
Kwame ($8.2M/9M) Brown, out forever, and apparently four more weeks due to a mangled ankle, would almost have to be included in order to conform to with NBA trade conditions. That is, unless Shammond Williams, Smush Parker, Maurice Evans and Luke Walton were included in the mix, along with the league maximum $3M in cash to pay off McKie and Williams at least. I would also expect any deal involving Brown to include Jason Collins being re-routed to L.A.
At any rate, the L.A. media essentially confirmed the disclosure. Since then GM Mitch Kupchak and Phil Jackson have downplayed prospects any time soon of importing an established point guard or a big man to supplement an undersized 30-21 team that's dropped six of its last 10.
I tend to link deception, not discretion, with Jackson. In this case, it's a batch of both. According to the source that provided the original, juicy news, the Kidd conversation only briefly was deactivated. The way I hear it, Nets management is seriously considering accepting the offer. (Do it, then!)
The bidding isn't limited to L.A. I have it on excellent authority the Cavaliers - desperate to relieve LeBron James of his playmaking-for-others-and-himself obligation, and transform him into an open court, post-up receiver - called the Nets to voice their fondness for Kidd.
"I don't look for that to happen," said someone in the know. "Given the choice between playing in Cleveland with LeBron or in Los Angeles with Kobe, I suspect we know which way Kidd would lean. You definitely don't want an unhappy impact player."
OK, so imagine for a moment the luxurious lineup of Kobe, Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum, Walton (I can't see them giving him up) and Kidd, who has two years left after this at $19.7M and $21.3M. A major contributing factor, of course, in the Nets' coherent thought process to let go is Marcus Williams' validation he's ready already to run the offense and handle the associated pressure. Starting fresh with the suave rookie as the team's fulcrum point is actually a comforting proposition.
Add Jefferson and Krstic and whatever you get worth keeping for Kidd (and Carter), and you've got a nice new nucleus to rebuild around. Obviously, if Kidd goes, Carter must be dispatched, too. Finding a team to assume his free agent-in-waiting risk is a problem, no doubt. It'd almost have to be a team convinced his prized presence can place it on a championship pedestal, or near enough to it to compete with the Mavericks, Suns, Spurs, Rockets, Pistons, Jazz, Lakers (with Kidd) and healthy Heat.
The Magic may fit that profile. Staggering of late, having lost six of ten, management may consider Carter exactly the offensive force it needs to compliment Dwight Howard. No question they'd torture any and all defensive concepts.
What could Orlando offer the Nets for Carter ($15.1M)? This is sheer speculation: Grant Hill's expiring $16.9M contract, a No. l pick and one of their four points, Travis Diener (664G).
What inducements can Orlando offer Carter to re-enlist? It certainly helps to have a legit co-star in place for a team on the rise, someone to share the limelight/weight with. More critical, perhaps, he was born and raised in Daytona Beach and his baby daughter lives in the Vincinity.
Then again, someone with the Nets might want to actually ask Carter what his intentions are.
*
How nice that David Stern selected Carmelo Anthony and Josh Howard to step in for injured All-Stars Yao Ming and Carlos Boozer. The commissioner credits Alan Hevesi for being the driving force behind his decision.
Headline on today's sports page in Cebu City, Philippines, courtesy of column contributor Ray McCormack: "Celtics Lose 17th Game In A Row"
Things are so bad in Boston, the leprechaun is now looking for the pot o' pot.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/02112007/sports/nets/swamp_exodus_nets_peter_vecsey.htm?page=2
By PETER VECSEY
February 11, 2007 -- IF IT'S not already a living lock, the time has come, the walrus says, for the 24-27 Nets to make a command decision - today, not tomorrow, not next week and definitely long before the Feb. 22 trade deadline when any leverage they may own now will be lessened or lost - to deal Jason Kidd and Vince Carter.
Should the franchise's two paramount players survive that cut-off date New Jersey consequentially is at the (no) mercy of Kidd's age (34) and Carter's contract opt-out option (this summer), as well as the recuperative powers of Richard Jefferson and Nenad Krstic.
Even if all four of those stars were to fall into perfect alignment next season, assuming an at-ease position would only prolong the inevitable, short term, at best. It's the fourth quarter. The wishing-and-praying-things-would-work-out-phase clearly has expired.
Two straight summers Rod Thorn and Ed Stefanski, duty-bound to avoid the luxury tax, attempted to surround Kidd, Carter and Jefferson with halfway competent understudies in hope of keeping the playoff ball/title dream alive.
Last season's good try was blunted by Cliff Robinson's untimely five-game suspension. This season is going nowhere worthwhile, either, regardless of how many games Carter can win at the end by his lonesome, or how much luck the Nets may latch onto for all the above reasons.
Time and the control of assets are dissolving on the double. Failure to dramatically renovate the roster, by getting something for Kidd and Carter while the getting is good, will trigger long-term damage.
Radical surgery, not masking tape and Band-Aids, is what's needed. Thinking creatively and constructively is what's required. Unlocking and reloading is what the situation demands.
A couple weeks ago, I revealed the Lakers had offered a couple first-round draft picks and several expiring contracts for Kidd. Chris Mihm, Aaron McKie, etc., and Jordan Farmar were mentioned.
Kwame ($8.2M/9M) Brown, out forever, and apparently four more weeks due to a mangled ankle, would almost have to be included in order to conform to with NBA trade conditions. That is, unless Shammond Williams, Smush Parker, Maurice Evans and Luke Walton were included in the mix, along with the league maximum $3M in cash to pay off McKie and Williams at least. I would also expect any deal involving Brown to include Jason Collins being re-routed to L.A.
At any rate, the L.A. media essentially confirmed the disclosure. Since then GM Mitch Kupchak and Phil Jackson have downplayed prospects any time soon of importing an established point guard or a big man to supplement an undersized 30-21 team that's dropped six of its last 10.
I tend to link deception, not discretion, with Jackson. In this case, it's a batch of both. According to the source that provided the original, juicy news, the Kidd conversation only briefly was deactivated. The way I hear it, Nets management is seriously considering accepting the offer. (Do it, then!)
The bidding isn't limited to L.A. I have it on excellent authority the Cavaliers - desperate to relieve LeBron James of his playmaking-for-others-and-himself obligation, and transform him into an open court, post-up receiver - called the Nets to voice their fondness for Kidd.
"I don't look for that to happen," said someone in the know. "Given the choice between playing in Cleveland with LeBron or in Los Angeles with Kobe, I suspect we know which way Kidd would lean. You definitely don't want an unhappy impact player."
OK, so imagine for a moment the luxurious lineup of Kobe, Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum, Walton (I can't see them giving him up) and Kidd, who has two years left after this at $19.7M and $21.3M. A major contributing factor, of course, in the Nets' coherent thought process to let go is Marcus Williams' validation he's ready already to run the offense and handle the associated pressure. Starting fresh with the suave rookie as the team's fulcrum point is actually a comforting proposition.
Add Jefferson and Krstic and whatever you get worth keeping for Kidd (and Carter), and you've got a nice new nucleus to rebuild around. Obviously, if Kidd goes, Carter must be dispatched, too. Finding a team to assume his free agent-in-waiting risk is a problem, no doubt. It'd almost have to be a team convinced his prized presence can place it on a championship pedestal, or near enough to it to compete with the Mavericks, Suns, Spurs, Rockets, Pistons, Jazz, Lakers (with Kidd) and healthy Heat.
The Magic may fit that profile. Staggering of late, having lost six of ten, management may consider Carter exactly the offensive force it needs to compliment Dwight Howard. No question they'd torture any and all defensive concepts.
What could Orlando offer the Nets for Carter ($15.1M)? This is sheer speculation: Grant Hill's expiring $16.9M contract, a No. l pick and one of their four points, Travis Diener (664G).
What inducements can Orlando offer Carter to re-enlist? It certainly helps to have a legit co-star in place for a team on the rise, someone to share the limelight/weight with. More critical, perhaps, he was born and raised in Daytona Beach and his baby daughter lives in the Vincinity.
Then again, someone with the Nets might want to actually ask Carter what his intentions are.
*
How nice that David Stern selected Carmelo Anthony and Josh Howard to step in for injured All-Stars Yao Ming and Carlos Boozer. The commissioner credits Alan Hevesi for being the driving force behind his decision.
Headline on today's sports page in Cebu City, Philippines, courtesy of column contributor Ray McCormack: "Celtics Lose 17th Game In A Row"
Things are so bad in Boston, the leprechaun is now looking for the pot o' pot.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/02112007/sports/nets/swamp_exodus_nets_peter_vecsey.htm?page=2