The New NetsI had an extraordinary exchange of correspondence last week with New Jersey Nets owner Bruce Ratner and Brett Yormark, the team's President and CEO.
At the start of the summer, I signed up for season tickets for the upcoming 2005-06 season. The Nets seemed to be ready to rejoin the NBA elite, improving their bench and poised to add a star power forward, particularly Shareef Abdur-Rahim, who has career averages of 20 points and 8 rebounds per game.
The Nets did sign Shareef, but then rescinded the deal, claiming that Shareef had failed his physical, citing scar issue in his knee from an old high school injury. Shareef has never missed a game due to his knee, and it appeared as though the Nets were being overly conservative. Worse, by the time the Nets rescinded their deal with Shareef, the other available starting power forward free agents - Donyell Marshall and Stromile Swift - both of whom had wanted to come to the Nets - signed elsewhere.
When Shareef was immediately signed by Sacramento, it certainly seemed that the Nets were being overly cautious. After all, no team can win without taking risks, and Shareef's contract was, by all accounts, a relative bargain at an average of $6 million per year.
Subsequently, the Nets signed Robert (Tractor) Traylor, a big power forward who, while not on Shareef's level, would serve as a fine backup and provide much needed depth. Almost inexplicably, however, Traylor also failed his physical.
After the Traylor fiasco, last Tuesday night, I e-mailed Ratner to express my disappointment, and asked for a refund of my payment for the season tickets. Without 30 minutes, Ratner responded, writing that he would agree to refund the money but asked that I first speak with Yormark.
The next morning, Yormark e-mailed me, asking for a telephone number. Later that day, he called me, and we spoke for about 15 minutes. With regard to Shareef, he took the position that the owners were indeed being fiscally conservative, but that, with three players under contract for more than $10 million per season (Jason Kidd, Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson), this approach was not unreasonable. I countered that if the Nets want to be an elite team that will seriously compete with the Knicks for the New York fan base, it would be essential to take risks, such as signing Shareef.
With regard to Traylor, Yormark said that while he could not divulge the nature of Traylor's problem, it was more serious than Shareef's problem. Off the record, he gave me additional non-specific information that hinted at the problem. Subsequently, the New York Post reported that Traylor has a heart problem, though it is unclear whether it is a problem that will prevent him from playing, or one that can be safely corrected with medication.
Finally, Yormark - again providing details on an off the record basis the specifics of which I therefore will not post - told me that the Nets would be signing two players "in the next week." He named one of the players and hinted at the identity of the second player. Up to that point, neither had been identified by the media as players likely to join the Nets. The two players - Lamond Murray and Scott Padgett - have both signed contracts this week, pending physicals, of course.
At the end of my discussion with Yormark, I agreed to take a wait-and-see approach, but I think that I'll keep my seats. While the Nets offseason remains a disappointment - they are not at the level of Eastern Conference rivals Miami, Detroit and Indiana - the candor of ownership and senior management is a pleasant surprise, and the Nets are a pretty good team, even if not a championship contender. It appears, for better or worse, that the Nets' plan is to keep payroll and additional long-term contract commitments relatively low until they move to Brooklyn, probably in 2009. The problem is that by then, Jason Kidd's knees will have probably completely given out.
posted on 9/07/2005
