Oh boy, I love me some NBA All-Star Game ... Vegas, baby ... Wayne Newton, sheesh ... cool uniforms, even cooler warm-ups ... a Washington Wizard is an all-star starter? Honey, go out and buy some extra milk before the apocalypse ... man, the Western Conference is loaded ... it's really funny when these guys pretend to play defense ... Shaq looks like he'd rather be on his 14th buffet of the night ... hey, it's that nice David Aldridge fella, the one with all that insider information ... "It's no secret the New Jersey Nets are trying to move Jason Kidd before the deadline..."
W.
T.
F?
I'll freely admit to having been a casual Nets fan for most of this season — occasionally catching a game or reading a box score as this team sputters about like a '93 Jeep Cherokee after a major fender-bender. At the start of the season, New Jersey had the makings of a potential Eastern Conference champion, not only due to its star power — Kidd, Vince Carter, Richard Jefferson — and improved bench, but because every other team in the conference not named the Heat had the unmistakable tang of the creeping feces.
But as the season progressed, apathy and injury and a complete inability to put two strong defensive efforts together in consecutive quarters doomed the Nets to a sub-.500 record and had them struggling to even make the postseason.
Rumors began to circulate that the Nets might seek to trade Carter before the moody forward was able to opt out of his contract at the end of the season, presumably so he could sign somewhere closer to his home ... or someplace where there will be more people willing to kiss his forehead and tell him he's special.
I never really understood those rumors, because in my ever-optimistic heart I believed this team could still challenge for the big prize if it every got its collective ass in gear. While the season-ending injury to center Nenad "Nads" Krstic was a killer, and may have actually started this team's death spiral, I believed they had enough talent to compete in the East and perhaps — with a John "Hot Plate" Williams-sized amount of good fortune — win a game in the Finals against whoever was going to pummel them from the West.
To hear Jason Kidd was on the block was to hear a franchise preparing to raise the white flag, turn in its playoff aspirations and begin Jay-Z's Clean Sweep 'Till Brooklyn tour. I know Kidd's personal life is a complete mess right now; the guy's been in the tabloids more than Lindsay's lohan and Britney's spears. But the thought of trading what's been the savior of this moribund franchise saddens me. I think about all those nights when my father and I would be among a hearty crowd of 8,000 at the Meadowlands to watch guys Otis Birdsong and Mike Gminski get bullied by the rest of the league, praying that a player like Kidd — a born leader with the talent to match — would turn this team into a consistent winner instead of constant lottery bait.
Maybe after six seasons having been blessed with the opportunity to watch him, I took Kidd's time in the Garden State for granted. I never considered the end and, if I did, it would have featured an arena of fans standing and cheering as Kidd dribbled off into retirement as a Net; with his banner hanging from Ratner's rafters in Brooklyn some years later.
Due to my half-hearted passion this season or my optimistic estimation of his value to the franchise, part of me was still in denial about Kidd being touchable; and, for that matter, that any Nets fans would agree with the label. To me, a Jason Kidd trade was dogs and cats living together, toast buttering people, Twilight Zone kind of stuff.
So I turned to the brilliant Nets blog run by super fan Mike Kozlowski, JoeNetsFan.com. And, it turns out, he's raising the white flag, too:
"As a firm believer in consistency, Joe thinks it's time to blow up the Nets. Move Carter, move Kidd, move Kidd and Carter, move anyone else if you can get a good deal. No doomsdayer, I say get back young players, draft picks and even an expiring contract or two, but also make sure you keep a nucleus (Jefferson, Krstic, Marcus Williams) you can build upon. Or, do a sign-and-trade in the offseason. I would not have said that two weeks ago, by the way, but clearly, it's time ... or even past time."
I scanned the wires until 3 PM on Thursday expecting the inevitable ... but no deal, Howie Mandel. Kidd is still a Net. Carter is still a Net. (And Orlando GM Otis Smith, whom many believed would pursue Carter if he opted out of his Jersey deal this summer, called the star's game "fool's gold" in an interview. Ouch!)
Perhaps D-Wade's injury gave the Eastern Conference's dogs new life. Perhaps Rod Thorn is so allergic to rebuilding that he refuses to address the obvious cracks in this team's foundation. Or, as Joe Nets Fan hinted, perhaps the Nets will still go ahead with a sign-and-trade in the offseason after it didn't get the value it sought for its stars at the deadline.
Whatever the case, as a fan I feel like Thelma and Louise (spoiler warning) have gone over the cliff. The idea that his team will listen to offers for Kidd is something I can't shake. I believe it could have one more run this postseason, but then it's likely time to blow the thing up in a big way this offseason.
Which means it won't again make noise in the standings until the name Brooklyn appears in them...
Greg Wyshynski is the Features Editor for SportsFan Magazine in Washington, DC, and the Senior Sports Editor for The Connection Newspapers of Northern Virginia. His book is "Glow Pucks and 10-Cent Beer: The 101 Worst Ideas in Sports History." His columns appear every Saturday on Sports Central. You can e-mail Greg at [email protected].
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