EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The luminaries turned out for the Matinee of Misery on Saturday, also known as the Collision of Cap Space. That's because the Thrilla in the Villa of East Rutherford was about much more than the 0-12 Nets playing the 2-9 Knicks.
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| The Nets have a plan in place for the future, but does it include coach Lawrence Frank? (AP) |
Rose spent some time chatting with a member of Knicks management long after the final buzzer, as someone was spilling rolls of toilet paper onto the court for some sort of promotional stunt. I could make a joke about the Knicks' 98-91 victory over the now 0-13 Nets as it relates to toilet paper. But I'd rather wonder what Rose and the Knicks official were discussing besides Allen Iverson (another Rose client) almost becoming a Knick, or Eddy Curry (another Rose client) finally getting his weight under 300 pounds.
There was nothing for the record from Rose or Wesley after the game, just friendly chit-chat. But the fact that they chose to spend the Saturday afternoon before Thanksgiving here, to watch this mess, tells you everything you need to know about the free-agent LeBron-a-thon that is only seven months away.
For the record, James is no longer talking about 2010. Behind the scenes, the wheels are very much in motion.
Rose and Wesley might someday be able to tell their grandchildren that they sat next to Lawrence Frank while he worked his final home game as coach of the Nets. After all, New Jersey got Devin Harris back and still couldn't craft a home win over the punchless Knicks. They definitely saw Curry, who appears to have lost the equivalent of Earl Boykins in excess weight, take another step toward making the $11.3 million he is owed next season somewhat tradable.
All in all, they saw the depths to which basketball has sunk in the New York metropolitan area since the last time its NBA teams were relevant. And they saw the pathetic byproduct of each team's dedication to becoming relevant again by luring LeBron.
The Knicks just decided against signing Iverson, a four-time scoring champion who would've raised the talent level and entertainment value of what currently is an uninspiring disaster -- and one that costs New Yorkers hundreds, and in some cases thousands of dollars per ticket to see. They did this, in part, because inserting a dominant force like Iverson into the equation would've taken touches away from Curry, who must be traded before team president Donnie Walsh can think about pairing LeBron with another marquee free agent.
I am not making this up. Coach Mike D'Antoni said before the game Saturday that the need to get Curry a chance to regain his form was "a big factor" in saying no to Iverson. I'm not saying this is right or wrong, just that it's true.
"We set out a plan a year and a half ago of what we want to do," D'Antoni said. "And so now we hit a little turbulence and it's like, 'Oh shoot, that plan's out, let's do this.' We didn't want to do that. We wanted to stick with it and see if it'll work."
The Nets have accepted their inexorable march toward the record for NBA futility, the 0-17 start achieved by the 1988 Miami Heat and '99 Clippers. The next four are all on the road and look like losses on paper -- Denver, Portland, Sacramento and the Lakers. Team president Rod Thorn's comments Friday in the New York Daily News -- "We're not the only team that has people who are hurt," he said -- signaled that Frank is in serious jeopardy. Two members of the Nets' hierarchy told CBSSports.com that the team still wants to give Frank a chance to keep his job once he has a healthy roster. That plan was still in place as of Saturday night, according to a high-ranking official familiar with the organization's plans.
How long Frank lasts will be Thorn's call, and he would appear to have a difficult decision to make before the Nets embark on their West Coast trip after practice Monday: reserve a seat on the team charter for Frank with little for him to do other than achieve some inglorious history? Or just get the inevitable coaching change out of the way now?
"Wow, this is like seeing the guillotine," Frank said to the horde of reporters who gathered outside his office for the pregame interview. I give him props for the gallows humor.
Given the Nets' wait-til-next-year approach, neither of Frank's likely replacements will be on the bench to coach whatever free agent they land in 2010: top assistant Tom Barrise or assistant GM Kiki Vandeweghe. Like Frank and Thorn, Vandeweghe is on the final year of his contract. Cash-strapped and lawsuit-weary owner Bruce Ratner could be compelled to get two jobs for the price of one, as the Hornets have done with GM Jeff Bower. There are so many moving parts in New Jersey that anything's possible.
The biggest moving part of all, of course, is the team's long-delayed move to Brooklyn. A decision on the last credible lawsuit standing in the way could come this week from the New York State Court of Appeals, and another favorable ruling for Ratner would clear the way for as much as $700 million in construction bonds to be issued with tax-exempt status before a Dec. 31 IRS deadline. The proposed sale of the Nets to Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov also essentially hinges on that deadline. If a shovel doesn't go into the ground by the end of 2009, you can forget about A) Prokhorov buying the team, and B) LeBron ever playing for it.
Yet another lawsuit was filed last week by more opponents of the Brooklyn project, who probably can't do better than a temporary restraining order before the end of the year. Still, who knows? Even that might be enough to derail the whole thing.
Meanwhile, the Knicks and Nets have deliberately derailed themselves, sacrificing dignity at the altar of LeBron. The biggest star in the building Saturday was Dora the Explorer, who stumbled onto the court during almost every timeout to provide some semblance of entertainment. Occasionally, a partially deflated Elmo balloon floated over the court, lurching toward the ground like the Hindenburg.
"As a Nets fan and as someone who's been part of the organization for 10 years, I can see how you could be very, very excited about where this team is headed," Frank said. "There's a plan in place, and ... I think the Nets have a chance -- we have a chance -- to be very, very good for a long time."
When the present is this ugly, the future looks great -- even to a coach who likely won't be here to see it. "I don't spend really any time over it," Frank said, "other than giving you that poetic waxing."
One writer joked that it was actually sort of poetic, to which Frank replied, "Dickens, Frank, Thoreau, Emerson. Who doesn't fit in that group?"
He should've included the NBA schedule maker, who obviously knew what he was doing when he penned the following classic: The Nets' last home game of 2009 is against the Knicks on Dec. 30, and their first of 2010 is against Cleveland on Jan. 2. I don't think Frank will be attending those games, but I'm quite sure Messrs. Rose and Wesley will.
The Rocawear seats will be waiting.
