Nets' rebirth should include Renaissance of classic hoops name
Overpaying for a precious asset would not seem to be a problem for Mikhail Prokhorov. In the last ranking of richest people in the world by Forbes, the Russian owner of the New Jersey Nets was 39th with an estimated net worth of $13.4 billion.
Since being approved as Nets owner last May, however, Prokhorov has discovered that fabulous wealth is not as powerful as a legacy of ineptness. It would seem that the NBA's upper echelon of players would be attracted by money and power, but in his first two attempts at signing elite free agents, Prokhorov whiffed.
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| The Nets hope Deron Williams -- the player and the marketing tool -- comes with them to Brooklyn. (AP) |
Why?
Because they are the Nets, a team that has won 41 percent of its games since joining the NBA 35 years ago. They have made the playoffs only 16 times and lost in the first round 10 times. They've had a few proud moments -- very few -- but if Nets fans want to brag, the best they can do is, "At least we're not the Clippers."
Prokhorov finally found a way to get a premier player to New Jersey last week when the Nets traded Devin Harris, rookie Derrick Favors and two future No. 1 picks to Utah for Deron Williams, who is in the conversation as the best point guard in the league and on many days, demonstrates that he is.
But to get Williams, the cost was steep. In 2004, Harris was the fifth pick in the draft. Last year, Favors was the No. 3 pick. So to get Williams, Prokhorov essentially departed with four No. 1 picks.
That's a good start to building a contender, but if it takes four No. 1s to obtain greatness, Prokhorov will find himself in an unusual situation -- limited assets. He also faces the challenge of re-signing Williams, whose contract expires after next season, which is precisely when Prokhorov will be separating himself from New Jersey.
In 2012, the team moves to a new arena in Brooklyn and, to Prokhorov's credit, he realizes he also has to build new tradition and also separate himself from the dullness known as the Nets. Prokhorov has asked a number of people if he should change the team nickname. By virtue of merely asking, he knows the answer.
It is easy to say that the best way to change an image is to win, but there is more to it. In the early part of this century, the Nets did win. With Jason Kidd leading the way, they went to the NBA Finals twice and made the playoffs six consecutive years. But this will be the fourth season they have not made the playoffs and league-wide reaction -- including among Nets fans -- is to shrug and say, "Same old Nets."
Adopting a new nickname is about more than simple change. It is about inspiring a new fan base. It is about starting a tradition. It is about image.
And it is about competing with the Knicks, who have used the power of midtown Manhattan to create the most inexplicable tradition in professional sports. They have not won a title in 38 years. Twelve teams have won championships since the Knicks last won one in 1973. Destitute teams like Golden State and Washington have titles during that period. Seattle has a championship and it no longer has a team. Even the Nets (ABA, 1976) have won a title since the Knicks.
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But the reality is that within about a three-mile radius of Madison Square Garden, you find the coolest and most powerful places in the world. That power is not only alluring, but it also creates passion and there are no more passionate fans than those who love the New York Knicks. Anthony already knew that, but he got a mega-dose of the magic that is Knicks fans in his first game at the Garden.
Prokhorov has to battle that. He has to create instant tradition and his location provides a perfect setting. His new arena is being built in the Atlantic Yards area of Brooklyn, where a renaissance is taking place. Less than 15 miles from that arena is a place where one of the great basketball teams in history was formed -- the Harlem Renaissance, also known as the Harlem Renaissance Big Five and the New York Renaissance.
That is the perfect name for the rebirth of Prokhorov's franchise. The New York Renaissance is a name grand in tradition. The shortened name, the Rens, is friendly to tabloids and one-column headlines alike.
The Rens, who are the subject of a new film by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, were the first great barnstorming team that consisted solely of African-Americans. They toured at a time when racism was overbearing and widely accepted, but it was their color and basketball prowess that made them a commanding box office attraction.
Fans flocked to see them play all-white teams and watch the Rens put on a basketball clinic. One opponent, who played for a touring team named the Indianapolis Kautskys, was particularly impressed.
"To this day, I have never seen a team play better team basketball," late UCLA coaching legend John Wooden -- who is in the Hall of Fame as a player and a coach -- said a few years ago. "They had great athletes, but they weren't as impressive as their team play. The way they handled and passed the ball was just amazing to me then, and I believe it would be today."
The problems experienced by all blacks at the time also threatened the Rens. They were booed and pelted with projectiles in arenas, could not eat or sleep at whites-only establishments and sometimes felt their lives were in danger.
But it never affected their play. At one time, they had an 88-game winning streak (consider that the Nets have not won 88 games in the past three years). And in 1939, the Rens became the first all-black team to win the World Basketball Championship. When they finally were disbanded in 1949, they had a franchise record of 2,588-529.
As a team, they are in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Adopting the name should not be a problem. The NBA considered putting a D-League team in Harlem a few years ago and a top NBA official was quoted saying that it could be named the Harlem Rens.
If Prokhorov really wanted to get radical, he could petition the league to leave the Nets history in New Jersey in the event a team might eventually move to Newark to replace the Nets. That would not be advisable, however. Why not have that connection to Kidd, Julius Erving and some of those few glory years in the NBA and ABA? And that would not preclude Prokhorov from adopting the Rens' history.
Obviously it would not be official. But the new Rens could pay tribute to the old Rens with historical displays in the arena. Jerseys honoring Hall of Famers William "Pop" Gates and Charles "Tarzan" Cooper could hang from the rafters alongside others, including Erving and Drazen Petrovic.
By changing the name to the New York Renaissance, Prokhorov attaches the Rens to New York basketball history -- a history that predates even the Knicks. And it should be the New York Renaissance, not Brooklyn. Other teams in the city do not go by the name Bronx Yankees, Queens Mets or Manhattan Knicks. New York is the greatest city brand in the world. Prokhorov should not give that up for shortsighted borough provincialism.
Prokhorov has a chance to do something special when his team moves to New York. He has a chance to have a nickname that not only is worthy of the Hall of Fame but also, in fact, already has a place in it.
