New Jersey Nets Free Agency Thread!

the nets are still not a sought-after destination, or at least a top destination, anyway. i think that's what's hurting us in this free agency. obviously things will improve by increments over the next couple years, but i think we have to be patient with this. no doubt a lot of players still think of us as being the 'crappy, irrelevant old nets laboring in joisey'. therefore a lot of minds are not going to see the light until they actually play some games at barclays as visiting players. so we just have to deal with it. although... having mega-stars at the one and five positions would sure solve a lot of these problems next summer.

that's my take on it, anyway.

so given the situation, i find it pretty amazing that a player of howard's caliber actually wants to play for the nets. i mean, sure, he's focusing ahead on the positives, but i don't think that would be enough were it not for the strong friendship between he and deron williams. because they're good friends and talk every day as i understand it. so if we do get howard (oh no, only three days left under the self-imposed deadline!) i think we can rightly give a lot of thanks to deron williams for persuading him to come.

that, and of course the impressiveness of both prokhy and the new arena. i think having someone like prokhorov wine and dine you is a whole level of persuasion beyond what most other owners can supply. huge amounts of power and money available to be put to your use if prokhy wants you badly enough. other owners have those things, of course, but to lesser degree. plus, much more of their available power and money is tied up in other projects, other expenses. but right now prokhy is one LIQUID mofo, if you know what i mean.

and i wouldn't be surprised if he offered howard some things that are unique- access to a platinum-plated, diamond-encrusted world that even dwight howard does not necessarily enjoy. by that i mean rubbing elbows with the richest people in the world, vacationing at their elite island resorts, being able to hang out with film stars and film starlets that are beyond the scope of even sports stars. drop-dead gorgeous women, even beyond the most beautiful NBA groupies, coming on to you for kicks. in short, prokhy is one of those rare people who can show you the cream of all material things here on earth. he'll take you with him as he jets around europe and the world, like he did with deron williams, showing him an entrancing world beyond what even the jaded rich suspected existed. in fact i wouldn't be surprised if he did charm d-will the exact same way. compare that to a fumble-fingers like james dolan who probably knows how to impress by inviting you to jam with him in front of a live audience and hooking you up with a top NYC call girl to round out the evening- impressive to some, but not nearly prokhovian.

well, enough of that speculation. :lol

EDIT: BTW, is there really money under the cap to sign howard AND hump and AK47? not saying that prokhy fears going over the cap and paying the penalties, but it's more than just about money. cap flexibility is crucial for making ongoing in-season and off-season adjustments... as we all know. ;)

from netsdaily:
[quote][b]Howard: "Trade Me or Lose Me"[/b]

In an updated version of his story on the collapse of the Dwight Howard talks, Adrian Wojnarowski writes that Dwight Howard has warned the Magic that unless they trade him, they will lose him for nothing, in effect reminding the franchise of what happened 15 years ago when Shaquille O'Neal left Orlando without compensation.

"Howard has warned the Magic if they don

i get it now- howard apparently [url=http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/orlando-magic/os-orlando-magic-dwight-howard-1213-20111212,0,3519018.story]said[/url] on monday, the 12th, that he might be willing to stay. no wonder the magic kept resisting the trade.

dwight, you son of a...

well, all i'm going to say is that son needs to make up his mind. plus four good #1 picks was a hell of a price, anyway. hopefully it will be a deadline trade for a lot less.

[QUOTE=gigantes]i get it now- howard apparently [url=http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/orlando-magic/os-orlando-magic-dwight-howard-1213-20111212,0,3519018.story]said[/url] on monday, the 12th, that he might be willing to stay. no wonder the magic kept resisting the trade.

dwight, you son of a...

well, all i'm going to say is that son needs to make up his mind. plus four good #1 picks was a hell of a price, anyway. hopefully it will be a deadline trade for a lot less.[/QUOTE]
Hopefully it is the Magic being scared of themselves losing him for nothing. good point.:cheers:

[B][COLOR="Navy"]What sucks for the Nets if they take back salary they already used the amnesty.[/COLOR][/B]

[QUOTE=Rameek][B][COLOR="Navy"]What sucks for the Nets if they take back salary they already used the amnesty.[/COLOR][/B][/QUOTE]

Yeah. Turkoglu makes over $34M over the next three seasons, while Travis gets $28M over the next four. Not that I'm upset about having Outlol out of here, I just think they were a bit quick on the trigger with this move. Maybe this means they don't see a way D12 gets here before the season starts (which I think seems likely), or they just like Hedo better. Not sure.

[QUOTE=gigantes]i get it now- howard apparently [url=http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/orlando-magic/os-orlando-magic-dwight-howard-1213-20111212,0,3519018.story]said[/url] on monday, the 12th, that he might be willing to stay. no wonder the magic kept resisting the trade.

dwight, you son of a...

well, all i'm going to say is that son needs to make up his mind. plus four good #1 picks was a hell of a price, anyway. hopefully it will be a deadline trade for a lot less.[/QUOTE]

But then on the 14th he said that if they dont trade him, they're gonna lose him in FA next season.

[QUOTE]"Howard has warned the Magic if they don

i remember net income or one of the national writers saying that he's changed his mind more than once. that seems to be the problem. all the magic are looking for is a little crack of sunshine through the door, and he apparently keeps giving it to them.

if he had been more hard-ass about the whole situation then they probably would have broken down at some point.

still, isn't anyone scared of the four #1 picks we almost gave up? on top of brook...

[QUOTE=gigantes]i remember net income or one of the national writers saying that he's changed his mind more than once. that seems to be the problem. all the magic are looking for is a little crack of sunshine through the door, and he apparently keeps giving it to them.

if he had been more hard-ass about the whole situation then they probably would have broken down at some point.

still, isn't anyone scared of the four #1 picks we almost gave up? on top of brook and wallace that seems pretty insane to me, even for a monster like dwight...[/QUOTE]

They were all our picks right?
If we're really set on becoming a contender for years to come then I dont mind trading away the future for a couple of years.

[QUOTE=MTing]They were all our picks right?
If we're really set on becoming a contender for years to come then I dont mind trading away the future for a couple of years.[/QUOTE]
I think they are including Houston's pick too.
@gigantes. If the Nets get Howard they would be low picks anyway. The Nets can buy picks off of contenders if need be. Not missing out too much imo.

[quote]Chad Ford reported that the Nets "offered everything they could for Howard: Brook Lopez + FIVE 1st Rd picks. Theirs in 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017 + Rockets 2011 pick."[/quote]
[url]http://www.netsdaily.com/2011/12/14/2636098/howard-trade-talks-end[/url]

...

re: 'no big deal about giving up the picks',
yea, i guess. i've seen so many times in sports these deals backfiring horribly that it does make me wonder. oh well. no pain, no big daddy kane.

[QUOTE=gigantes][url]http://www.netsdaily.com/2011/12/14/2636098/howard-trade-talks-end[/url]

...

re: 'no big deal about giving up the picks',
yea, i guess. i've seen so many times in sports these deals backfiring horribly that it does make me wonder. oh well. no pain, no big daddy kane.[/QUOTE]

No I agree. But we need to make a move now imo. I dont want to be one of those teams that are stuck in rebuilding for like 6+ years because they cant get anything in the draft.

And I feel like this deal is a lot better then the one we offered for Melo. If I remember correctly, everyone on this board was half and half because that deal would basically just leave us with Melo and Brook AND cripple our future.