On top of the players the Nets already have on board, you also remember that they will most likely have a very, very high draft pick. And if they score the top pick, you can add Kentucky freshman sensation John Wall to that up-and-coming young core. Unfortunately, the Knicks can’t say the same, as they owe their almost guaranteed lottery pick to the Utah Jazz from a previous trade. Plus, the Nets are a couple of million dollars under the cap than the Knicks, giving them a little bit more flexibility. Yeah, Vandeweghe doesn’t have any head coaching experience, but even if he doesn’t pan out, as GM, he can easily return to the front office and hire someone else. Kiki is a brilliant GM, who helped turn around the Nuggets earlier this decade.
Dime Lays out the case for Brooklyn over the Garden, echoing my thoughts on the matter. Something else to consider is the sole ownership aspect of the Nets. While the Nets have certainly been around a long time, their history isn’t nearly as storied as the Knicks. The Knicks have Frazier and Ewing and all sorts of history. Veteran sometimes prefer those places with a winning tradition because, obviously, in the NBA, it’s easier to get back to the championship than it is to break through. But this crop of free agents is looking to make their own name, to become Global Icons, and that will be easier for franchises they’re essentially building from the ground up. With a new home, a new arena, a new logo, a new owner, a new brand, the Nets will give them the best opportunity to wholly own their franchise’s legend if they succeed. I think that’s a lot more alluring than dealing with Knick fans.
I won’t go into it now, but I do want to plop this in your radar. If the Nets do secure the number one pick, they would then have cap space, Lopez-Roberts-Lee-Williams, and the option of either selecting John Wall and trading Devin Harris, a top flight point guard, or trading the top pick, who will be a premium player at the highest premium position in the league. That’s a ridiculous amount of flexibility.
