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Brooklyn Nets: All-Time Starting Five Lineup

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Brooklyn Nets, Joe Johnson

If the Brooklyn Nets were able to create a starting five featuring their best position players of all time, regardless of which period the players played in, who would that starting five be? This starting five can feature any player on the team after the Nets joined the NBA in 1976, so I will NOT be including Julius Erving and Rick Barry on this list.

My All-Time Starting Nets Five

Center: Brook Lopez

Career Stats: 16.8 ppg 6.4 RPG, 9 seasons with NJN/BKN

This position might have been the most difficult to select. There were several solid options to choose from, including Derrick Coleman and Jayson Williams, who played very solid basketball for the Nets in the ’90s, to old-timer Daryl Dawkins who was a dunk machine in the ’80s. I ended up going with Brook Lopez due to his consistent scoring and ability to play a true 5. The other players on the list were undersized centers and were better suited as Power Forwards.

A talented scoring big man drafted by the Nets from Stanford, Lopez’s 9-year tenure with the Nets often goes overlooked, as he was always one of the more quiet personalities on the team. Lopez offensively had all the tools to be an all-star center: post up scoring ability, great mid-range game, and he could even hit the open three on occasion. At his peak, Lopez averaged over 20 points per game for the Nets and helped with their transition from New Jersey to Brooklyn. The big knock on Lopez was and will always be his lack of rebounding, as he never averaged more than 9 rebounds per game in any season. Lopez was also viewed as “soft” on defense, and while he averaged more than 1.5 blocks throughout his career, he never struck fear into his opponents.

Power Forward: Kenyon Martin 

Career Stats: 12.3 ppg, 6.8 RPG, 4 seasons with NJN

Yes, K-mart’s career numbers will not wow anybody. Derrick Coleman averaged more points and rebounds than K-Mart so did Buck Williams. Obviously, from a historical standpoint, Kevin Garnett is the greatest PF to ever play for the Nets, but he played for the Nets well after his prime. K-Mart only played in NJ for 4 seasons, but his presence was so significant in New Jersey  I’m sure many Nets fans would assume he played there longer.

K-Mart was a pivotal member of the Nets teams that represented the Eastern Conference in back to back NBA Finals. Even as a limited shooter (his jump shot was one of the ugliest in the NBA) and undersized big man, Martin relied heavily on his athleticism and energy to score and make plays for his team.  He brought an intensity to the Nets that was unprecedented and upon Jason Kidd’s arrival, quickly became one of Kidd’s favorite players to set up for shots around the rim. From diving for loose balls every night to high flying two-handed dunks, Martin was an extremely fun player to watch, and he always seemed to elevate his game during the playoffs (see his ppg and RPG higher in playoff appearances with NJN).

Small Forward: Kevin Durant

Career Stats: 27.0 ppg, 7.1 RPG, 0 seasons with NJN 

Technically, Durant 100% qualifies for this list. While he hasn’t played in a Nets uniform yet, there is no small forward in the history of the franchise that has accomplished anything close what to KD has. Durant is a former MVP (2013 – 14 season), 2-time NBA champion (won Finals MVP in both), 4-time scoring champion, and a 10-time all-star. He is arguably the best scorer in the last decade, and he is just 31 years old. The Nets will await to see if Durant can return to an elite level next season, almost 2 years removed from the Achilles injury he suffered in the 2018 – 19 NBA Finals.

Other small forwards considered: Richard Jefferson, Bojan Bogdanović, Keith Van Horn, Kendall Gill, and the interchangeable SF/SG players, Vince Carter and Joe Johnson.

Shooting Guard: Vince Carter

Career Stats: 16.7 ppg, 4.5 seasons with NJN

VC joined the Nets in 2004 after 7 great years with Toronto and instantly developed chemistry with teammate Jason Kidd. The loss of K-Mart to Denver became a distant memory in the eyes of Nets fans, as Carter provided fans with highlight-reel dunks and alley-oops on a nightly basis. Two of the best Vince Carter plays on the Nets you will ever see: His reverse dunk alley-oop pass from Kidd in 2006 and his posterization of Alonzo Mourning in 2005. While the Nets never went back to a championship with Kidd and Cater, the pair gave fans several years of extremely entertaining basketball.

While one could make the argument that Carter was a small forward for the Nets, he and Jefferson shared wing duties and were interchangeable at the 2 and the 3. Other notable shooting guards that could have been selected include Drazen Petrović, who was becoming a superstar for the Nets until he passed away after a tragic car accident in 1993 and Joe Johnson, who was the leader on Brooklyn teams that went to the playoffs in the early 2010s.

Point Guard: Jason Kidd

Career Stats: 12.6 ppg 6.7 RPG 8.7 APG, 6.5 seasons with NJN

This one was a no-brainer; Jason Kidd is the greatest Net of all time and was the main piece during the franchise’s most successful run to date. From the time he was traded to the Nets in 2001 for Stephon Marbury to when he was traded back to the Mavericks in 2007, there was never a greater time for basketball in New Jersey. Always an elite passer, Kidd made everyone on the Nets better because he made the game easier for them. Whether it was setting up players like K-Mart or Carter for epic fast-break dunks to finding open shooters like Keith Van Horn, Lucious Harris, and Kerry Kittles for open three-pointers, Kidd always knew where his teammates were going to be before they got there. If you want to relive some of Kidd’s greatest assists of his career, many of them with a Nets uniform on, watch this video here. The man was an absolute magician with the basketball.

Kenny Anderson, D’Angelo Russell, and Kyrie Irving are several other notable great NBA point guards.

Do you agree or disagree with my list? Let me know @firesidenets on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for your latest Brooklyn Nets news and listen to the Fireside Nets w/ Spen & Nick podcast!

Brooklyn Nets: Gilbert Arenas, The Man Who Knows No Chill

by
Brooklyn Nets, Sean Marks

Remember Gilbert Arenas? The super cocky, all-NBA scoring point guard who tore it up for Washington in the mid-2000s and then watched his career come crumbling down at just 28 years old due to a combination of injuries and, of course, being suspended an entire season as a result of the infamous locker room firearms incident with Javaris Crittenton? Well, if you think his years of reflection during his early retirement have humbled him, you’d be dead wrong. Arenas, or @no.chill.gil on Instagram, has his own podcast and twitch stream, and he is STILL relentless when it comes to talking trash. I wanted to break down his two recent moments of Trash Talk: Friendly Trash Talk and Verbal Warfare.

Friendly Trash Talk

Recently, Richard Jefferson brought his former Arizona teammate Gilbert Arenas onto one of his live-streaming platforms. The two spoke in length about the season in which they went to the national championship together, eventually losing to Duke in 2001. Arenas playfully made jabs at Jefferson’s expense throughout their trip down memory lane. First, he voiced his disapproval of a highlight against Illinois someone had put up, since the person referenced that Arenas and Jefferson led the Arizona team that year.  Arenas said that in the highlight, he saw Jefferson score one bucket and that it was him (Arenas) who had carried that Arizona team with little to no help from Jefferson. Arenas led Arizona that year, scoring 16 ppg whereas Jefferson was the 3rd leading scorer with 11 ppg.

Jefferson attempted to come back at Arenas by bringing up Gilbert’s horrendous performance in the championship game, a game in which Jefferson had performed well on offense. Arenas then exclaimed “The only game you played well in, was the only game we lost!” and also brought up Jefferson’s inability to cover Michael Dunleavy Jr, who finished the game with 21 points to lead Duke. I found this whole conversation to be a great example of two former teammates throwing playful verbal jabs at each other. Watch the whole clip here:

 

Verbal Warfare

Jefferson and Arenas seem to have a much better relationship these days than Arenas and his former Washington teammate Nick “Swaggy P” Young. Recently, Young came out with a video on his Instagram, essentially blasting Gilbert Arenas, calling him a con artist and blaming Arenas for hurting Young’s career early on. Young recalls a story in which he and the other rookies on the team were wrongfully blamed for a Wizards loss against Boston, and that Arenas was heard on the sideline shouting to then-coach Eddie Jordan “if the motherf$$kers not ready, don’t put him in!” Young ends the video by saying that was the moment he knew Gilbert Arenas would “ruin his life” and that his career would trend downward after that. Watch the whole clip here:

View this post on Instagram

My life with @no.chill.gil 😂😂😂😂

A post shared by Nick Young (@swaggyp1) on Apr 3, 2020 at 9:49pm PDT

 

Arenas quickly addressed the Nick Young video with his own 13+ minute Instagram video, detailing his perspective of what went down in Nick Young’s rookie season. In the video, Arenas said that he was hyped on Nick Young, and was eager for the Wizards to draft him. Arenas mentioned that he envisioned a successful backcourt like the one he had with Larry Hughes earlier in his career in Washington. Arenas described training camp and preseason the same way that Young did, saying he thought Young had done a great job in preparation for the season. But when the season started, that’s where their stories differed.

Arenas pointed out that Nick Young was a negative in the +/- point differential in almost every game he appeared in as a Wizard. While Young recalls the Celtics game as the Arenas outburst, Gilbert claimed that it was a game against the Nuggets in Washington that prompted him to say something to Eddie Jordan. Arenas mocked Young for being a -17 that game and claimed he had been getting torched all night. That was then Arenas turned to coach Eddie Jordan and screamed close to exactly what Nick Young remembered.

Gilbert Arenas would go on to say that after that game, Young’s playing time declined drastically and the Wizards began to win basketball games again. He even went as far as to compare Nick Young’s game to a wrong Amazon order, implying what he thought he was getting from Young wasn’t what he received.  Arenas finished the video by saying “Nick Young I didn’t ruin your career” and listed several reasons why he thought Young was the only person to blame for his career not going as planned. Watch the whole clip here:

 

Moral of the story? Don’t get in a verbal jousting match with Gilbert Arenas.

Follow @firesidenets on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for your latest Brooklyn Nets news and listen to the Fireside Nets w/ Spen & Nick podcast!

Shots Fired By Beltran’s Former Yankees Teammate Over Involvement in Houston

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New York Mets to interview Carlos Beltran.

The New York Yankees have officially entered the debate over what the Mets should do with current manager, Carlos Beltran. And it comes from one of Beltran’s former teammates.

Mark Teixeira Takes a Stand on ESPN’s Get Up

ESPN baseball analyst, and former Yankee first baseman, Mark Teixeria, had very choice words about the current situation the Mets find themselves in over Beltran being named in the commissioner’s findings over Houston’s cheating. The first words out of Teixeria’s mouth were:

“I don’t think the Mets have a choice either. They have to fire Carlos Beltran.”

He would elaborate further:

“The only reason Beltran wasn’t punished…, was because of that immunity you just talked about.”

The immunity was brought up by show host, Mike Greenberg, earlier in the interview. Discussing the immunity, Teixeria continued:

“It’s really a loophole for Carlos Beltran because he immediately retired after that World Series.”

As we know, no Astros players involved in the sign-stealing scandal were punished by MLB after the conclusion of the investigation. When talking about his involvement with Alex Cora:

“Him and Alex Cora were the main culprits. Alex Cora got fired on the spot by the Boston Red Sox. The New York Mets are in an impossible situation. There’s no way that Carlos Beltran, especially in the pressure cooker of New York, there’s no way he can be the manager of the Mets!”

He concluded talking about how the tabloids would eat Carlos Beltran alive “every, single, day,” for being caught in this cheating scandal should he see the start of the season.

Mark Teixeria was teammates with Carlos Beltran through his entire tenure as a Yankee, 2014-2016. Teixeria finished 2016 on the team, while Beltran was moved at the deadline. 2016 would also be Teixeria’s final season with the Yankees.

ESPN Predicts 24.2% Chance Kevin Durant Joins The Knicks In 2019

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Are the New York Knicks in a good spot to land Kevin Durant?

The New York Knicks will have room for one max-contract in 2019, but it will take some serious restructuring to afford Golden State Warriors’ Kevin Durant. Bringing in one of the best players of this generation will cost a pretty penny, but the thought of Durant teaming up with Kristaps Porzingis and a young Kevin Knox might just be worth it.

Durant is currently earning a staggering $27 million per season. His contract is worth $54.2 million over two years. Bringing him to New York would not only help the team, but it would probably boost the economy of the entire city. Having a superstar and a rising Porzingis could be the change that helps shift the narrative from good to bad for a success starved organization.

ESPN’s Max Kellerman breaks down the influence of the Warriors’ star, and if coming to the Knicks is a real possibility:

Kellerman seems to think that if Durant was on the Knicks currently, they wouldn’t be considered the best team in the East, and to be quite honest, he’s right. It will take time for the players to mesh, and for Knox to develop into a serviceable player on both sides of the court.

When Durant joined the Warriors, the roster wasn’t made up of optimistic starlets, but rather veteran players. His presence only elevated the rest, while players like Knox and Mitchell Robinson might not understand how to utilize a talent like Durant’s on the court.

Now, what I don’t agree with is the insinuation that the Knicks wouldn’t be all that great in general. I believe it would take about half the season for the team to gain the momentum it needs to begin making a playoff push. When you have a player like Durant on your team, you feed him the ball at every opportunity, and if he’s not there, you let your second best player in Porzingis take the reigns.

If the Knicks do decide to make a push for Kevin, we will be looking at a whole different ball game in the Mecca for years to come.