With news today that the Nets, after months of near misses, have finally landed their superstar (Deron Williams), it prompts the debate... who has the better future in the Big Apple? For a myriad of reasons, I would much rather be backing the soon-to-be-Brooklyn-based franchise than the Knickerbockers of Manhattan.
Player Personnel:
With the acquisition of Melo, the Knicks have 2 legitimate superstars... and not much else. They traded away 2 of their best 3 young assets (Gallinari and Chandler) to retain the services of one of the least efficient scorers in the league. Additionally, they decided to age their PG by 8 years and pay him nearly twice as much. Landry Fields is a very promising young guard, but he represents the entirety of the Knicks future that is on the roster right now.
The Nets gave away their top pick of the 2010 Draft (Favors), but he is still a project in order to retain the services of a Top 3 PG in the league. Williams may even be the best PG in the league, given the health concerns of CP3. The rest of the roster is shaky for now, but with Brook Lopez under his rookie deal for 2 more years, and promising wings like Morrow and Outlaw, the future isn't bleak.
Future Spending Ability:
With the Anthony extension signed and Amare's max-deal from this past off-season, the Knicks have very little ability to spend in the future. In fact, 70% of their money is tied up in their core of Stoudemire, Anthony, and Billups for at least 2 season. They won't have the money to sign another big name unless the CBA drastically changes this off-season.
The Nets are within $1M of the cap right now, and will shed nearly $20M from the payroll this off-season, allowing them to sign at least one major player (again, as long as the CBA doesn't change too too drastically). If they can add a strong PF (David West, ZBo Randolph) or SG (Caron Butler, Jason Richardson) or maybe even one of each, their roster is very appealing.
Front Office:
Who would you rather have running your team for the future... a crazy, Russian billionaire or Isiah Thomas?
Prokhorov has Mark Cuban potential, as is often cited by Bill Simmons. For those of you who don't see that as a good thing... just think back about how it was to be a Mavs fan pre-Cuban. It was awful, trust me. He will spend what needs to be spent, not only on players, but the arena, the coaching staff, and on creating a first-class organization for his players.
On the other hand... you have Isiah Thomas. The man who decided that signing Eddy Curry to a max-deal, signing Jerome James at all, and giving Jalen Rose ridiculous money were all very sound basketball moves. He destroyed an entire league (The CBA) and has been running the Knicks from afar, while has supposedly been coaching the Golden Panthers of Florida International. He was a fantastic player, but he has been nothing but a disaster as an administrator.
In conclusion... The Knicks may have the more appealing roster, today, February 23rd, but in the foreseeable future, the Nets will move into their geographic territory, do so with a better roster, with more spending flexibility, and with smarter people running the organization. If I live in Brooklyn or Queens, or any borough really... I'm quietly tossing my orange and blue and investing in a #8 Nets jersey.
No comments:
Post a Comment