T-Mac Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 Saw that he caught a few boos last nite and I feel bad about that. As a Nets fan I appreciate his candor and honesty in comments towards the front office. Nice to have a voice that's heard saying the same things you're thinking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomShane Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 Tom, I'd be more willing to give Mourning the kudo's on his honesty if he didn't demand $15 mil or so on the way out the door. The Nets basically salvaged his career for him and he thanks them by ripping them off. Yes, Ratner was a dick, but if Alonzo wanted to make a point, he would have just torn up the contract altogether and been a man about it. As it is, he's a thief, IMO. Also, part of why we couldn't pay Kenyon is BECAUSE we had Alonzo's albatross contract. Maybe he could have acknowledged that, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Mac Posted March 4, 2005 Author Share Posted March 4, 2005 I got the sense that Ratner never had any intention of bringing KMart back. Other defections also led me to believe that he was just tanking the team and looking on the Brooklyn. I still feel that this sports ownership enterprise is merely a rouse to get him some prime real estate. I doubt Zo's situation had that much bearing on any of this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomShane Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 I got the sense that Ratner never had any intention of bringing KMart back. Other defections also led me to believe that he was just tanking the team and looking on the Brooklyn. I still feel that this sports ownership enterprise is merely a rouse to get him some prime real estate. I doubt Zo's situation had that much bearing on any of this. T, I agree with you that Ratner's goal is not to win a chamionship. Clearly, it seems like he's just using the Nets as a short-term investment that David Stern is using to get the Nets out of Jersey where they can't sell out playoff games. For the NBA, the fear of blacking out a basketball game for its Tri-State area franchises had to be horrifying. That said, the problem I have with Zo is that the Nets scooped him off the ground and gave him twice the amount of money that he could have expected, and unfortunately, because of his illness, wasn't worth a penny of it. I sympathized with him wanting to leave, but bitching about it until they gave him his unearned money was despicable. The Nets were in a no-win situation with Zo. If they told him they were going to keep him and make him honor his contract, he could have just said 'Oop, there goes my kidney again. Doc says I have to sit out another season and cash checks.' The Nets, because they had no insurance on the deal, would have had no recourse. That's why Zo is a thief in this deal. He should have worn a ski mask when he picked up his going-away check. As for the Martin deal, I didn't kill Ratner at first because I wouldn't have given Martin the max, either. He's an extremely limited player who Jason Kidd made to look like an All-Pro. Sean Deveney of The Sporting News listed Denver's Martin signing in his half-season review by saying this, "Bad idea #5: for much of the season, [Martin] failed to provide the two things for which he had been given a maximum-dollar contract--defense and rebounding. [His rebounding] dropped from 9.5 to 7.9 and Denver's defense has been awful." The major sin in letting Martin go was in not taking anybody back for him. You wouldn't have gotten equal value back for him, but you could have at least gotten a serviceable front-court player back. The problem was, because of Zo's ridiculous contract, there wasn't alot of room to take back a serviceable guy who might have had a bad contract. Marcus Camby might be here now if Ratner wasn't suffering by paying Zo, you know? And, as for Ratner, I have to give him SOME kudo's at this point. The Nets have since made some moves that make you think that they have a plan. They STOLE Vince Carter from Toronto--a legitimate superstar in his prime who is comfortable playing with Kidd for Zo? That's an amazing trade. However, that's not even the best signing the Nets have made--it was Rod Thorn's extension. Ratner extended Thorn's contract, which, IMO, shows you that he still wants the franchise to remain legitimate. The Nets, right now, are in a better position going forward than they would have been if they kept Martin and Kittles (who is earning $10 mil to sit injured on the Clippers bench, where he'll retire this off-season). They'll have Jefferson, Carter, Kidd, Krstic, and Collins next year, with some decent money to go and find a legit PF and some shooting help in the off-season. IMO, that's the positive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackout Posted March 7, 2005 Share Posted March 7, 2005 go Heat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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