<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (cpawfan @ Feb 11 2008, 11:07 AM)
<{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Dumpy @ Feb 11 2008, 10:57 AM)
<{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (AMS_ICE @ Feb 11 2008, 04:25 AM)
<{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Why does Kidd want to be traded Thorn? Is it because of your brilliant moves?
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There are only THREE possiblilities that make sense to me:
(1) he holds a grudge for not receiving a contract extension.
(2) he wants to leave NJ for some personal reason [note, there has been a long-standing rumour in Boston that Manny Ramirez's annual half-hearted trade demands are because his wife is insisting that he get away from a former mistress who lives in the Boston area, or something like that. There could be something similar in play here]
(3) He is just depressed after spending the summer playing with Team USA and things the grass is greener on another team with a "true" superstar.
Here's what I don't get:
(1) Kidd has said that Carter is a terrific player and a GREAT teammate. And he knows that Carter is hurt and at some point will improve.
(2) Kidd has spent a couple of years pining for an athletic big man who he can feed alley-oops to. How can he watch Sean put on moves like his dunk last night and not think--as RJ mouthed early in the season--OH-MY-GOD!? Now he's got Sean, Boone (who has got a heck of a touch around the basket), and now Swift. The fast break actually looks better than it has in a couple of years, because Sean and Boone bust their asses down the court, even if they're not as fast as RJ.
(3) If healthy, Kidd-Carter-RJ-Boone-Krstic is a heck of a starting lineup. Yes, there are better teams out there, but this unit has skills that perfectly compliment each other. Think about it. Each player has completely different skills, and all can score in different ways. Any one could be used as a go-to-guy if there's a matchup advantage.
(4) With that starting lineup (again--IF HEALTHY), with Sean Williams and maybe Swift off the bench, and Boki who, while he is inconsistent, can both hit the 3 and drive to the hoop with authority, all this team is really missing to have all their bases covered is a pure shooter off the bench.
[the "if healthy" disclaimer is necessary because of the piss-poor job Thorn has done building a bench. You can cobble together a decent 8- or 9-man rotation for the playoffs, but after that you're stuck]
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You've described an "if healthy" second round playoff exit team.
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You say that like it is some great secret, or terrible label, while all you are really saying is that there are two teams in the east that are heads and shoulders above the rest. For two years, the Nets were an "if healthy" second round exit team that reached the finals. For instance, in 2001-02 they likely would have lost to Charlotte had Mashburn not been injured. It's really, really hard o get to the level that Detroit and Boston are at right now (especially when a couple of former stars are bought out at the end of the month and migrate there to "earn" a ring). Maybe the only hope is that the Nets are healthy, and those teams aren't, but it is better than no hope at all. When Ray Allen and Sam Cassell go down towards the end of the season, then the Nets will have a better chance against Boston--especially when you only go 8 or 9 deep, instead of 10 or 11.
