*FAN SUBMISSION by Leslie Monteiro of Fort Lee, NJ. Follow on Twitter @BayAreaFreePres.*
Courtesy: CBS Local New York
The Brooklyn Nets built a $180 million payroll with the purpose of beating the Heat and winning a championship this year.
All that money meant was the Nets only advanced to the second round. They went down in five games against the Heat last night after a tough 96-94 loss last night. There won’t be an opportunity for them to win a championship after being eliminated in the playoffs.
The bottom line is this was a waste of money. There are no gamers on that expensive team. This was a roster that was flawed from the set from having two players that is past their prime to a point guard who is washed up to their best player bombing. There were chemistry problems with Deron Williams and his teammates. This team knew how to lose a lot more than knowing how to win.
The second round game 5 fourth quarter meltdown summed up everything that has gone wrong with the Nets this year. They did not have a player that was going to make the shots to prevent the Heat from making a 12-0 run that played a role in their victory. Their defense was horrible. The game 5 meltdown was too familiar for Nets fans all year.
It couldn’t be surprising the Nets could not make a shot when it mattered. Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett have seen their best days as players, and quite frankly, both have never made any impact on a consistent basis this year. More times than not, Joe Johnson miss more shots than make it. Williams has been worthless for three years by not making shots when it matters.
The Nets had more value from bench players like Alan Anderson, Shaun Livingston and Mirza Teletovic than they received from their starters. That is not a great thing. As great as their bench players are, they get exposed for their deficiencies after playing for so many minutes. Their defense becomes worthless, and they miss shots after logging on longer minutes they should be.
This is not something Nets coach Jason Kidd should have to do in trusting ore from his reserves than his starters. It does not speak well of his starters than he trusted his reserves more. That was the case this season, especially in the playoffs.
There is no reason for this roster to go on. This is a lost cause. Garnett needs to retire, and Pierce has to go. It will be easy for that to happen.
Williams and Johnson should go, too. They add nothing to a team when they need them the most. They demonstrated that last night when they miss shots late in the game. It won’t be easy for the Nets to trade those two since no team wants to inherit their overpaid salary.
This is a challenge Nets president of basketball operation Billy King is being paid to figure out how to find a sucker to take Johnson or Williams off their team.
Make no mistake. This season was the Nets’ best opportunity to win a title, and this is going to be the last. They had to get it done with Pierce and Garnett heading to retirement. Now, the Nets are in salary cap hell, not to mention they don’t have draft picks for awhile after trading them for mercenary players.
If there was a lesson to be learned for Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov, it is he can’t build a team with mercenaries.
Championships teams are built through the draft. Unless there is a player like LeBron James or Kevin Durant available, there is no reason to sign or trade for mercenaries who may not fit. There has to be chemistry with one another.
Courtesy: Bleacher Report
Too often, there was no chemistry with Williams and his teammates. Both never seem to communicate with each other when it comes to running plays or setting picks. Both never complement each other’s game. Often times, there was no trust. It seemed the surly Nets point guard’s play sucked the life out of Garnett and Pierce this season to the point both were disinterested.
Maybe Prokhorov and King should have realized Williams does not know how to lead and he brings a losing karma with his surly attitude before they signed him to an extension two years ago. They saw it first hand when he played for them after they acquired him. Yes, they did not want to risk losing him to free agency after giving up draft picks for him, but it was not worth keeping him if he is not a winning player.
This Nets team was often unwatchable. If it wasn’t their play, it was their lack of desire at times. It did not seem like guys were playing for each other. It did not seem some guys enjoyed playing for the Nets.
Horrible chemistry, lack of game and awful leadership summed up the Nets demise this season.
It was bad enough the Nets stunk down the stretch last night, but it was worse when most of the Nets did not bother to hold themselves accountable for a poor series by not talking to the media.
For $180 million that Prokhorov spent on his team, he saw his team behave like losers on and off the court last night.
That’s expensive rubles that he is ruing right now.
That’s what we call this Nets season a failure.
