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Brooklyn Nets Wiki Information

The New Jersey Nets are a professional basketball team in the National Basketball Association that plays in the Eastern Conference's Atlantic Division. They are currently based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and play their home games at the Izod Center. The team is planning to relocate to the Brooklyn borough of New York City, but legal issues have complicated the move.

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Franchise history

1967 to 1976 – The ABA Years

The franchise was established in 1967 as part of the American Basketball Association, with trucking magnate Arthur Brown as the owner. Brown had operated several AAU teams in and around New York City, and was viewed as an ideal pick to run the league's New York franchise. The team was originally known as the New York Americans , and Brown intended for it to play at the 69th Regiment Armory on Manhattan's east side, but pressure from the New York Knicks forced the Armory to back out three months before opening day. ^[1]

Brown found it difficult to find a suitable venue in New York City. Some were booked solid, and others had owners who didn't want to anger the Knicks by opening their doors to a rival team. Scrambling for a venue, the team settled on the Armory in Teaneck, New Jersey, and changed its squad name to the New Jersey Americans , though its franchise name remained the New York Americans.

The Americans did fairly well in their first season, tying the Kentucky Colonels for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Division. However, the Armory was booked, forcing the Americans to scramble for a last-minute replacement.

They found one in the Long Island Arena in Commack, New York. However, when the Americans and Colonels arrived, they found a bizarre scene. The floor had several missing boards and bolts, and was unstable in several areas (one player claimed to have seen one side of the floor come up when he stepped on another). There was no padding on the backboards or basket supports, and one basket appeared to be higher than the other. There was also a large amount of condensation from a hockey game the previous night. After the Colonels refused to play, league commissioner George Mikan forfeited the game to the Colonels.

For the second year, the team opted to stay on Long Island, where it changed its name to the New York Nets. The team was renamed to "Nets" to rhyme with the names of two other professional sports teams that played in the New York metropolitan area at the time: Major League Baseball's New York Mets and the American Football League's New York Jets. "Nets" was also a nickname that related to basketball in general, since it is part of the hoop.

The team finished last in its first New York season and drew a paltry 1,108 a game – about half of what it had drawn a year earlier. They posted a hideous 17–61 record, and shuffled 23 different players on and off the roster. Brown sold the team to clothing manufacturer Roy Boe after that season. Boe got busy right away during the 1969 off season. After failing in their pursuit for UCLA star Lew Alcindor, who was drafted and then signed by the National Basketball Association's Milwaukee Bucks, the team acquired Rick Barry from the Virginia Squires and the Island Garden in West Hempstead became their new home. The Nets finished in third place and in the playoffs in 1969–70, and attendance went up threefold to 3,504. After two years at the Island Garden, the team moved to the new Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale for the 1971–72 season.

In 1972, two years after the acquisition of Barry, the Nets advanced to the ABA finals. However, they could not overcome the Indiana Pacers and lost the series four games to two. Barry left after that postseason, sending the Nets into rebuilding mode. The 1972–73 season was one of disappointment, as the Nets only won 30 games.

The 1973–74 season saw the Nets finally put all the pieces together. The key event of the season though would come in the 1973 offseason, however, as the Nets acquired Julius Erving from the Virginia Squires. With Erving, who was affectionately known as "Dr. J", the Nets ended the season with a franchise record 55 victories. After Erving was voted the ABA's MVP, the Nets advanced in the playoffs and won their first title, defeating the Utah Stars in the 1974 ABA Finals.

The success continued into the 1974–75 season as they topped the previous season's win record by winning 58 games—a record that still stands to this day. The Nets, though, were eliminated four games to one, by the Spirits of St. Louis in the first round of the 1975 ABA playoffs.

The Nets continued their winning ways in the 1975–76 season—the final season for the ABA—with Erving leading them to a successful 55-win season; he also was named MVP again that year. After a grueling series with the Denver Nuggets, the Nets won the last ABA championship series in league history in six games, giving the Nets their second championship in three years.

1976 to 1980 – Move to the NBA and back to New Jersey

The summer of 1976 saw the ABA-NBA merger finally take place. As part of the merger agreement, four teams from the ABA—the Nets, Nuggets, Pacers and San Antonio Spurs—joined the NBA. The Nets and Nuggets had actually applied to join the NBA in 1975, but were turned away. ^[2] Prior to their first NBA season, the Nets traded two draft picks to the Kansas City Kings for guard Nate Archibald. The Nets appeared to be poised to pick up where they left off in the ABA.

However, they got a rude surprise when the NBA forced them to pay $4.8 million to the Knicks for "invading" the Knicks' NBA territory. Coming on the heels of the $3.2 million that the team had to pay for joining the NBA, this left Boe short of cash, and he was forced to renege on a promised pay raise for Erving. Erving refused to play for the Nets under these conditions, leaving Boe no choice but to sell Erving to the Philadelphia 76ers for $3 million. Without Erving, the Nets wrote off the season as a lost cause. However, they lost all semblance of respectability when Archibald broke his foot in January. The team finished at 22–60, the worst record in the league. The team did set one record of sorts; in February 1977, they became the first NBA team ever to have an all-left-handed starting lineup, with Tim Bassett, Al Skinner, Bubbles Hawkins, Dave Wohl, and Kim Hughes.

Prior to the 1977–78 season, Boe moved the franchise back to New Jersey, renaming the team the New Jersey Nets. While the team awaited the completion of a new arena at the Meadowlands Sports Complex, they played four seasons at the Rutgers Athletic Center (later renamed the Louis Brown Athletic Center) on the Kilmer Campus (now "Livingston" Campus) of Rutgers University in Piscataway, NJ. In 1978, Boe sold the team to a group of seven local businessmen (led by Joe Taub and Alan N. Cohen) who became known as the "Secaucus Seven". The first four years in New Jersey were disappointing, as the Nets suffered through four consecutive losing seasons.

1980s

The team moved into the Brendan Byrne Arena (known as the Continental Airlines Arena in 1996, and renamed the Izod Center in October 2007 ^[3]) in 1981 and experienced modest success with four consecutive winning seasons. In 1982–83, while coached by Larry Brown, the Nets were having their best season since joining the NBA. However, Brown accepted the head coaching job at the University of Kansas during the last month of the season and was suspended for the rest of the season. The Nets would never recover from the coaching change and would lose in the first round of the playoffs to their Hudson River rival New York Knicks.

In the 1983–84 season, the Nets fielded what was believed to be their best team since joining the league. Led by Darryl Dawkins, Buck Williams, Otis Birdsong, and Micheal Ray Richardson, the team won their first NBA playoff series, defeating the defending champion 76ers in the first round of the 1984 playoffs before falling to the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference semifinals in six games.

Injuries plagued the team during the 1984–85 season, but the Nets still managed to win 42 games before being eliminated from the playoffs by the Detroit Pistons in three games. The Nets would not qualify for the playoffs for the next seven seasons (1991–92) and would not have a winning record for eight (1992–93).

1990s

During the early 1990s the Nets began to improve behind a core of young players, as New Jersey drafted Derrick Coleman and Kenny Anderson and acquired Drazen Petrovic in a trade with the Portland Trail Blazers. Despite a losing record during the 1991–92 season, the Nets qualified for the playoffs, losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round, three games to one.

The team improved significantly in 1992–93, led by the trio of Coleman, Petrovic and Anderson, and former head coach, Chuck Daly. However, injuries to both Anderson and Petrovic toward the end of the season sent the team into a 1–10 slump to end the regular season. The Nets finished the season at 43–39 and were seeded sixth in the Eastern Conference and faced the Cavaliers again in the first round. With Anderson recovered from a broken hand and Petrovic playing on an injured knee, the Nets lost a tough five-game series. However, the optimism of a team jelling was destroyed on June 7, when Petrovic was killed in an automobile accident in Germany at the age of 28.

Despite the devastating loss of Petrovic, the Nets managed to win 45 games during the 1993–94 season. Anderson and Coleman made their only All-Star appearances this season. The Nets ended up losing to the New York Knicks the first round of the 1994 NBA Playoffs, three games to one. Daly resigned as head coach after the season and was replaced by Butch Beard.

The team struggled through the rest of the decade. During the mid-1990s the NBA's main image problem was that of the selfish, immature athlete and if one wanted to see a team that embodied that image, all one had to do was look at the Nets. In 1995, Coleman was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated as the poster child of the selfish NBA player, but with Anderson, Benoit Benjamin, Dwayne Schintzius and Chris Morris also on the roster, there were plenty of candidates for SI to choose from. The team's image was so poor that in an effort to shed its losing image, management considered renaming the team "Swamp Dragons" or the "Fire Dragons" in 1994, but rejected the idea. In both the 1994–95 and 1995–96 seasons, the Nets finished with identical 30–52 records.

In an effort to start anew, Coleman and Anderson were both traded during the 1995–96 season and John Calipari replaced Beard as head coach at the end of the season. Kerry Kittles was selected in the 1996 NBA Draft and midway through the 1996–97 season, the team traded for Sam Cassell. After a 26–56 win–loss season, the Nets made a major draft-day trade in June 1997, acquiring Keith Van Horn, Lucious Harris and two other players for Tim Thomas. The only player from the early 1990s that the Nets retained was Jayson Williams, who was developing into a rebounding specialist.

The 1997–98 season was a lone bright spot for the Nets in the late 1990s. The team played well under Calipari, winning 43 games and qualifying for the playoffs on the last day of the season. Power forward Jayson Williams was selected as a reserve in the 1998 NBA All-Star Game. The Nets were seeded eighth in the Eastern Conference and lost to the Chicago Bulls in the 1998 playoffs in three straight games. The Nets played well and came close to taking the first two games.

The "Secaucus Seven" sold the team in 1998 to local real estate developers, who the next year signed an agreement with New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner to form YankeeNets, a holding company that would own the two teams along with increasing leverage in future broadcast contracts by negotiating together. After getting offers from numerous broadcast partners, including what was their current rights holder Cablevision, YankeeNets decided to launch a new regional sports television called YES Network.

The 1998–99 season was delayed for three months due to an owners' lockout of the players. When the abbreviated 50-game season began, the Nets were a fashionable choice by experts as a surprise team. However, Cassell was injured in the first game and the team started poorly. With the Nets underachieving at 3–15, the Nets traded Cassell to the Bucks, while the Nets acquired Stephon Marbury from the Minnesota Timberwolves. After two more losses, Calipari was fired as head coach with the team at 3–17. The team never recovered from its poor start to finish at 16–34. With the Nets already eliminated from playoff contention in April, Marbury collided with Williams in a game against the Atlanta Hawks; Williams broke his tibia and would never play in the NBA again.

From 1990 to 1997 the Nets played on a parquet-designed floor similar to the Boston Celtics, Orlando Magic and the Minnesota Timberwolves during their home games at the Continental Airlines Arena.

The 2000s

thumb In 2000, the Nets hired as the team president Rod Thorn, a longtime NBA executive best known for drafting Michael Jordan while he was the Bulls' general manager. Immediately, he began to assemble the components of the most talented team since the ABA champions of the mid-1970s. He started by hiring former NBA star Byron Scott as coach. With the first pick in the notoriously weak 2000 Draft, the Nets selected Kenyon Martin from the University of Cincinnati. Stephon Marbury and Keith Van Horn had become stars in New Jersey. Marbury made the All-NBA 3rd Team in 2000 and his very first All-Star Game in 2001. But despite his individual efforts, constant injuries hindered the team's chemistry and the Nets failed to the playoffs in each of Marbury seasons as a starter. On the night of the 2001 Draft, they traded the rights to their first round selection (Eddie Griffin) to the Houston Rockets for Richard Jefferson, Jason Collins and Brandon Armstrong, and selected Brian Scalabrine in the second round. The trade was widely considered a smart move by the Nets as they needed to get younger and clear out much of the dead weight that was on the bench, as the Nets had the lowest scoring and oldest bench in the league.

2001–2004: Jason Kidd Era

Just one day after the 2001 Draft, Thorn made his boldest move. He traded all-star Marbury and role player Johnny Newman to the Phoenix Suns for All-Star/All-NBA point guard Jason Kidd and center Chris Dudley (whom the Nets later released). The move gave the team something it had been lacking for practically its entire NBA existence, a floor leader who also made his teammates better. The Nets also signed former 76ers center Todd MacCulloch, who at the time was considered to be a rising center in the league. That season, the Nets had their best season in their NBA history and in the process became one of the most exciting teams in the league. The team won its first Atlantic Division title, finishing the regular season at 52–30 and were seeded first in Eastern Conference and faced Indiana in the first round of the 2002 NBA Playoffs.

After losing the first game at home, the Nets then went on to win the next two games, before losing game four on the road. In front of a sellout crowd, the Nets played one of the more memorable games in NBA Playoff history in game five. The Nets led by nine points with five minutes remaining in regulation, however Reggie Miller made a 35-foot three-pointer at the buzzer to send the game into overtime. After Miller sent the game into double-overtime with a driving dunk, the Nets pulled away for a 120–109 victory. It is the only game in NBA history to end every quarter—the first quarter, first half, third quarter, second half, and first overtime—tied.

In the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, they defeated the Charlotte Hornets four games to one to advance to the Eastern Conference Championship for the first time facing the Boston Celtics. This series is remembered for Kidd having his left eye swollen shut diving for a loose ball in game, he received 32 stitches. After winning game one versus the Celtics, the Nets lost game two at home. In game three, the Nets led by 21 points going into the final period, but a tremendous Celtic comeback gave the Celtics a 94–90 victory and a 2–1 series lead. In game four played on Memorial Day afternoon in Boston, the Nets led most of the way but once again the Celtics found a way to tie the game with a minute remaining. However, in this game the Nets made enough plays at the end of the game to win it—Harris made two free throws with 6.6 seconds left and when Paul Pierce missed two free throws that would have tied the game with 1 second left, the series was tied at two games each. In game five, the Nets went on a 20–1 run early in the fourth period to coast to a 103–92 victory and a 3–2 lead in the series. In game 6, the Nets trailed by 10 at halftime, but rallied in the second half to take the lead. Van Horn's three pointer off a Kittles pass with 50 seconds left in the game clinched the Nets their first Eastern Conference Championship, four games to two.

In the 2002 NBA Finals, the Nets were swept by Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers. New Jersey was the third straight victim to fall to the L.A. dynasty, who had dominated both Indiana and Philadelphia. Kidd and company were just too inexperienced and ill-equipped to deal with the Lakers.

Before the 2002–03 season, the Nets traded Van Horn and MacCulloch to obtain Dikembe Mutombo from the 76ers. The move to improve the team did not work out as Mutombo sat out most of the season with a wrist injury, but received little time in the playoffs due to differences with coach Byron Scott. Despite Mutombo's absence, the Nets finished with a 49–33 record and repeated as Atlantic Division champs. Kidd in the process had his best season ever and contributions from Kenyon Martin, Richard Jefferson, and Sixth Man of The Year Runner-Up Lucious Harris soften the load. In the 2003 NBA Playoffs, the Nets won their second consecutive Eastern Conference championship. They defeated the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the playoffs four games to two, then swept the Celtics and Detroit Pistons in consecutive series to advance to the 2003 NBA Finals, this time facing the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs. They split the first four games in the series. At the same time, the Nets' home court hosted the New Jersey Devils third Stanley Cup celebration in 9 years, following their 3–0 win over the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. However the Nets played erratically in a Game 5 loss at home to go down in the series three games to two. In Game 6, the Nets led the Spurs by 10 points on the road with 10 minutes remaining, but the Spurs went on a 19–0 run to take the title in six games, which denied the state of New Jersey the distinction of having both NBA and NHL titles in the same year.

Following the 2003 Finals, Kidd became a free agent and the Spurs pursued signing him away from the Nets. However, Kidd re-signed with the Nets, stating that he had "unfinished business" in New Jersey. Another factor in Kidd's decision was the signing of free-agent Alonzo Mourning. But Mourning's tenure with the Nets would be disastrous, as he missed most of the 2003–04 season due to a kidney ailment.

During the 2003–04 season, New Jersey performed poorly early in the season, and in late December head coach Byron Scott was fired. Lawrence Frank became the interim head coach on January 26, 2004, succeeding Scott, after serving as an assistant coach with the team since the 2000–01 season. Frank is currently the second-longest tenured coach in the Eastern Conference ^[4]

However, the Nets rebounded from this early season lull, and again won the Atlantic Division title, and swept their crosstown rival Knicks in the first round. However, their run of conference championships was halted in the Eastern Conference Semi-finals by the eventual NBA champion Detroit Pistons. After the teams split the first four games, each won large routs at home, the Nets took Game 5 in Detroit in triple-overtime, only to fall short in Game 6 in New Jersey. The Pistons won Game 7 in a rout and took the series 4 games to 3. Jason Kidd, playing on an injured knee that eventually required surgery after the season, was held scoreless in Game 7.

2004–2008: Kidd and Carter Duo

After the season, The Nets were forced to revamp the team. They traded Kerry Kittles and Kenyon Martin, to the Clippers and Nuggets respectively and released Rodney Rogers and long time Net Lucious Harris, because new owner Bruce Ratner was unwilling to pay the remainder of their contracts. They received only draft picks in return for two key players in the team's recent success. Unbeknownst to New Jersey however, was the fact that Kittles went under the knife for the fifth time to correct his knee, and Martin would need microfracture surgery in both knees. The 2004–05 season looked gloomy at first for the Nets. Their star Kidd was recovering from his own microfracture surgery and the young Richard Jefferson was handed the reins for New Jersey. The team got off to a 2–11 start, and even with Jason Kidd returning from injury, the outlook was bleak. However, the Nets made a major deal by obtaining disgruntled star Vince Carter from the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Mourning, who was released by the Raptors (and subsequently rejoined the Miami Heat), Eric Williams, Aaron Williams and draft picks. Mourning himself had become disgruntled, saying the Nets "betrayed" him and that New Jersey's progress to that point was not what he "signed up for". This move made the Nets major players again, as they featured one of the top 1-2-3's in the league with Kidd, Carter, and Jefferson respectively. However, it was short lived, as Jefferson was injured in a game against the Detroit Pistons, and would require season ending surgery.

However, this would not doom the Nets entirely. Teamed with Kidd, a rejuvenated Vince Carter rallied the team from being more than 10 games out of the playoffs to gain the final seed in the Eastern Conference with a win in the last game of the season. However, the Nets could not overcome O'Neal again even with Jefferson back from his injury and were swept by the Heat in the first round of the 2005 NBA Playoffs.

2005 season

During the offseason of 2005, the Nets actively pursued a starting-quality power forward through free agency. They had drafted Antoine Wright, a 6' 7" swingman because all the talented power forwards were taken in the draft, and still needed to fill the void left by Kenyon Martin.

Eventually settling on Shareef Abdur-Rahim, they actively courted him and gained his approval even though they could only offer him the mid-level exception. In order to get him a larger, more lucrative contract, the Nets pursued a sign-and-trade with Portland. There, negotiations hit a snag because Portland demanded a first-round draft pick, which the Nets adamantly refused to part with. Eventually, the Nets agreed to give Portland a protected first-round pick and their trade exception acquired from the Kerry Kittles trade. This allowed the Nets to keep their mid-level exception for signing other players. However, Thorn decided to void the Abdur-Rahim trade when he failed his physical examination because of a pre-existing knee injury. Abdur-Rahim would vehemently deny any injury and said he felt like "damaged goods". He would need surgery at the end of the '07 season. To fill Abdur-Rahim's slot on the roster, the Nets acquired Marc Jackson from the Sixers.

They used part of the remaining mid-level exception to re-sign Clifford Robinson for two years in response to Brian Scalabrine's departure. A back-up to Kidd was also sought and they actively courted free agents such as Keyon Dooling before turning their attention to talented, but aggravating (at times) Jeff McInnis, whom they eventually signed and was a non-factor in the Nets Season due to injury and eventually was traded.

2005–06 season

The Nets started the 2005–06 season slowly, struggling to a 9–12 record in their first 21 games. However, behind strong play by Carter, Kidd, and Jefferson the team won their next 10 games (their final 8 games in December and first two games in January) to surge to top of the division. After the winning streak, the Nets returned to their earlier mediocre play (winning only 13 of their next 29 games), but starting on March 12 the Nets won their next 14 games in a row—the longest winning streak in the NBA this season and matching the franchise record set in 2004. The streak ended on April 8, 2006 when the Nets loss to the Cavaliers 108–102 at home. They set a team record with 20 road victories this season.

The Nets finished the 2005–06 regular season with a 49–33 record. They clinched their 4th Atlantic Division championship in the last five seasons and the 3rd seed the Eastern Conference playoffs, playing the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the 2006 NBA Playoffs. It seemed they had returned to their elite status of a few years back. They defeated the Pacers and advanced to the second round where they played the Heat, in a rematch of 2005's first round Eastern Conference loss. On May 16, 2006, the Nets lost the best-of-seven series 4–1 to the Heat. Nets fans were left to wonder what might have been as Cliff Robinson, one of the team's key defenders against Shaq, was suspended following Game 1 of that series for failing a drug test.

Highlights of the season include the naming of Vince Carter to the All-Star Team in 2006. Originally named as a reserve, an injury to Jermaine O'Neal elevated Carter to a starting position. Kidd, meanwhile, was named to the NBA All-Defensive team at the end of the season.

2006–07 season

The 2006–07 NBA season fared poorly for the Nets but finished on a bright note, as they suffered a barrage of injuries starting in the preseason to mid December. Many experts predicted they would win the Atlantic easily (Charles Barkley went as far as to say the Nets would win the Eastern Conference), but the season did not turn out as hoped. The Nets finished the regular season at .500 (41–41) and lost the Atlantic Division title to the surprising Toronto Raptors. The early-season loss of Nenad Krstic to a freak knee injury and the two-month absence of Richard Jefferson caused by an ankle injury caused the Nets to stumble mid-season. However, Jefferson went back into action on March 9 against Houston and helped the Nets regain a winning momentum, allowing them to win 10 of their last 13 games. Among the highlights of the regular season were the naming of Kidd and Carter to the '07 East All-Star team and Kidd's selection to the 2007 All-Defensive 2nd Team. New Jersey finished with the 6th seed in the East and faced the 3rd seeded Toronto Raptors, feeding their newly developed rivalry. The Nets beat the Raptors in six games thanks in part to the fourth quarter heroics of Richard Jefferson on both ends of the floor lifting them to a one-point victory. Many sportswriters viewed picked the Nets to beat Cleveland, and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. Their playoff run ended, however, in the following round as they fell to LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers 4–2 in the best-of-seven series. Since their runs at the NBA title, New Jersey has been eliminated by three of the last four Eastern Conference champs, two of whom went on to win the title. In the 2007 NBA Draft, the Nets used the 17th pick to pick "troubled" Boston College player Sean Williams.

2007–08 season

For the 2007–08 season, fans were excited for the upcoming season. With Krstic returning from injury and the additions of All-Star Center Jamaal Magloire & 1st round pick Sean Williams (Who was regarded as the best shot blocker in his draft class) the Nets were anticipated to remain a contender in the East. But it resulted in what many Nets fans considered the most disappointing season of the decade. Early injuries to Vince Carter and Nenad Krstic disrupted the Nets season from the get-go. With little bright notes, the season was a complete mess: a 9-game losing streak for the Nets, the Jason Kidd "headache", trading their franchise player, and not making it to the post season for the first time in 7 years. On February 19, 2009, Jason Kidd, Malik Allen, and Antoine Wright were traded to the Dallas Mavericks for future Nets All-Star Devin Harris, Keith Van Horn, Maurice Ager, DeSagana Diop. Trenton Hassell, three million cash, and 2008 and 2010 first round draft picks. However, there were a few bright notes, like young guys Josh Boone and Sean Williams becoming major contributors and Marcus Williams showing progress. Richard Jefferson ranked in top 10 scoring leaders of the season, at #9. And Vince Carter emerged as the leader of the Nets and was one of only 3 players (Kobe Bryant and Lebron James the other 2) to average at least 20 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists a game. The popular assumption is that with an off-season together they will be back in the post season, but team president Rod Thorn promised changes would be made, and Coach Lawrence Frank vowed that as long as he's at the helm "A season like this will never happen again".

2008–present: Rebuilding

The following offseason proved to be very busy for the Nets. On June 26, 2008, Richard Jefferson was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks for Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons. ^[5] Jefferson's departure, along with that of Jason Kidd earlier that year, marked the beginning of a new era in the Garden State. The Nets signed draftees Brook Lopez and Ryan Anderson, ^[6] along with Chris Douglas-Roberts.. The Nets filled out their youthful roster by signing veterans Eduardo Najera and Jarvis Hayes, and trading for Orlando point guard Keyon Dooling. The Nets finished the season with their second straight 34–48 record, tied for 11th in the Eastern Conference with the Milwaukee Bucks. On June 26, 2009, the Nets traded Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson to the Orlando Magic for Rafer Alston, Courtney Lee and Tony Battie. ^[7]

2009 Orlando Pro Summer League - In order to cut costs scouting players the Nets combined with the Philadelphia 76ers, dubbed by the fans/media by names such as the Scrapple, Turnpikers, & the New Philajersey Netsers.

Planned relocation to Brooklyn

In 2004, after failing to secure a deal for a new arena in Newark, New Jersey (now the Prudential Center), YankeeNets sold the franchise to a group headed by real estate developer Bruce Ratner for $300 million, beating out a group led by Charles Kushner and Jon Corzine. While Kushner and Corzine wanted to keep the Nets in New Jersey, Ratner planned to move the team back to New York. In 2005 the Nets announced plans to locate the team in the Prospect Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn. One of the members of the ownership group is rap mogul and Brooklyn native Jay-Z. The team would be renamed Brooklyn Nets (current working title), "New York Nets," or have a new name attached to its Brooklyn location. Jay-Z expressed interest in renaming the team the "Brooklyn Ballers". If they move they might change the colors of their logo to black, red and yellow.

The Barclays Center is the center of an extensive redevelopment project called the Atlantic Yards being built by Ratner's real estate development company. The site of the arena is nearby to the site that Walter O'Malley wanted to use for a new stadium for the Brooklyn Dodgers in the early 1950s. The plan was rejected and resulted in the team's relocation to Los Angeles in 1958. The Nets would be the first major professional sports team to play their games in Brooklyn since the departure of the Dodgers. The arena is in the final planning stages. The Nets originally planned to move across the Hudson River for the beginning of the 2009–10 season. However, on January 3, 2008 the team announced that it would not start to play at the Barclays Center until 2010 at the earliest. ^[8] In September 2006, the team and the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority announced an extension of their lease to keep the team in the Meadowlands until 2013, with a provision to leave as early as 2009 if the Brooklyn arena is completed. ^[9]

In December 2008, construction on the Brooklyn Atlantic Yards project, which would include the Nets' $950 million Barclays Center, was scheduled to go forward, according to a Forest City Enterprises executive. Forest City chief executive Charles Ratner said the developers could afford to delay construction of the project in 2009 if the economy continued to struggle. If the Nets achieve their revised goal of a 2011 move to Brooklyn, arena construction likely would have to start by sometime in the spring of 2009, assuming a court battle over environmental review of the site has concluded. ^[10]

There has been speculation that the Nets may move to Newark if the Atlantic Yards deal falls apart. In the fall of 2009, the Nets will play two preseason games at the Prudential Center. ^[11]

s of {{MONTHNAME 2009 , the Nets are committed to moving to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn for the 2011–12 NBA season, overcoming economic concerns and legal opposition, Brett Yormark, the team's chief executive, told Bloomberg Television . ^[12] As of May 16, 2009 the court ruled in favor of Ratner. The groundbreaking is scheduled to begin in October for the Barclays Center, but the opposition still plans to appeal the ruling. Yormark said in an interview that if groundbreaking did not begin by December 31st, 2009 the entire project will be cancelled.

Uniforms

Season-by-season records

Radio and television

The television home of the Nets is currently the YES Network, which the Nets joined after the merger of the operations of the Yankees and Nets (under the corporation banner YankeeNets). The Nets have stayed on YES despite the dissolution of YankeeNets and Bruce Ratner's purchase of the team. Prior to that the Nets' TV home was Fox Sports Net New York and SportsChannel New York.

The team's local broadcast partner is WWOR-TV, and games have aired on WLNY in the past as well.

The current flagship radio station of the Nets is WFAN, who took over the radio rights to the Nets after losing their basketball contract with the Knicks (who moved to WEPN). Prior to that, Nets games aired on WNEW-AM, WQEW, and WOR.

Marv Albert and Ian Eagle share television duties for the Nets (Albert calls a majority of the games; Eagle subs when Albert is not available due to other commitments). Chris Carrino is the radio voice for the Nets. Mike Fratello and Jim Spanarkel also share the YES color analyst duties (Fratello on the majority of the games; Spanarkel on games when Fratello is on TNT), with Tim Capstraw providing analysis on the radio.

Other broadcasters who have worked for the Nets include Howard David, Bob Papa, Bill Raftery, Kelly Tripucka, Albert King, Mike O'Koren, Spencer Ross, WFAN update man John Minko and Mark Jackson.

Home arenas

Teaneck Armory (1967–1968)
Long Island Arena (1968–1969)
Island Garden (1969–1971)
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (1971–1977)
Rutgers Athletic Center (1977–1981)
Brendan T. Byrne Arena/Continental Airlines Arena/Izod Center (1981–present)
Barclays Center (2011, planned )

Players

Basketball Hall of Fame players

Nate Archibald – played one season with Nets, 1976–77, the last season on Long Island
Rick Barry – played for the Nets only while the team was a member of the ABA
Julius Erving – played for the Nets only while the team was a member of the ABA
Drazen Petrovic – played 3 seasons for the Nets, died in a car accident after Nets were eliminated from 1993 NBA Playoffs

Retired numbers

3 – Dražen Petrovic, G, 1990–93
4 – Wendell Ladner, F, 1974–75
23 – John Williamson, G, 1973–80
25 – Bill Melchionni, G, 1969–76
32 – Julius Erving, F, 1973–76
52 – Buck Williams, F, 1981–89

List of National Basketball Association Retired Numbers

Individual awards

;All-NBA Team

Buck Williams (1982–1983) – 3rd Team
Derrick Coleman (1992–1993) – 3rd Team
Dražen Petrovic (1992–1993) – 3rd Team
Derrick Coleman (1993–1994) – 3rd Team
Stephon Marbury (1999–2000) – 3rd Team
Jason Kidd (2002–2003) – 2nd Team
Jason Kidd (2003–2004) – 1st Team

;NBA All-Defensive Team

Buck Williams (1987–1988) – 2nd Team
Jason Kidd (2002–2003), (2003–2004), (2004–2005), (2006–2007) – 2nd Team

;NBA All-Rookie Team

Buck Williams (1981–1982)
Chris Morris (1988–1989) – 2nd Team
Derrick Coleman (1990–1991) – 1st Team
Kerry Kittles (1996–1997) – 2nd Team
Keith Van Horn (1997–1998) – 1st Team
Kenyon Martin (2000–2001) – 1st Team
Richard Jefferson (2001–2002) – 2nd Team
Nenad Krstic (2004–2005) – 2nd Team
Marcus Williams (2006-2007) - 2nd Team
Brook Lopez (2008–2009) – 1st Team

Current roster

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Coaches

Max Zaslofsky 1967–68 to 1968–69
York Larese 1969–70
Lou Carnesecca 1970–71 to 1972–73
Kevin Loughery 1973–74 to 1980–81
Bob MacKinnon 1980–81
Larry Brown 1981–82 to 1982–83
Bill Blair 1982–83
Stan Albeck 1983–84 to 1984–85
Dave Wohl 1985–86 to 1987–88
Bob MacKinnon 1987–88
Willis Reed 1987–88 to 1988–89
Bill Fitch 1989–90 to 1991–92
Chuck Daly 1992–93 to 1993–94
Butch Beard 1994–95 to 1995–96
John Calipari 1996–97 to 1998–99
Don Casey 1998–1999 to 1999–2000
Byron Scott 2000–01 to 2003–04
Lawrence Frank 2003–04 to present

Rivals

New York Knicks

The Knicks are considered New Jersey's biggest rival due to their close proximity, and being partly responsible for the Nets having to sell one of their greatest players ever, Dr. J. This was because the Nets were considered "encroachers" on the Knicks territory once the team transferred to the NBA and into the metro area. Although for most of their respective histories, the Knicks have had better teams and the "upper hand" against the Nets, the rivalry began to heat up in the early 2000s. With the trade of Stephon Marbury for franchise savior Jason Kidd, the Nets became the class of the Eastern conference. Due to the long-noted discrepancy in media coverage between the New York and New Jersey ball clubs, upon being signed Kidd promised the Nets would no longer play second fiddle to the Knicks. Over the next few years the Nets handily defeated the Knicks in the majority of their games. The rivalry was again turned up a notch, when Stephon Marbury, the once vilified point guard in New Jersey who was traded to Phoenix for Kidd, was traded to the Knicks in 2004. Marbury and Kidd had a rivalry of their own and with Marbury declaring himself the league's best point guard, both teams were motivated to prove their worth. Some members of the Knicks went so far as to say that they wanted to face New Jersey (the reigning two time Eastern Conference champ at the time) in the playoffs. The Nets swept the Knicks in the first round in 2004. Though both teams have been on the decline in recent years, the rivalry between the two teams and their fans is still fierce. When the Nets play the Knicks at home, cheers and boos can be heard for both teams. This is because the teams are only separated by the Hudson River, and its comparatively cheaper for Knicks fans to see their team at the Izod Center rather than Madison Square Garden.

Boston Celtics

The Celtics also became rivals of the Nets in the early 2000s due to their respective locations. Bill Walton said at the time that Nets-Celtics was the "beginning of the next great NBA rivalry" during the Eastern Conference Finals in 2002. Kenyon Martin said "Our fans hate them, their fans hate us." Although the Celtics are currently one of the best teams in the East and the Nets are rebuilding, the fact that both are in the Atlantic Division and the New York-New England dynamic maintain the Nets-Celtics rivalry.