FanHouse Rod Thorn

The Nets are not expected to do particularly well in the win-loss ledger this season. The squad missed the playoffs in the East last season, and has since swapped All-Star caliber Vince Carter for Courtney Lee and a few role players, and while Terrence Williams is expected to be a solid rookie he's not exactly superstar material. This is a rebuilding year.

But the work personnel boss Rod Thorn did to clear the books for the Summer of 2010 has been admirable, the Carter trade in particular opening up a gaping payroll hole just when a gaping payroll hole will be a good thing. As of today, the Nets can expect to have upwards of $30 million of cap space next summer, as much as any other team in the league.

If new Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov -- a Russian billionaire who by no account will be shy about spending his fortune stateside -- wants to make a big splash in his first summer in the NBA, he will certainly have the opportunity.

ORLANDO -- The Summer of 2010, which was supposed to be the mother load of all NBA free-agent classes, won't be the thriller that many anticipated.

The free spending just won't exist, according to several league executives and agents at the Orlando Pro Summer League Thursday.

News this week that the league is anticipating a dramatic drop in both the salary cap and the punitive luxury tax threshold for the 2010-11 season has sent a chill through every team in the league.

Although almost half the NBA teams had been shuffling future contracts to clear salary cap space in anticipation of a free agent feeding frenzy in 2010, many of those plans are looking rather bleak today.

TEQUESTA, Fla. -- This looked like a Bad Boys reunion.

The NBA came from around the country Wednesday to celebrate the life and mourn the death of Chuck Daly, but nothing was more impressive than his collection of pallbearers.

It was the nucleus of his two championship teams in Detroit, the ones that transformed him from just another coaching lifer into a Hall of Famer and Olympic Gold Medalist revered by all.

Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Vinnie Johnson, Rick Mahorn and Bill Laimbeer were at his side. The Bad Boy Pistons and their leader one final time.

"I think when you go through the things we did together, there is a bond that never breaks,'' said Laimbeer. "This was a sad time, but a time to celebrate who he was, and what he did, and how loved he was.''

In an announcement overshadowed by the playoffs on Wednesday, Nets boss Rod Thorn confirmed that coach Lawrence Frank will return for the 2009-10 season. Frank was under contract already, but Thorn had been publicly hedging on whether he'd return.

Never mind the lame duck status -- Thorn rightfully dismisses that potential issue, which always hovers in the NBA but rarely bites. (Coaches get canned in the middle of a contract just as frequently as in the final year of the contract.) But there is a problem here: Thorn's declarations last week that the players might have tuned out Frank. Admission is the first step to acceptance. Does this mean the Nets accept that Frank's voice isn't getting through to everyone?

Of the limited coaching carousel, few spots held actual uncertainty. One of these mysteries can be found in lovely East Rutherford, where the Nets coach Lawrence Frank continues to await his verdict.

This is not a situation in which mysterious anonymice appear in the New York media suggesting that Nets management might make a play for Avery Johnson or some such all while giving Frank the doomed "vote of confidence" in public. No, Nets boss Rod Thorn is quite transparently on the fence about whether to retain Frank. It's a bit refreshing, really. Refreshing and, in the end, irrational.

This little tidbit comes from the New York Post, so by all means, take it with a grain of salt. But the word on the street is that Richard Jefferson isn't very happy about being traded from the Nets -- a hop-skip from possibly the most happening city in the entire country, NYC -- to the frozen tundra of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Behold:

"He didn't seem very happy," said [Nets team president Rod] Thorn, who emphasized yesterday he had not yet spoken to Jefferson. "I spoke to his agent, I called him, texted him. I like Richard. He was here for a long time and I'm sure he still expected to be here. Unless you are the one pushing for it, it's always difficult when you are traded. You are going to a new place, have new teammates. It's hard at first."

So, Rod Thorn didn't speak to RJ, yet through his telepathic connection with him just knows that he doesn't seem happy. That's fine I guess, because the Post isn't exactly making a huge leap here. To say that Jefferson -- who, after the Kidd trade, was basically the face of the franchise -- wouldn't be pleased to pack up and start things over again in freaking Milwaukee of all places, is really just common sense, isn't it?

I don't think any All-Star caliber player would be happy about leaving the New York area for Wisconsin. But if there's a bright side for RJ, it's of the basketball variety: the Bucks might be pretty decent next season, and if healthy, should contend for a playoff spot. Michael Redd, Mo WIlliams, Andrew Bogut, and (possibly) rookie Joe Alexander could be rounding out the Bucks' opening day starting five. Looks pretty good to me, although I said that last season too. Maybe you should take what I say with a grain of salt as well.

Crystal Ballin' takes a team-by-team look at what should, could, and probably will happen in the June 26th NBA Draft.

Rod Thorn's rebuild officially started when he hijacked traded for Devin Harris and the 21st pick from the Mavericks for Jason Kidd, but this draft, with two first rounders, has the potential to be a tremendous springboard for any improvement the Nets make in the immediate and longterm future.

Picks: #10, #21, #40

Needs: The Nets have Harris, Richard Jefferson and Vince Carter as their core. So, the big three, only a little younger. Josh Boone has flashed low post potential, but you have to think they're looking a big man that can provide them with a consistent offensive threat in the post, although a scoring point guard or combo wouldn't be a bad fit here either.

Best case scenario: Brook Lopez or Anthony Randolph falls in their lap. Unfortunately, that's probably not going to happen. Charlotte will likely snag Lopez if he drops and Randolph is primarily projected as a top 7 pick. So instead, they decide to take one of the better players in the draft, and scoop up Randolph to run/gun with their squad at the four.

In the end, something convinced Keith Van Horn to take the four million dollars to come out of retirement and "play" for the New Jersey Nets. Whether it was his love for the Mavs and Nets and Mark Cuban and Rod Thorn, respectively, or whether it was the four million dollars ... well, who can really say? Either way, it appears that the deal is [finally, almost!] sealed and Jason Kidd, who did not practice with New Jersey on Monday, will be heading to Dallas.

The Nets and Mavericks had to pass an unprecedented series of challenges by the NBA, but the final hurdle was cleared tonight, when Keith Van Horn consented to sign a $4 million contract that makes the trade work financially and report to New Jersey for what is estimated to be 30 days of work.

All that's left now is an official rubber stamp from the league.

The Nets will send Kidd and Malik Allen to the Mavericks for Devin Harris, DeSagana Diop, Maurice Ager, Trenton Hassell and Van Horn.

In a separate deal, the Nets will dispatch Antoine Wright to Dallas for a $1.6 million trade exception to create the necessary roster spot for Van Horn.

So, in the end, Cubes gets the point guard that he thinks will put the Mavericks over the top. He also grabs, in what I think could end up being a sneaky steal, Wright from the Nets. The Nets get to reload on their point guard situation with the youthful Harris and pick up some cap flexibility. And Kidd doesn't have to remember 2008 as the most awkward year of his life. Is it a good deal? Well, the Nets got a good deal because Kidd wasn't taking them anywhere. As has been commonly observed over the last few days, though, the deal only works for the Mavericks if they win a title.

You know, in simpler times, before players had these "rights", owners would just ship them to and fro, doing whatever they wanted. Now, things are different, as evidenced by Devean George's behavior and the inability of the Mavericks and Nets to close this Jason Kidd deal (which we thought was locked down). And in theory, it will still go through. But as Dave D'Alessandro points out via his conversation with David Falk, Keith Van Horn is no lock to fall in line with the business of getting paid to take a physical.

And suddenly, that seems to be the important factor in this trade: Keith either has cold feet, or feels that a $2M payday for taking a physical is shameless and needs time to think it through, or he just doesn't want any part of it.

Falk won't say which is closest to the truth.

"I really can't say," the agent said. "He wants some quiet time to reflect on it. And that's what he should be doing.

"He'll make a decision, but it's not going to be 'maybe,' or 70-30. Either he'll do it or he won't do it. And we'll all know in the next 48 to 72 hours."

Ouch, for Mavs fans and the slew of players involved who are awkwardly returning to their original teams following this ridiculously over-dramatized deal (and yes, guilty). Falk essentially insinuates (via D'Alessandro's article) in the conversation that Van Horn thinks his involvement in the trade is either a pain or just flat out shameless, although he has deep seeded respect for both Rod Thorn and Mark Cuban in possibly wanting to get this deal done. Will it happen? My personal gut would say yes, but then again, I never thought George would demand to use his Bird Rights either.

Billy King's reign of terror as 76ers team president will end in Philadelphia later today, according to the Inquirer's David Aldridge. He'll be replaced by current Nets GM Ed Stefanski, who is expected to sign a mulityear deal today.

I can't remember the last time a team poached a front office executive from a division rival in-season, but I'm guessing Nets president Rod Thorn allowed the move because it's probably Stefanski's dream job: not only is it a promotion, but it's also a homecoming as he grew up near Philly and played college ball at Penn. Plus, and it'd be naive to think this wasn't also a factor, it should be years before the Sixers are even close to being a factor in the Atlantic.

I don't think many fans will regret seeing King leave, although they may resent it didn't happen sooner. From Enrico at The 700 Level:

My problem with all of this: you trust the guy enough to trade away Allen Iverson, a move that will undoubtedly shape your franchise for the foreseeable future, then you fire him less than a year later.

Not only that, it would have been nice to have a competent basketball mind running the draft, which the Sixers absolutely botched despite having four picks. Another question that still needs to be addressed is Maurice Cheeks' job security, as well as what role (if any) Larry Brown, one of King's confidants, will retain with the team. I'm guessing Stefanski will hold off on making any drastic changes for the time being, but once he gets his bearings anything could happen.