Nets are laughingstock of league

How bad are the Brooklyn Nets? They are making the New York Knicks the best basketball team in New York City.

Brooklyn, at 10-50, is easily the worst team in the NBA. The Nets are going to land the top odds of the NBA Lottery for the top pick in what is a loaded draft this June. It’s the one reason a Brooklyn fan has to be happy, knowing a future cornerstone is coming to the team.

Except for the fact that general manager Billy King dealt the Nets’ first-round selection to the Boston Celtics, one of three first-rounders sent away to acquire Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. Of course, those two are long gone, and never really did much in Brooklyn, anyway. The trade is one of the worst in NBA history, crippling the franchise while simultaneously helping the build a juggernaut in the division.

Without the selection in this year’s draft, or 2019, the future is ugly. There is no reason to believe the Nets are going to be a playoff-level team within this decade, something that should keep an already shaky fan base away in droves. If the Nets are not good, nobody is going to the Barclays Center, something the folks in Brooklyn have proven throughout the years.

Unlike the Knicks, the Nets are completely irrelevant when they aren’t competing for a title. It has always been that way, dating back to when the team played in New Jersey and had stars like Buck Williams and Kenny Anderson.

At this point, ownership, is going to have to spend its way back to the top. Brooklyn might have a very tough time getting any top-level free agent to come, if only because the team is so far away from competing. However, a slight overpay here or there for a second-level player might lure them in, which while a bad business practice, might be the only way back to competing before the next generation grows up.

This has been a team long on losing and short on hope since it came into the NBA from the old ABA. There was a brief period of good play in the early 2000s that saw consecutive Finals appearances, only to end in two defeats against the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs.

It’s a mess, and it won’t be cleaned up easily. It might take a few lucky breaks – and some serious cash – for the Nets to be good any time soon.