New Jersey Nets Basketball: Rocky Ride for These Nets

Not only was Kiki Vandeweghe a lousy coach, but he was a lousy judge of talent. He was the architect of this roster, and he failed miserable when looking at this team.

The Nets believed Avery Johnson would have been a difference maker, but it turned out he is not having much success in getting the most out of this roster. It's time to admit the obvious. The core players are not good enough to lead the Nets to another level.

This is a roster that almost broke the record for most losses in a season last year. There was no way this team was going to be good with this group. This team had enough time to grow.

Changes must happen if this team wants to achieve Mikhail Prokohorov's championship goals. They need playmakers, and they need guys who defend. It's something this roster lacks.

The Nets thought they had something special in Devin Harris and Brook Lopez. It turned out both of them are not what the team envisioned.

Harris has not made anyone forget Jason Kidd. Sure, Harris made an impression when he first came to the team. He wanted to show the Mavericks they made a mistake in trading him.

It turned out the Mavericks haven't. Kidd continues to play at a high level while Harris is hurt every year. The Mavericks are title contenders while the Nets are lottery contenders.

Not only has Harris not played like a star, but he has been injury-prone. In the last three seasons, he played 64, 60 and 64 games. He's certainly not an iron-man.

Last night, he left the game with another injury. This time, Kris Humphries fell on the Nets point guard in the third quarter. The Knicks promptly went on a 17-4 run in that quarter, and cruised to a 111-100 victory.

It wasn't surprising Harris got hurt. It was expected. It seems there was no way he was going to be healthy. One wonders if he has a high threshold for pain or if his body is to brittle to play basketball. Anytime a cornerstone players gets hurt every year, he becomes useless.

There was a reason the Nets tried to trade Harris this summer, but the offer was not to their liking. They were not going to give him away. At some point, the Nets have to cut their loss with him. It's hard to believe he is taking them to point B from point A.

Brook Lopez has been hyped by the Nets since he was a rookie. One wonders whats special about him. Yes, he scores, but he does not play defense and he gets beaten by players better than him. He can be an offensive liability.

He post good numbers at times, but his consistency can be an enigma. It's hard to believe he has it in him to be a legit big man. The Nets should consider trading him while his value is high. At some point, the book is going to be out on Lopez.

If Lopez and Harris are great, how come the team is losing? Stars find a way to be a difference maker. The great players make sure this team does not go on long losing streaks. They go on big runs during the game or they stop other team's runs.

It's interesting Johnson wants his players to toughen up. He spoke about his star's deficiencies. That is not a good thing. Talk about how a head coach likes to spew negative stuff, but he is not doing this for motivation. He is telling it like it is.

It's hard to believe those two have it in them. Maybe Lopez can be that guy, but that's doubtful. Harris is definitely not that guy.

For the Nets to be a great team again, they needed to win the lottery. They would have traded Harris for nothing if that happened. John Wall was that player who could have lead the Nets back to prominence.

The organization felt Wall was theirs. After all, they had the most ping-pong balls in the lottery. The NBA allegedly rigs draft picks for bigger-market teams. It didn't happen. When the Nets received the third pick, that derailed the team's chances of winning quickly. No free agent was coming to the team.

Derrick Favors does not sell tickets. He does not improve the team. In fact, he hasn't played much lately. The Nets tried to trade him for Carmelo Anthony, but the Nuggets are not interested in making that deal.

So what's next? Who knows? The Nets need to win the lottery if they want to reach the Lakers' status. Not only are they not on the Lakers' level, but they are not in the level of the Knicks.

In Tuesday night's game, the Knicks had three playmakers that can run an offense. Amar'e Stoudemire, Raymond Felton and Landry Fields found ways to score and create their shots. The Nets don't have that.

This team plays hard. It showed in their game against the Thunder last night, but playing hard does not result in many wins. It makes the team competitive.

That's all well and good, but in the NBA, it's about wins and losses. This roster is not good enough to get it done.

Smart drafting and some trades will make it better. They need to hit a home run in getting a free agent. Anthony would be the team's ideal guy, but he is going to play for the Knicks or the Bulls next year. Hard to believe he wants to play for a franchise that no one cares about.

Prokhorov is finding out that it's not easy to build a team. He can talk all he wants about getting a championship in five years. It does not work that way. This team needs some breaks. They have to create their own luck.

The Nets were fortunate to get Kidd in the 2001 offseason. The Suns traded their point guard after he was involved in domestic violence. Then-Suns owner Jerry Colangelo decided not to have a roster of punks, so Rod Thorn benefited from it.

The new management team needs to get a break somehow, someway. It isn't going to be easy. It's hard to make trades, and teams are not going to trade their best players for nothing.

It turns out there is no guarantee of getting the top pick. For all we know, this team may have the seventh pick next year. That does not help a franchise who needs to get back on track.

Who knows if this management team is capable of making a smart trade? Thorn knew how to make it, but he will tell you that it's not as easy as it looks.

Right now, it's hard to believe this team is anywhere close to championship level. This team is not even close to being a top team in the Eastern Conference.

It will be interesting how this team proceeds in the next few years. There are going to be new players next year.

Only question is this. Are those players good enough to take the franchise to point B.