As poorly as the Nets are playing, as dysfunctional as they look on the court, team president Rod Thorn said there are no big trades brewing. With no immediate help on the horizon, apparently they’re going to have to help themselves.
Coming off their fourth straight loss – and eighth in their last nine at the Meadowlands – the Nets need a lot of help. They need to start trusting each other again, to start playing tougher defense, and to hit a shot occasionally. But all that is going to have to come from players already on their roster.
“You’re constantly in contact with teams around league, but we certainly don’t have anything imminent,” said Thorn, who has fielded calls about Jason Kidd but said he has no plans to move Kidd or add a big man, despite his team’s ineffectiveness inside Tuesday against the Clippers.
The Nets missed 15 straight fourth-quarter shots, including six layups, and they missed 24 of the 34 shots they took in the paint. Thorn is standing pat while Nenad Krstic rehabs his torn ACL, but that could take two-to-four weeks, or more.
“He’s not ready to play yet. Until he gets ready that’s not a solution. It’s up to us to play better with what we have,” said Thorn, who waived Eddie Gill yesterday in anticipation of Marcus Williams’ return to practice today.
“Talk is real cheap. You have to go out and get it done. In the fourth quarter we shot 10 percent until the game was over; that’ll get you beat 99 out of 100. We’ve got to get tougher, stronger defensively, and make more shots. It’s very simple.”
After the Nets fell behind by double-digits in 16 of their last 18 games, something must be fixed, but Thorn said that won’t be firing Lawrence Frank or dealing Kidd. By next week the Nets can trade rookies or offseason signings, but at least some players are hoping to avoid an overhaul.
“I hope not. I really like this group. I enjoy playing with these guys,” said Bostjan Nachbar. “These guys turned my career around, so I’ll always be thankful. I wish we stay together. We need to stick together and figure it out as a team.”