New Jersey Nets Make Sports History with Loss

The New Jersey Nets are officially the worst professional basketball team in the history of sports. With a 0-18 start, the Nets have broken the previous record of 0-17 that was shared between the 1989 Miami Heat and the 1999 Los Angeles Clippers. Unlike those two teams, the New Jersey Nets have talented players with bright futures, but lack skills in the leadership department. Brook Lopez is only a second year center with tons potential of becoming a perennial superstar, but the real problem possibly stems from his teammate Devin Harris who was acquired from the infamous Jason Kidd trade back in 2008. To make matters worse, Nets fired long-time coach Lawrence Frank after leading them to the playoffs four times. Whether Frank will coach another NBA team in the near future remains to be seen. He even admits that this team does not deserve to be in the current position they are in with all the talent and what not.

New Jersey's catastrophic season really does not compute to basketball fans in general. You have a team with talented players, yet they cannot accumulate one single win after nearly twenty games. Can Devin Harris really be put to blame for his team's failures? No, because he was never meant be the team's captain in the first place since he had massive shoes to fill. Prior to Jason Kidd's departure, he led the Nets to two NBA Finals appearances as the team's captain. Harris is basically a talented player who was deprived by the Mavericks' rotational system that mainly benefited Dirk Nowitzki, Josh Howard, and Jason Terry.

As for Lawrence Frank's unfortunate departure, I don't believe he was given a fair chance. Sure, he has not lead the Nets to the playoffs during the last two seasons, but when you lose all three of your seasoned veterans (Kidd, Jefferson, and Carter) within a span of two years, you are destined to face brutal obstacles along the way. Frank should be given the opportunity to coach average basketball teams such as the Oklahoma City Thunder or the Indiana Pacers. These teams need a young coach who can take them to the next step. With the Nets approaching the 2010 free agent market next summer, their hopes in signing LeBron James to a long-term contract may be diminished. Statistical data was provided by www.espn.com. Mini biographies of players retrieved at www.nba.com.