CHARLOTTE, N.C. – They have been a defensive team. They have been a running team. Now the Nets have reached back to their often-tortured past for their latest identity.
A rotten team.
They have talent. But they lack chemistry, identity, all the intangibles separating good teams from sludge. Their leader, Jason Kidd, essentially stopped leading when his desire to be traded became common knowledge. The Nets, who hope to end their latest losing streak at three here tonight against the Bobcats, see All-Stars being traded elsewhere and want to join the activity. They can’t. So they stumble along.
“We haven’t found our identity yet. We’ve been up and down. We thought we might have found it when we won five in a row,” said Kidd, the root of much that has happened, good and bad, this season. “Then we went on a slide. One thing we probably figured out is that we’re inconsistent.”
Inconsistency breeds rotten teams. Is that really the identity?
“Yeah, you can have an off year. You can’t always win,” Kidd said. “If you accept that, so be it.”
There was no “We’re mediocre and damn proud” or “We have a glass jaw” speech from Kidd. This sounded like frustrated acceptance the season is virtually in flames. The domino theory has been in effect. Vince Carter and Lawrence Frank got new deals. Kidd was refused an extension and got ticked. His unhappiness poisoned the season. Kidd finally pointed to himself, if briefly, as a cause of problems.
“I’m just trying to do my job and unfortunately I haven’t done it. We’ve been on the opposite side of winning. I’ll take responsibility for that,” he said, sounding as if he may be prepping to stay the season in New Jersey.
Kidd remains the biggest piece publicly dangled for trade. But with birthday No. 35 approaching next month, a decent deal is hard to find.
If he isn’t traded?
“That’s just the business,” said Kidd, who insisted “trying to find a way to win” remains the priority. “Everything else will take care of itself.”
In the past, the Nets played poorly, turned it on, and made the playoffs. Rarely was it this desperate. Kidd still wants out. The record is nine under .500 (20-29), a depth not touched since 26-35 in March, 2005. There’s the frustration of seeing Pau Gasol and Shaquille O’Neal join contenders.
And yes, the movement elsewhere and the losing has Kidd frustrated.
“When you don’t get frustrated you don’t care,” Kidd said. “We haven’t [played] the way we feel [we can].”
