Knicks vs. Nets: Battle of the Boroughs - I

From the desks of:

DUTCH PANTS CAN'T JUMP  and  THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

AFTERMATH

The opening sequence in New York City's fledgling Battle of the Boroughs is done.

With the trading of Carmelo Anthony, both the Knicks and Nets are back to zero - thus ending one chapter in this turf war, and beginning another.

The Nets may have been first to order a tactical retreat.  And it was the correct decision.  But make no mistake, only the Knickerbockers own stupefying dysfunction prevented them from raising the white flag first.

To borrow a phrase from the Ken Burns documentary, Baseball, the Nets invasion into Knicks territory, and their occupation of Brooklyn, has indeed been  -  "...something like a war." 

You might say the original Brooklyn Tea Party moment came when Bruce Ratner purchased the New Jersey Nets back in 2003 from the failed Yankees/Devils/Nets consortium, then announced his intentions for shipping the team across New York Harbor, and into a new arena being planned for construction along fabled Flatbush Avenue in downtown Brooklyn.

This obviously garnered attention from the Knicks, whose monopoly on the city was potentially coming under threat for the first time in their history.

Although Ratner's announcement came at a time when the New Jersey Nets were in the midst of making back-to-back NBA Finals appearances, groundbreaking in Brooklyn wouldn't take place for another seven years.  His plan was naturally met with fierce opposition; local, civic, political, and otherwise; putting him on the defensive, and besieging the Barclays Center/Atlantic Yards project with lengthy court battles and setbacks.

Bruce Ratner (a former city commissioner under Mayor Ed Koch) very obviously benefited from a more friendly, obliging city/state government almost 60 years after former Brooklyn Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley similarly petitioned the city/state for eminent domain at the location of Flatbush Avenue and Atlantic Avenue, with a desire to rebuild a replacement stadium for aging Ebbets Field, but was denied straightaway by Robert Moses.  Ratner ultimately gained court approval in Nov. 2009, and by March 2010, was finally conducting groundbreaking ceremonies.

By this time, however, Bruce Ratner ran out of cash.  Years of litigation and a downturn in the economy left him light in the pocket, and scrambling for new investors.  

Enter Mikhail Prokhorov, present majority owner of the Nets and Barclays Center.

• UPDATE: Prokhorov Sells 49% Stake of Nets 

 
If anyone fired the first shot heard 'round the city, it was him.  Prokhorov audaciously launched the Billboard Wars in 2010 by commissioning a Nets mural a mere two blocks away from Madison Square Garden.

Jim Dolan strikes back with a billboard affixed on a building inside the construction site of Atlantic Yards (since renamed Pacific Park), facing westbound traffic along Atlantic Avenue, featuring Amare Stoudemire pictured in the DUMBO section of Brooklyn,

The Billboard Wars of 2010

Initial invasion campaign featuring Jay-Z

Placed by Knicks on 7th Avenue at Flatbush Avenue, Park Slope; 

within blocks of Barclays Center construction site.

Then came the Battle for Melo.

Remember how the Denver Nuggets came "this close" from trading Carmelo Anthony to the Nets?  

Remember how that threw Jim Dolan's guitar completely out of tune?  Remember how he trampled all over Mike D'Antoni and Donnie Walsh in order to seal a quick deal with Denver, but not before Mikhail Prokhorov took a parting shot at the Knicks upon announcing the Nets were pulling out of the Melo sweepstakes?

Remember how the Nets then stole the headlines the very next morning soon after completing an overnight deal with the Utah Jazz for Deron Williams, who at the time was a highly regarded point guard entering his prime?  Remember how the tabloids/radio talkies were in general agreement in so far as the Nets swinging a better trade?

Isn't it funny what else competition can do?  As Barclays Center nears completion, Jim Dolan orders Madison Square Garden undergo a one billion dollar renovation in an effort to remain on par with a brand new arena across the river.  Do you think he would have been rushing to get that done were it not for the Nets?

Fast forward - Barclays Center opens for business.  In an effort to fulfill Mikhail Prokhorov's short term goal of winning a championship, (then) general manager Billy King mortgages away the Nets future in a trade with the Boston Celtics.  King essentially transacts the Nets 2014 #1 draft pick; 2016 #1 pick; 2017 #1 pick/first overall; and next year's 2018 #1 pick; for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett.

An act of folly equal to, and even surpassing, anything occurring across the river.  

In any event, each organization was now forcing the other into making hasty, and at times nonsensical decisions.  Each was pushing the other to its financial limits, exhausting resources with wanton abandon, but getting nowhere.  Coaching casualties piled high on both sides as well.

Any and all efforts ... both sides ... complete fail.

The fallout from this trench-like brawl is only now settling, but at least the Knicks followed the Nets lead and have finally withdrawn back to their camp.

The front along the East River will be there for another day.  Because truth be told, the on-court Knicks/Nets rivalry is yet to materialize, as the opening confrontation in the Battle of the Boroughs was waged between owners.

Mikhail Prokhorov is arguably still dictating terms.  Think about it ... he initially escalated hostilities, then was the first to cease fire.  He smartly owned-up to his mistakes, then proactively reset the organization's future course early last year with haste and conviction  As a result, the Nets are moving towards recovery well ahead of their East River rivals.  Then again, after posting an historically bad 20-62 record last season, Prokhorov recognized there was no other choice (especially when looking to sell a minority stake in the team).

The Knicks, meanwhile, remain helplessly mired in reactive mode.  In that respect, some things never change.  The Dolan enterprise has been hoping to reset their direction towards the positive for 17 years now.  But where as the Nets are already one year into their reconstruction, the Knicks are still clearing out from under the rubble of yet another mass organizational implosion.

All that being said, the initial clash of clubs was interesting to say the least.  What remains now for these respective teams is to readdress the on-court business of basketball for a change.

Deron Williams is gone; Carmelo Anthony is gone; Phil Jackson is gone; even Brook Lopez is gone.

The 2017-2018 season truly begins changing the narrative.