Los Angeles Lakers: Should NBA intervene with organization?

The NBA “helped” the Brooklyn Nets get out from under the Kevin Garnett/Paul Pierce trade fiasco

I remember a comment from one of my regular readers comparing this current regime to Billy King, the former General Manager of the Brooklyn Nets. I had to tell him quickly, you are dead wrong. It’s not even close. As bad as things are in the front office with the Lakers, it does not compare.

When Mikhail Prokhorov took over as the majority owner of the Nets, that plan was to have a blank checkbook and grab every big name free agent, no matter what the cost. Does this sound familiar?

Well, Billy King started wheeling and dealing. First, he made a deal to get Deron Williams in a Nets uniform trading then number 3 pick Derrick Favors to Utah. Favors is still in the NBA contributing to the Jazz.

If you see LeBron James around town, ask him how Deron Williams played in last year’s NBA Finals. If he swings on you, please forgive him. That should tell you how bad the man played. He’s now out of the league.

Now at the time, Deron Williams was a rental (kinda reminds you of Anthony Davis’ situation), the Nets traded their first-round pick for Gerald Wallace. Well, that first round pick turned into a dude named Damian Lillard. Gerald Wallace was re-signed (also read: overpaid) and fell off a cliff production wise. Then the mother-lode.

The Brooklyn Nets traded everything but the kitchen sink (does any of this ring a bell?) to the Boston Celtics for Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry. That to this day, it is the worst trade situation in NBA history.

This year’s trade deadline was bad, too, but at least a deal wasn’t made. The Boston Celtics are still using those assets to obtain a player that wants out of New Orleans not named Zion Williamson reportedly.

I could add in the fact Billy King took on Joe Johnson‘s contract from Atlanta, which at the time was the worst in the NBA. At that time, the Nets had set a record for the highest luxury tax accumulation in the NBA. It all added up to two second-round exits.

With Prokhorov changing his mind on a monthly basis on what he wanted to do to, whether to sell or buy more shares into the team, the front office was a mess.

Along with Billy King, the coach at the time, Lionel Hollins, was shown the door after he basically gave up. Yes, that Lionel Hollins that Kurt Rambis was high on before they hired Frank Vogel.

Now the Nets have a new “revamped” front office led by Sean Marks, who cleaned the books over the last few years and hired a head coach in Kenny Atkinson who lead the team to the playoffs. Now the Nets have a good team with cap space to chase free agents.

Coincidence?