The Renaissance

A year ago Jason Kidd was one unhappy man, and when talking about his own team he “didn’t see any light at the end of the tunnel”. When the Nets had a game against the Knicks in December ’08, Kidd didn’t play because he suffered from a migraine. This was remarkable, because in the seven years that I’ve been following him more closely than any other player in the League, he hasn’t missed a single game because of that. So when your team captain and franchise saviour is trying to send a message to the organization by sitting out a game, it was time for a change. Now in no way will I be hateful towards Jason Kidd, and I’m certainly not writing him off. I have too much respect for what he has done: finally the team was no longer the laughingstock in the NBA when he arrived; finally the Knicks had to pay attention to what was happening at the other side of the Hudson River. He brought my team to the Finals, not once, but twice, racking up triple-doubles so often that legendary nicknames like “Magic” and “The Big O” were mentioned whenever someone talked about Kidd. I hope he’s happy in his current situation, and I will keep rooting for him. But after his departure I was left without a favorite player. Now what?

There are several players that I enjoy watching more than others, so in that way I’m no different than the average fan. Seeing a Dwight Howard block, a Dwyane Wade traffic jam, a Chris Paul no-look dime or a LeBron James alley-oop gets me out of my seat too. But to me your favorite player, the one whose jersey you would rock with pride if you would go to a game, should be on your favorite team. Back when I was still rooting for the Bulls, obviously MJ was the man; he was the first pro ballplayer I heard of. But Scottie Pippen was my guy. He could do it all: a great defender, ball handler, could go up for a graceful scoop or a forceful dunk. Pippen made it look easy. I even had a black Pippen jersey (I actually liked those black jerseys they had for while – not with the red pinstripes though. I still wonder where it is. I think it got lost since I moved around a couple of times in the last 12 years).

When the Bulls’ president Jerry Reinsdorf and then GM Jerry Krause decided to dismantle the championship team back in ’98, and Pippen left to play for Houston, what could I do? Luckily I started following the Nets around that time, and they had the pale white rider: Keith Van Horn. Van Horn could really play, but for some reason it never really panned out for him in his career (then again, he’s still getting paid for doing nothing, which you could also call my dream job). I also was checking out what the Knicks were doing those years, with Latrell Sprewell being the man back then. However, when you were a Bulls fan at first, became a Nets fan after that, there’s no way you can switch to the Knicks (looking back I’m glad I let the Knicks go).

After bouncing around a couple of years, not knowing who would be “the” player for me, Jason Kidd was traded to the Nets, and my fandom was safe for the next seven years. Until February 13, 2008 when Kidd was traded to Dallas, along with Antoine Wright and Malik Allen in exchange for Devin Harris, DeSagana Diop and Maurice Ager. Read: Kidd for Harris. When Devin Harris finally made his debut against the Milwaukee Bucks, there were plenty of reasons to still have some hope for this Nets team. Harris penetrated at will, showing off his speed, passing to his new teammates, and had a wonderful one-handed dunk over Andrew Bogut. The few people who actually showed up at the IZOD gave him a standing ovation, because already they were convinced that this trade was really for the better. But a point guard being traded in the middle of the season, adapting to 11 new guys isn’t something you can get used to in one game. And while Harris occasionally showed what he could do on the court, it wasn’t until this season that he was finally playing relaxed out there. And with “relaxed” I mean doing what he does best, going 100 mph, twisting and twirling like the Tasmanian Devil, which makes Harris New Jersey’s Devil. He’s daring opposing point guards to stop him while they are back pedalling hoping that if he blows by them, some big guy will swap Harris’ shot away. But those logs can only send him to the free throw line, where Harris is getting many of his 24 points per game every night. Devin is becoming “The Man” now in Jersey, or should we say “The Dude”? (I am so hip hop)

Whatever is going to happen in two years, wherever the Nets will play or which star might or might not (expect the latter) come over, the Nets got their own star. A franchise left for dead by many journalists in their season previews (even I had doubts, but I always had hope), Devin Harris has brought them back to life; a renaissance is going on in New Jersey, because Devin is Gettin’ Up.