After another embarrassing road trip in which the Nets suffered a blowout loss to the team they allegedly fleeced for Deron Williams, the marketing department is up to its old tricks.
In a billboard that is visible in both Brooklyn and Manhattan, Deron Williams lofts a jump shot with the phrase "Welcome to Brooklyn."
Nothing wrong with that. In fact, the billboard is skillfully designed with a view of the stunning new Barclays Center and the team's franchise player.
Unfortunately, marketing didn't stop there.
Above the welcoming, in Orlando Magic blue, reads the phrase "Believe the Hype."
Marketing just couldn't leave well enough alone.
Putting aside the stark reality that Deron Williams may opt to play elsewhere, this is the second billboard released in New York Knicks country.
The last billboard had Mikhail Prokhorov and Jay-Z promising a "blueprint for greatness." The two of them have combined to appear at a whopping one game this season, and that blueprint has the Nets sitting very near to the NBA's cellar.
The Nets are 3-11, and only the Washington Wizards have a worse record. In addition, the Nets' best player has been rookie MarShon Brooks, not its franchise star.
Even holdover Kris Humphries has outperformed Williams.
Williams' performance and cantankerous attitude has many pundits questioning his future with the organization and if Billy King might entertain trade offers for the star guard.
But Williams' presence on the board is sound strategy, that's not the problem.
The problem lies in another outrageous promise to fans. Attention Nets: Don't make promises you can't keep.
This "blueprint" started long before Prokhorov and even longer before Deron Williams.
The Nets promised a star during the free agency saga of 2010. The Nets missed out on LeBron James. They missed out on Dwyane Wade. They missed out on Carlos Boozer. Long story short, they missed out on everyone. Even David Lee.
Nets management delivered Travis Outlaw to the tune of 5-years, $35 million.
And lest we all forget that the Nets pulled out the stops trying to woo Carmelo Anthony. Last season, en route to the players' locker rooms in the bowels of the Prudential Center, the Nets laid out roughly 10 slides illustrating what the Atlantic Yards project was set to look like.
All for the Denver Nuggets' arrival in New Jersey.
The promotion made Anthony smile as he remained non-committal on his future.
They struck out on Anthony and the offseason that followed. Caron Butler went elsewhere. Nene wisely stayed in Denver. Tyson Chandler chose the Knicks. New Jersey product David West also went elsewhere.
The biggest impact signing was Shelden Williams.
And now on the heels of a disastrous performance in Utah, against the very same Jazz that gambled by letting Deron Williams go, the Nets release a billboard to "Believe the hype."
What hype would that be exactly? The fact that Dwight Howard requested a trade to the Nets?
That declaration was all well and good, but the fact remains the Nets have no assets to make that trade. Brook Lopez is injured and Brooks is the first impact player to come out of the draft for the Nets in some time.
Orlando general manager Otis Smith does not like the Nets' package anyway. Chances are he stashes Howard and hopes the extra year and extra money keep him in Orlando.
Smith should keep Howard. If the center wants to leave so badly, let him know he needs to take less money elsewhere.
That's sound strategy. Releasing a billboard that gives Knicks fans a good chuckle is not.
Lost in all the strikeouts was a home run. They did acquire Deron Williams. King acquired him knowing that the only chance of retaining the guard was putting a good team around him.
(Crickets)
The Nets are one of the worst teams in the league and Williams has not made one ounce of difference, outside of providing some interesting commentary following a recent loss.
The quotes: "Out offense sucks," and "I’m used to playing with teams where you don’t take good stuff away from losses. You just win, so we’ve got to figure out ways to win."
All accurate points at the time, but one has to question whether Williams himself believes the Brooklyn hype?
If he doesn't, the Nets will have a catastrophe on their hands heading into a new arena. And an unnecessary billboard sitting at 37th and 8th.
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