The Nets really have the worst luck: first, Dwight Howard reportedly demanded a trade to the team last week, getting everyone excited about the prospect of a truly worthy crosstown basketball rivalry. The Nets understandably put all their other plans and trades in limbo to focus on him. Then the team was accused of tampering. Then the Chris Paul trade blew up, and the Lakers set their sights on Howard. Now, even as Howard has given the Nets hope by listing them as one of the four teams he'll sign a contract extension with, he's reportedly considering staying in Orlando after all. What's next? Is billionaire owner and Russian presidential candidate Mikhail Prokhorov going to have a mysterious "accident?" more ›

Russians—urbane, successful Russians—aren't happy that Vladimir Putin will likely be their next president, again. Over 30,000 took to Red Square over the weekend to protest against ongoing election-tampering and the sense of inevitability that Putin's party, United Russia, will rule in perpetuity. But billionaire oligarch and majority owner of the New Jersey Nets Mikhail D. Prokhorov, announced that he will collect the 2 million signatures needed to run as an independent in March. “I made a decision, probably the most serious decision in my life: I am going to the presidential election," Prokhorov said at a press conference. more ›

Before Kim Kardashian clamped her thighs of doom around New Jersey Net Kris Humphries, she was apparently hunting down a sightly different prey: A Knick. more ›

Guys, did you know that Kim Kardashian is getting hitched? To Kris Humphries, the middling New Jersey Nets forward who bought a ginormous 20.5-carat ring for his lady's ginormous...assets. It's all happening this weekend in California, and it's looking like Humphries' teammates will be in attendance, following some uncertainty due to the league's lockout. more ›

New Jersey Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov has filed paperwork with the NBA to change the team's name when it decamps to Brooklyn in 2012. This doesn't necessarily mean that Prokhorov will change the name—the Daily News clarifies that changing the name is a long process that requires over two years of advance notice, so this may just be a placeholder in case Prokhorov decides he wants to change it to the Brooklyn Nyets or the Brooklyn Boondoggles or something. The In-the-Net Domains? Fine, what do you think he should change it to? more ›

Two days before the official ground-breaking for the long-delayed Atlantic Yards megaproject, developer Bruce Ratner and the New Jersey Nets unveiled renderings of the interior of their planned Brooklyn basketball arena. After scrapping an original design by Frank Gehry over financial concerns and nixing a second design by the firm Ellerbe Becket after it was derided for being too dull, Ratner tapped Ellerbe Becket and SHoP Architects to draft up a new plan for the arena, which is dubbed the Barclays Center. more ›

After years of delays and legal objections, Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner says he will break ground on his controversial megaproject on March 11. The announcement comes after a judge ruled that state officials can use eminent domain to evict Brooklyn residents who live in the footprint of the $4.9 billion development, which calls for high-rises and a basketball arena on the border of Fort Greene and Prospect Heights. "Today's court ruling marks the transition from the obstruction to the construction phase," said Forest City Ratner executive vice president Bruce Bender. more ›

According to the Brooklyn Paper, state Supreme Court Justice Abe Gerges ruled that 14 claims by project opponents regarding issues including the timing of the condemnations and recent modifications of the plan had no "merit." Last year, the project seemed stalled before an Appeals Court dismissed lawsuits challenging the development and Ratner managed to sell $511 million in bonds to get financing. Ratner—who project opponents attempted to arrest last month —will now likely be able to move forward by permanently closing streets around the project site and beginning construction on the Barclays Center. more ›

To make room for the proposed Atlantic Yards project — which calls for a basketball arena and high-rise buildings at the nexus of Park Slope, Prospect Heights and Fort Greene — the state will permanently close several streets to traffic. According to NY1, starting on or around February 1, Pacific Street between both Vanderbilt and Carlton avenues and Fifth and Sixth avenues will be closed, as well Fifth Avenue between Flatbush and Atlantic avenues. But what will those closures mean for commuters and residents? more ›

Former New Jersey Nets star Jayson Williams pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in the 2002 death of his limo driver, Costas Christofi, who was killed by a shotgun blast at close range. Williams — who last week was charged with drunk driving after crashing his Mercedes SUV on the FDR — will serve 18 months to five years in prison, and will be eligible for parole in 18 months, NY1 reports. more ›

With the New Jersey Nets likely to tie the NBA's record of for most consecutive losses (17) at the start of the season tonight when they play the Los Angeles Lakers, the team has fired coach Lawrence Frank. ESPN reports that the team was going to fire Frank after the game, "Yet it appears that Nets management determined that it had to make the move before facing the Lakers after reports became more widespread that Frank's dismissal was imminent." more ›

So let’s get this right. If you're a Moscow mogul looking to buy the New Jersey Nets and move them to Brooklyn, you don’t have to do any of the legwork that comes with finding an apartment in the bustling borough? more ›

Bronx legend Clive Campbell, who as DJ Kool Herc is widely credited as one of hip-hop’s founding fathers, is not suing Jay-Z, developer Bruce Ratner and Barclays bank, as previously reported by the Observer online. The $5 billion lawsuit is being brought by a much less famous Brooklyn activist also named Clive Campbell, and the mix-up is probably a big publicity boon for his lawsuit, as it echoed far and wide across the internets before the Observer corrected it. Campbell is demanding the money as slavery reparations because of Barclays’ history with the slave trade; the bank has secured the naming rights for the controversial Nets stadium Ratner is trying to build at Brooklyn’s Atlantic Yards, which would be part of a bigger residential development. more ›

Recently obtained court documents suggest that developer Bruce Ratner is starting to sweat the future of the $4 billion Atlantic Yards project, which would bring the New Jersey Nets to downtown Brooklyn, along with 16 skyscrapers with residential and commercial space. Lawyers for Ratner’s firm were in court last Friday to try and accelerate the appeal process in a lawsuit brought by Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, who argues that the project was rushed to approval by the state in 2006 without a thorough environmental review. more ›

Earlier this month, Sarah Lewitinn (Ultragrrrl) brought her label, Stolen Transmission, back to the bedroom after leaving Island/Def Jam. This was just one of many things that signaled more changes for the major, and now it turns out that the president of Def Jam, Jay-Z, is stepping down from his position. The NY Times reports:

Jay-Z made the announcement with Def Jam’s parent, Universal Music Group, as his employment contract was expiring. Under a separate long-term recording contract with Def Jam, Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, still owes the company one or more albums.

If CBS News Writers Strike, Democrats Will Nix Debate Several presidential candidates - Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and Bill Richardson -have announced their intentions not to cross picket lines for a debate sponsored by CBS News on December 10th. The Writers Guild of America announced earlier this week that its members who work for the network’s television and radio operations at both the national and local level have authorized a strike vote. The members have... more ›

Yesterday, Gothamist attended the 33rd annual Atlantic Antic along Atlantic Avenue between Hicks Street and Fourth Avenue. It is not your typical New York street fair with actual local groups, business and restaurants getting involved. Plus the New York Transit Museum had free admission as well as its annual vintage bus festival. more ›

If you're a Nets fan, you probably keep the Tums close at hand. Last night, the Nets managed to lose in the final moments of the game again. This time to the Philadelphia 76ers, 100-98. It was the 2nd night in a row that the Nets lost in overtime (they lost to the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday) . The only other time the franchise has consecutive overtime losses is in 1977. The loss was the 4th in a row for the Nets. While Vince Carter had 23 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Nets, he missed a game-winning shot in overtime and missed two key shots from the charity stripe. more ›

Surrender Monkeys, by Mihow.
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So, on the cover of yesterday's NY Times sports section was this huge picture of New Jersey Nets small forward Richard Jefferson (RJ!) hugging point guard Zoran Planinic after a third quarter shot against the Utah Jazz, and we thought to ourselves, "This is some hug...not that there's anything wrong with that." But these are exciting times for Nets, as exciting as being on top of the Atlantic Division five games into the season can be and cross-the-Hudson and possible cross-the-East River rival New York Knicks sucking. Jefferson has been doing well this season, and we can only hope that he, Vince Carter, and Jason Kidd stay healthy. And that Nenad Krstic can continue to score. In the meantime, Gothamist will wonder how many children were frightened by this Jason Kidd Jox Box. more ›

The Nets shot a dismal .359 from the field, a mark that the Heat even betted from 3-point range (.385). Miami was .480 from the field overall. Nenad Krstic, one of the lone bright spots for the Nets, had 27 points in the loss. Jason Kidd was a non-factor with only 10 points and 5 assists. Vince Carter scored 21 but was was 6-16, which actually lifted the Nets shooting average. more ›

Despite the lack of playing time, Telfair still has high hopes for the future, saying, "I don't accept nothing. I'm not getting comfortable with being on the bench." more ›

As if America didn’t have enough going on today, the 2004/2005 NBA season kicks off tonight with a doubleheader on TNT (how’s that for some election coverage counter programming?). The local teams don’t get started until tomorrow when the rebuilt Nets will take on Shaquille O’Neal and the Miami Heat at the Meadowlands and the Knicks travel to the Twin Cities to take on last year’s MVP and the Twolves. Both the Knicks and Nets will start the season with depleted rosters. Jason Kidd and Allan Houston will start the season on the inured list, ensuring they will miss at least the first five games of the season. more ›

The Sports Guy has said it many, many times, but we�re gonna repeat it here. It�s hard being an NBA fan these days. I�m not even talking about stye of play, tattoos and cornrows, the flood of high school kids in the league, etc. I�m talking about NBA starts demanding top dollar contracts and then asking to be traded when their team suffers because of it. Case in point, Jason Kidd of the New Jersey Nets. more ›

The New Jersey Nets, still recovering from the KMart trade, are trying to salvage next season before it begins through trades and free agent acquisitions. more ›

The NY Post and ESPN are reporting that the New Jersey Nets have reached an agreement in principle with the Portland Trailblazers to send the 22nd pick in Thursday's NBA draft to Portland for backup PG Eddie Gill and $3 million. Due to league rules, the trade cannot be officially announced until Thursday night. more ›