Kidd Backs Nets' Decision To Pass On Abdur-Rahim

A part of Jason Kidd wishes the Nets took a chance on Shareef Abdur-Rahim's questionable knee, but overall the star point guard liked the team's off-season moves.

"From the first year when I got here, we are a lot deeper," Kidd said Friday morning before taking first-grader Angelique Allen to school as part of a season-ticket sweepstakes. "And offensively, we are off the charts. I think that we shouldn't have too many lulls offensively because we have shooters everywhere now."

But Kidd probably would have taken a shot on Abdur-Rahim, whose six-year, $38 million deal was rescinded by the Nets after something showed up on his knee during a routine physical.

"I'm a high-risk taker on the court in the sense of trying to squeeze things in there, so as a player, yeah," Kidd said. "But I am not the one who signs the checks.

"Also, the business outlook, you don't want to put your team in a situation where you are locked into somebody that maybe down the road can't play or it was just going to be a bad decision. We wish Shareef the best in Sacramento. We have our team and we like our odds."

Kidd praised owner Bruce Ratner and president Rod Thorn, especially for recovering from the Abdur-Rahim fiasco. After losing him, the Nets acquired Jeff McInnis, Marc Jackson, Scott Padgett and Lamond Murray.

Via North Jersey

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Travis Best Going To Russia

Travis Best is going from 10 seasons of Eastern Conference play to playing in Russia, meaning his NBA days are all but done, according to the Sacramento Bee.

The 5-11 guard from Georgia Tech has played for the Pacers, Bulls, Heat, Mavs and Nets.

Via Sacramento Bee

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Nets Take Another Step Towards Brooklyn

The New Jersey Nets moved closer to making a new home in Brooklyn on Wednesday when the Metropolitan Transportation Authority voted to sell an 8.3-acre railyard to team owner and real-estate developer Bruce Ratner.

Ratner will pay $100 million for the downtown Brooklyn site where urban planner Robert Moses once turned down the Dodgers' push for a domed baseball stadium, helping prompt the team's move to California in 1957.

The vote by the nation's largest public transit system keeps the Nets on schedule to be playing by November 2008 in a Frank Gehry-designed Flatbush Avenue arena at the heart of a 21-acre office and apartment complex.

Ratner doubled his original $50 million bid after a last-minute, $150 million bid in July from Manhattan-based Extell Development Co. prompted second thoughts from MTA board members.

The agency has had the railyard appraised at $214 million.

Via AP

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