National Basketball Association

Knicks rout Nets in New York star wars

Published Feb. 22, 2011 12:00 a.m. ET

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In the cold war between the Knicks and Nets, the Russian is getting his tail kicked.

When the Knicks gutted their team to acquire Carmelo Anthony on Monday night, it gave Garden chairman Jim Dolan his second major victory over the Nets’ Mikhail Prokhorov in the last seven months.

Victory No. 1 — The Knicks and Nets were both big losers for LeBron James last July. But the Knicks at least made a major signing by bringing Amar’e Stoudemire to the Garden. The Nets also finished out of the running for James, despite his connection with Nets minority owner Jay-Z. So how’d they counter the Knicks’ signing of Stoudemire? By getting Travis Outlaw.

That’s what you’d call a rout.

Victory No. 2 — When the Knicks got Anthony in a head-to-head showdown with the Nets, Dolan engineered the deal, with the help of his consigliere in Miami, former Knicks president Isiah Thomas. With his own consigliere at his side, Jay-Z, Prokhorov had a sit-down with Anthony last Saturday in Los Angeles during All-Star weekend. But in the end, the Russian billionaire couldn’t convince Anthony to become the face of the Nets for their future move to Brooklyn, his old stomping grounds.

From strictly a basketball move, the acquisition of Anthony made little sense for the Knicks. They already have a big-time scorer who needs to control the ball in Stoudemire. Now they need to get the right chemistry between Stoudemire and Anthony. And guess what? They still lack a defensive force to give them a more well-rounded team that could go far into the playoffs. They would have been better off trying to land Dwight Howard in 2012, when Orlando’s center can go on the open market.

But for Dolan, this was more than just about basketball and trying to build a championship contender. This was about the accumulation of stars — and keeping Anthony away from the Nets so that they continue to lack a real foothold in the Knicks’ backyard in Brooklyn.

It’s not going to give the Knicks a team that can win in May and June. But who said Dolan was ever after more than making sure that there’s more buzz about his team than the Nets?

“When it comes to the Nets, Jim will show you his competitive side,’’ said a Dolan crony.

During the negotiations for Anthony, Dolan showed how important it was to get Anthony and keep him away from Prokhorov. While Knicks team president Donnie Walsh did not want to send so many starters to the Nuggets, Thomas kept advising Dolan that most of the players could be viewed as backups. Looking to cream Prokhorov again, Dolan got his man.

He might have overpaid, but he did not give up any players who could be called indispensable, while also landing a classy winner in Chauncey Billups.

How will Prokorov take this latest setback? Back in January, when he pulled the plug on a deal for Anthony, he gave some insight into his thinking. Even though he desperately needs star power to put his team on the map in Brooklyn, he expressed caution.

“As soon as you make a mistake in the NBA, you can wait for the next chance for the next five or six years,’’ he said. “We need to be a little bit patient. I don't want us to make a serious mistake.’’

That night, Prokhorov was asked what would happen if ‘Melo ended up in the Garden.

“No concern,’’ he said. “I feel very comfortable.’’

But the Nets needed Anthony more than the Knicks and on so many levels. While not a top-tier star, he’s the kind of offensive player and closer the Nets have been looking for. And he would have given them a big name to counter Stoudemire.

As Prokhorov himself stated: “It’s not a secret that we need just one very good player.’’

They still do. They’ve got cap space galore, but so far no one has taken Prokhorov’s millions. The question is, what free agent of consequence is going to sign on for Brooklyn, knowing he might have to go it alone for awhile against Stoudemire and Anthony?

It doesn’t look promising for the Nets, who are still fighting the stigma of being the step-child team in the New York area. But the cold war is probably far from over. It’s provided some pretty good moments so far.

Shortly after Prokhorov took control of the Nets last spring, they put up a billboard across from the Garden. Rising 225 feet above 8th Avenue so that Dolan could see it every day, it carried pictures of Prokhorov and Jay-Z. The message: “The Blueprint for Greatness.’’ Dolan complained to the league and to Jay-Z. But then he fired back by having Knicks billboards put up at both ends of the construction site of the Nets’ Barclay Center.

On the airwaves, the two teams have jousted. The Knicks have used radio ads saying, “Hey Nets. You can walk like us, you can talk like us, but you ain't never gonna be like us."

Hearing that message from his rival, Prokhorov issued a statement: "I don't think we want to be like the Knicks. I think we'd more like to resemble the Lakers.’’

But now, with the Anthony deal, the distance between the two franchises has grown back to where it was before Jason Kidd came to New Jersey to change the team’s culture of losing and lead the Nets to back-to-back Finals in 2002 and 2003. In a word, it’s huge. Back then, surveying the pro hoops landscape in New York, Kidd insisted, “We’re not going to be No. 2 for long.’’

But he soon found out that even as the Knicks were being run into the ground by Thomas, they still were the No. 1 team in the metropolitan area.

As entertaining and successful as Kidd’s teams were, they never got a bump in attendance off their Finals appearances, and never became the Knicks’ equals in terms of significance to the fans in the New York area.

Anthony certainly knew all that, as he always identified the Knicks as the team he wanted to play for. Asked late Sunday night, after the All-Star Game, what defines his ideal situation, he said: ““Knowing that I can go to a situation where I have a chance to compete at a championship level, every year.’’

Anthony still doesn’t know if he can compete at a championship level for the Knicks. Because with Dolan and Thomas calling the shots, you just don’t know about the next series of moves. Or what will happen to Walsh, who fixed the mess Thomas created to give them the cap room for three superstars. His contract could be up April 30 if Dolan doesn’t exercise his option for a fourth season.

Anthony didn’t really think he could compete at a championship level by agreeing to go Prokhorov’s team. He never said he’d OK an extension with the Nets. Like James, he didn’t want Brooklyn. There’s no attraction in going somewhere that is still only an idea.

In the end, Anthony wanted the Garden and Dolan wanted to stick it to Prokhorov.

Put those two together and right now, this cold war is a rout.

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