Nets try to stay afloat as better days lie ahead

So, Kiki Vandeweghe.

The Nets' coaching move was predictably a non-move, internal shuffling to replace fired Lawrence Frank rather than spending for an actual hire, but that time will probably come because the franchise should have a very good chance to land a credible sideline voice when the search begins in earnest next offseason. Seriously.

People will want to coach this team, assuming the plan sticks and Vandeweghe is just a temp to get everyone to the end of this little joyride that is Nets 2009-10. People with options. Experienced people.

The guy may need to be able to drive a moving van into Brooklyn. But he won't have to do nearly the serious shoveling that the Nets' dismal start would indicate. The roster simply is not that record-setting bad. No matter what the standings scream, no matter how the fates conspired to turn the trainer's room into Grand Central Station at rush hour, no matter that New Jersey can rarely even stay in games lately, there is still a reason to see a future through the thick haze of the opening five weeks.

Table for one on the bandwagon, please.

Look at the Nets: a 26-year-old All-Star point guard (Devin Harris) and a very promising 21-year-old center (Brook Lopez) in place, and those are the two toughest positions to fill. There's a 24-year-old shooting guard (Courtney Lee) who was good enough to start for the Eastern Conference champions last season, before being traded from Orlando as a key part of the exchange for Vince Carter. There's a 22-year-old rookie (Terrence Williams) who defends three positions, rebounds very well at 6-foot-6 and handles the ball well enough to be considered a potential point forward.

Oh, and there's anywhere from $24-27 million in projected spending power ahead, depending where the salary cap is set in the summer. That level of flexibility to sign free agents or make trades combined with the lure of what management hopes will become a certain future in New York City combined with the energy of the expected new owner and new coach equals genuine possibilities as soon as next season.

"It's tough convincing fans of that," president Rod Thorn said when Frank was still coach but the losing streak had already reached the aching stage. "Fans are looking for wins. But among our group, we understand where we are and what we're trying to do."

Where they are is investing minutes to develop the young roster without touching the 2010 cap space.

What they are trying to do is absorb a big hit in a rebuilding process instead of gently tinkering over three or four years while loitering around a final playoff spot and constant first-round eliminations.

"But, again, you've got to be realistic," Thorn said. "We're trying to build. But you don't build by getting your heads beat in."

The losing streak. Coaches being fired, players getting mocked, general managers with no experience taking over on the sideline. Everyone is being stained by the start.

"We're not re-thinking the direction because I think by the end of the year we will be in a good position," Thorn said. "Saying that, you still want to be as competitive as you can and win games. We're trying to sell tickets, trying to sell people on the future, trying to have a lot of reasons to believe we still have a lot to be encouraged about.

"Some of the fans see it, some don't because they're only interested in wins. When you're losing [17] consecutive games to start the season, it makes it tough. We need to get some wins for the confidence of our players and the confidence of our fans."

In what should have been their big-picture season, injuries, dreadful shooting and sloppy ballhandling have turned the Nets into the immediate issue of being held up to the light of the other 0-17 teams -- the 1988-89 Heat and the 1999 Clippers. In reality, New Jersey with anything close to its preferred roster has at least a few wins and isn't getting questions about whether this start may turn out to be so traumatic that it will break the young roster for the rest of the season.

Things are bad, just not as bad as the standings would indicate. The Nets still have something good going with Harris, Lopez, Lee, Williams and the summer of 2010. Proven coaches will be interested in coming to this team ... this team with a future.

Scott Howard-Cooper has covered the NBA since 1988. You can e-mail him here.

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