Review Fix chats with Lukasz Muniowski, author of Turnpike Team: A History of the New Jersey Nets, 1977–2012, to find out what inspired the book and more.
About the Book:
A sense of impending doom surrounded the New Jersey Nets. No matter how well things were going for the perennial underdogs, something would go wrong sooner or later—injuries, bad trades, inner conflicts. But if the Nets were never a stable organization, it made following them as entertaining as it was painful. The team’s 2012 move to Brooklyn was supposed to make a clean break with their past.
That past was in fact rich and eventful, filled with heroes, often unfairly vilified or underappreciated. Shedding new light on the careers of such figures as Julius Erving, Buck Williams, Sam Bowie, Derrick Coleman, Stephon Marbury, Jason Kidd and Vince Carter, this book celebrates a team of strong-willed individuals whose best efforts always ended in heartbreak.
About the Author:
Lukasz Muniowski (Ph.D., American literature, University of Warsaw) has written numerous academic articles on various topics, including gentrification, geek culture, American literature, video games and television series. He lives in Poland.
Review Fix: Why the Nets?
Lukasz Muniowski: I had this big idea of a trilogy of disappointment, as I called it in my head, with the Nets, the Vancouver Grizzlies and the first iteration of the Charlotte Hornets, prior to their relocation to New Orleans. I was able to write two. The Nets offer one hell of a story, one of bad decisions and bad breaks, which coincides with the perception of New Jersey as a whole in pop culture and the media as a land in-between two bigger states, never able to be appreciated for what it truly is.
Review Fix: Did you interview anyone from the team during that time? If so, what was the experience like?
Muniowski: I didn’t, because I was afraid of presentism on the part of former players, coaches, staff, etc. From a distance I feel I should have, since in the Krause book the interviews broadened the perspective.
Review Fix: What surprised you the most about the team during those years?
Muniowski: How good on paper they looked and how the personalities did not mesh year, after year, after year. The amount of bad luck during the drafts was especially perplexing, if not discouraging. In 1990 they get the number one pick and select Derrick Coleman over Gary Payton. Coleman was the surefire number one pick, and would be a great number-two/three option, but he wanted to be the alpha and that didn’t work. Then in 1997 they get the second overall pick, with Tim Duncan as number one and the dropoff between one and two during that draft was tremendous. Then when they get the number one pick in 2000, it turns out to be one of the worst drafts in NBA history. Kenyon Martin is a great player, almost all pro players are, but he also wasn’t a transformative player.
Review Fix: What are the biggest What-Ifs about the team during this time?
Muniowski: Drazen Petrovic’s death in 1993 could be one, although more and more people are talking about him not staying on the Nets anyway, due to the frustration with the way the franchise was ran. The other, more impactful, would be Jason Kidd signing with the Spurs in 2003, as he already made a verbal agreement to Coach Pop, but decided to stay in New Jersey on his way back to Newark. If he would have left, the Nets would be dismantled way sooner, we probably would not see Vince Carter move to New Jersey and the Spurs would be an even better team that they turned out to be.
Review Fix: What’s the legacy of the team from that era?
Muniowski: One of disappointment and disfunction, unfortunately. The talent was there, but the personalities didn’t work.
Review Fix: Who’s your favorite Net ever?
Muniowski: Jason Kidd, without a doubt. A team-first player who led the Nets to the finals twice, well worthy of being named league MVP, yet never got the award.
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