The Brooklyn Nets are trying to wrest the hearts of basketball fans in hoops-mad New York City from the grip of the New York Knicks. This offseason the Nets billionaire owner, Mikhail Prokhorov, threw some money at the cause, pulling off a trade that netted Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry.
Pierce is a noted Knick-killer, and his arrival has intensified the back-and-forth. Pierce has been vocal in his desire to rob the Knicks of their stronghold, dominance among metropolitan basketball fans.
His comments drew a response from Raymond Felton, who said the Knicks are the ones "with New York on our chest" and that the city will never belong to Brooklyn.
The rivalry goes back further, though, to when the Nets first moved to Brooklyn and counted rapper Jay Z as a minority owner. As an announcement of things to come, Prokhorov had a 22-story, 21,375 square foot Nets billboard installed across the street from Madison Square Garden, "the world's most famous arena" and home of the Knicks. He has also referred to Knicks owner James Dolan as "that little man."
Well the little man has had enough. It was originally reported that the NBA asked the two sides to quit their sniping, but in fact, it was Dolan who requested intervention.
Dolan, Prokhorov, and NBA commissioner David Stern reportedly had a sit-down yesterday to discuss the issue and hammer out their differences. A source close to the situation said, There was such a meeting and the parties both said it was a very cordial and pleasant one."
The off-court rivalry may be put to bed, but during the season a feud on the court spilled out into the locker room and parking lot when Kevin Garnett, then a member or the Celtics, reportedly made comments about Carmelo Anthony's wife, La La. The two have said the incident is over and done with, but once the added "Battle for New York" atmosphere takes hold there's no telling whether tempers may flare.
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