Aftermath
The Nets had an inconsistent start to the 2003-04 NBA season, and with a 22-20 record early in the season they fired head coach Byron Scott. Lawrence Frank would take over and lead the Nets to another Atlantic Division title by winning 47 games, highlighted by a 13-0 start, the best start for a rookie head coach in sports history. Despite that, however, the Nets would lose to the eventual NBA champion Detroit Pistons in seven games of the conference semifinals. To this day, this is the Nets' last finals appearance and their last in New Jersey, moving to Brooklyn, New York in the 2012–13 season.
Jason Kidd remained with the Nets until he was traded in February 2008 to the team he was originally drafted to, the Dallas Mavericks. Kidd, along with teammate Dirk Nowitzki, led the Mavericks to the NBA title in 2011. Kenyon Martin was sent to the Denver Nuggets after the 2003-04 season, while Richard Jefferson eventually joined the Spurs in the 2009-10 season, after a brief one-year stint with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Despite the departures of Robinson, Jackson and Kerr, the Spurs still managed to win 57 games, aided by Tim Duncan's strong play. However, they were ousted in six games by the Los Angeles Lakers, highlighted by Derek Fisher's game winner with 0.4 seconds left in Game 5 of the conference semifinals. In the four years following Robinson's retirement, Duncan would lead the Spurs to two more NBA titles, in 2005 and 2007.
Read more about this topic: 2003 NBA Finals
Famous quotes containing the word aftermath:
“The aftermath of joy is not usually more joy.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)