By Hiring Daly, No One Can Laugh at Nets Now

Thursday, the New Jersey Nets told everyone it is time to stop laughing at them. They no longer want to be known as idiots. They want to permanently eradicate their inept image.

The Nets made their best move since Aug. 1, 1973, when they traded George Carter, Kermit Washington’s draft rights and cash to the Virginia Squires for Willie Sojourner and, more important, Julius Erving.

Chuck Daly provides the Nets everything Pat Riley gave the New York Knicks, and everything the Nets have not had. Credibility. Stability. Visibility.

The Nets, for goodness sakes, are going to be coached by the United States Olympic coach.

Nets Coach Chuck Daly. Good thing he got the Olympic job before he became the New Jersey coach. The Olympic committee never would have embarrassed itself by hiring anyone connected with the Nets.

Wait a minute, wait a minute. It’s time to quit making fun of the Nets. Right now. Promise.

Daly is more than a high-profile figure, however. He is owner of two championship rings because he is a great coach. And versatile. In his early days in Detroit, Daly structured a high-powered offense around Isiah Thomas and Kelly Tripucka. The Pistons were ranked as high as third in offense. They participated in the highest-scoring game in NBA history, a 186-184 triple-overtime victory over the Denver Nuggets.

In Daly’s latter days in Detroit, he built the league’s best defense around Dennis Rodman, Joe Dumars and John Salley. For the last three years, the Pistons were No.1 in the league in defense.

The Nets under Bill Fitch were a woeful defensive team -- except for shot-blocking. With Daly at the helm, you can bet that next season the Nets will rank much better defensively than 18th, which is where they finished last season.

Daly also will put the Nets’ ownership and front office in touch with exactly what they have on the roster. It’s one thing if a player refuses to play for Bill Fitch, whom the players universally disrespected. It’s quite another if someone such as Derrick Coleman or Chris Morris refuses to play for Daly. If that happens, it’s obvious it will be time to make some major deals.

But it will never get that far because Daly will not allow it to. Daly is great about getting players involved in coaching decisions. He was so adept at doing that that he made the Pistons think they didn’t need him. Bill Laimbeer once called Daly “a good manager.” The players thought they had a great team. They did not realize how important Daly was.

Daly also has extensive experience in coaching dingbats. Coleman and Morris may be moody, but compared to Mark Aguirre, they are absolutely delightful.

The Nets have re-established a sense of order. They have demonstrated they have a flair for the dramatic. Even Larry Brown did not give the Nets the credibility Daly will provide. No one has had the potential to make the Nets a viable, exciting franchise that Daly has.

The Nets were as perfect as they could be Thursday. They are no longer a joke.