NET NOTES
SAN ANTONIO – There was a certain irony in the deal: Charlie Ward left New York as the new guy, Stephon Marbury, came into town. And it was that new guy, Marbury, who once claimed the Knicks would “never, ever, never . . . to infinity” win a title with the likes of Ward at point guard.
“That was in the past,” Ward said last night before going out with his new team, the Spurs, in an NBA finals rematch against the Nets. “I just compete. That’s all I do. I’m not a big talker. I try to play the game. That was his dream [to play in New York]. Everybody wanted to play in New York and everybody wanted my job. They’ve got a new guy there and as long as they’re winning, everything’s cool. He’s a great player, he can bring a lot of excitement. Household name, New York boy. It’s a great situation. It doesn’t matter about me. I enjoyed my time there.”
Ward said he opted for the Spurs over the likes of the Nets because it was the best fit. He claimed it wasn’t about a ring or money – but he got two years (second at an option) from the Spurs while the Nets wouldn’t budge from one.
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Nets are doing homework on Hubert Davis, who was waived by Pistons. To sign him they would need to release a rostered player. Davis was little used the past two seasons and prospective teams are trying to determine what ex-Knick has left.
Nets play in Miami tomorrow, starting a potentially favorable run of four straight games against sub-.500 teams: Heat (.381), Celtics (.477) at home, at Sixers (.439) and at Magic (.262) . . . Byron Scott on Aaron Williams playing just three minutes against Dallas: “It was more of a matchup thing than anything.”
Jason Kidd continued to lead NBA in assists at 9.8 with Marbury second at 8.9