The Nets have made a huge offseason decision, dumping someone who has been on the court since they moved to Brooklyn: the BrooklyKnight.
Yep, the Nets dumped their shield-wielding, comic-book inspired mascot on Thursday.
The 6-foot-2, 210-pound mascot (yes, those stats actually exist) has reportedly been put out to pasture, which apparently means “eternal” — as the following description of BrooklyKnight reads — is just for a couple years:
“Eternal guardian of the Nets, BrooklyKnight draws strength from the beating heart of the borough that birthed him, passion for your team and your arena given form. He responds to your calls, the rumble of Brooklyn’s collective energy directing him where he’s needed most.”
No word on whether anyone has found the missing “n” in his name, either.
But while the Daily News reports the Nets will not be replacing the Knight — sorry, Sly Fox, you’ll be staying retired — power forward Mason Plumlee has some suggestions.
Last year’s first-round pick was asked about the demise of the mascot during a Twitter chat on Thursday afternoon.
If he scared the kids he had to go haha MP “@achosen11:how do you feel about the BrooklynKnight leaving…#AskMason“
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) July 10, 2014
Once we got the “kids recoil in fear” question out of the way, we moved on to more important things. Like, who should the new mascot be?
A bear ! MP “@VintageClintage: @Brooklynets @masonplumlee What sort of mascot would have you most fired up? #AskMason #ByeByeBKNKnight“
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) July 10, 2014
RT Panda bear for next mascot , starting from @masonplumlee #kungfupanda #AskMason
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) July 10, 2014
I don’t know if I should point out that Plumlee’s Duke education let him down and a panda is not actually a bear, or not. I’m also not sure if that’s Plumlee or the Nets’ account pushing the panda angle. Clearly, Mason just wants a bear.
In that case, someone should point out that the Memphis Grizzlies already exist.
Regardless, it’s worth pointing out I thought the Nets already had a perfectly good mascot: Rihanna.
Follow Metro New York Sports Editor Mark Osborne on Twitter @MetroNYSports.