Nets Are Scorching

As you guys may know, I love infographics.  Well, today during my Internet browsing, I came across an awesome one.  The guys over at Bust-a-Bucket, a Portland Blazers blog, came up with a diagram of NBA offseason moves (click the image for the full graphic, which includes descriptions of each move):

As you can see, the Nets only have one line attributed to them, but it was a big one.  Who knows?  There might be another one added soon.

Carlos Boozer was a big name thrown around by Nets fans towards the beginning of free-agency.  Many people were talking about acquiring Boozer through a sign and trade or through free-agency, but then Boozer picked up his player option, and then Rod Thorn said we were going to sit back and wait, and then all the talk quieted down.

It seems like the talk is starting up again though.  Tim Buckley of the Dessert News mentioned New Jersey as a potential trade partner for the Jazz:

Chicago, Miami, New York, Detroit and now New Jersey have been most prominently mentioned as possible destinations for Boozer ever since he decided late last month to opt in for the final season and last $12.65 million on his current six-year, $68-million contract with the Jazz.

In my opinion, there is no way we are going to fleece the front office of the Jazz.  Here is what we are going to have to give up in a deal for Boozer:

An Expiring Contract:

If the Jazz are going to give up an expiring contract in Boozer, they should expect one or more in return.  The Jazz have some decisions to make in upcoming years about who to re-sign (Okur and Ronnie Price are free agents next year and Kirilenko’s is up in 2), and they need the expiring contracts to be able to do this.

Draft Picks:

The Jazz have a history of making strong draft picks (Paul Millsap and Deron Williams come to mind), so if they are going to unload Carlos Boozer, they should expect to get some draft picks in return.

A Young Player:

Expiring contracts and draft picks won’t be enough to land Carlos Boozer, they are probably going to require a young player in a deal as well.  Preferably someone at a position they aren’t that deep in, as well as one that can help them in the future.  Chris Douglas-Roberts is the player that pops into my mind.

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I have no problem in giving up the draft picks and the expiring contracts (mainly because we are getting a expiring back in return, and it won’t hurt our future), and if we can get a deal done with just these two aspects I will be jumping for joy.  It just isn’t going to happen though.  Utah is a solid, smart, and well-run franchise, and they won’t be fleeced.  In my opinion, the only way this deal gets done is if we add CDR.  I don’t want to see that happen.  I think CDR is going to be a special player, and I don’t want to see him get dealt for a rental player (Let’s face it, he probably won’t be willing to re-sign with the Nets in one year, especially if we are saving our money for two of the big three).

I am not the biggest Boozer fan (he is injured too much and he isn’t a good locker room guy – not good with a bunch of young players) and I don’t want to see this trade made, but if it does happen, I guess it could work out well for the Nets (I know I am contradicting myself now).  If Boozer stays heathly and has a solid year, the Nets may decide to re-sign him.  If we do, NJ (or Brooklyn) would be more attractive to one of the big three.  That being said, the price tag (if this is in fact the price tag) is still a little too high in my mind.

A couple days ago, new Pistons head coach, and former Nets assistant, John Kuester showed a desire to talk to current top Nets assistant Brian Hill about the same position in Detroit.  Yesterday, the Nets gave Detroit and Hill permission to talk to each other.

Now the job hasn’t been offered to Coach Hill yet, but if it is, you have to think that he will be leaving.  He will be getting more money (he just took a paycut in NJ) for more time (he only has a one year deal here) and he will be going over to a better team with better players.  Oh and to make things worse, if Hill leaves we won’t be replacing him.  Yeah, we will only have two assistants.  Al Iannazzone has the scoop:

Hoopsaddict.com is a great basketball blog, and it is a site that I make sure I read everyday.  So when I got an e-mail from the site telling me about an interview that they did with Dave D’Alessandro (Who was kind enough to answer a few questions for me), I hurried over to read it.  Dave talks Nets, NBA, what it is like to be a beat writer, and the state of newspapers so you definitely want to check it out.  I am pulling a few quotes from the interview that I wanted to comment on:

HA: What’s your thoughts on the direction the Nets are taking? Everyone heard the whispers of Carter being moved, and now he is finally no longer with the team. Did you think it was a smart trade for the team? Thoughts on the selection of Terrence Williams?
DD: It may not be a smart trade for the Nets, but it probably was the only move they had. It was obvious back in December that Vince’s departure was inevitable, and you had to get expiring contracts and a promising young talent in the deal. So with the aims being pretty narrow, mission accomplished. I don’t know much about Terrence’s game yet, but I like the kid personally, and I hope fans give him a chance to grow into his job. But I can already hear the moans when he goes 6-for-29 his first three games.

I know I am in the minority with this one, but I think that the Vince Carter trade was a smart one for the Nets and not just a salary dump.  Sure getting rid of Vince’s salary was an effect of the deal, but we got huge value with this deal, more than we would get in any trade we make next season before the trade deadline.  Now a lot of Nets fans are a little worried about Courtney Lee’s reactions to being traded, but can we blame him really?  He went from going to the finals to being on a team that will challenge for the number 1 pick.  That had to hit him hard, especially when he was such a big factor in the team’s playoff run.  Another critisim of the trade that I have been hearing is that if we really wanted Lee, why didn’t we just draft him?  Well, with Vince Carter in the mix, we didn’t need a player like Lee.  The trade of Carter opens the floor up for Lee’s style of play.  I know it sucks giving up Ryan Anderson, but I think it was worth it.

Also, I know that I for one won’t be moaning or groaning if Terrence starts the year going 6-29.  Why?  Well, he is young and this team isn’t going anywhere.  We just need him to develop and gain experience, he shooting will come around, and while it does, Terrence Williams will be able to contribute in other ways.

HA: On the topic of the Cavs, what’s your stance on 2010? Do the Nets have a shot at one of the big three (Wade, LeBron and Bosh)?
DD: Not likely. Guys at that level want to win now and win often, and all things being equal ($$$$), they’ll go where they can win.

Despite Dave’s opinions, I think the Nets have a big-time shot at one of the big three (if not two – or one of these guys and a guy like Dirk).  For one, we have the money…tons of money.  Two, I can’t think of a team that has a better younger core that will be in position to get one of these guys.  The Knicks?  No.  The Grizz?  No.  The Thunder?  Maybe.  But I don’t think (Key word here is think) they have the cap space.  Those are the young teams positioning themselves for one of the big three off of the top of my head.

Now with all this being said, I don’t want everyone to think I am bashing Dave.  He is the best Nets’ beat writer around, and I usually find myself agreeing with what he says.  We just have two differing opinions in this case, and I feel like I should state mine.  What do you guys think?  Leave your opinions in the comments!

Over the weekend, I got a very interesting e-mail from NetsAreScorching reader Smack Adams:

Sebastian,

Blog-worthy Nets stories must be hard to come by during this fallow part of the hoops year.  So I make this request:  Re-run your Frank breakdown, revised to the extent necessary to reflect changed circumstances.

1.  I expect that your readership has increased since you first posted the piece, so it would be new to many;

2.  Frank-related posts always draw heavy comments.  So many fans have an inchoate animosity towards the coach, but your post actually articulates the reasons you don’t like him.  You would arm these people with weapons beyond the ridiculous (i.e., “he shoulda played Sean Williams 40 minutes per game”), obvious (i.e., “he stuck with Yi too long”), and the ad hominem (i.e. “Opie sucks” and “the Little General sucks”) that sum up most of the anti-Frank sentiment; and

3.  I’m pretty sure my pro-Frank stance & analysis will agitate.

I live a land of Knicks fans who cannot see past the Hudson.  Help me.

Best,
(Smack Adams)

I think this is a fantastic idea.  After the jump, you will find my post Lawrence Frank Broken Down. After the post, I will add some thoughts that reflect the change in circumstance.  I think hope I now have some more regular readers, so I hope to generate a pretty solid discussion.  I am especially looking forward to Smack Adams’ response.

Read more…

The Orlando Summer League has been finished for two days, and after some reflecting, I decided to look at the performances of our two guys Chris-Douglas-Roberts and Terrence Williams.

Before we get to that, let’s look at that team record of 0-5.  While it doesn’t look too pretty, can you say that this wasn’t expected?  You had two different coaching staffs with two different philosophy’s, plus you have players who have never really played together before.  Now I know that a lot of you guys would much rather see a record of 5-0 instead of 0-5, but in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t really matter.  All that matters is that our big 2 (T-Will and CDR) showed what they can do.  Now let’s look at the Nets/Sixers stats:

Chris Douglas-Roberts:

CDR is the player who really impressed me the most (well, besides Ryan Anderson, but let’s not talk about that right now) this summer league.  He shot over 50% for the league, and he scored a total of 69 points on only 40 shots (1.725 points per shot – anything over 1 is pretty solid).  Compare that to the “great” Marresse Speights scored only 2 more points on a total of 31 more shots.

CDR also showed he was very determined to get to the basket.  Douglas-Roberts only attempted 1 three pointer, and he got to the line a total of 35 times in 5 games.  I would have liked to see him make a couple more foul shots to get his percentage over 80% (He shot around 77% from the line), but that will improve with practice.  CDR limited his TOs to 6, but he wasn’t really effective rebounding the basketball (only 2.0 RPG).  If he is going to want to play the 3 spot, he is going to be a little more aggressive attacking the glass.  However, that is the only flaw I see in his game right now after the summer league.

Some people were a little worried when they saw CDR’s play and scoring drop off a little bit from the first two games to the next 3.  This isn’t anything to be worried about though.  Why?  Because he was just following orders:

“We talked the first day, talked a lot,” Douglas-Roberts said. “He said you have to police yourself sometimes. He said he policed himself a lot in his career and that’s what I have to do. And that is what I’m learning.”

So while feeling in his gut he could take the ball and score, or at least get to the line, Douglas-Roberts accepted the role on the split Nets/Sixers squad that was asked of him in the last two games, including yesterday’s 83-62 wipeout loss to Oklahoma City.

“The first two games I played really well. The last two, the game was going in a different direction,” said Douglas-Roberts, who has worked tirelessly this off-season on his shooting and ball-handling. “The first two games, we were running things that put me in a position to be aggressive. Simple as that.”

Not so the next two.

“I always say I’m not going to force anything,” he said. “The last two games, the game wasn’t coming to me so I was pretty much following directions, doing what the coach and the team wants.”

Terrence Williams:

Terrence Williams had a rocky start shooting the ball in the Orlando Summer League, and while it improved a bit over the final three games, it still wasn’t great (19-56/34%).  What he lacked in the scoring department, he more than made up in different areas.  Terrence Williams averaged 6.6 rebounds a game (from the 2-guard spot where he played most of his minutes).  Terrence also totaled 14 assists in the 5 games for an average of a little under three.  He also picked up about a block per game (1.2 to be exact).  This is why I was so high on Terrence before the draft.  Despite not being the best shooter, he can do so many other things on the court.  So when he has a poor shooting night (lets face it, they are going to happen), he can still be productive.

So the poor shooting doesn’t really worry me.  I mean you can work on that.  The one thing that did worry me about Terrence’s play is the TOs.  The Nets/Sixers squad turned it over a bunch as a team (and that is expected when you have guys not familiar with each other playing together), and Terrence Williams was the leader with 20 over 5 games.  For someone who wants to be used at the point from time to time, this isn’t acceptable.  Now these turnovers can be blamed on nerves and stuff like that.  When the preseason games come around, I will be watching Terrence closely to make sure he is more comfortable with the ball.

Before I start talking about the Nets’ first two summer league games I just wanted to say that I think you guys should definitely check this article on the whole Nets/Sixers situation from Truehoop.  It is an interesting read, so yeah, check it out.

One could argue that the team that is impacted the most from the happenings of the Orlando Summer League is the New Jersey Nets.  They have two guys who should be getting significant minutes this upcoming year, so it is interesting to see how they play against “NBA-level” talent.  The results of the games don’t really matter at all (We lost one game to the Pacers’ squad in OT and we lost the other in blowout fashion to the team representing the Utah Jazz), and while I was only able to watch one of the two games so far (the first one), I do have some thoughts about the games.

The Good:

CDR.  He is second in the league in scoring right now averaging 23.5 points (20 in game 1 and 27 in game 2).  It isn’t really the point totals that are impressing me, it is the way he is getting his points.  He is shooting over 50% from the field, and he is getting his points on not of lot of shots (6-12 in game 1 and 8-14  in game 2).   He is also getting to the line a ton (24 foul shots – he made 19 of them), and hasn’t shot a three pointer yet.  This means he is set on improving his driving ability, and he isn’t settling for bad shots.  From the game I watched he is being very decisive, and he isn’t really hesitating.  Last year he seemed awkward when he attacked the basket.  Not this year (or at least in the summer league).

Terrence Williams’ disruptive play – In this case the word disruptive isn’t a bad thing.  From the first game I watched it seemed like Williams was flying all over the court.  Granted he didn’t shoot well (look farther down), but he crashed the boards very effectively (9 rebounds in game 1 – 6 in game 2).  Seeing this really made me happy.  It shows that even if Williams isn’t getting it done on the offensive end, he is willing to go all-out and contribute in other ways.  It shows how versatile Terrence Williams is.

The Bad

Terrence Williams’ Shooting – This was Williams’ biggest weakness entering the draft, and while he is working hard on improving it, he hasn’t really shown much improvement during the summer league games.  He was 1-8 from the field in game 1 and he was 3-11 in game 2 (a total of 0-3 from 3).  Now some of it may be nerves and some of it may be getting used to the speed of the game, but it is becoming obvious Terrence needs to continue to working on his shot.

The Shot Happy Sixers’ Pros – Many people who saw the summer league seemed very impressed with Marreese Speights’ 28 points.  I wasn’t.  He did it on 11-26 shooting.  Jrue Holiday also went kind of shooting crazy for the guy who is supposed to be playing point on the team (3-11 in game 1).  While the guys slowed it down in game 2 (Speights went 3-12 and Jrue went 2-6), it just bothers me a bit seeing these guys taking shots from the Nets’ players.  I know it was bound to happen, but it is such a weird situation and I seem to find myself cursing out Speights every time he throws up a crazy fade-away jumper.

The Perception of “The Disease” – In case you don’t know what I am referring to, the announcers covering the summer league for the web broadcast decided the Nets/Sixers needed a team name, and that is what they came up with, with help from e-mailers.  The team was also referred to as “The Cheapskates”.  I know this is all in good fun, and these are just jokes, but it just goes to show that the Nets are looking cheap to not just us Nets fans.  Everyone else is starting to see how cheap that the Nets have become.  It was also strange to see the players playing in standard non-descript blue practice jerseys.

Our Invites PT – The one guy I was real interested in seeing play was Jeff Adrian.  Out of all our invites, I thought that he would be the one guy that we would think about signing.  So how is he playing?  I wouldn’t know.  He has only played about 12 minutes in the first 2 games combined.  Now maybe he hasn’t impressed coaches in practices, but it is becoming obvious that he won’t be getting minutes.  I know the Sixers are looking for a PF, so they probably aren’t really pushing to see Adrian get minutes.

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Game 3 is tomorrow at 7, so I will be able to watch it and I will be taking notes as the games go on.  Who else is going to be playing at 7PM tomorrow?  Ryan Anderson.  He has been killing it in the summer league so far (leading the league in scoring), so it will be fun to see him and CDR go at it.  Hopefully he doesn’t torch us too much.

Remember, you can watch the games here:

http://www.nba.com/magic/2009_Orlando_Pro_Summer_League.html

OK, the link I gave you this morning is wrong.  To watch summer-league games live, go here:

http://www.nba.com/magic/2009_Orlando_Pro_Summer_League.html

I just turned it on, and I am trying to record it so I can break it down, the score right now is 26-26.

Update:  Recording attempt failed.  You didn’t miss much, and it wasn’t a pretty game.  I will have a box-score and a little recap either sometime tonight or tomorrow.