“I would first tell them to forget the record of what happened last year. You can’t look at that,” said Kidd. “The thing about playing in Jersey is it is a beautiful place; they have some great areas there. There’s the city you can go in and eat and they have everything there. You have to look at the upside, and then they may be a couple of years away from being a legitimate team.”
My opinions of Kidd post-Nets have always waffled. On one hand, he is probably the best player to wear the uniform since Dr. J. However, his exit from the team in 2008 wasn’t particularly graceful, which seems to be a trend for the guy throughout his career. However, I think it’s obvious that Kidd’s issues with the organization had more to do with Ratner, and I can’t blame him for that.
Speaking of free agents, the News-Herald in Ohio is reporting that the Nets have zero interest in Newark native Shaquille O’Neal.
In the dozens of articles that have been written about Avery Johnson since he was first announced as a candidate for the head coaching vacancy on the Nets, one theme that has been discussed extensively is his past and current relationship with Devin Harris, who was Johnson’s main point guard during the Mavs’ NBA Finals run in 2006 and for their first round collapse against the Warriors in 2007. From point guard to point guard, there was reportedly some tough love doled out by Johnson to Harris during their Dallas years together. Still, Johnson saw stardom in Harris, something Devin did accomplish in his first full year in New Jersey when he was one of the top scoring point guards in the league and made his first all-star game. Read more…
The 6-9 Russian billionaire also joked about how much he has in common with Johnson, the 5-11 former player.
“We are both gym rats,” Prokhorov said. “We spend hours in the gym and we are hungry to win. He was nicknamed ‘The Little General’ and my nickname is ‘The General.’ It’s a match made in heaven.”
Yep, I love this guy. We’ll obviously see if his vision has a reality, but I love hearing this guy talk.
Meanwhile, Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting that DeMarcus Cousins and Derrick Favors are set to face-off one-on-one on June 21 in New Jersey as part of a pre-draft workout. Rod Thorn reportedly still favors Favors, but this face-off could be an interesting event in determining how the Nets eventually go in the draft.
“They’re going to be very well prepared,” Popovich said. “He’s going to pound every day, trying to get stuff across. He’s going to win that battle that most NBA coaches lose as the season goes on — drilling people, being organized in practices. He will make them responsible to each other and that allows chemistry and camaraderie to form and a belief in what you’re doing.
Hey, I’ll take it from Popovich. Isn’t it great that this team that won 12 games last year and was in chaos is now all of a sudden getting a barrage of positive press. Did I wake up in 2002?
The Nets now have their head coach in Avery Johnson, a decision that has been praised by many so far. Now the team sets its sights on rebuilding their roster through the draft and free agency. Fred Kerber wonders if Johnson will be pivotal in trying to lure free agents to the Nets, including one who spends his summers in Akron, OH.
“A coach can help,” Thorn said, noting free agents look for “a city they can live in . . . a team that can be competitive . . . the monetary aspect . . . who am I going to play with? . . . Certainly a coach can have an effect, but a lot of other things go into it.”
I think it was very important that the Nets made their coaching decision before the draft and free agency, and that demonstration of stability and a plan will probably do more to convince free agents to come here than anything Johnson can text them about. With that said, it’s nice that for the summer of the Nets big push, they brought on a guy who is clearly charismatic and passionate about his job. I think Avery is going to be a lot of fun for Nets fans while the team is rebuilding itself. The griping probably won’t come until he coaches games that really matter in the postseason – and if we have postseason basketball in Newark next April, I think that’s a huge success right there.
Devin already took a fantastic look at the whole “Derrick Favors vs. DeMarcus Cousins” draft situation, but I thought I would look at who I want to see the Nets draft (if Evan Turner doesn’t drop to our pick). In my opinion, playing Power Forward alongside Brook Lopez requires a specific skill-set. Because Brook is good at excels both in the post and out on the high post, he needs a power forward who can be able to do both as well. This way, when Brook is on the outside with the basketball his big-man alongside of him can work in the post, and vice-versa. Despite being very raw, when watching the tape, you can tell that Derrick Favors has this skill-set, and this is why I want to see the Nets draft Favors with the third overall pick.
Working The Middle Post
When you play with a big man like Brook Lopez, who is a very good passer, you open up a variety of offensive sets that most teams are unable to do. Something I fully expect to see the Nets take advantage of next year is the high-low set. Brook’s versatility means he can work from the low post or the high post. This means the power forward that he plays with needs to be able to do the same. So when Brook Lopez gets the ball on the high post, the power forward he plays with needs to be able to know how to properly seal and make himself available for the past from the high post area:
ESPN’s Marc Stein is reporting that the Nets and Avery Johnson have reached a “verbal agreement” for Johnson to become the new head coach of the Nets.
I think this is the right move for the organization and if this remains true, the timing is good, because I would have hated to see him go to Atlanta as had been rumored.
