Nets Are Scorching

So, how about that one-hour television special last night? Gotta give props to Jim Gray who conducted a terrific interview …. ah who am I kidding. What an egomaniacal bunch of hooey that was. I’ll have more thoughts on LeBron and the state of the Nets in a bit, but let me fill your morning cup of coffee with some links:

For starters, Mr. Prokhorov has a message for you all: “We have a vision of a championship team and need to invest wisely and for the long term. Fortunately, we have more than one plan to reach success, and, as I have found in all areas of my business, that is key to achieving it. To Nets fans past, present and future, the goal of making the playoffs this season remains intact and we reiterate our commitment to winning a championship within five years.”

Record columnist Tara Sullivan is one of many to call LeBron James cold, selfish, stupid, a poopy-head, etc.

Al Iannazzone has measured, yet critical words for Prokhorov and the “Blueprint for Greatness”: There is nothing wrong with confidence, putting yourself out there because you believe this is the dawn of an era of exciting things. It seems times and philosophies are changing for the Nets, which is a good thing. To win, you have to have a good owner with deep pockets and willing to spend. The Nets have that now, but they jumped the gun a little bit or were a little overzealous in Prokhorov’s first go-around as an NBA owner.

Steve Politi, not so much: Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov issued a statement not five minutes after the decision to “reiterate our commitment to winning a championship within five years.” But that billboard outside Madison Square Garden, the one declaring that Prokhorov and Jay-Z had the “blueprint for success” is 30 stories worth of hubris today, and the new owner looks as feeble as the old one.

Speaking of bug-eyed crazy, anyone read Cavs owner Dan Gilbert’s letter to fans about LeFraud?

Dave D’Alessandro talks about tbe bidding war developing between the Nets and Bobcats over Tyrus Thomas of all people. With Derrick Favors being asked to spend the first half of the season on the bench, will PF be another major point of weakness for the Nets again?

Yeah, we all know what this is about.  LeBron makes his choice in 30 minutes or so, you can talk about it here if you want to.  Please remember the commenter constitution though, thanks guys.

After it broke that the Nets’ signed Travis Outlaw to a 5 year 35 million dollar contract (it is now reported to be 5 years at 7 million flat), I sent an e-mail to Ben Golliver from the great Blazers’ blog, BlazersEdge asking him about Outlaw.  This was his response:

Travis Outlaw: great personality, ok player.  Outlaw was one of the most popular (and polarizing) Trail Blazers during his time in Portland, owing to his Mississippi drawl, shy but hilarious personality and maddening game.  A prototypical stretch 4, he lacks a position but poses mismatch problems thanks to his height and ability to elevate.

Outlaw’s best skill is his ability to put the ball in the basket.  His offensive game is predicated on relatively simple skills.  He’s not a great ballhandler but he can use a dribble or two to get his own shot from almost anywhere on the court.  He’s not the most natural pure shooter and he’s prone to off-balance fall-aways and leaners, but he converts at a solid clip.  He’s not a traditional three point sniper but he can knock down the standstill corner three and stretch the floor a little bit.

He’s not much of a passer or playmaker and his court vision and understanding of spacing and timing isn’t great.  He tends to look for his own shot most of the time the ball in his hands, which is ideal if he’s coming off the bench in a scorer’s role.  He plays hard but he’s not always focused and he’s never shown a commitment to or affinity for diligently rebounding the basketball on either end.  He’s not a guy who will use his length to get a lot of second chance points.  That frustrated a lot of Blazers fans.

His defense improved dramatically over the course of his time in Portland but it’s not anything to write home about.  His footwork isn’t great and he gets lost in team schemes sometimes.  He suffers from classic tweener syndrome — too skinny to guard true 4s, not quite quick enough to stay with pure 3s. He’s best as a one-on-one perimeter defender where he can use his athleticism and length to force tough shots.  He showed some flashes as a help defender too, using his long arms to block shots from behind.

Although the Blazers hardly ever get out in transition, Outlaw’s leaping ability makes him a good finisher on fast breaks.  He’s more than capable of some highlight reel above-the-rim action.

Nate McMillan has mentioned a number of times since Outlaw was traded for Marcus Camby that he misses Outlaw’s shooting/scoring ability as a way to balance the floor and keep defenders honest.  Outlaw fit that role next to Brandon Roy late in games very well, as he showed the ability to hit some big shots down the stretch and developed a fearlessness under pressure. He’s not really suited to be the main option in those situations as his handle isn’t good enough to run pick and rolls and his decision-making isn’t consistent enough to handle double-teams.  He’s much, much better as a safety valve, and he’s able to deliver in that role.

Given his limitations as a player, I think the Nets overpaid, but who hasn’t in this market?  Somebody was going to overpay for him because he has proven he can score.  Although he’s still fairly young, I’m not sure you’ll see a ton of development over the next five years, but he’s a solid player now and should continue to be.  He was known as Roy’s best friend on the team and a cut-up in the locker room. Like most Blazers, he’s a high character guy who you don’t need to worry about off the court.  He’s definitely somebody fans can get excited about.

In the third game of summer league, Nets fans were treated to one of the more exciting and well-played Summer League games so far, and it ended well in a 94-91 Nets victory. It came down to the wire – Terrence Williams split a few free throw chances to give the Magic an opportunity, but Patrick Ewing Jr. inexplicably tried to spot up from 40 feet away at the buzzer instead of passing it to a closer man and the Nets came away with the victory. Let’s break it down.

Read more…

Ric Bucher is reporting that the Nets have come to an agreement with Travis Outlaw, giving the forward $35 million over the course of 5 year:

Forward Travis Outlaw has agreed to a five-year, $35 million deal with the Nets, his agent, Bill Duffy, told ESPN The Magazine’s Ric Bucher.

The 25-year-old Outlaw averaged 8.7 points and 3.6 rebounds in 23 games for the Los Angeles Clippers after being acquired as part of a trade that sent Marcus Camby to the Portland Trail Blazers. In 11 games for Portland last season, Outlaw averaged 9.9 points and 3.5 rebounds.

Outlaw is a small forward, and with Avery Johnson saying that he wants to use T-Will at the SG spot, the team needed another SF on the roster besides Damion James.  This is a terrific signing in my opinion, Outlaw is a good shooter who will help spread the floor, and he is a guy who is willing to take (and make) big shots in the fourth quarter of games.  The reason this signing works is that Outlaw can be effective either starting or coming off the bench, depending on how well Damion James does.  Gut feeling though, Outlaw will be the Nets’ starting SF on opening night.  Also, at 25 Outlaw already has 7 years of NBA experience.

I don’t want to hear the “we whiffed on the big three free agents and now we are rushing to sign average players” comments.  The Nets only have 6 or 7 guys on their roster so this seems like a signing the Nets would have made even if they got a big free agent to sign with the team.  I will have a breakdown of Outlaw’s game later in the week, but this is a really good signing for the Nets.  He is already an immediate upgrade over CDR.

It’s looking less and less likely that the Nets will end up with the crown jewel of free agency, as Yahoo has sources saying LeBron James is leaning towards destroying the NBA joining Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami.

Dave D. thinks LeBron should stay in Cleveland and quotes the always grumpy Stan Van Gundy: “It takes 15 seconds to say, ‘I’ve decided to stay in Cleveland,’” Van Gundy said. “But we’ve got another 59 minutes and 45 seconds to. . . .what? Promote LeBron James? As if we don’t do that enough.”

Stefan Bondy of the Daily News pokes holes in the “Blueprint for Greatness.”

The Nets options in FA are dwindling rapidly, as multiple reports have Carlos Boozer going to Chicago. Dave D’Alessandro says the team will likely turn to David Lee now, but notes that the optimism the organization was riding after last week’s meeting with LeBron and Co. has wanted considerably.

The Nets are dangerously close to be completely shut out from all of the main free agents this summer which now begs an all too-important question for this organization – what good was shedding all those contracts the past two years? Hopefully Mikhail Prokhorov learned a hard and fast lesson in all this: it’s going to take more than money to bring this franchise out of the muck.

Update: Looks like David Lee isn’t coming this way either, as he’s likely going to Golden State in a sign-and-trade.

Alright, here we go.  For those who want a distraction from the whole Wade/Bosh/James situation, you can watch the Nets play the Orlando Magic in a Summer League battle.  Not much to preview this one, but here is Terrence Williams’ interview with the Summer League announcers from yesterday: