Chris Broussard is reporting that Dwyane Wade is going to be staying in Miami and Chris Bosh Will be joining him, though nobody is sure whether he will sign straight up with him or if there will be a sign and trade. They also seem to be making a push to get LeBron James to come so they can create their superteam. Nobody is sure what will happen in that regard:
Whether LeBron James, the kingpin of this summer’s celebrated free agent class, will join them remains to be seen. James will announce his decision Thursday night at 9 ET during a one-hour special on ESPN.
Wade and Bosh are expected to announce their decision on Wednesday, according to the source.
Both players are expected to get the maximum amount allowable under the league’s collective bargaining agreement, though the addition of James could change the players’ salaries. Contracts cannot be officially signed until July 8.
It was not immediately clear whether Bosh will sign with Miami outright or join the Heat through a sign-and-trade deal. Bosh could earn $125 million over six years via sign-and-trade, but only $96 million over five without it.
In my opinion James won’t be going to Miami (not enough basketballs to go around), but with Bosh signing to Miami that really limits what the Nets might be able to do. I have been saying for a little while now, even if the Nets don’t get anyone in free agency, they are still looking at a very good young core that can compete for a playoff spot right now (in my opinion) and they will only be getting better. No reason to force a move like the rumored Harris for Granger deal.
Also, TNT’s David Aldridge is reporting that Kevin Pritchard will be interviewing for the vacant GM job. This is big news because it is obvious Pritchard is the best man for the job right now. Pritchard knows how to build a team, and with the Nets right where they are, I expect Pritchard to help them get through the final stage of the rebuilding process.
In their second game of five at the Orlando Summer League, the Nets were able to get themselves a win. Besides the fact that we don’t have to hear any losing streak jokes now, the win isn’t the most important part of the action. Just like yesterday, we are going to take a look at how each of the “big five” at the summer league did.
Terrence Williams
Terrence Williams had another big game, this time he showed a little bit more in terms of looking for his own shot. Williams scored 24 points on 8-18 shooting, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. What really impressed me about Terrence Williams game was his jump shot:
Remember last year it seemed like Terrence Williams’ jumpers were just floaters from really far away? Well, that isn’t what they look like now. On just about every shot Williams took last night, Williams was on balance taking off and landing in the same place.
This is your open thread everyone. An interesting thing to look at is to see how the Nets defend Lance Stephenson. Stephenson was a 2nd round pick for the Pacers, and they seem content trotting him out there at point guard even though he is a true shooting guard. He looked comfortable against a 5’10″ Randle, but today he will be going up against a 6’3″ Uzoh or even Terrence Williams.
If Uzoh is able to defend Stephenson, he might earn himself a spot on this team…
ESPN’s Chris Broussard obtained some notes from Mikhail Prokhorov’s conversations with his top executives from this past weekend. Some things Prokhorov notably said is he believes Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh will join forces in Miami and if LeBron James were to join them, he would win a few championships but diminish his own brand. He believes Cleveland’s hometown edge is going to be tough to overcome but if the Nets do land James, they would sign Carlos Boozer or David Lee to be his PF caddy. If the Nets don’t land James, they’re going to play it smart, make some “meaningful trades” and keep cap space for next summer.
The Nets ended up losing to the Sixers in their first summer league game yesterday. It was a pretty intense and competitive game, and despite the loss I think the Nets players fared very well individually (and in my opinion, that is the most important aspect of summer league games). Let’s breakdown some of the key individual performances:
Terrence Williams:
I don’t usually like to quote myself (that’s a lie), but here is what I wrote before the game yesterday:
Honestly though, I am excited to see Terrence Williams play. Most guys who have NBA experience tend to do much better in Summer League games because they are used to NBA-speed. If Williams has a good game, we don’t want to make too much of it, but if he struggles, it might be a little bit worrying.
Well, Terrence Williams had a fantastic game. You might remember the way CDR and Marreese Speights just jacked up a ton of shots last year, well T-Will was determined to dominate the game a different way, with his passing. T-Will had plenty of opportunities to attack the rim and get a shot, but he was under control trying to find teammates. Williams had 7 assists yesterday, and it could have been in the 15-20 range if the guys he was passing to were knocking down shots. He also showed some pretty good body control on his drives:
Last year, that is a charge. Here is another one of Williams’ passes:
Avery Johnson and Sam Mitchell seem ready to watch some Nets’ Summer League Basketball. NBATV has been hyping up this game all day, and if you have NBATV or Summer League Broadband, you are going to be able to see Derrick Favors matched up against Evan Turner. Honestly though, I am excited to see Terrence Williams play. Most guys who have NBA experience tend to do much better in Summer League games because they are used to NBA-speed. If Williams has a good game, we don’t want to make too much of it, but if he struggles, it might be a little bit worrying.
The third quarter of game 3 is finishing up as I type this. So we are probably about 20-30 minutes away from tipoff. Use this as your open thread, but I am going to have to ask that you guys don’t post links to illegal streams. It just makes more work for me because I have to delete them.
Lost in all of the free agency craziness is the fact that the Orlando Summer League starts today, and the Nets are one of the eight teams participating. The Nets are ready, as they made final cuts yesterday to get the roster down to 11 players. The Nets have three guys who are guaranteed to be on their opening day roster (barring any trades). Derrick Favors, Damion James, and Terrence Williams all will be starting, with Williams playing shooting guard (my guess is that the Nets want to start him at SG, while bringing Courtney Lee off the bench). Rounding out the starting lineup are the two players with make-good contracts (guaranteeing that they will be in camp, with a chance to make the final roster), Ben Uzoh and Brian Zoubek. Ben Couch has the rest of the roster on the Nets summer league homepage.
I am really exciting about watching summer league, especially after last year’s fiasco. Unfortunately, they won’t be streaming the games free this year, but you can watch them online (if you don’t have NBATV) by ordering the Summer League Broadband package from NBA.com.
The Nets game vs. Evan Turner and the Sixers starts today at 7, and their schedule the rest of the way looks like this:
For a change of pace, let’s start with the vacant GM spot and some interesting candidates the Nets have been speaking with. Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski says the Nets have spoken to Hornets GM Jeff Bower about their opening. With the Hornets ownership situation in flux, Bower could look to bolt NOLA. Al Iannazzone is reporting that the Nets also spoke to Pistons GM Joe Dumars, in addition to Bower.
With Bower one of the candidates, Dave D’Alessandro brings up some potential controversy with him and new coach Avery Johnson. Johnson felt a bit slandered when there were reports out of NOLA that Johnson was “power hungry” and “money hungry” in his interview with Bower – reports that Johnson believes the organization spread. Considering the bass-ackwards nature of what’s going with the Nets right now – usually the GM is in place before the head coach is, this could get interesting, and messy, quickly.
