The annual GM breakfast with the beat writers was yesterday, and new GM Billy King discussed the state of the team, some competition at the SG and the Nets promising young rookie, Derrick Favors:
“In talking to the coaches, they said from Summer League to now, the progression has been incredible. He’s hitting the jump shot, dunking on people, finishing. I think the summer and all the work is starting to pay off and starting to click with him. I think the fact that you’re bringing in Troy made him realize there’s another guy. Competition makes guys focus more.”
I still hope they take it slow with Favors, because they can now that Murphy is in the fold. He needs to get playing time, but unless he really makes a dramatic leap this season, there’s no reason for him to be inserted in to the starting lineup anytime soon.
Back when they first released the Nets schedule for the upcoming season, Sebastian did a fine job breaking down how he thought the team would fare in their first 20 games. But wait a second, there’s 62 games left on the schedule? How are the Nets going to do? Well, I’m going to unscientifically break down the next 20 and my colleagues here at NAS will take a crack at the remaining 42 in the near future (so stay tuned).
Anyway, Sebastian had the Nets at a solid 9-11 after their first 20. That takes us to:
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Ben Couch has been doing good work in the off-season profiling some of the Nets newest coaches and acquisitions. Most recently, he spoke with Jordan Farmar, the assumed backup PG. Farmar talks about his background in Los Angeles, his family and his thoughts on moving to the East Coast.
They just talk about the weather. But I’m here (in the gym) all the time, and it’s always the same temperature. (Laughs.) I’ll figure it out. I’m not too worried about it. My friends and family back home understand that I’ve got to do what I have to do. This is a short career, and in the scheme of things, if it’s 15 years, it’s still 15 years out of a 70-year life – hopefully more, but we’ll see, ha. It’s still a short period. You sacrifice this to set your family up for life, hopefully. I worked really hard to get to this stage, and this is a great opportunity for me, so everybody is really supportive and cool with it.
Day in and day out, we here at NetsAreScorching try to provide content that you guys want to read, however, we don’t know what exactly you want to hear about, and some things may fall through the cracks. This is what the mailbag is for. Every Monday we are going to be answering questions from you the reader, don’t be afraid to e-mail your questions to mailbag@netsarescorching.com.
Well, you folks truly outdid yourself this week – we got a lot of really great questions for the mailbag. You guys always bring up great topics to discuss. Thanks again, and remember to keep sending them in for next week!
Marcin
With Kevin Durant emerging as a superstar last year, in his 3rd season, do you see Brook Lopez having the same leap? Maybe not becoming a superstar but putting up all-star numbers? Thanks
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Adam Spunberg of the YES Network talks about five games this season that could go a long way in determining the Nets destiny, including opening night against the Pistons, Halloween against the Heat, two games against the Knicks, and Dallas’ one visit to New Jersey in January.
This is fun stuff, and Spunberg seems to have a positive outlook of the Nets, even going so far as thinking the April 8 game against the Knicks could have playoff implications for both teams.
Carmelo Anthony made an appearance at the U.S. Open yesterday but rebuffed reporters who were asking him about his status with his current team, the Denver Nuggets.
“My mind-set is just to enjoy fashion week, enjoy this U.S. Open and that’s it. I’m not really thinking about basketball right now.”
Stefan Bondy of the Daily News writes that if Melo makes it to free agency this year, he will likely favor the Knicks, though as many of us have surmised, the Knicks don’t have the goods to pull off a trade. And if Denver is going to continue to ask for team’s first born for Melo, I don’t see a trade going down any time soon.
With the recent release of Sean May due to an injury, it looks like the Nets are still seeking a veteran PF for the bench and may be turning to Joe Smith, according to Yahoo’s Marc Spears via Twitter.
Vet free agent big man Joe Smith is expected to take a physical with New Jersey Nets on Friday & sign a contract, a source tells Y! Sports.
Smith has been one of the more solid backup big men in the league for years though he looked like he was finally showing his age the last two season. We’ll see how the Nets plan to use him, though I’m guessing it’s to give Derrick Favors another veteran buddy to practice with.
With four of the starting positions seemingly locked down, the only real point of roster contention seems to be at the shooting guard position between free agent signing Anthony Morrow and second-year Nets player Terrence Williams. Today, Dennis and Devin look at the case for both players.
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