Nets Are Scorching

Stats: 57 G, 52 GS, 9.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.0 apg, 0.4 bpg, 37.6 FG%, 77.5 FT%, 8.73 PER

Preseason Expectations: “I thought Outlaw was a solid pick-up for the Nets, though many fans out there still seem hung up on the contract he received ($35 million over 5 years). I think at the end of the day, the length is more of a liability than the actual amount he got (Bobby Simmons got about 1/3 of that just last year only to rot on the bench). However, he’s another import that should help the Nets in an area where they so horribly failed last year – shooting prowess that in turn provides more spacing around the interior for Brook Lopez, Devin Harris and Terrence Williams. Whether he’s doing that as a starter or eventually off the bench, remains to be seen.” I’ll add that I thought Outlaw would be the guy to provide consistent wing scoring for the Nets. I thought Anthony Morrow was going to be strictly a stand-still shooter, and this team would rely on Travis Outlaw for 12-15 points per game.

The Good: Despite playing well below expectations this season, Outlaw has had a few impressive games, mostly early in the season. He got off to a nice start for the Nets in November, averaging 11.5 points and shooting 43.5 percent from the field. Outlaw also had arguably his three best games in November, scoring 20-plus points against the Cavs, Magic and Clippers. The best part about Outlaw during those games was his efficiency. He did not shoot less than 50 percent in any of those three games, and was over 64.0 percent in two of the three. On Friday December 3rd, Outlaw scored 21 points in a 91-84 loss to the Bobcats and then went nearly two months before eclipsing the 20-point mark again. The best game he’s had in months was the now-famous “Melo comes to Jersey” game at the end of January, when the swingman had 21 points on 8 of 14 shooting.

The Bad: Where should I begin? In all seriousness though, the fact that Travis Outlaw is shooting less than 38.0 percent from the field is downright embarrassing. Everyone is going to point to the contract and talk about how disappointing Outlaw has been this season. But put aside the $7 million a year for 5 years, and he’s still having a terrible season. This is the first time that he has been placed into a consistent starting role in his career, and he’s clearly not doing well with it. He’s averaging just 9.5 points per game this season, and from November through February, his monthly average has consistently decreased. For a player that was expected to be one of the Nets better shooters, just 31.2 percent from three-point range is almost hard to believe.

The Extra: Inconsistency has been Outlaw’s bugaboo this season. Early on he was solid and showed the ability to fill up the box score, and most importantly gave the Nets an outside threat. But he has trailed off since then and has really struggled to shoot the ball. Before the season I wrote about how Travis Outlaw could be a player the Nets could look to in the final seconds with the game on the line. Well in order to make a big shot, you have to be on the court first. More times than not over the past few months, the Nets have gone to a smaller lineup, essentially playing three guards, and Outlaw has been stuck on the bench in crunch time.

Final Grade: There is no denying how poorly Travis Outlaw has played this season. It’s one thing to have a starting small forward in the NBA not even average 10 points a game, but to be shooting 37.6 percent is just pathetic. He has not even played close to the contract the Nets gave him and he will need to find his “November” game in order to start getting back into the good graces of Nets fans. Up until now, the Travis Outlaw experiment has been a total failure. Grade: F+.

Hey, the Nets still have a team.

Jordan Farmar

Stats: 49 G, 5 GS, 9.4 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 4.4 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0 BPG, .385 FG%, .365 3P%, .789 FT%, 13.0 PER

Preseason expectations: “Should Devin Harris be traded for that Carmelo Anthony guy, Farmar will obviously be a downgrade as he isn’t starter material. And if he is, he’s a low-grade starter. He’s definitely a good fill-in type of player when Harris makes his annual visit to injury-land, but a full-time starter? Nets fans would need to hope that the Lakers’ triangle offense was holding back the next Isiah Thomas.”

The Good: As a backup point guard, Jordan Farmar has filled his role pretty admirably. For a team that dealt with a revolving door of backups last year, Farmar has provided stability in the second string, even stepping in and starting while Devin Harris nursed injuries. Farmar has played a consistent 20-25 minutes a game and exudes ultimate confidence, unafraid of taking any good shot on the floor. He’s shooting 37% from beyond the arc so far this year and has doled out more assists than I expected.

The Bad: Farmar’s biggest strength sometimes is that he thinks he’s Allen Iverson. However, more often than not, it’s his biggest weakness. Farmar tries to create a lot of angles when going towards the basket, but just ends up barreling into bigger & stronger defenders without much leeway. He’s shooting a below-average mark at the rim & within 10 feet, and is also awful shooting from 16-23 (only 26%). Also, while Farmar does rack up a fair share of assists, he has a lot of trouble passing into the post and out of the pick & roll – once he sees a lane, he’s rocketing towards the basket in an attempt to score. Unfortunately, he’s usually failing.

The Extra: Farmar’s name has been interestingly kept out of most trade talks. While every player but Brook Lopez is said to be available, Farmar was never a part of any of the Carmelo Anthony deals. Presumably, this is because the Nets were dealing Devin Harris and realized they’d still need a point guard. That being said, I still agree with Dennis’s original assessment: Farmar is not a starting-caliber point guard in the NBA.

Final Grade: Farmar was asked to fill a sixth man role, and he has in effect done that – the second unit, for the most part, is better off with him. He’s certainly got issues shooting around the basket, but his long-range marksmanship and confidence with the ball keep him from having too low a grade. I’d like to see him play more efficiently in the pick & roll and learn how to set up big men in the post, though. This team needs a pass-first mentality off the bench, and Farmar’s the closest thing they’ve got to getting it. Grade: C+

Stats: 17 G, 1 GS, 3.1 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 0.6 APG, 0.4 BPG, 35.0 FG%, 61.1 FT%, 6.79 PER

Preseason Expectations: James came into the season after a pretty solid summer league. That being said, even though he was came to the NBA after four years and possessed a polished game, he was still a rookie and therefore expectations were tempered. James did seem to have the type of game of an old school NBA wing, able to provide shooting, defense and some athleticism.

The Good: James was just beginning to get into some sort of a comfort level with the NBA game. He played 19 minutes and scored 10 points and six rebounds in a game against the Hawks on 12/7. If given minutes James showed he could rebound his position and score while being able to guard more physical wings.

The Bad: His lack of range didn’t hurt too bad in the college game, as he was able to bully smaller opponents. In the NBA he may need to extend his range just a little to become more effective.

The Extra: Damion James didn’t miss a game during his four year NCAA career, but he has now missed the Nets last 33 games.

Final Grade: James seemed to be on a path of becoming a player who could help the Nets, but with just a limited sample he’s going to earn an incomplete for the first half. Final Grade: Incomplete

Mikhail Prokhorov and Jay-Z got their audience with Carmelo Anthony last night and at the end of the day, the common consensus is still that the Denver star prefers the New York Knicks. But the Nuggets prefer the Nets package of young talent, expiring and four draft picks.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski, this could be a game of chicken between Denver and ‘Melo that goes all the way up until Thursday’s trade deadline:

Nevertheless, the Nets’ best hope remains that Denver refuses to do a deal with New York, gets to the trade deadline on Thursday and simply tells Anthony: If you want your $65 million extension, you can only get it with the Nets. If not, we will keep you and let you go to free agency.

“Denver still wants the Nets deal, not New York’s,” a league executive told Yahoo! Sports on Saturday night.

Ultimately, this may still come to a bluff between the Nuggets and Anthony. Are the Nuggets willing to lose him for nothing and let him go into free agency? Is Anthony willing to finish the year with Denver and go into the uncertainty of free agency and a new collective-bargaining agreement that could cost him tens of millions of dollars on a max contract?

It’s a sad statement on the Nets organization that their only “hope” of becoming relevant is if the player in question is essentially dared into coming here. We get it. Anthony does not want to be a Net. Not before, not now. Does that mean the trade won’t happen? I don’t know, but I had infinite more respect in Mikhail Prokhorov when he wasn’t going to beg – and he’s seemingly begging again, which is pathetic.

With reports that Knicks owner James Dolan is now spearheading negotiations for Carmelo Anthony, it seems like the Knickerbockers are increasing their offer to Denver to counter the Nets standing (and seemingly agreed upon deal) of Derrick Favors, Devin Harris, Ben Uzoh, Troy Murphy and four first round draft picks.

However, there’s a feeling from some that with Mikhail Prokhorov now in Los Angeles, and the Nuggets still preferring the Nets offer to the Knicks, that Anthony will follow the dollar bills to Newark. Chris Mannix writes:

Will it happen? Probably. Prokhorov didn’t fly thousands of miles to watch Favors compete in the Rookie-Sophomore Challenge. At some point, in the midst of all the madness, the two men will find a quiet room to have a conversation, and the real bargaining can begin. Despite what has become an obvious desire to play for the Knicks, several rival executives have told SI.com they believe Anthony will ultimately agree to sign a long-term extension with the Nets for the simple reason that, as one executive said, “Anthony is all about the money.”

After watching this blow up on the Nets twice before, I still can’t shake the feeling that this is all about Denver using the Nets for leverage in their talks with the Knicks. If Anthony senses he’s close to going to his preferred destination, unless Denver tells him explicitly the Knicks deal is off the table, why would he consider coming to the Nets. That’s not even considering how the Nets, as Mannix writes, are pulling a Ricky Williams type deal here for the guy. The Nets are never getting any further than the first or maybe second round of the playoffs with a team built around ‘Melo, and so much can change with the CBA you can’t bank on the Nets being able to attract a Chris Paul or Deron Williams in 2012. I still don’t get why 42 wins a 6th seed in 2011-12 (if there is a 2011-12), essentially what the Knicks are headed towards now with Amare, is such a desired destination for some Nets fans and for the front office.

Stats: 56 G, 23 GS, 6.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 0.4 apg, 0.7 bpg, 51.1 FG%, 61.2 FT%, 13.09 PER

Preseason Expectations: It depends. Favors as the third overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft represented hope for the Nets. However, would that hope come to fruition sooner or later? There was a muted sort of expectation for Favors as he was the youngest player in the NBA (he doesn’t turn 20-years-old until July), but because of his physical ability on the court and the ubiquitous impatience of sports fandom, many wanted him to succeed quickly. However, after being at the 2010 draft and watching his mannerisms at Favors’ press conference, I knew things were going to be slow to develop for him. For those of you in the NAS Live Chat that night, I kept harping on how it’s going to take a while for him to get used to playing in the metro New York area. And if anything came to fruition, it was my prediction.

The Good: There is a tangible upside with Favors because of his youth, athleticism, and work ethic. It’s the last part that strikes me about him because while setting picks seems to be the regular for Favors, when he’s not doing that, he’s working hard down in the box establishing post position, but never getting an entry pass, which makes this more impressive. He’s always in the middle of any fights for rebounds, and he has a motor getting up and down the court. Favors is willing to get things done and has the desire to work, which is a big part of succeeding in the NBA.

The Bad: He still has a learning curve and it’s going to be some time for him to pick up little nuances of the game. He seems to have little mental lapses at times – reacting to grabbing a catchable deflection, not keeping his head up for a potential pass as he just instantly tries to get position to grab a rebound thinking a shot is going up, quick inbound passes when defenders are close to the receiver and can pick the ball off, etc. Oh, and getting in foul trouble. A lot. These are all correctable things and can be learned with experience, but because of those flashes of brilliance and seeing how hard he’s working, it’s easy to root hard for Favors to “get it” right away. It’s disappointing when he isn’t.

The Extra: As scouts say, Favors has “upside.” An almost insane amount of it. In fact, so much so that he’s already been compared favorably to Kevin Garnett and Dwight Howard during their rookie seasons. The difference is that they kept themselves in the game to produce while Favors is limiting himself with foul trouble, valid calls or not. While the aforementioned comparisons are great, I think a better comparison would be a young Antonio McDyess during his Denver Nuggets days (please don’t let this be a foreshadowing), who could score, rebound, and block shots, possessing top-notch athleticism and physical tools. But, comparisons don’t mean anything here because Favors has only played 56 games.  He just needs to keep on playing, make his mistakes, and hopefully learn from them. However, he does seems to have enough mental fortitude having dealt (and continuing to deal) with the prospect of being traded since the beginning of his NBA career, so it’s very possible Favors will learn and get better.

Final Grade: I personally didn’t expect too much from Favors except to be a motor/dunk/defense guy and he’s basically done that. He needs to improve on the little things and stay out of foul trouble and it would be nice to work on some post moves, but the circumstances aren’t there for him at the moment. Grade: C+

Update: Carmelo Anthony says a meeting with Mikhail Prokhorov is “news to me” and “I really don’t know what I would say” to him.

Come on guys… just forget this clown and move on. This is the most embarrassed I have ever been for a team I followed.

Original Post: Al Iannazzone and Fred Kerber are both reporting that the Nets and Nuggets have agreed to a trade sending Devin Harris, Derrick Favors, Troy Murphy, Ben Uzoh and four first round picks to Denver in exchange for Chauncy Billups, Sheldon Williams, Melvin Ely, Renaldo Balkman and of course The Beaver Carmelo Anthony. Now, the onus is on Anthony to extend.

Of course, the Star-Ledger’s Colin Stephenson disputes the deal in Twitter format and Tommy Dee from TheKnicksBlog, which is a must read for those who want to see just how entitled the fanbase is about this whole “Melo will be a Knick” argument believe he will not extend.

So if Al and Kerber are correct, this is what you call a moment of reckoning here. No more backing away from the table. If Anthony is not a Net by next week, it’s because he won’t extend here – period. It will be a colossal PR nightmare for this organization and they will be unable to save face. I hope they’re ready to face this.

Stats: 42 G, 24 GS, 3.5 ppg, 2.4 rpg, .5 apg, .1 bpg, 40 FG%, 81 FT%, 4.18 PER

Preseason expectations: “Graham was a late addition to the Nets roster. I thought very little of the signing when it was announced, but he apparently has played himself into Avery Johnson’s rotation, or at least ahead of the younger Damion James. As I alluded to earlier, Graham could be useful in the Trenton Hassell role, though if he ends up getting major minutes this season, there are bigger problems with the health of the roster.”

The Good: Well, Graham was a live body who was able to step into a larger role after Anthony Morrow and Damion James were shelved with injuries. His highlight of the season was a surprisingly efficient performance against the Atlanta Hawks on December 18, when he scored 10 points, grabbed 7 boards and lived up to his “defensive stopper” moniker, holding Joe Johnson to 4-14 shooting. A few nights later, he had another solid game in a road victory against Memphis, scoring 9 points on 4-7 shooting and as Devin noted in his recap “his hustle on defense was huge.” And for those who care about preseason performance, he drilled a buzzer-beating three-pointer against the 76ers to win a game.

The Bad: Well, there’s a lot of bad unfortunately, so I might have to keep this general, though there’s one Graham moment specifically that will live in infamy for the season. During the second OT of a December 1 game against the OKC Thunder, the Nets were up three with 5 seconds to play and Graham fouled Jeff Green on a three-point attempt, allowing the Thunder to tie the game and eventually win in triple OT. Graham was subbed in solely for defense by Avery Johnson and failed so miserably, that I don’t think a lot of Nets fans were able to forgive him. Overall, its inexplicable for a guy with a PER less than 5.0 to be getting more than 20 starts in a season and Graham has also not lived up to his “defensive stopper” title over the long-haul of the season. He’s one of those magical players were the both the offense and defensive are more efficient when he’s off the court.

The Extra: Graham was one of the additional live bodies rumored to be going to Denver in the now-defunct Nuggets-Pistons-Nets three-way that would have landed Carmelo Anthony in Newark. Rumor has it that the Nuggets did not specifically request Graham. However, since Anthony Morrow regained his starting spot in early February, Graham’s playing time has thankfully evaporated. Since February 1, he’s only appeared in 4 of the team’s 8 games, and hasn’t logged more than 8 minutes in any of those contests.

Final Grade: We’ve come a long way from Graham’s clutch preseason shooting. It seems that Avery Johnson is finally seeing the light on one of his “gamers” and with Damion James expected to be back after All-Star break, I’m going to guess we see even less of Stephen Graham in the final two months of the season. Grade: D