Nets Are Scorching

While the lockout will clearly have a negative impact on established players, draft picks, and fans (not to mention bloggers), it could potentially be devastating for the undrafted. Every day that the lockout continues is one less day to run with a summer squad and get valuable teaching, and especially to impress NBA coaches and front offices.

For most undrafted hopefuls, this is just postponing the inevitable trip to the D-league, basketball abroad or a real job, as they face extremely long odds of ever making it to the League.  But every year there are a few who make it from draft day afterthought to NBA contributor, some even playing important roles on contending teams.

Wes Matthews’ “3-Goggles” are just one example of a valuable contribution from an undrafted player.

Last year saw the Nets get respectable contributions from two such players, Ben Uzoh and Sundiata Gaines (though Gaines was originally signed by the Jazz).  While this year would ideally see an improved team look more to veterans to fill out the roster, there are certainly some interesting prospects who could potentially help the Nets, be it in 2011-12 or beyond.  Here are four of those hopefuls, listed from big to small:

Terrence Jennings is almost certain not to make it as an NBA player. He left Louisville after a junior year in which he put up 9.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg, and 0.7 apg…all of which were career highs.  He’s not known for being a particularly hard worker, nor for having a great basketball IQ.  Drafting him would probably have been a mistake.  But for all that, Jennings is a freakishly athletic big man who averaged 1.9 bpg as a junior despite only getting 23.4 mpg of court time.  If the light comes on even a little bit, he could play a Chris Anderson role off the bench and serve as a nice complement to Brook Lopez in the frontcourt.

At the opposite end of the spectrum from Terrence Jennings is Matt Howard.  While Jennings left college early after not fulfilling his immense potential, Howard spent four extremely productive years at Butler despite not having overwhelming physical gifts.  Whether he is athletic enough to play at the next level remains to be seen, but if he can hack it physically Howard brings some interesting skills to the table.

I feel obligated to call him scrappy.

His all-out effort and hustle is reminiscent of a Carl Landry/Paul Millsap/Chuck Hayes type, but he also has shown the ability to stretch the floor, hitting 40% of his threes as a senior.  As with Jennings, he could fit in well alongside Lopez for stretches, albeit in an entirely different style.

One of the things that sticks out most about Howard’s college career is the success he experienced with his team, something that David Lighty shares.  A member of the same recruiting class as Greg Oden, Mike Conley, and Daequan Cook, Lighty is the all-time winningest player in tOSU history, and he played a large role in that success.  At 6’7”, Lighty showed extreme versatility, his role expanding beyond his natural wing position to primary ballhandler or post player as needed.  Marshon Brooks may settle in for a good long while as the Nets’ starting 2, but a defensive-minded backup who can shoot (43% on threes as a senior) would be a nice fit alongside him on the roster.

David Lighty guards Demetri McCamey. Not pictured: Michigan’s Darius Morris, who was drafted.

Another Big 10 guard with potential to strengthen the Nets’ bench is Demetri McCamey.  Stop me if you’ve heard this before: he’s a big, strong point man from Illinois who is a good passer and has legit range (45% on threes as a senior), though he’s had his weight called into question at times.  Okay, so he’s obviously not Deron Williams, but the connections are there for a mentorship to develop.  In an NBA where the smallest advantage can mean the difference between employment and un-, it seems like as good a reason as any to take a flyer on McCamey.

Most rookie free agents don’t make it, and I’m not foolish enough to think that I’ll have a success rate any higher than the average NBA GM’s.  But there are diamonds in the rough waiting to be found, and if given a chance, any of these players has the potential to not just make the Nets (or any other team) but ultimately to become a valuable contributor down the line.

Yup, we’ve lost all touch with reality. According to Travis Outlaw’s father John, Avery Johnson wants Travis to take 17 shots per game this season. This has made John confident in his son’s ability in turning back into the mediocre role player that he once was.

The “duh” moment of the day: his story makes absolutely no sense. Avery Johnson can have questionable judgement, but any individual with common sense would know that giving Outlaw 17 shots per game wouldn’t solve anything. Anywhere. For any reason.

Hopefully, Avery was just using hyperbole as a way to boost Outlaw’s oft-shaky confidence. If not, we could be in for a very painful 12-13 season.

WTAE.com reports this morning that former NBA/Nets player Armen Gilliam has passed away last night at the age of 47. According to the report, Gilliam suffered a heart attack while playing basketball at a fitness center in Collier Township and could not be recovered.

A 2nd overall pick with Phoenix, The Hammer played three seasons with the Nets from 1994-1996. In 1996, Gilliam averaged 18.3 point and 9.1 rebounds, career highs in both categories. He was also one of the first Nets I remember watching as a four-year old basketball fan, and his basketball card was one of the first I’d ever owned.

He’ll be missed.

You might have heard there’s an NBA lockout going on. And since the home page of NBA.com is currently celebrating the history of the game, Mark Ginocchio is going to be spend the next *insert length of lockout here* celebrating the history of the Nets. These weekly Nets Yearbook entries will take a look at some of the best and worst seasons since Mark started to follow the organization in November 1992.

Season: 1992-93
Final Record: 43-39 (3^rd in Atlantic Division)
Playoffs: Lost NBA Eastern Conference First Round (3-2) versus Cleveland Cavaliers
Offensive Rating: 106.5 (19^th of 27)
Defensive Rating: 105.2 (5^th of 27)

The 1992-93 season is one of great significance for me, in large part because it was the first full NBA season I ever watched from wire-to-wire. This was the season that turned me into a lifelong Nets fan, despite being a New York boy with the Knicks in my backyard. If I’m going to write an ongoing series reminiscing about the team I love above all other, I have to start here.

Despite the Knicks being one of the dominant teams in the Eastern Conference in 92-93, I still believe I chose wisely by siding with the Nets. I came to the team at a point of great promise and optimism. The organization was building around three bonafide star young players in Derrick Coleman, Kenny Anderson and the European import Drazen Petrovic. A year after surprising many and finishing with 40 wins and making the playoffs, the Net went out and hired future hall-of-fame coach Chuck Daly, who had earned his stripes leading the Detroit Bad Boys to championship glory.

Despite the 1-3 start, which included a loss to the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves, the Nets looked to be a team poised to make a deep playoff run. Even after losing Anderson, the team’s starting PG to a devastating wrist injury at the hands of the hated Knicks, the Nets stood at 40-27 on March 24, a full month left in the regular season, and 50-wins and a possible first-round home court-advantage within reach. But another injury, this time to Petrovic, who banged up his knee against the Washington Bullets on March 22, led to a 3-12 tailspin to end the season, moving the Nets into a first-round rematch with the Cavaliers, who despite never being able to get past Jordan and the Bulls, were loaded with talent themselves, with players such as perennial all-stars Brad Daugherty and Mark Price and solid supporting players in Craig Ehlo and Larry Nance.

The Nets pushed the Cavs to a five-game series in the first round, even splitting the first two in Cleveland. But with Anderson out, Petrovic hobbled, the games evolved into Derrick Coleman versus the world. And in a win-or-go-home game 5, these injuries, along with injuries and issues with some of the team’s other role players like Sam Bowie and Bernard King, forced the Nets into playing guys like Dwayne Schintzius and Rick Mahorn critical minutes against Cleveland’s imposing frontline. The Nets season ended with a 99-89 loss in Cleveland.

It would sadly be Petro’s last season in the NBA, as he’s killed in a car wreck that June. Rather than repeat all of my thoughts about how inspiring Petrovic was as a player for me, let me just link back to what I wrote last Fall.

Read more…

Nets are Scorching’s editor emeritus/video wizard/playbook master Sebastian Pruiti is still doing some work on the Nets around the internet. Today on Basketball Prospectus, Sebastian takes a look at Brook Lopez, and whether or not he’ll return to form next year.

Here’s a snippet:

If Avery Johnson can get Lopez to change his mentality and attack the rim more, especially when in the pick-and-roll, I can see his productivity picking up. We already mentioned that Lopez is very good when attacking the rim, scoring 125 points on 112 possessions where he rolled to the rim, but that will also draw more fouls and put himself in position to grab more offensive rebounds.

One thing Sebastian doesn’t mention in the article is that mononucleosis slowed down Brook immensely in the beginning of the year, and it’s arguably all season. With a full summer to recover his body, I’d hope that he can come in to training camp (whenever that is) stronger than ever.

Marshon Brooks: the newest Net.

Despite being a four-year senior in a power conference, Marshon Brooks is still a bit of an unknown. He played for small-time Providence College and didn’t develop into a serious NBA prospect until this past season. However, after averaging 24.6 points per game and a number of killer workouts in the draft process, Brooks went into the draft with a ton of buzz.

Some mocks had him as high as the late lottery, but few had Brooks falling to 25 – and when he did, the Nets pulled the trigger on a deal to pick him up. But who exactly did they trade for?

On Offense

Even for a senior at the college level, Brooks is a very advanced scorer, showing excellent footwork, a high, consistent release, and a variety of different scoring moves.

Read more…

It’s no secret that a goal of the Nets organization is the eventual acquisition of Magic center Dwight Howard. Sure enough, according to SLAM Online’s sources, the Nets have told Deron Williams’ new agent Jeff Schwartz that they will heavily pursue Howard.

Yeah, not exactly groundbreaking news on the surface. But think about it for a second. The Nets “heavily pursued” Carmelo Anthony and offered Devin Harris, Derrick Favors, Troy Murphy, Damion James, Anthony Morrow, and about a bajillion first-round picks. Generally when the Nets are “heavily pursuing” a player, this means “heavily overpay.” It’s tough to overpay for a great player like Dwight Howard, but hopefully this doesn’t mean something like Brook Lopez, Kris Humphries, MarShon Brooks, and four first round draft picks.

I would also be very scared of the Nets somehow gaining Gilbert Arenas in a Howard deal.

However, it seems like a deal for Howard would easily cement Deron staying in New Jersey. So, for now, I would hope that a deal for Howard is in the near future. Just please, no Gil.

Something was up with Travis Outlaw in the 10-11 season; we all know that much. Out of the woodwork comes his family, claiming that Outlaw was “stressed” due his new responsibilities as a well-paid player, as well as with his transition to a new team. The Nets have apparently asked Outlaw to do more this season and come into training camp with new ambition.

As a Nets fan, I hope that Outlaw manages to turn a new leaf and come into the next season (whenever that is) with poise and determination. It wouldn’t hurt if he brought some actual productivity to the table either. Like it or not, New Jersey is likely stuck with Outlaw for the next couple of seasons. Thus, I’m somewhat forced to cheer for him and hope that he can become a solid bench scorer. If anything, his family seems like a very nice group of people and make me believe that Outlaw is actually trying this offseason. Hopefully that provides some results.