Nets Are Scorching

We asked you guys what you wanted to know. Here’s our responses to the top three questions:

1) Rookies Brooks, Williams: important rotation players this year?

• (Asked by @Josh_Burton1)

Justin DeFeo: I think Marshon Brooks will have a solid place in our rotation. His scoring should translate to the NBA and his ability to stretch defenses with his shooting should be valuable. Jordan Williams I don’t anticipate having a huge role in our rotation. I see him being used mostly in situations to guard post players if needed.

Devin Kharpertian: Unless the Nets massively upgrade at the wings, Marshon will definitely have a big role off the bench right away. He’s an excellent spot-up shooter and can score in a variety of ways. I don’t think Jordan’s going to do much; he’s an upgrade over Petro as Brook’s backup, but now I don’t see him as much more than a rich man’s Josh Boone.

Dennis Velasco: It depends on who the Nets get in free agency. If the Jamal Crawford rumors are true, Brooks will have a lesser role with Anthony Morrow and Damion James in the mix at the wing. If the Nets get Tyson Chandler or Nene, Williams probably won’t play much either. Of the two, I see Brooks, a better talent and with more upside, making some noise in the rotation. Maybe I’m just buying into his enthusiasm for ball, but it’s infectious. I can’t see him failing.

2) Who is your favorite FA, except Dwight Howard?

• (Asked by @kimssau)

Justin DeFeo: After Dwight Howard no one overly excites me in this class. I suppose Nene is the next best “franchise” type of player and he would produce, but he could command maximum money from somewhere else and I don’t think he’s worth that.

Devin Kharpertian: In a vacuum, Arron Afflalo, but he’ll command too high a price. Realistically, Andrei Kirilenko is appealing if he’ll sign a short-term deal. If the Nets can’t swing Dwight in 2012, Gerald Wallace is a decent option, but if they’re swinging for the fences Howard’s the only A-lister the Nets have a shot at.

Dennis Velasco: Honestly, no one. I’d rather save the money for next summer, but I understand the Nets need to do something to meet the minimum amount of the salary cap. I like Devin’s idea to NOT amnesty Outlaw just yet so that his salary counts and the Nets sign shorter-term deals. However, D-Will probably won’t be happy about that, so push comes to shove, sign Nene. I like his versatility at the 4 and 5 spots and he can do more things offensively than, say, a Tyson Chandler.

3) Does 2011-12 success matter, or is it all about Dwight?

• (Asked by @David_Salman)

Justin DeFeo: Ultimately, aside from a championship, whatever happens this season would be trumped if we were to get Dwight. However, I feel the two are connected. Success this season improves our chances of keeping Deron Williams, and that in turn increases our chance of getting Dwight. Don’t get me wrong, it is all about Dwight, but it’s going to take success to get there first.

Devin Kharpertian: It matters. If the Nets tank this season, they’ll look much less attractive as a destination for any free agents. Not to mention any superstars already under contract with early termination options. They don’t have to make the playoffs — that’s still so far away, considering how much roster is left to sign — but don’t drink the tanking Kool-Aid.

Dennis Velasco: Only insomuch that it has to be successful enough to keep Deron Williams interested in signing an extension. Plus, it’d be nice to go into Brooklyn with some hope for the future. I think a .500 record would do wonders for both of the aforementioned.

The New Jersey Nets are prepared to offer a trade package featuring Brook Lopez and two future first-round picks to acquire Dwight Howard before the Orlando Magic center becomes a free agent in July 2012, according to sources close to the situation.

Sources told ESPN.com this week that, to sweeten the proposal, New Jersey would likewise offer to take back the contract of Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu, who has three seasons left on his contract worth just under $35 million. Absorbing Turkoglu’s remaining salary would become financially feasible for the Nets after the expected release of swingman Travis Outlaw through the amnesty clause that will be included in the NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement and by including another smaller contract or two in the deal.

Sources: Nets prep Dwight Howard offer – via ESPN

And off we go, into the vast, misty, quasi-magical land of NBA transaction rumors. Once you step in, there’s no getting out.

I’m not sure if it’s commonplace to retire a guy’s number after less than a dozen games, but given his fifty-point outburst a few weeks ago (and the fact that he’s probably the best player in Besiktas history, regardless), it comes as no surprise.

Now: Come HOME!

The Nuggets are operating under the firm belief that Nene will test the market as an unrestricted free agent, according to a person familiar with the team’s thinking. Six teams have registered interest, the source said: Golden State, New Jersey, Indiana, Miami, Dallas and Houston.

Nene, the top unrestricted free agent on the market in the view of many team executives, will have a say over where he winds up — though not as much as free agents did under the previous system since free agents can no longer get max deals when leaving their teams via sign-and-trades.

Nene wants out; six teams in hunt — via Ken Berger

Nene is the best free agent in this class, though I’m not sure how well he’d fit next to Brook Lopez. Nene’s a better defensive player, but not by much; and at 29 years old, a contract longer than three years may prove too expensive. Also, any contract signed in the range Nene is expecting would make signing an additional max contract in next year’s free agency impossible.

Speaking of which, Berger also gives me a minor heart attack here:

UPDATE: The Nets would have room sign Nene to a max deal starting at 30 percent of the cap — $17.4 million — if they used amnesty on Travis Outlaw.

NO. NO. KILL THIS IDEA. KILL IT WITH FIRE. Also, kill it by not amnestying Travis Outlaw until next season. But mostly fire.

Chris Trotman/Getty Images

One of the most important provisions included in this new CBA is the amnesty clause, a one-time mulligan that teams can use at any point in the CBA to remove one contract (signed under the old CBA) for cap and luxury tax purposes. For the Nets, this came as welcome news — with an egregious $35 million mistake on their roster, the provision allows them to remove Travis Outlaw from their cap, never to be seen again. They’d still have to pay his salary, but it’d come off the books when it came to roster spots.

However, even though it seemingly makes sense for the Nets to get the albatross (or alba-Travis! WHAT WHAT!) off their books, it may actually make sense to wait on exercising the clause, keeping Outlaw around for one more year.

Here’s what I mean. Read more…

Doomsday is over… the season will start Christmas Day, and the Nets are sure to endure a back-to-back-to-back soon after. But with just 66 games left in New Jersey — ever — we pondered a bit about what difference that makes to the Nets.
 
 
1) Shortened season: Good or bad for the Nets?

Justin DeFeo: Bad. A short training camp and a larger game load in a shorter amount of time will benefit teams that have had their core together for longer, and also teams that have good depth to withstand injuries and fatigue. The Nets’ best player has only played 12 games with the rest of the crew, and the team doesn’t have a considerable amount of depth.

Sandy Dover: I don’t think it matters a great deal because of the lack of prodigious talent on the roster, but for the sake of argument, I’ll say bad. There was some momentum and minor chemistry developing when Deron Williams finally got settled in New Jersey, but then he had his wrist problems, and the rotation got funny. Having a proper training camp and offseason to train together and settle the roster would significantly benefit the Nets.

Mark Ginocchio: I say bad. I still have visions of 1999 dancing in my head, when the Nets looked great on paper but got off to an awful start and never had the time to get things going in the right direction. I imagine there’s going to be a lot of new faces on this roster and if they don’t gel, D-Will may be a goner.
 
 
2) What Net benefits most from the shortened season?

Justin DeFeo: Deron Williams, for the simple fact that Williams should be in relative “game-shape” and used to the rigors that he’s going to face in the shortened season. With his wrist seemingly healthy, Deron is primed to have a strong season amid distractions regarding his future in the league.

Sandy Dover: Brook Lopez, whose focus has been iffy on the court, would benefit from a shortened season. He needs to be engaged more, and less games means more urgency for him. Deron Williams also benefits; as a star, he expends the most energy and having a fresher game-changer means that he can change more games more often.

Mark Ginocchio: Brook Lopez. He got stronger as the season went on last year so I would imagine now that mono is fully in the rear view mirror that he’ll put together an even better season in only 66 games.
 
 
3) 66 games coming… Do the Nets win 33?

Justin DeFeo I’ll say push; the Nets finish the season 33-33 for a .500 record. All things considered, I would dub that season a success for the Nets, especially in a shortened season where any type of extended winning (or losing) streak could dramatically effect a team’s playoff standing and/or record.

Sandy Dover: The Nets will win 30 games. That’s it, I think, barring some more positive shake-ups. They have good potential and they’re capable of a nice run, but I do have my doubts. It’s possible that they win 35 games, but I don’t see that happening. 30 games will be good for their confidence, percentage-wise, if they can reach that.

Mark Ginocchio: I think .500 is totally feasible and realistic, provided the team invests in some quality frontcourt players during free agency. But will .500 convince Deron to stay?

One important note: Farmar, a former Nets player representative to the union, says that the talks were being kept “secretive back home.” The union came under fire for not communicating well with players multiple times during the lockout.

Either way, welcome back home to your backup role and ten minutes per game.

Sam Amick of SI.com was able to secure a copy of the tentative NBA agreement, which lists the 17 general points that the owners and players have agreed to use as a framework for the remainder of a deal. You can read the entire document here.

From that agreement, here are a few key points, and how they affect the Nets going forward:

The money: The cap will remain at least $58 million for the next two seasons under the new CBA. The cap may shrink in 2013-14, but that largely depends on projections for BRI that year.

Net gain: Since the Nets are going all-in for the summer of 2012, they’ll have to structure their cap space to ensure they’ve got enough for an additional max contract in addition to Deron Williams. They’ve already got a good head start on that, since outside of D-Will they’ve only got short, inexpensive contracts. A guaranteed cap at $58 million all but guarantees that the Nets will have that space.

The floor: The salary “floor” (i.e. the minimum salary each team must hit year to year) is raised from 75% in the previous CBA to 85% in 2011-12 and 2012-13, then 90% thereafter.

Net gain: The floor is one of the main reasons the Nets signed Travis Outlaw, Jordan Farmar, Anthony Morrow, and Johan Petro to a combined $18 million per year — you have to spend the money, even if the players aren’t the ones you systematically destroyed your franchise for.

As mentioned yesterday, this requires the Nets to spend at least $15 million this season in free agency, and maintain that figure into 2012-13. Even if the cap declines in 2013, the floor’s increase ensures that the minimum salary likely won’t dip under $49 million.

The contracts: The maximum contract length is shortened to five years, four for free agents, four for rookie contract extensions (with one exception that doesn’t affect the Nets), and three for sign-and-trades. Annual raises are 7.5% for Bird players, and 4.5% for non-Bird players (If you’re not sure what Bird rights are, Larry Coon’s CBA FAQ can help you out). Maximum salaries are set at 30% of the cap (or $17.4 million in the next two years), and cannot be used in sign-and-trades.

Net gain: The good news? The Nets can offer one year and $27 million more to Deron Williams than anyone else. The bad news? The Magic can offer Dwight Howard one year and $27 million more than anyone else. And Florida has no income tax. Hope Brooklyn is as big as we think.

Amnesty: “Each team permitted to waive 1 player prior to any season of the CBA (only for contracts in place at the inception of the CBA) and have 100% of the player’s salary removed from team salary for Cap and Tax purposes.”

Net gain: Guess.