Nets on the Net: 9/15/09 Edition
Sep 15, 2009 Ben Couch, Brooklyn, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Devin Harris, Nets on the Net, Terrence Williams, Tony Battie
Rory from Slippery When Nets talks bobbleheads. I was nearly blinded by a sea of white when it came time for the photo of the Keith Van Horn figure, and the headless Stephon Marbury bobblehead should be marketed to Knicks fans.
Liked those renderings of the new Barclays arena? Well, expect them to change a few more times, according to the Brooklyn Paper. The architecture team behind the Atlantic Yards designs gave a presentation to the public Monday night in Brooklyn, and presenters said the current rendering would likely be redrafted to make room for the development’s towers.
The Hoop Doctors have their preseason Rookie of the Year rankings up with Terrence Williams ranked #4. The report says “Williams has a chance to come in and produce right away.”
John Hollinger and Ric Bucher have a report up on the Nets for ESPN Insider members. The report says expect Chris Douglas-Roberts to play more of a role as a sixth man scoring option while Devin Harris’ player efficiency rating (PER) will likely trend down from last year as more defenses target him after the departure of Vince Carter.
A familiar theme for preseason predictions, the Orland Sentinel praises the young talent of the Nets but still pegs them to finish 29th overall in the league.
It’s been 12 years since Tony Battie majored in communications at Texas Tech, but now thanks to an NBA Players Association program, the newly acquired F/C is refining his skills, according to Ben Couch.
Ben Couch’s Sitdown With Brett Yormark
Aug 19, 2009 Ben Couch, Brett Yormark
The Nets ownership and their decisions have been much discussed recently, and that makes now the perfect time for Ben Couch to sit down with Nets CEO Brett Yormark. There is a lot of good stuff in the interview (which can be found here), but I wanted to show one of Yormark’s answer:
NJNets.com: How have you reasoned with fans concerned about the direction of the team following the Vince trade?
Brett Yormark: You try to appeal to their senses. Rome wasn’t built in a day. This team is not rebuilding, but in many cases is retooling. We loved Vince, and still do. He’s a terrific guy on and off the court. But we’ve decided to go in a different direction, and that direction is based on youth. It’s also based on being good and competitive now, but being great for the next couple of years.
We think that with Courtney Lee and some of the other pieces we got back in return for Vince, we have the opportunity to do just that. When you have Devin Harris, Brook Lopez, Courtney Lee, CDR, Terrence Williams and Yi, you’ve got a nice young foundation. They’re only going to get better and next season we’re going to add more to the core. I certainly feel that Rod and Kiki have us going in the right direction.
I guess it does comfort me as a fan to see that the CEO knows this is a process. It is also comforting to learn that Brett Yormark trusts Rod and Kiki. If he trusts them, I don’t see him going over their heads next offseason. Heck, maybe he will even let them spend some money.
Kiki Talking Tim Grgurich’s Development Camp
Aug 12, 2009 2009 Offseason, Ben Couch, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Sean Williams, Terrence Williams
Tim Grgurich runs a camp where a lot of the younger players in the league go to work on developing into better players. It is not talked about too much because media and agents are denied access to it, but Kiki has been going for the past couple years, and he was there again. Ben Couch talked to Kiki about the camp and the three Nets’ players that were there. The three players were Terrence Williams, Sean Williams, and Chris Douglas-Roberts. The full interview is here, but there is a quote I wanted to talk about quickly:
We had CDR, who was very good, he showed once again that he really can score the basketball, and worked very hard. He’s really trying to expand his game, work on his ballhandling and outside shooting. You can see the work he’s put in over the summer.
Sean Williams showed great improvement over the last two years he was there – I go every year so I’ve seen him. Sean was one of the most athletic players there, and he showed his responsibility by being on time, by really focusing and by learning a lot. You could see Sean’s development through the week and he demonstrated his extreme athleticism. He was very, very impressive.
Terrence Williams, our No. 1 pick, was there also. He left a little early because he banged his knee (nothing serious), but for the time he was there, they played him at point guard, and he was outstanding. He showed the ability to run a basketball team, he was great on defense, he had a couple of great sequences. One of the best players there was J.R. Smith from Denver, who’s an outstanding offensive player, and (Terrence) played him very, very well, which is difficult for a rookie. I thought Terrence showed a lot of what he could become in the NBA. He handled the ball very well, he passed very well, he took very effective shots and he got to the basket. He’s a player the guys are really going to like to play with.
Terrence Williams already told me about some of the stuff he learned and worked on at the camp, but I wasn’t aware that both CDR and Sean Williams were there too. It is good to see that CDR is working on expanding his game (we saw glimpses of this during the summer league).
It is even better to hear Kiki praising Sean Williams. He has a ton of potential, and it is good to see the front office still thinks this. Hopefully he gets a chance this year. If he does, he needs to show out, and if that doesn’t happen, he might not be a Net in two years.
Posted by Sebastian Pruiti
Nets Are Scorching Interview – Ben Couch
Aug 5, 2009 Ben Couch, Interviews
It has been a little while since I have interviewed anyone, so Ben Couch decided to help me out. If you are a Nets fan, you probably have heard of the name Ben Couch. For the few that haven’t, Ben Couch is a writer for NJNets.com who does a great job with his interviews and articles (For those who haven’t read my interviews in the past, I really enjoy asking Beat Writers/Writers Close To The Team questions about the Nets because they are close to the team and they have a better feel of the team). Ben was kind enough to answer a few questions for me and here they are (If you can only read one answer, please read his take on the Nets players he likes to interview – great stuff!):
Some Brook Lopez Quotes
Jun 29, 2009 Ben Couch, Brook Lopez, Trade
Ben Couch of NJNets.com was able to sit down with Brook Lopez and have him answer some questions. The first thing they talked about was Brook’s reaction of his buddy Ryan Anderson:
“We talked about it a bit and I told Ryan I was jealous of him being down by Disney – now he can go whenever he wants.”
I still find it hilarious that Brook is just a big kid. Here are some more quotes from the interview:
On Nets draft pick Terrence Williams:
“I played him in the NCAA Tournament my freshman year when he was at Louisville. (Louisville won, 78-58.–BC) We’ve been to a few camps together. I’ve seen his game before, and it’s going to be real nice to get to know him.”On being invited to the USA Basketball National Team mini-camp:
“I’m excited for that. It’s going to be a great experience. The best young players – and some of the already top players in the league – will be there. It’ll be a great way for me to see where I’m at.”
It is good to see that Brook is excited to meet, hang-out, and play with T-Will. Brook is our most important piece, and he needs to be on good teams with the entire roster. I am also glad that he is viewing the National Team mini-camo as a learning experience. He should be able to learn a lot from all of the other players/coaches there. For the whole interview go here.