In an interview with ESPN LA, Nick Young talked about his close friendship with Nets’ point guard Jordan Farmar. The two met when playing on the same travel team in LA, and have been the best of friends since.
Does this mean that the Nets have an advantage over the other 29 teams in the NBA in vying for Young’s services? I would think so. LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh wanted to play together on the same team. Nick Young isn’t LeBron, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Young is the same way.
However, do the Nets want Young? I’m not so sure. The guy can score but isn’t the most efficient of scorers and can tantalize fans with poor shot selection and rushed shots. Personally, I feel that the Nets should go after Young only as a fourth or fifth target and avoid overpaying for the restricted free agent. What are your thoughts?
With the draft coming up, the Nets have started to narrow their focus a bit. According to the most recent Nets team report on Yahoo!, New Jersey is currently targeting about ten players, including JaJuan Johnson, Josh Selby, Nikola Vucevic, Trey Tompkins, and Nolan Smith.
I have mixed feelings on all of these guys. If I had to pick one, I would have to go with Selby. Johnson is athletic but he is a tweener and lacks the immense strength needed to dominate in the paint. Is his ceiling really higher than a poor man’s Tyrus Thomas? As for Smith, the Nets are currently loaded at point guard. I understand the need to take the best player available, but when picking at 27 & 36 you have to account for team need.
Selby is a combo guard, but more on the shooter’s side: he’s a sub-par ballhandler and a pretty good outside shooter. At 6-3, he could become a good penetrating scorer of the bench (like JJ Barea, except bigger). On top of that, Selby is a pretty good defender and from what I’ve seen of him, he closes out on shooters well.
As we approach draft night (just one week away!), draft experts are slowly starting to carve out some common ground. Kyrie Irving is the consensus #1 pick. Derrick Williams should follow him at #2. Brandon Knight and Enes Kanter will go some combination of 3-4. Kawhi Leonard, Kemba Walker, Jan Vesely, and Bismack Biyombo round out some of the lottery.
However, by the time mock drafts get down to around #27, there’s a little more variance. Actually, the most variance possible. In 11 NBA.com mock drafts, the Nets are connected to 11 different players. There’s some names we’ve heard before, but no two draft experts agree on what the Nets will do with their first-round pick.
Here’s some of the more intriguing ones:
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So a superstar has toiled in a second-tier market for a second-tier franchise his entire career. After years of early playoff exits with no ring to show for it, the superstar’s contract starts coming to a close. When asked by reporters what his next move will be, the superstar in question gives circuitous answers: he loves the franchise, he’s at home in his city, he’s happy.
But (there’s always a but)… The superstar in question has made his intentions clear. He’s becoming a free agent at the end of his contract. He would like to stay, but if the team doesn’t improve, he’ll skip town or demand a trade.
Huh. This all seems vaguely familiar.
I’d love to have Dwight Howard on the Nets. I would. I think Dwight and Deron makes the Nets instant contenders. One more decent wing scorer with a focus on the team concept – the Jason Terry, if you will – and the Nets are almost set. Surround that core with the right mix of role players who are willing to sacrifice to win a championship, and they’re competing with any team in the Eastern Conference.
Looking back at history, there’s a good chance we’re in store for a painful few months of commentary. “Will he?” “Won’t he?” “Dwight Howard to LA!” “Dwight’s throwing games, he wants out!” “Dwight loves Boston!” “Dwight’s leaning towards staying!” “Dwight Howard said the word Brooklyn!” “But he was just talking about Brooklyn Decker!”
The circuitous chain of curiosity will drag on, because this decision isn’t an immediate one. I’m not complaining, though. Patience is a virtue, and the last time the Nets did this, they ended up with the biggest payoff of all. I just hope Billy King can go two-for-two.
When Jason Kidd demanded a trade during the 06-07 season, most Nets fans saw it coming. However, we were also crestfallen at the fact that our team’s leader – arguably the greatest Nets player ever – was about to leave the franchise that he singlehandedly restored into relevance.
Now, Kidd is still in the news at the ripe age of 38. After Tuesday night’s soon-to-be-legendary Game 4, Kidd is just two games away from the elusive ring he couldn’t bring to New Jersey. In an interview with Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, Kidd claims that he saw the deconstruction of the Nets coming (if you need a reminder, the Nets when 12-70 two seasons later). Any team owned by Bruce Ratner was doomed to fail, and Kidd knew it.
As a fan, I detested Kidd for a little while for demanding a trade. I always hoped that Kidd would retire a Net, as his jersey was put up into the rafters. I was hoping that Kidd would wear a Nets hat to his Hall of Fame inauguration; suddenly, it might be a Dallas hat. However, from an objective standpoint, Kidd tried his best in NJ. He worked his hardest, got the team to the best result the franchise has seen in its NBA history, and then left when the franchise wasn’t a winning organization. Who can blame him for that?
The Nets are losing assistant coaches rapidly and this isn’t boding well going into an uncertain offseason. Peter Vecsey of the New York Post reports that Sam Mitchell will be leaving Avery Johnson’s staff.
It’s possible Mitchell left in order to pursue one of the vacant coaching spots still available in the NBA. After all, Mitchell was named the 2006-07 NBA Coach of the Year. In any case, Avery Johnson has lost his best assistants over the course of this offseason and it will be a tough task ahead for him to replace them.
Big day yesterday for Nets announcers. Marv Albert has been calling Nets games since 2005, but has called his last one for a while as he moves into a contract to call NFL games for CBS. Albert will still call NBA on TNT, as well as the NCAA Tournament, but will no longer have the time to consistently focus on New Jersey.
Another interesting side note: one of Albert’s former partners in the New Jersey Booth is former player Mark Jackson, who was hired yesterday to be the Golden State Warriors coach. Jackson has been calling playoff and primetime games these past few years for ABC and ESPN, but starting next year will be on the sidelines. From an NBA standpoint, that might mean Monta Ellis is more available than ever – Jackson is a big fan of Stephen Curry.
Hey, the Nets still have Ian Eagle. Fine with me.
Late edit: Apparently, the rumors are already starting: Ric Bucher reports that the Warriors are trying to deal Ellis to the Sixers for forward Andre Iguodala. Jackson’s a quick worker.
Ever since Mikhail Prokorov took over the Nets as owner, various staff members, former or current, of CSKA Moscow have been connected to the Nets in some way. Some, like Sergei Kuschenko, have actually become a part of the Nets. Ettore Messina was another one of those names; fans looked at him as an attractive option as an assistant coach, or perhaps even head coach. Messina was the coach of CSKA Moscow during its’ dominance until he took a job for Real Madrid.
That dream has quelled, though. Messina is reportedly heading for the Lakers to help out Mike Brown as an assistant coach. I can’t say I’m surprised, but I am disappointed as a Nets fan. Would have loved to see a guy with his success here.
