Losing Brian Hill Will Hurt
Jul 16, 2009 Brian Hill, Bruce Ratner, Cheap, Coaching, Lawrence Frank, Sad
A couple days ago, new Pistons head coach, and former Nets assistant, John Kuester showed a desire to talk to current top Nets assistant Brian Hill about the same position in Detroit. Yesterday, the Nets gave Detroit and Hill permission to talk to each other.
Now the job hasn’t been offered to Coach Hill yet, but if it is, you have to think that he will be leaving. He will be getting more money (he just took a paycut in NJ) for more time (he only has a one year deal here) and he will be going over to a better team with better players. Oh and to make things worse, if Hill leaves we won’t be replacing him. Yeah, we will only have two assistants. Al Iannazzone has the scoop:
The Nets couldn’t say no to the Pistons. Hill, like the rest of the staff, had to take a big a pay cut and was re-signed for just one year. He’ll likely get a multi-year offer from Detroit.
If the Pistons hire Hill, the Nets may not replace him. If they didn’t longtime Lawrence Frank aide Tom Barrise would slide over.
There are a couple things at work here: one is the Nets likely would only hire someone for one year if they did bring someone in, but ownership wouldn’t mind if that money was saved. So we’ll see what happens if Hill is offered and takes the Detroit job.
Losing Brian Hill will really hurt the Nets. This is because in my opinion, Brian Hill is one of the best top-assistants in the league. He was a great head coach (I still think he should have never been fired in Orlando), and he helped out Lawrence Frank a ton.
My opinions of Lawrence Frank’s playcalling is already known, but just to recap, I think it is unimaginative and easy to defend. Brain Hill helped out with playcalls throughout the year, and he even helped us get a win:
If I remember correctly (and please correct me if I am wrong in the comments), but Lawrence Frank gave Brian Hill credit for this playcall in the press-conference after the game. Which makes sense, because it wasn’t one of Frank’s patented ISOs.
Coach Hill was great at what Lawrence Frank wasn’t. That is what you want from your assistants, and that is why if we lose Brian Hill it will hurt.
An Open Letter To Vince Carter
Jun 26, 2009 2009 Offseason, Open Letter, Sad, Sucks, Trades, Vince Carter
Dear Vince,
I know that you were only with the Nets for 4 fulls seasons (It seems like so much longer doesn’t it), and this might be silly to do for a guy that has been here for 4 years, but you deserve it. I remember when I found out the Nets had traded for you, I was happy because we got you for basically nothing, but I wasn’t ecstatic. I saw how things went down with you and Toronto. The accusations of not playing hard, the injuries, the selfishness, and the failures in the clutch.
However, once you landed in New Jersey, you put all of my concerns at ease. Not playing hard? I haven’t seen you take a play off your entire Nets’ career. The injuries? I thought we were getting a broken down star when you came, but you only missed missed 11 games in your four years here. The selfishness? Despite being paired with two other “stars” you didn’t butt-heads with either, and in the end, you were the last one standing. Heck, when Lawrence Frank decided to go to the dribble drive offense to showcase Devin Harris more, you didn’t make a peep. You just played the best basketball of his career. The failures in the clutch? I couldn’t be more comfortable having anyone else taking the shot at the end. Just look at that game against Toronto this year.
The thing that impressed me the most about you this past season was how you were a professional through everything. Playing hard even though we were out of (realistically rather than mathematically) playoff contention, through the trade rumors, and through the shift in offensive philosophy. It’s going to be strange not seeing you do your pull-up on the net before the games. It is going to be strange not seeing all of the Vince Carter jerseys walking the tunnel to and in the stadium. Most of all, it is going to be strange not hearing our PA Announcer screaming “VC3″ after a big three-point bucket.
I want to personally wish you luck next year in Orlando. You are now going to play on your first “championship contending team,” plus you will be playing in your hometown. I kind of want to think that Rod Thorn purposely sent you to Orlando as one last “thank you” gesture, because I know how much he enjoyed having you on the team both on and off the court. When you went back to Toronto for the first time, you were greeted with a chorus of boos. I doubt that will happen when you will come back to Jersey, I know for a fact that you will be cheered when your name is announced. I know it seems a little corny to write you this open letter when you were only a part of this team for 4 years, but the way you represented the Nets, you deserved it.
Much respect,
Fans of the New Jersey Nets
P.S.
Please don’t drop 40 when you come back to the IZod center. Take it easy on us.
Draft Day Quick Thoughts
Jun 26, 2009 2009 Draft, 2009 Offseason, Analysis, Rookies, Sad
I was a part of the TrueHoop Network’s Live Draft that lasted for 8 hours and 23 minutes so I am just getting my thoughts down. We will have more to come about everything, but right now, here are my quick thoughts in run-on sentence form. I am just letting everything go here…
Well it was an interesting draft day for the Nets. The most interesting thing happened hours before the draft. So here is who we had leave the team:
- Vince Carter
- Ryan Anderson
Here is who we added to the roster:
- Rafer Alston
- Courtney Lee
- Tony Battie
- Terrence Williams
It was real sad to see Vince leave (check back tomorrow morning for something special), but it is the right move for the future of the team. I would have liked to see us make one more run at the playoffs, but doing that could have meant us not getting as much value for Vince, and it would have completely ruined our small (very small) chances at LeBron.
It is also a little disappointing seeing Ryan Anderson go. He really won me over during the year (I remember thinking he was going to be a huge bust after seeing him in his first preseason appearance), and he was a valuable part of the team (he also made for great comedy with Brook). With this trade, the Magic got two guys who can contribute immediately.
As for the guys we got, we made out pretty well in this deal (Especially considering the rumors for other trades that we shot down). In Rafer Alston, we got a PG who was a starter for long stretches, including the playoffs & finals. He is going to be a solid backup that will allow Keyon Dooling to move to the backup SG spot. Tony Battie adds toughness to a frontcourt that lacks it. I don’t know if he will be the starter for this team, but this trade shows the confidence that the front office has in Yi and his health, since they traded away his only competition.
The real crown jewel of this trade is Courtney Lee (which is why he gets his own paragraph). He is going to be a special player in this league. I have seen few rookies play with the swagger that Courtney Lee played with this year. He does a lot of things well, and few poorly.
In the draft with the 11th pick, we took Terrence Williams. This is a guy who can play 3 different positions and he is crazy athletic. Williams is also a playmaker who said he wants to mold himself after LeBron, but not the scoring LeBron, the LeBron who does everything. Getting assists, rebounding, and defending.
So what does our roster look like now? Well here is what I think it might look like on opening night:
- PG – Devin Harris/Rafer Alston/Keyon Dooling
- SG – Courtney Lee/Keyon Dooling/Jarvis Hayes/Terrence Williams
- SF – CDR/Bobby Simmons/Terrence Williams
- PF – Tony Battie/Yi
- C – Brook/Boone
There are other guys on this team, but these are the guys who will probably get the minutes. The thing is though, we are probably not done with the moves. We are over on our roster spots and will probably have to lose 1 or 2 guys. Who? Well, I know we already said we were picking up Hayes’ option, but did that happen already? If not, he could be the guy. I also see the Nets trying to trade Bobby Simmons to clear roster space and leave the SF spot open for CDR and Terrence Williams.
Our finances? Well, they no longer look too bleak…quoting Dave D’Alessandro:
Cap space for 2010-11 before the Vince trade — $9,724,569 (10 players). That was with a $46,775,431 payroll.
Cap space for 2010-11 after the Vince trade — $27,303,344 (9 players). And that’s with a 29,196,656 payroll.
The thing is, I don’t really think this is for LeBron. I mean if he wants to come to NJ (Brooklyn), I won’t turn him away, but with us drafting T-Will, I can see us going for Chris Bosh with all our extra cash.
More on all of this stuff over the next couple of days, but I am exhausted right now, and I want to let this sink in…
So It Happened
Jun 25, 2009 Sad, Trades, Vince Carter
Vince Carter got traded. Along with Ryan Anderson. For Battie, Skip, & Courtney Lee. From Yahoo Sports:
The New Jersey Nets have agreed in principal to sendVince Carter(notes) and Ryan Anderson to the Orlando Magic forRafer Alston(notes), Tony Battie(notes) and Courtney Lee(notes), two league executives told Yahoo! Sports.
The Nets will draft Louisville shooting guard Terrence Willams at No. 11, if he’s still available.
I don’t even know where to begin. I know it is the right move…but still…VC gone? I don’t even know what to think. Hey, at least we are going to take Terrence Williams now. Like I said, if you want to hear my current reactions, join the live-chat. There will be some posts about this later tonight/tomorrow.