No! we have waited too long

Thanks so much for reading the blog post. It’s really appreciated.

I didn’t realize Brook Lopez, Devin Harris, and a top 3 pick were so little…..

Kevin,

I was thinking the same thing lol…

you do realize that the Nets are 2-21?

NI, suppose the Nets have an atrocious record next year; what makes you think they’ll be an attractive destination?

You fail to realize Lebron James has gone to the finals with crap around him. This is the NBA, 1 player can be the difference between a 30 win season, and a title contender.

Waiting til summer 2011 is just another knife in the back of NJ fans. Why even play until they move to BK if that’s the attitude?

Something has to be done to improve the team this summer. I know we will improve with our draft picks but one of the top free agents must be brought in. The organization has been shoving this summer down our throats for two years now.

I put the blame of all this on Bruce Ratner

Nice piece Nets Income
IMO the Nets have the best chance for landing a big name right now.
The nets have all the necessary pieces.
With conditions being optimal: stadium,new owner, interim stadium.
The Nets could offer Cleveland, Toronto, or Phoenix a good packages to land Lebron, Bpsh or Amare
4 1st rd draft picks 2010 and 2011
2 trade exceptions totalling 6 million
Expiring contracts
Why wait for these contracts and trade exceptions go to waste?
AK or boozer could be had this year with any combo of Simmons and a lower 1st rd or Golden States 2 2nd rd picks\
Bosh could be had with Yi Battie and a 1st or 2nd round pick depending on Bosh resigning with NJ
Lebron would be the hardest to get.
DH may have to go to make the deal more attactive
but the nets could afford to lose 2 or 3 young players in this order
TWill
Lee
CDR
DH
of course the Prohokov would have to want to do this after the Front office is squared away.
Is this wishful thinking?

add two new pieces to this team and you’re going to see a huge difference..it’s easy in basketball to go from worst to first just by adding a couple pieces…

if we can get it done in 2010 then i say why not? if we are going to overpay crappy players then i can wait a little longer.

Waiting another year may work out if the pieces don’t fall the Nets’ way, but I wouldn’t call it a stretch to think some free agents may want to come to The Rock next year. If we can somehow get Wall, that could be enough to entice some big names. Think about it, Wall-Harris-Lee-Lebron/Wade/Bosh-Lopez is an instant title contender. Plus there’s Yi, Twill, and whatever vets we bring back on the bench.

Rudy gay is starting to look very good!

no i cant take this anymore

youre whistling past the graveyard.

You guys think agents for top tier free agents are going to recommend their clients go to a team 1) with a brand new GM; 2) with a brand new head coach; 3) that will play in two different arenas in three years; and 4) that may set the record for most losses in a single season?

My point if anyone had read the piece is that the Nets have little to offer beyond money, that agents are going to want to wait to see what happens…and that there are alternatives.

We would be retarded to wait a year. This is the best free agent class in a while why would we wait

“Here’s one possibilty: The Nets could make an early decision to opt out of 2010, believing it’s not going to work for them:”

whoa, the Nets won’t field a team next year?

oh, wait minute, nevermind, seriously, though, some good points made

Here is the lowdown on our young players:

Chris Douglas-Roberts has a team option for the 2010-2011 season which must be picked up by 5:00 P.M. on June 29, 2010 or else he because an unrestricted free agent next summer (Odds that it gets picked up: 35%).
Yi Jianlian has a qualifying offer for the 2011-2012 season worth a shade under $3 million that must be tendered by June 30, 2011 or else he becomes an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2011 (Odds that it is tendered in time: 27.6%)
Courtney Lee has a team option for the 2011-2012 season which must be picked up by October 31, 2010 or else he becomes an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2011 (Odds that it gets picked up: 96.4%).
Brook Lopez has a team option for the 2011-2012 season which must be picked up by October 31, 2010 or else he becomes an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2011 (Odds that it gets picked up: 100%).
Terrence Williams has a team option for the 2011-2012 season which must be picked up by October 31, 2010 or else he becomes an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2011 (Odds that it gets picked up: 77.9%).
If the Nets decide to pick up Williams’ option for the 2011-2012 season, then he has a player option for the 2012-2013 season which must be picked up by October 31, 2011 or else he becomes an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2012 (Odds that it gets picked up: 63%).
Josh Boone has a qualifying offer for the 2010-2011 season worth a shade under $1.9 million which must be tendered by June 30, 2010 or else he becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer (Odds that it is tendered in time: 21.3%).
Sean Williams is an unrestricted free agent next summer.

@ben
Q. Who was the last healthy All-Star to sign as a free agent with the Nets?

A. Never happened. Came close with Shareef Abdur Rahim, but the Nets have NEVER signed a healthy All-Star. (Alonzo Mourning doesn’t count. He had kidney disease.)

The Nets have re-signed All-Stars acquired in trades like Kidd and Carter but none off the street.

Carmelo is def not coming….
so it makes no sense to wait for 2011
but that doesnt mean to overspend in 2010
it just means… to play it smart…
i thnk the biggest thing is Provok and his attitude
can he set a winning culture….

@NI, I am tempted to dsiagree with you. As someone wh knows a few players, Players go where the money is period. IF the Nets can convince people with the new owner and his money that they are committed to winning we will be able to attrract free agents even all stars if they are unrestricted. Thats not the problem right now. Our problem right now is that this team and organization looks sooooo badd that how do we get through this season. Will we be able to win 7 games?

The Nets will most likely be “waiting” out of necessity rather than choice. Nobody (unless LeBron owes Jay-Z his life unbeknownst to most of us) is going to come to this carnage of an NBA team after what will likely be a 7 or 8 win-season. Therefore, the New Jersey fans will once again treated to another abysmal season led by “all-stars” Devin Harris and Yi Jianlian (if he ever suits up again) just so we can count down to the team abandoning us if they get their arena built in Brooklyn. Good times!!!

If the Nets wait another year there will be 0 fans in the seats. Watching the Nets Hawks. Another Debacle. What a waste of my time

ni, you are right on about cost cutting i believe. if they were about rebuilding they would not have cut staff. so we have a lot of cap space. there’s a “r” missing from the word cap. we stink so bad this year that we’ll get a good draft pick. we need a game changer and then can fill in around him with mid-level free agents. but we don’t have a good enough core right now to make it to the championship level. please let us find a 4 in this draft.

i guess everyone is busy NOT watchin the game???

Like someone said we waited to long.
This year we were supposed to make so many trades thats why we dropped Kidd, RJ and VC.

This is pathetic just like the team

they better not wait a year, look at what the celtics did a few yrs ago gettin garnett and allen to help pierce. Nets get Lebron and Bosh and they go from worst to first. Wall-Harris-Lebron-Bosh-Lopez-CDR-TWILL-LEE-YI-Cousins/Turner

@ NetIncome

I think the losing must be getting to you as well.

Regarding selecting first or somewhere else in the draft top 4. I think that only the DHoward, Lebron and Yao Ming drafts from 2001-2007 (08 and 09 are to early to tell) had a clear winner at number one. And even the Lebron draft had Melo, Bosch and Wade as consultation prices. The fact is the best NBA player is usually not taken #1. We do not need to be selecting #1 to win with the draft even if Wall would be an awesome get.

Players go where the money is. Agreed. What you have forgotten is all the money that will flow from Brooklyn, new arena, global marketing, billionaire owner, etc. The NBA is going global and the real money is in Tiger/Beckham/MJ type marketing and we are set up to offer this to superstars. Superstars who want to pave their own path, not follow in someone elses footsteps. Brooklyn will the “their” house.

No way Porky waits for 2011. The only way the time line is moved out one year is if we fail in our attempts to land the big FAs in 2010. And even then I bet we spend money (like Cuban) to bridge the year with a better team without impacting 2011 space.

As for waiting for the right GM and Coach….the best free agents can not really care about the GM when you have a billionaire owner set up in Brooklyn (I can see this as an issue if you are resigning in Cleveland or Oklahoma City or Toronto). And they probably think the best coach will come to them!

Be happy. THis year was always going to be bad. Instead of 25 wins we are heading for 15 because of the injury issues to start the year and the resulting ill will creeping thru the team. The big picture remains the same….fantastic.

And finally, for every protester holding hands to keep the holdouts in Atlantic Yards, there will be a few hundred teamsters cheering their exit…..this boat has sailed and a couple of years in a nice arena in Newark will not hold FAs back.

The Nets have to pick up CDR’s option. He is an amazing player and is cheap.

So tell me…we were fed this pipe dream that we would have loads of cap space for the 2010 free agency period. To, indeed, gain atleast one big time free agent from a class of elite players. We gave up on players like Kidd, RJ and Vince to gain the needed cap space. Now, however, they are going to sell us on not even attempting to go after the big name players and we have to continue to watch the mess of a team they have put on the floor instead. GREAT IDEA! Thank GOD we have our draft pick! If I am not mistaken, we have never really gone after many big name players via free agency. So, yeah, we may not have landed any top notch players this way, but, we have never gotten into bidding wars for the services of players of this caliber before. WHY NOT GO FOR IT! Basketball IS the easiest sport to go from poor to great. It really only takes one stud to turn a team around.

@ Christos – Chris Douglas-Roberts does not exactly fit in with what this team is trying to do, which is to become more defensively oriented than they have been the last two seasons. Just look at some of the new faces on the roster: Courtney Lee, Rafer Alston, and Trenton Hassell.

um, Hassel came in the Kidd trade.

Thanks Nets Income. Interesting piece.

I am pretty patient. But at what point do you start to feel like the Pittsburgh Pirates? + what you said about the CBA should really mean we make a serious push this summer. I don’t want to overpay on a second tier free agent. But if second tier are guys like Boozer, how about we pay a third tier, character, consistent guy who can shoot at guard or rebound at forward/backup C and build a nice circa .500 team next year which will help us lure someone in 2011.

*not overpay

I don’t really understand the rationale. If in the summer we get the sense that one of the big free agents would sign with us, are we supposed to say, “No we’re really not very good. We’ll hold off until next season.” If, however, all of the free agents shy away, then we wait. It’s less up to us than it is up to the players.

I think that Jay Z is going to bring Lebron James to the Nets….But somehow we need to acquire a real power forward….Brook Lopez is trying to do all the Board Work by himself……Once he has the help his offensive game will become even greater….

The losing is defintely getting to us Net fans. Its understandable. As far as free agency in 2010 goes, the more we lose, the perception that our young talent is not all that great will continue to grow, and thats not a good thing. Still, there are some scenarios where this can turn around. A big one would be winning the top pick in the draft. If John Wall is seen as the biggest cant miss prosepct since the Lebron class, the whole perception of the team changes if we can select him. I also think getting John Wall means we become the only team in the NBA to be able to offer two max contracts, because it would enable us to trade Harris and Najera to a team with cap space for a draft pick or a cheap young player. Then you combine that with Prokhy’s pockets and the thought of starting a dynasty in Brooklyn and you are ready to go. Beyond that, we still have the option of overpaying for a Rudy Gay or a Boozer. Or waiting until 2011.

Very nice article, Net Income. Great job summing up the entire season, on and off the court, to date. The lottery is going to be huge. I’m pretty sure if we get the the #1 pick, we will trade in a package either C. Lee, CDR, TWill, or maybe even Devin Harris for someone with size and an offensive game. If this happens I still don’t think John Wall and Brook will be enough to attract a big free agent. But money does talk, and if the owner is a multi billionaire and there’s a NYC arena being built, we may have a shot.

Has anyone seen Jay-Z at a game this year? Really. He hasn’t been at the games I’ve attended. I’m not saying it means anything, but the way the ownership has changed, his stake is infintesimal at this point.

@ pawley – I think if we get the #1 overall pick then they will likely go in this order:

Devin Harris
Chris Douglas-Roberts
Terrence Williams
Courtney Lee

Great piece NI, thanks. No way are we going to get a quality FA in 2010, not with the stink around this team, and it looks like it may get even worse if Kiki is incompetent as coach. Kirilenko was a fine player, but is a shell of his former self when healthy, and that isn’t too often. I understand the logic of getting him, but it’s a bad idea unless we get the Knicks 1st rounder. Utah might be willing to deal it if the Knicks continue to play well, because the Kirilenko contract is one of the worst in the league right now. Even so, we would be writing off next season without even rolling the dice on the 2010 FA class.

Great Article Netincome!!!

Praying for John Wall and a decent free agent pick-up in the 2010 offseason.

Let’s go Nets!!!

“Net Income Says:
December 13th, 2009 at 5:34 pm

you do realize that the Nets are 2-21?"

Most people with common sense saw this coming from the moment that the Nets traded Vince Carter for pennies on the dollar. Meanwhile, you spent the summer trying to talk about how the Nets got the starting backcourt of the Eastern Conference champions.

@ Net Income

I saw Jay-Z at one game this year on tv. it was against the Knicks, and the team against them was the Cavs.

WORST MINORITY OWNER EVER? (anyone else remember him saying he didn’t know who to root for when the Nets and Knicks played in the first round a couple years back)

He can’t be the worst owner ever.. not even the worst owner in this ownership group… How sad is that???

Also, before we panick up front, let’s see how Yi plays out over this year. I am skeptical, but let’s at least see.

You know what sucks? I’m 90% sure we’re not getting John Wall. We’re not getting LeBron or Wade. I don’t want a guy like Amare on our team, we have enough me first guys already. Bosh is a possibility though so he’s the only bright spot i can see

I have to disagree with alot of you guys about Rudy Gay. Coming out of uconn(great program) he drew comparisons to a young Grant Hill, and he did not disapoint averaging 17 ppg 5.5 rb a block, and 1.5 stl. Now he’s in a situation where you have alot of players who need the basketball such as Randolph, Mayo, and even Gasol. He has responded this season by posting 21.7 points 6.5 rebounds, a block, 2 assists and 1.7 steals. He is very efficent shooting 48.5% from the field and 35% from the 3 point line. He can flat out score. And I feel that he hasn’t got the opertunity to showcase his ability with Mayo(who he bumped heads with him this season) and Randolph(one of the biggest ball hogs in the NBA). Nevetheless he has shown glimpses, posting 41 points, a career high on the Heat. The man has never had a lingering injury and has proved very resilient. He has an amazing NBA body with an incredible wingspan and good hieght at his position; 6-8. While alot of you knock his defense, just take a look at where he is playing…Memphis is probally the least professional club in the NBA. Memphis has never asked any of it’s players to play defense and the culture of losing that oozes from the organization has bred laziness amoung the players. If Gay is on a playoff team with a leader and a good coach there is no doubt he can be a great defender. He is still only 23 and can grow into being a sidekick for a LeBron or Wade. He can be the number 2 guy on a championship team for sure if he continues his steady progress and buys into a coach’s plan. With Lopez and Gay suplementing a superstar such as the before mentioned, we can win a title. I am sure of it. I can see Gay hitting a peak of 25 ppg 7 rpg and Lopez 23 ppg 11 rpg. That’s two all-NBA 2nd team players.

@ muwu
“I’m 90% sure we’re not getting John Wall.”

Even if we dont get Wall, we could get a great young player. I’ll be happy if we end up getting the 2nd pick and have a chance at Derrick Favors. But I would say that even if we end up with the #3-4 pick we could land an awesome prospect: Evan Turner. This kid is the real deal.

As for the 2010 Free Agency, I think Rudy Gay and David Lee will be the most realistic targets this summer. I’d take that over waiting another year.

I think we should re-sign Dooling and Boone, and maybe Hassell, he’s the ideal 12th-13th man on a roster.

C- Lopez/Boone
PF- D. Lee/Yi
SF- Gay/CDR/Hassell
SG- Turner or Wall/C-Lee/TWill
PG- Harris/KD

Then with the Mavs picks get a big like Cousins or Varnado. If we get a stud PF with our lotto pick (Favors, Monroe, Davis), then forget about David Lee.

@ Andres

How is Turner doing anyway? That broken vertebrae scares me. And I dunno, I think the gap in terms superstar-ness is pretty big between John Wall and everyone else. Favors could be a nice consolation prize but Wall is a sure deal for stardom.

I don’t really like David Lee. Sure he’s a hustle guy, but he has zero offense on his own and is a pretty bad defender. I’m not sure about spending a gigantic amount of money for a rebounder

So much hype on Favors but i he hasn’t been impressive so far…i think he’s averaging only 13 ppg and under 10 rpg.

$65 mil for 6 yrs is not bad for Gay…maybe we’ll get him for that price.

this is what i would like…

Lopez/Boone/Vernado
Yi/AK47
Gay/CDR/Hassell
Wall/Lee/TWILL
Harris/Dooling/Vazquez

or

Lopez/Boone/Vernado
Favors/Yi
Gay/AK47/Hassell
CDR/Lee/TWILL
Harris/Dooling/Vazquez

Maybe the second looks better on paper.

We hold off until next year.
In the past two years we changed the team 14 out of 15 players.
By doing this we got return soem expiring contracts for next year.
If we trade them now we will killed the plan for next year.
Don’t panic!
We need to hold on until next year and then make trades to get more high pick #1’s while we unload the follwing players next year do to expiring contracts and trades.
Expiring Contracts:
BYE-BYE!
R.ALSTON/B.SIMMONS/E.NAJERA/T.BATTIE/T.HASSELL/S.WILLIAMS
Trade for Higher Additional Picks:
J.BOONE/YI.JIANLIAN
Along with 2011 picks and #2’s to move up if we can.
We don’t need 2011 #1 or #2 picks because we will be young enough.
We then can worry about our estimated salary cap savings to pay for our core guys or and add a 2011 free agent if needed.
There are four guy oyut there we need in the 2010 draft.
Time to get the trades done for picks by player movement and usseing cash to buy picks and or giving up #1 and #2 of 2011 draft picks to move up this year.
BROOKLYN will be waiting for the championship.

2010 NETS ROSTER FORECAST!
STARTERS:
D.HARRIS/PG
C.D-ROBERTS/SG
J.HAYES/SF
B.LOPEZ/C
G.MONROE/PF A NEED!

SECOND UNIT:
K.DOOLING/PG
C.LEE/SG
W.JOHNSON/SF A NEED!
C.ALDRICH/C A NEED!
D.FAVORS/PF A NEED!
BENCH:
T.Williams rotating at the !/2/3 when needed for defense,rebounding, foul trouble and relieve.

GO BROOKLYN NETS! GO BROOKLYN NETS! GO BROOKLYN NETS!

@Andy Says:

Rudy Gay is not worth this kind of money.
Let me ask the question.
How do you pay him this kind of money?
In two very short years we will have to pay B.Lopez, C.D-Roberts, C.Lee their second contract payout?
Besides, if you watch college basketball you will realize that drafting W.Johonson/SF out of Syracuse is cheaper, younger and more talented then Rudy Gay.
The salary cap money saved by getting rid of the expiring contracts this year will enable us to payout later and win a championship.

Can You Shout Out!

GO BROOKLYN NETS! GO BROOKLYN NETS! GO BROOKLYN NETS!

This is why Newark has a “performance” clause in their agreement. They were anticipating that Thorn would chicken out of making team better until just before moving to Brooklyn.

Nets fans better be hoping that Stern makes sure that Proky is approved in weeks, not months (as someone wrote above).

Otherwise, will the last Nets fan out, please close the door.

@ muwu

Agreed, Wall is a superstar in the making and he’s clearly the best prospect. But what I wanted to say was that even if we dont get the top pick, we could land a solid prospect. Favors or Turner would be great consolation prizes.

As for Turner’s back, Jonathan Givony from draft express asked some scouts and NBA guys about how it could affect Turner’s stock, and Givony says “the injury is not serious at all & he’s expected to make a full recovery” and that “no one seems to even remotely think its an issue”.

Here’s what one of those guys told Givony:
“We did our background research,its a very mild injury.We’ve seen him enough to know how talented he is.I hope he falls,but it wont happen”

This Turner kid is a flat out stud. He can do everything. Prior to his injury, he was averaging something like 20p+12r+7as.

@ Andy
I like your scenarios, but I wouldn’t sign Gay if we somehow landed AK, which would be a move I’d only consider to make in the offseason if there arent better options in the FA market… Jazz should take on Najera’s contract and we could absorb AK’s bloated contract using our cap space.

Lets say we get AK in the offseason, then this is what I’d look for.

A) If we land Wall or Turner in the draft:

Harris/KD/Vasquez (2nd rd pick)
Wall or Turner/Lee
CDR/TWill/Hassell
AK/Yi/Mavs pick (Varnado or Cousins)
Lopez/Boone

Maybe you could add there a pickup like David Lee if he didnt command too much money and if we had enough cap space after taking on AK’s albatross deal.

B) If we land a stud PF in the draft (Favors, Monroe, Davis):

Harris/KD/Vasquez (2nd rd pick)
CDR/Lee
AK/TWill/Hassell
Favors/Yi/Mavs pick (Varnado or Cousins)
Lopez/Boone

btw, here’s what Chad Ford wrote about Favors a couple of weeks ago:
“Favors isn’t having quite as strong of a season as Wall, but he’s got two things going for him. Size and athleticism come at a premium in the NBA, and Favors has both. He has the chance to be a dominant inside presence — a cross between Amare Stoudemire and Dwight Howard. However, Favors isn’t there yet. His early numbers at Georgia Tech (13.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.8 blocks in 24 minutes per game) are very good for a freshman but not quite dominant. If he really gets it going in the second half of the season, he’ll be a legit No. 1 pick.”

@ NI,

We can’t afford to wait another year. While I am inclined to agree with you on a number of the drawbacks to moving forward in 2010, we’re taking too big of a hit right now, and I think that’s what many of the responses here are reflecting. It is nothing short of PAINFUL to watch this team, the national media views us as a joke, which will undoubtedly influence some free agents, and putting off a free agent play will only exacerbate something I thought couldn’t possibly get any worse.

Quite simply, the Nets are in crisis mode. The dwindling Jersey support will non-existent next year (12,600 avg. attendance this year is paltry at best). We’ll be lucky to average 10,000 fnas next year despite a Newark move, becuase a quality product on the floor is the biggest draw (along with convenient access) at the end of the day. In fact, a move by the trading deadline might be necessary, if only to show the remaining fans that the team has not given up completely.

@Andy

Who is Vazquez? Please tell me you’re not talking about Greivis Vazquez from Maryland. That guy is not making it to the NBA.

Who needs free agents. I’m starting to like this losing. I find it very reassuring that you can count on something in this life.

@ Paul B – I meant to write Terrence Williams.

@ Mr. Dollar Bills – What about Courtney Lee?

people tend to forget…although I certainly note it…that I didn’t bring this up as a possibility. ROD THORN DID…at the press conference announcing Kiki’s hiring as head coach. Out of the blue for the first time he mentioned the 2011 free agency.

And underlying all this criticism of the idea is the implication that free agents are going to be banging down the Nets door.

Right now, there are no definitive answers to the following questions: 1) Who will the owner be on July 1? 2) Who will the general manager be on July 1? 3) Who will the head coach be on July 1? 4) Where will the Nets play next season?

Does anyone here really believe, I mean REALLY believe, that the combination of all that uncertainty (particularly the GM and head coach) and the team’s horrible record is a positive in recruiting free agents?

It should also be noted that the agency that handles the obviously unhappy Devin Harris also represents Lebron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. You think he has been sending positive text messages to his agent about the state of play in Netsland?

If you want to sign Gay, go ahead. I think it’s a mistake, but spend half your cap space on him. Trade for AK-47 and wind up with more cap space in 2011 once his contract comes off the books. He will be overpaid, but he is a good all around player…and you can probably get a draft choice in return. Then make more moves in 2011 when you have a stable situation, the arena is underway, etc.

But you are setting yourself up for major disappointment if you think things will be settled enough by July 1 for the Nets to sign one of the top tier free agents.

Can we get AK-48 with the Draft Pick and get Lebron next year ???

The reality is just because we have cap space doesn’t mean we have to spend it or will even have the chance to spend it on 2010 FAs. We could just draft two players to make us attractive to future FAs for 2011 which might be a more realistic plan. We can’t afford to offer a max contract unless its a no brainer that the guy could deliver. Most fans have no patience and would waste the cap space asap on a player that wouldn’t help.

And people forget we still have to give brook lopez a pretty big extension. Somewhere in the 50 million dollar range seems right. Have to take that into account, we can’t go pouring out with all our cap space

@muwu
Here’s the other issue, again as noted in the blog item: the collective bargaining agreement is scheduled to end on June 30, 2012, BUT the owners have the option to end it a year earlier. The owners can be expected to demand a harder cap, contracts with more options, etc. No one can predict what will happen, but if there is a harder cap, then the flexibility of billionaire owners like Cuban, Dolan, and Prokhrov to get beyond the cap will be lessened.

The Nets do not have to pay Yi until 2011-12. The same with CDR, although they can (and should) rip up his deal at the end of this season. Lopez and Lee start getting paid in 2012-13. Harris is up in 2013. Whoever the Nets take in this year’s first round will come up in 2013-14.

I see no point in signing 2nd tier guys to max contracts, but something has to be done or 2011 won’t yield much either.

Wasn’t Vince Carter’s contract up in 2011??

If the Nets choose to wait until 2011, then the management really spit in our faces this summer.

@ Nets Income
You really didn’t address my post
Why would NJ waste all the expiring contracts and trade exemptions by not making a trade this year?

@MrT
As the blog item notes, we never bought into the cap space argument. You can go back to last June when we wrote the Nets weren’t cutting costs to gain cap space, but to prep the team for sale. You cut long term costs first when you begin to market a company for sale. The Nets got lucky that someone as rich as Prokhorov was willing to buy the team.

@Mr. Dollar Bills
See above. Although it should also be noted that VC has a $4 million guarantee on an $18 million salary in 2011-12. So his deal essentially has two more years to run after this one.

@djheavyduty
Your proposed trades are highly speculative. It should be noted that the Nets additional draft choices did not come as a result of either the Carter or Jefferson deals, the two deals that were clearly cost-cutting deals. The extra picks came in the Kidd deal (two additional first round picks) and the reconstituted Marcus Williams deal (ONE additional second round pick in 2011 and one additional protected first round pick in 2012). The Nets may have tried to get picks in the Carter or Jefferson deals, but didn’t. As for the trade exceptions, it was smart for the Nets to constitute the Carter trade so that the Nets received two trade exceptions, but they aren’t that big: $3.63 million and $1.22 million. It’s possible the Nets may not even use them. They have used most but not all their TE’s. They are however more valuable with a rich owner than a poor one.

I starting to get the feeling that Net Income is not human, but is a super computer, like HAL in 2001.

Now with the Gay situation, we have people on the boards thinking signing Gay will destroy our cap space…that’s false, Gay is demanding 65 mil. Come next summer I don’t see any teams throwing that at Gay. Which leaves us in a nice position where we can probally nab him at 50-55 over 6. Lemme tell you, 8 mil a year for a 23 yr old with his numbers is a steal. And if we do sign him at that price we would still have enough money to sign a max player if we so choose.

@Alex

The Nets can’t give Gay a 6 year contract. If you’re signing a free agaent from the outside, the most you can give him is 5 years.

The only way he can get a 6 year deal is if it’s a sign and trade deal. That may actually be what happens since he’s restricted. The Nets won’t want to tie up big money into a contracted that could be matched by Memphis. The question then becomes, what would Memphis demand in return?

We needed a Starting Power Forward.
Should have package future draft picks and got B. Griffin last year.
John Wall is not the Nets answer.
Two Power Forwards and a Back up Center and a Rotation Small Forward.
John Wall is a Point Guard that will be great if he has the players around him.
Nets need rebounding and back up at center badly.
Just ask the question is the following talents are answer at rebounding?
J.BOONE/YIJIANLIAN/T.BATTIE/E.NAJERA/S.WILLIAMS

I hope your answer is no.
Stop thinking about J.Wall and worry about team needs.
Because if team needs are made. We just might win a good 57 games as a team.

GO BROOKLYNNETS! GO BROOKLYN NETS! GO BROOKLYN NETS!

Unless John Wall is a superstar, we should go big in the draft. What are we going to do with all these “little” players, remake “Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs”?

Our second unit: Wesley, favros and aldrich? Come on man be more realistic. How are we getting 4 lottery picks?

Andres…I must say I agree with U..

Harris/cdr/ak/favors/lopez looks nice…I will kleep following favors. No question he has the tools though.

I think we should definitely do a trade iat the deadline because I don’t see use landing a free agent.

@ Net Income – I disagree with you on two points:

Yi will NOT, repeat NOT, be here come 2011-2012. In fact, I am assuming Prokhorov has ALREADY sent word to Rod Thorn to NOT PICK UP Yi’s qualifying offer.

Also, if the Nets rip up Chris Douglas-Roberts’ contract (decline his option) he can walk with NO “right of first refusal” on their part.

@diehardNFFLbarnone
Prokhorov doesn’t get involved in player personnel issues. According to former coach, the only time he ever tried to insert himself into player personnel issues was two years ago, when he wanted to bring Andrei Kirilenko back to CSKA Moscow. (Get my drift?)

The Nets will give Yi every chance to fail. The Nets are building a global brand. Having Prokhorov, Jay-Z and Yi helps that immeasurably. Sometimes you pay people more for what they do off the court than on. (See Najera, Eduardo)

You’re correct regarding CDR having the right to go anywhere if the Nets “tear up” his contract. Happened to the Cavs and Boozer, who was also a second rounder. But I’m sure there would be good faith negotiations before the contract is torn up. What they could choose to do is give him a deal equal to what he would have received if he had been taken at #20 or so. The Nets, remember, gave CDR a better deal than they had to. As a second round pick, they could have given him a non-guaranteed deal, a partially guaranteed deal or a one year deal with a team option for a second year. He had no recourse unless he wanted to go to Europe. Instead, the Nets gave him a three year deal with team options each year. Under league rules, with a multi-year deal for a second rounder required the Nets to use some of their MLE money.

Regarding extra picks.

I dont see any of the Nets veterans returning a first round pick in a trade. More likely a second rounder. It’s also possible that if the Bulls or Raptors want to sign Lawrence Frank, the Nets could ask for a pick in return…the customary payment is a second round pick and usually a FUTURE second round pick.

Right now, the Nets would have one of the top four picks—hopefully #1, the 26th pick and the 31st pick. The Nets schedule gets easier in the second half…Tuesday is the 25th game of the season. Sixteen of the first 25 games were on the road. I can see them finishing ahead of the Wolves and if their health turns around, maybe even better than the Sixers.

Now, if Prokhorov follows Paul Allen’s example, the Nets could buy a first round pick. In five of the last six drafts, the Blazers bought a first round pick. That yielded them Rudy Fernandez, Nicholas Batum and Sergio Rodriguez. First rounders cost $3 million each. It would be very difficult to buy a lottery pick, however. They dont get sold.