He is right. But it could eventually change with the correct draft picks and luck of course. This team needs wall more then favors, who hasn’t been that dominant in college. We are at the bottom of the league in points, shooting %, and assists. We aren’t doing as bad on the boards or blocks when compared to the league. Wall could def help with points and assists.

I think that this is wrong. Obviously, the Nets have a very bright future. Looking down the road, I see Yi and Lopez developing into solid players. CDR could be a decent scorer in this league like he was in college. Harris needs to improve his leadership ability. The only prospect I’m doubtful about is in C. Lee. To me, his jumpshot is not as good as it looked before. i think he was a classic example of how playing with a really good team overhyped him. Also, he’s only really about 6’4". Might be undersized

The Nets suck because they have no depth.

Forget the starters. If the Nets had a decent bench, they’d be a lot better.

Andy it has little to do with players, the problem is this terrible driving offense. Why doesn’t Lopez get the ball more? And I mean in situations that will benefit him.

I agree with Andy. Neither Favors, Cousins, Davis, Monroe, etc have been that dominant this year. Each guy has some weakness. John Wall is the real deal.

The Nets need to win the top pick, draft Wall with that 1st pick and then go from there. I would be very happy with a young core of John Wall, CDR and Brook Lopez with Courtney Lee and TWill as potential starters in the future or bench depth.

And Jerrod – yes the offense is terrible – but remember we will have an entirely new coaching staff in here next season. I do think Roy Rogers and Doug Overton should be retained as they have done very well with Brook and CDR (and hopefully TWill and CLee). But once that new staff comes in – there will be an entirely new offense hopefully tailored to the skill set of Brook and his supporting cast.

who is the former all-star Devin Harris?

Sigh…it might be true… but we should have so many young talents…

brook lopez, harris has to step up, including Lee, T-Will.

Only CDR looks good right now.

If the Nets get a top 3 draft pick and don’t take a big man, they won’t improve. Want proof. The Bulls with Rose are in last. Want more proof. The two best guards in the league are Wade and Kobe. One is a champ cuz he has 2 good big men and one is at .500 cuz he doesn’t. While it’s true that all the big men in college stated above are not dominate, they are all young and the two that I like weren’t even mentioned. Good big men are more likely to win without good guards and usually make them better but good guards rarely win without good big men. My guess is if we take Wall and leave the hole at PF, 75% of the people who liked Wall would say we made a mistake. If Dwayne Wade can’t win without a big man how can you think John Wall would.

I think his assessment is fair. Right in the middle unless something dramatic happens, i.e. a marquee player in this summers trade bonanza somehow is convinc$$ed to join the Nets. But I can’t see even with the cap space how a great player would want to join this team, atrocius defense, a 3 year transition period, so many young players, etc. Unless the tumbling blocks fall into place like it did for the Celtics where once Garnett joined them all these other players wanted to follow suit.

About Favors. He’s not dominating because he’s only playing 24 mpg and plays the same position as a talented Junior who may be a lottery pick himself (Gani Lawal). Despite that he is still averaging a double-double.

He’s a legit 6’10 and is an off the charts athlete with a great basketball IQ. He’s playing a lot of high post right now to take advantage of his passing ability. Net fans won’t be disappointed if he winds up in Brooklyn.

nah Mr. Big, if we were to get the oppurtunity I think we should just grab Wall. All those bigs in the draft are pretty raw and could take quite a while to develop. I’d rather just sign on a decent vet like Boozer or w/e. Plus, we have a good big in Lopez around and who knows, Yi might just turn into something.

He’s right. Lopez is the only one that has taken the big step. Yi is a waste of cap space. CDR is good, but not as a main element – he’s a role player. And TWill and Lee look the same. Harris and Lopez are the only players that are keepers in my mind. They need a real shooter, a real 3, a real PF – the bench is good if it has CDR, Lee, Hayes, and others.

The odds are stacked against us with grabbing this first pick. However, I’m not even sure that Derrick Favors will be NBA starter quality until about 2012. He’s 6-9 and only weighs 215 lb’s. That is the EXACT same size as Tayshaun Prince.

John Wall is more than a player to add to this team. As well noted as of late, he could be a draw for us to land a bigger free agent. He is the symbol of greater things to come for this organization, he has superstar written all over him and he is exactly what this team needs.

It’s not like this team has zero big men. We have Brook Lopez. He could turn into the best true center in the entire league in the next couple of years. If you want to compare our team to the gold standard of the Lakers, we would need dueling 18ppg 10rpg’s out of our PF and C. I’d be more inclined to think that Carlos Boozer would give us a better chance at 18-10 every night more so than Derrick Favors.

…aaand that should have gone in the Utah game thread.

I agree with Mr. Big. Unless Wall is that much better then the “big men” coming out, I would go big.

What are we going to do with another “small player”?

Big players win. Kobe is about 6’7". That is not small.

Mr. Dirt,

If you think Favors is the same size as Prince you obviously haven’t seen him play. He was 215 when he was a Junior in HS. He is currently 6’10 240 -245 at 19 yrs old. He also has a freakish wingspan that makes him play like a 7 footer. He is also a very bright and well rounded kid who will adapt to the NBA very quickly.

The Nets NEED John Wall.

Wall is this draft’s big prize. But it’s not a given we’ll get the #1 pick. I’ll be ecstatic if we nab Favors or Turner. Chad Ford calls Favors a cross between Stoudemire and Howard. He obiously isnt there yet, but Ford thinks he could be a legit number 1 pick if he progresses. Turner is a stud. S.T.U.D. He could play VC’s role: kid can play any perimeter position, score, pass the basketball and make everyone better with his playmaking ability.

Keepers:

- Core: Nets’ lotto pick; Lopez; Harris; CDR.
- Supporting cast (young players): Yi, TWill, Lee, Mavs pick.
- Supporting cast (vets): KD, Boone and depending on the additions we make this summer, I’d consider re-signing either Hayes or Hassell.

Another thing about Favors. He is a full year younger than Wall because Wall took and extra year to finish high school and Favors still out played him at the McDoanld’s All Star game and the Jordan Classic.

Don’t get me wrong, I think Wall will be a great player but Favors is getting overlooked because he is not getting the opportunity that Wall is under Calipari. If the Nets wind up with either one they’ll have another All Star player to team with Lopez.

Hollinger is just like the rest of the desperate writers that need their job.
He does not know basketball.
He definitely does not know how to evaluate talent.
D.Harris is one of the top tfive fastest guys in the league
plus plays defense, shoots well and goes to the hole at will.
C.D-Roberts is long and defend better then most players and take the ball to the hole.
B.Lopez is a solid center whom wil be even better once he gets a true talent at the Power Forward to play with him.
C.Lee is a solid second unit player whom can defend and run the floor and shoot that 10 footer.
T.Williams is a man that can play above the rim along with defend better then most player sin the league.
K.Dooling when healthy is a solid PG with the second unit.
J.Hayes when healthy is a solid SF whom can defend and shoot when needed.
Tell me if this group does not have a bright future.
The person that does not have a bright future is Hollinger.
That is why he will writye anything to keep his petty little job.
He like most of the writers never picked a basketball.

Hollinger does not know basketball.

If the Nets get the 1st overall pick, they draft Wall. No brainer. A dominant power forward will not win you any championships. You need a dominant guard/wing player to do so. Also, I believe the Nets will have an easier time luring a PF in free agency than a dominant guard.

I think Boozer would be an ideal pickup for the Nets. To be realistic, LeBron, Amare, DWade, Melo, Kobe, those guys are not going to sign with the Nets. The Nets do not offer any better situation for those guys than they currently have. While the rest of the market is spending their time trying to lure these guys, the Nets could focus on luring Boozer. He would not have to look over his shoulder, like he has to in Utah with Millsap. We already know Boozer basically only cares about the money, as he spurned the Cavs years ago to sign with Utah for more money.

Another guy that I think would work out well for the Nets is AK47. No I am not in love with the Jazz, but they just happen to have 2 guys that would fit in well with the Nets’ situation. With a Russian owner, I am quite sure the Nets would be tempted to pursue AK.

Tin Man -

My thinking about drafting Wall over Favors, should the Nets get the 1st overall pick, is that a dominant wing player/guard is essential for a championship level team. The Nets do not have that guy, and I just do not see which one of the elite guards/wings the Nets can lure via free agency. I think they would have an easier team addressing the gaping hole at PF via free agency, then they would filling the hole at the wing positions.

Adam,

At this point I’d have no problem with the Nets drafting Wall ahead of Favors. My point is that Net fans shouldn’t think of this draft as John Wall or bust. Either one would be a great addition to the team and both have a legitimate shot to be superstar type players in the NBA.

Bottom line is that if we get either the one or two pick to draft Wall or Favors, we would be fortunate to do so. Even if we finish with the worst record in the league, I think its only a 50/50 shot at getting one of the top two picks. And we can still finish with a better record than Minnesota and perhaps a couple other teams if we improve over the course of the season. I agree with Hollinger in that Lopez is our only true young stud. But at least our stud plays C, the hardest position to fill. I think CDR is going to be very good over time, look how far he has come in one season. I think if Lee is ever able to hit an outside shot with some consistency he will be a very good role player. His defense is outstanding, its been a big disappointment how poorly he is shooting the ball. Harris is already an all star. I thought Yi looked much improved when he was actually playing this year, and I think he helps a lot in attracting free agents because of the market he opens up for players in China. I am certain that when the Nets are trying to woo free agents they will present an outlook about how much additional money the player could make in potential Chinese endoresements. It is significant. I think we can get a stud in the draft, so we can have 2 young studs. I think we may yet try to clear additional cap space in order to be the only team in the league to catch 2 big free agent fish. So, team could be 2 young studs, 2 star free agents, and nice young role players poised to benefit from playing off of stars and growing over time.

Why was I hearing about John Wall is not a good guy, he is just a hyped guy?

One observer told me that Wall is just a scoring point guard, and doesn’t know how to pass like Kidd, Nash, or even Jennings.

So…is John Wall really that good?

@Ryan243 Says:
I found you Ryan, however, I am disappointed that you slip about D.Favors and or G.Monroe. You were understanding for a while, like a week and now you went back on your opinion.
Time to freshen you up on D.Favors and or G.Monroe.
Monroe is well advanced of his sophmore years at Georgetown about the game. He is a product of the system at Georgetown and still dominates. In the NBA he will bulk up and compliment B.lopez with his rebounding, free-throw shooting, running the floor on the break while B.lopez stays back and most important can pass the ball around the outside quickly so wing players can have open shots. Also make smart inside passes to B.Lopez for more easy baskets instead of D.harris being the only guy to do this. He is the talent whom understands the game and the big picture towards victory. D.Favors and G. Monroe both have 7 foot wingspans for rebounding and defending.
So with: PG/D.HARRIS SG/C.D-ROBERTS C/B.LOPEZ PF/G.MONROE OR & D.FAVORS
You have a young talented starting four whom are great pieces for the near immediate future.

John Wall is a talent, but he is not a need that will get us into the 55 victory catogory next year.
WHY?
Because we still don’t have PF’s SF’s
Ask yourself, do you want another year of J.Boone & Yi Jianlian as your two best PF.
If you answer is no, you are cured and back to were you were
a couple weeks ago.
Congratulations.

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

“who is the former all-star Devin Harris?”

Harris is a mediocre player at best. The All Star game last year was a complete joke – there were several guards in the East that deserved the honor ahead of Harris (such as Jameer Nelson and Rajon Rondo). John Wall is probably already better than Harris.

Is it just me or does Hollinger look like he smells like skin oil and BO. He also looks like the type that always has dandruff on his shoulders. Just saying…

The NBA is about talent. Always ALWAYS draft the best talent available. Never NEVER draft for need unless mabye when you get into the back half of the second round where everything is a pot shot anyway. Draft the best talent and you can always trade for a need and be trading from a position of strength.

I guarantee you can get an NBA proven stud PF if you pick John Wall and trade him on a cheap rookie contract (not that I would do this!). There is no guarantee any of the current list of young PF in college will become an NBA player. DRAFT ON TALENT (and talent is basketball IQ, skills and winning – not just the measurables of size, speed and jumping).

So when the draft roles around and we are in the top four we should rank by talent and then worry about trading (including involving existing players) to address needs after we have all our assets on the table.

PS: Do not sleep on Xavier Henry (nice article in SI this week) and be open to different players rising between now and March Madness.

What ever happens i want a top 2 pick to get either wall or favors…TUrner was putting up crazy numbers probably the best in all the NCAA. But that back fall was nasty…but since i’ve heard he should make full recovery then top 3 pick would be ok.

1.WAll
2.FAVORS
3.TURNER

I don’t want to start a fight here, but I think Thorn is itching to trade Harris if the right deal comes along. Harris will probably have a few games later this year where he explodes for 35+ points or so and casual observers will be singing his praises. But if that turns into an opportunity to trade him for someone of comparable talent, perhaps a little bit less talented if the attitude is better and the money owed is less, I think Harris can be gone. Who would you rather have – Harris and 20 million of cap space, or a guy like Stuckey, whos still on his rookie deal, and you become the only team in the league able to offer 2 max contracts come next offseason?

Henry will be a lottery pick…some boards have him in the mid teens and some in the 20s. But ur right once madness comes around i expect him to be a consensus lotto pick.

And yeah everyone should know that draft is about TALENT! lol

we get some shooters and all problems will be fixed. Outside threats, like Gallinari. But a few of em. That will open up the lane for Brooke, allow Devin to slice and dish, and will allow the team as a whole to actually hit 3’s. Upping our assists totals, and fg%.

They even talked about that last night on NBA TV… you cant get assists when your team doesn’t hit shots. Devin is a high assists man, certainly not like Nash, but he is in the 7-10 a game range.

I think the Nets should draft Wall. A really good PG can help your team immensely. Then they should try and get a PF in free agency. Someone like Boozer or Haslem or David Lee.

Also, the Nets are probably the only team in the league who are going to have the cap space to make offers to TWO big names this summer.

A.S. -

“Harris is a mediocre player at best”

When you open with a statement like that, people will just ignore whatever it is you are trying to say hereafter. Have people forgot to take their crazy pills this morning?

The team was lack of shooters few years ago, and now they sent away all of the shooters. They make the same problem.

There will be varying opinions on the Nets young players depending on what type of “fan” you are: objective or subjective, optimistic or pessimistic, realistic, cynical, jaded, etc. I won’t look at stats alone for players on a team as terrible as the Nets. Points, rebounds, yada yada yada. You need to look past that and consider how players would fit into a winning team that has REALLY GOOD players to form a championship level team. Those really god players or that player is not currently on the team.

Lopez is obviously a talented offensive player who is getting better. He has limitations, but on a good team it’s clear he is a contributor. He is not dominant and never will be.

Harris is a good player is playing like kaka so far coming back from his injury. He has strong points and weak points. He seems to be getting worse at some of what was considered his strong points which is a red flag.

Yi has yet to prove anything. Right now, I just hope he can “develop” into a solid role player – points off the bench type. He will never be a star, but he can turn out to be contributor off the bench on a good team due to his unique talent, athletic ability, and size combo.

CDR, C. Lee and T. Williams: to me these 3 guys are 2 guards that play very different games. Each has certain strengths and weakness. None of these guys is a star or will be. Each one at varying degrees can either develop into a solid starter as long as you have other better players, or a very good 6th man type. CDR is making big strides this year and I think he’s got what it takes – but keep in mind that thing about numbers on a bad team.

Boone is a dime-a-dozen big man with many deficiencies. He is loved by many and seems like a good guy. He is an OK big on the bench because he is still improving but there are many Boones out there. S. Williams. Bye Bye. Wanted him to be good. He’s just not an NBA player (blame whoever you want) he won’t be in the league. Many big athletic guys jumping around all over the world. You either buy in or you don’t. He’s got his cash and he is out.

Conclusion; Nets need more players. Preferably a big time player(s) at the 3 ad 4 to help Lopez, Harris, whoever shines of the 2 guards enough to start) and more depth and then they are in business. My dreams somehow include Gay and Boozer (James ain’t coming) to fill in the blanks. Not happening though – that’s crazy talk.

@Dziedic and everyone else – I fully agree 100% that we need a PF. But my thinking is this.

The hardest position to fill in the NBA is a top tier center. Barring injury – we have our franchise center in 21 year old Brook Lopez.

I do not picture us getting DWade or Lebron in free agency – and I see no reason to pursue Joe Johnson. I do think that we have a fairly good chance to sign Chris Bosh though – which fits our biggest need.

If you have the top pick in the draft you have to take John Wall. I think that he has the ability to play the 1 or the 2 in the NBA. Aside from that – he is a very marketable player (not just from ticket sales but from convincing a free agent to sign here). So if you have in place John Wall and Brook Lopez (ie. a PG and a center 22 years and under) combined with CDR and Lee, TWill and Yi – that is a good core all under 25. Plus you have DH – who can co-exist in the backcourt with Wall.

But I am not convinced the Nets do not look to trade DH – possibly in a sign and trade with Toronto at the deadline for Bosh. This way they can offer Bosh the max and the extra year. Its a very risky trade for them to do – becuase if you don’t get the top choice or Wall doesn’t pan out – the Nets now have nobody at the PG. But I think Kiki is not sold on DH as the long term answer at PG for the Nets – which would facilitate them making this move. I don’t necessarily agree with it – but at the same time – I would not be surprised if it happens.

As for Evan Turner – he fractured his back. He would have been a late lottery pick last year and was shaping up a a top 5 pick this year. Honestly if Ohio State does not make the tournament – which could happen if he is not back till end of Feb. he could very well slip into the late first round or even early second round. GMs are always very leery of a guy coming off an injury. We are guaranteed to have one of the first picks of the 2nd round – while its not likely, its not impossible that we are able to get Turner there.

With that 2nd pick of the 1st round – it too could still be a lottery pick. The Nets could look to go big (backup center or PF), or go with another wing (I agree Xavier Henry is really intersting).

Also I fully expect that the Nets will trade any or all of the following players going into the deadline (Alston, Battie, Najera, Hassel, Dooling). If they were to make these trades – it would almost certainly be to a playoff team in need of a veteran presence to help in the post season off the bench. Since Alston and Battie have expiring contracts they have added value. I would guess that the Nets would want that team’s first round pick in exchange. This makes sense for the playoff team – to not disrupt their nucleus – while very few rookies get significant playing time on a playoff caliber team anyways.

If the Nets were able to gain even one additional first round pick in the 20s – they could potentially package this with their Dallas pick (or their second round pick) to move up into the late lottery.

They will have plenty of options and the team we see next year will be younger, more athletic and most likely taller. The biggest things to look forward to now – are if Dallas starts to lose games or if we are able to package any of the above players for a pick and then the other pieces will start to fall into place.

Most likely though – our only tradeable guys from that list are Alston, Battie and Dooling. Dealing Najera or Hassell probably won’t happen. And Simmons – nobody is taking on the remainder of that contract…..

sounds about right…. this team is still 4-5 years away from the playoffs

Brook Lopez can and will be dominant. His ability to get to the foul line and make foul shots is the main reason why he will do so. This is only his second year. If you think he’s done growing you are out of your mind.

@ Tin Man…
My fault on Favors. Good looking out. In all honesty I haven’t been able to check out any Georgia Tech Games this year. Draft Express let me down and unfortunately his games aren’t shoved down my throat like Walls are. I’ll be sure to check him out a bit more before I say anything else about him.

Why does everyone say LeBron won’t come to the Nets? With Brooklyn all but a done deal I’d say the chances are much higher than they were a year ago.

Bosh is going to Miami.

http://215sports.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/pg2_w_lebron_jayz_275.jpg

@Ryan243 Says:
Next year we will not have the following players on the team.
B.SIMMONS/E.NAJERA/S.WILLIAMS/T.BATTIE/T.HASSELL/R.ALSTON
Maybe Dooling.
All expiring contracts. GThis is a value instead of trading them now for BS players.
So you see how draft picks in 2010 can be a value once this garbage is gone next year.
So now we are back to Nets Draft Needs:
PF/Backup Center/SF

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

Good points by @ voice of reason, @Andres and @ Mr. Big, but remember guys this is the Nets we are talking about. So even if we have the most ping pong balls we have to assume we will get no. 4 pick, So who does that leave us with?
If by some miracle (Prozky seems to have pretty good luck) we get the no. 1, I Favor quality big over quality small unless the small is jordan, kobe or wade like. Cross between Amare and Howard does not sound bad altho have to admit i have not seen Favor(s) play.

Hi Tin Man—welcome; it’s been awhile. I’ve missed you around NetsWorld . . . . I assume you’re the same Tin Man that used to post periodically on BBB.Net.

I agree that Lopez is the only good young player on the Nets right now, although I think that Courtney Lee, CDR, and/or Terrence Williams could eventually be dependable rotation guys. I think either Lee or TWill could become a “glue Guy”/“defensive stopper” that every good team has in its starting unit—but for that to happen the remaining wing has to be a dependable perimeter threat.

Love to know what you think about Devin Harris right now. Are the Nets better off drafting Wall and trading Devin for a perimeter threat to start alongside either Lee or Terrence Williams?

@Taylor Says:
L.James is not coming to the Brooklyn Nets.
He is either going to stay in Cleveland, go NY Knicks or to the L.A.Clippers.
Stays in Cleveland C.Bosh will follow him there.
Goes to NY Knicks J.Johnson will be going with him.
Goes to L.A.Clippers because of Hollywood scene along with playing with PG/B.Davis SG/E.Gordon C/C.Kaman PF/B.Griffin SF/L.James

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

Ryan & Voice -

Glad to see the well reasoned posts. It is too much work lately trying to sort through the pro-SWAT/we are awful/LeBron is coming/Harris stinks posts.

Interesting idea on the Harris-Bosh sign & trade. I don’t think Wall is necssarily a NBA PG, he likely would fall more along the lines of Tyreke Evans’s role with the Kings. In which case, if we trade Harris and do not get a PG in return, I think this team would suffer the same ball control/turnover problems. We still would need a true PG.

It is clear that we have a bunch of guys who are essentially getting more minutes than they normally should be getting. The way Lee and TWill are playing, most teams would have relegated them down the bench. Boone would not be a starter on many(any?) teams. Alston would not have been getting 20-35 minutes a game. Simmons/Hassel/Najera/Battie would not even be on the majority of team’s rosters, much less eating up considerable minutes. Even CDR, much as he impressed all of us, would likely be a 6th man on other teams. We simply have very little depth. Hopefully the 2 very high picks, and free cap space will go along way to readjusting the depth chart.

Courtney Lee is grabbing 2.1 steals per game and SHOULD be 5th in the league, right between Trevor Ariza and Andre Iguodola. Though for some reason NBA.com doesn’t have him listed. Weird.

@Dziedzic

There is no chance LeBron goes to the Clips. That team is cursed. Look at Griffin. LeBron wants to win championships, that’s not the way to do it.

I agree the most likely scenarios are staying in Cleveland and going to the Knicks. But I don’t think the Nets are as out there as people think.

Bosh is going to Miami. He’s already eluded to it in interviews.

Dirt,

Courtney Lee probably hasn’t played enough games to qualify among the league leaders.

DH is the biggest disapointment of this year!
DH needs to be traded and John Wall needs to be drafted.
A PG should realize that a center with skills is your best friend.

Hi Dumpy…hope you are doing well.

I think Harris is unsure of his role right now. Does he distribute the ball and pass to players who can’t shoot or does look for his own shot even though it’s not falling right now? He always has been a streaky player and I’m sure he’ll have couple of stretches where he’ll look like an All Star this year. He is what he is, a scoring PG who will get 6-8 APG. There are a lot of teams that would love to have him.

If the Nets get Wall then I think you eventually trade him. When depends on the situation. If they fail to attract any FA’s then you can trade him right away but if Lebron comes you obviously hold onto him until you’re sure Wall is ready to take over.

“A dominant power forward will not win you any championships.”

I wonder what KG and Duncan would say?

Dirt,

No worries on Favors. He has really filled out over the last year and a half so some of the scouting reports are outdated on him. I live in Atlanta so I get to see him more than most.

If the Nets do draft him I hope the fans are patient. He’ll only be 19 next year and bigs usually don’t come into their own until 21 or 22.

The only thing that would get me angry would be if the Nets finish with the fewest wins in NBA history, and still come away with the #4 pick.

I don’t think even Kiki or Thorn could screw up the #1 or #2 pick. Number four—all bets are off.

Thanks, Tin Man—hope you’re doing well, too. Please stick around and visit us more often—we’ve got a terrific forum here now, too.

@Taylor Says:

Just file the predictions.
Watch.
L.James moved his Cleveland Business Headquarters to L.A. a couple years ago.
B.Griffin is injuried but he will bounce back next year with fearce.
L.A. is not out of the picture. Just like Cleveland and NYC.

@Taylor Says:

Bosh is going to Miami only if D.Wade stays.
D.Wade might go back home to Chicago to play with D.Rose.

"A dominant power forward will not win you any championships."

The past 3 NBA champions beg to differ;
Pau Gasol
Kevin Garnett
Tim Duncan

I don’t think there is ever one intagible factor that will or will not win you championships. It’s a combination of things.

@Dziedzic

Wade has publicly stated he wants to stay in Miami they “beef up the team.” I’d say Chris Bosh fits that description.

I believe Najera is signed through next year.

The last thing I ever hear might be, “With the number 4 pick in the NBA draft, the NJ Nets select Donatas Mot-”.

click click. BANG!

Mr. Big & Taylor -

Perhaps I should clarify. A team lead only by PF cannot win a championship. Pau (Kobe), Duncan (Parker, Ginobli), Garnett (Pierce, Allen, Rondo), all had All Star wing players or an All Star calibar point guard. I think the fundamental strength of every championship team is guard/wing play. The inside help that comes from having a dominant center or PF opens up the court for guys like Kobe/Pierce/Ginobli to do what they want. Thus, I think having a solid back court should come first.

@Adam

Like I said, there’s no one intagible factor. I agree with you, a good backcourt would be first on my list as a GM. Right now they’ve got an abundance of 2 guards and no true point, other than Skip but he’s not a scorer. That’s why they should draft Wall if they get the #1.

Can we stop this discussion of which position is the most important on a team to win a championship? Every position is important, and there’s no reason to attribute a team’s dominance to one particular position. With the exception of the Cleveland Cavs in the 2007 finals, most teams that make it to the finals are well-balanced teams that have very good players all throughout their lineup and a good bench. Look at the Pistons for example; they had very good players throughout their lineup, but no dominating players. A good pf, c, or pg doesn’t win you championships; a good pf, c, AND pg win you championships.

@ Adam

The “fundamental strength of every championship team” is from defense which is primarily supplied by big men. Once the interior is defended then the opposition is left with low percentage shots. When low % shots are taken more misses lead to more transition and only then do your wings prosper cuz the opposition’s D is not set. It’s a time tested result that will never change. That’s why the Nets don’t shoot well cuz they’re ineffective at the 3 & 4 on D and give up high % shots which reduce transition and lead to our low % shooting.

@ Adam, well said. The 4 and 5 should not only protect the paint, they must also be able to score in the paint as well, creating more options on the perimeter if the opposing team was to collasp inside. A nasty “4” would be the perfect combo.

1. Big numbers on bad teams is a theory that is supposed to imply that because of the opportunity afforded a player by playing on a team where everyone else sucks, he is allowed to dominate the offense beyond his actual capability, thereby increasing the player’s basic stats while sacrificing the efficiency which is vital to winning basketball.

CDR is not inefficient. He is shooting 45.6% from the field and 82.9% from the line. With 45% being a benchmark for shooting percentage and 83% being well above whatever the average FT% is, CDR is actually very efficient, a fact made even more impressive by how much higher his percentages are than his teammates— the only people in the NBA in a comparable situation. To top it off, FT% (along with work ethic, which CDR has in spades) is traditionally a key indicator of a players ability to improve his jump-shooting. His mid-range jumper has already visibly improved this year, and added three point range (which he’s already shown hints of) will only spike his TS% further.

Since his jumpshot and passing ability, an area where he’s shown to be willing so that it is likely to develop as he gains a greater understanding of how NBA defenses defend him, are the only two skills that are holding him back, it is foolish for Hollinger to deny the 22-year old CDR the “young talent” label he obviously deserves. Can’t expect much more from a pure stat junkie, though, even with the general basketball public (beyond Nets fans, of course) it seems CDR still widely suffers from his perceived pre-draft ceiling.

2. While this team is defunct in the area of points, assists, and FG%, the real issue lies in the finishing ability of the SFs and PFs. It doesn’t matter how good the pass was if the guy blows the layup. A dead-eye shooter would change a lot on the floor and help hide our PFs inability, but the issue will remain until fixed. In terms of skill we need outside shooting, and positionally we need a PF. PFs and 3pt shooting don’t typically go together (and most teams don’t want them together) so it is becoming increasingly apparent that something must be done at the wing.

I think the situation will improve naturally over time with the development of CDR, Williams, and Lee (who can’t get out of his shooting slump) but that does nothing for the team while Dooling and Hayes are injured (plus injuries can affect shots- Dooling seemed unwilling to stretch his range beyond 18 feet in the few games he did play).

All of this adds up to make me think that at whatever point that Prokhorov takes over as owner (officially or imminently) some sort of move will be made to address the current shooting problems. The positional need at PF will likely wait since, in addition to the commitment to Yi, finding a worthwhile player that matches the team’s desired skills (rebounding & defense + actual talent – aka no Boones), age, and contract will be nearly impossible to find at the talent-cost the team would currently be willing to pay.

Anthony Randolph though, is an intriguing option if the rumors are true….

3. Evan Turner will NOT fall beyond the top 5 (should be top 3 but I’m allowing for stupid teams being stupid). As long as he shows health by the NBA draft he is a top prospect without playing another college game.

4. It is to early to say ________ is the pick. We should just be happy that this draft appears to be absolutely stocked with PFs (Draftexpress lists 23 of its 30 projected 1st rounders as SF/PFs, PFs, PF/Cs, or Cs) AND top notch talent. The worst team in the league this year gets a 64.3% chance (yes, I looked it up) of getting one of Wall, Favors, Turner (the current consensus top 3). Let the process sort the talent, and then we get to choose from the cream that rises to the top.

Agree with Yormark.

Personally, I say keep lopez. Dominant big man, reminds me of Timmy D. Also, i say trade Harris, Sean Williams, Yi and maybe a second rounder to the suns for Jason Richardson, Channing Frye, and Earl Clark. I really like Clark’s game. He has a long body and a great shooting touch. He’s a lot like a young LaMarcus Aldridge. Then if we sign Lebron we have a quality do-it-all type player. IF and only IF we get John Wall number 1.

Our lineup would be:

Wall/Dooling
Richardson/Lee
James/CDR
Clark/Frye
Lopez/Boone

Very Athletic and uptempo style team that can also beat you in the half-court. I really like Frye’s game. He could also play back-up 5 and his shooting touch has extended to 3 point range. Him and Clark will open the floor up to Lopez so much more than Yi will. But if he explodes this year after his comeback, i say keep Yi. Richardson is a great running man and can knock shot after shot but also beat you with his athetlicism.

@ dirt, hilarious. I was thinking the same thing about Donatas Montejunes however it’s spelled. I could totally see that situation happening with our luck.

hmm..Interesting lineup you’ve got there Kenneth J. Not bad.

I think our future is bright. I’m an optimistic net fan. I’m new here to this website, but i’ve been a net fan since 01’. I’d really love to see the nets develop rather than expand through free agency. Although it takes longer, it gives the fan base a true test and brings back greater satisfaction when they do return to the plus side of the NBA.

Earl Clark and Channing Frye is possibly the only PF rotation worse than what we have now.

Try asking the Suns what THEY think of that.

I don’t think so. You have those guys out there, that spreads the floor for lopez. As seen with Boone and Sean out there playing the 4 position with lopez, the defense colapses every time lopez touches the ball. Having those guys at the 4 spot can spread and keep defenses honest. People were considering LaMarcus Aldridge as a prospect not too long ago, so why not these two guys? Basically the same as Aldridge. Earl Clarke really has potential and is similar to Aldridge.