TRADE HIM FOR THE GUY THAT SINGS “PANTS ON THE GROUND PANTS ON THE GROUND”

Today’s Alexander Johnson numbers:
  
31 minutes, 32 points (9-13 from field, 14-18 from line), 19 rebounds, 3 blocks, 1 assist.
  
Nets are too cheap to give him a 10-day conract. Like the old bones of Tony Battie are going to help?

Amen, I would say let him take his time recovering. The summer will be the best time for his return just so that we are sure he’s better!

I’m glad everyone is finally coming around on TWill….Far too many times this year people have posted about what a bust he is and how we should have simply released him or dealt him for popcorn. This kid is going to be very very good.

Much of the problem with this season stems from the fact that we have a very young roster and our coaching staff is tasked with having to develop multiple young players. As should have been expected, developing Brook is and was the #1 priority. The #2 priority was in continuing to build Devin Harris into a veteran leader/face of the franchise. You always rebuild a team around a point guard and center. If you look at the young teams or teams with cap space – not sure any of them have a better young PG/Center duo.

Then the Yi project was clearly priority #3. In his third season now – the Nets HAD to focus on his development – and truly decide whether he has a future on this team. The Nets HAD to guage whether he could be the starting PF of the future – a part of the young core of Devin and Brook. I think at this point – the Nets realize he is not the answer to be the starting PF of the future, but is the best option to start for the remainder of the season. Kiki wants Yi to continue logging heavy minutes, as a big weakness in Yi’s game is his lack of basketball IQ and game experience. So the force feeding of minutes is an attempt to remedy that…..plus it makes sense to continue to develop him so that you can hopefully get value from him next season as a rotation player or a trade chip.

The next priority was to develop Courtney Lee….the front office NEEDED to showcase Courtney for 2 reasons – 1) he was the centerpiece of the VC trade – from a fan base persective the Nets needed to sell this trade as getting younger and adding another piece to the core rather than a straight salary dump and 2) Courtney has a lot of potential and we are starting to see that now.

After this the priorities were upon developing CDR and TWill. CDR has shot himself in the foot with his attitude and “honesty” clearly rubbing many in the organization the wrong way. TWill was thrown into the fire initially by Coach Frank out of necesity and did ok. Then some issues getting used to the league, learning professionalism, etc derailed his season for a while. Kiki benching TWill was probably the best thing that could have been done for TWill’s career. And now you are starting to see his talent come through…..

His passing and court vision are unmatched by any guard on this team. You could make the argument that his court vision is actually very similiar to Jason Kidd’s and that his ability to fill a stat sheet from the PG position with assists and rebounds is very Kiddesque. I have always viewed him as a PG rather than a SF or SG and it seems that the Nets are starting to view him the same. Last night – Kiki was using TWill as the primary ballhandler oftentimes when on the court with Devin and either Courtney or CDR. I think we continue to see this – with TWill running the point regardless of who is on the floor. And I think next season – regardless of whom we draft – you are going to see TWill in the starting lineup as the primary ballhandler. And you are going to see him continue to improve every game for the remainder of the season.

So for those of you who are calling for Kiki’s head – he is a very good talent evaluator and has done very well in the draft. Even though it seemed like a bad decision for most of the season – including Ryan Anderson to net Courtney Lee in the VC trade is looking brilliant the last 2 months. Ryan is not getting off the bench, and Courtney is developing into a dynamic shooting guard. TWill looks like he could become one of the better players in last years draft and both Brook and CDR were great picks. If we are cleaning house in the front office – it should be Rod and not Kiki who is shown the door…Oh, and as the progress in the games of Brook, Courtney, TWill show – Kiki is not a bad player development guy either

Great article on cdr and an even greater quote by calipari. I see CDR having a role here once we get in a real coaching staff.