Initial Schedule (subject to change)

Friday, July 25 - 4 p.m. - 6 p.m., EDT - Nets vs. Jazz.

Saturday, July 26 - 12 midnight - 2 a.m., EDT - Nets vs. Jazz.

Sunday, July 27 - 1 p.m. - 3 p.m., EDT - Nets vs. Jazz.

Every Sunday, we’ll be updating the Nets’ off-season with bits and pieces of information, gossip, etc. to help take the edge off missing the playoffs, relying on the Nets’ beat reporters and others who have slipped interesting data into larger stories and blogs.

The Gift That Keeps On Giving.

When Jason Kidd left, everyone was excited about two of the assets the Nets received in return: Devin Harris and the two first round picks. Some were also excited about DeSagana Diop too, but it would be hard to find anyone so excited they were willing to give him $32 million over the next five years. That’s what Dallas has agreed to pay him.

Obviously, people remain excited about Harris…it should be noted that the three jerseys under glass in the lobby of the Nets’ practice facility are, in order, #34 (Harris), #15 (Vince Carter) and #9 (Yi Jianlian).

The first of the Dallas picks turned into Ryan Anderson who the Nets liked a lot in the draft and in Orlando. He sure looked exactly what they were looking for, a young, deep shooting big man with better athleticism that expected.

But three of the assets didn’t get a lot of attention at the time: the $3 million in cash, the $3.3 million trade exception and Keith Van Horn’s expiring contract. They were a bit arcane for the average fan.

Not any more.

With the trade for Keyon Dooling imminent, the Nets have turned two of the three into a solid bench player. Dooling, 28, is being acquired in a sign-and-trade using the $3.3 million trade exception. By using the TE, the Nets won’t have to include any players. And that $3 million in cash? It could very well be what the Nets are sending the Magic in the sign-and-trade.

So Dooling and Anderson become late benefits to the biggest trade in Nets history. Essentially, after the draft and three weeks of free agency, the deal looks like this:

The Nets get Devin Harris, Maurice Ager, Trenton Hassell, Keith Van Horn, Ryan Anderson, Keyon Dooling and the Mavs’ 2010 first round pick. In return, the Mavs get Jason Kidd and Antoine Wright. We could add DeSagana Diop to the Mavs list too.

Now, can the KVH contract become a benefit as well? Fred Kerber wrote this week that the contract is worth $4.326 million. That’s more than has been suggested and worth about $5.5 million in a trade. To make KVH’s contract work, the other team would have to be looking to send the Nets a longer term contract in a salary dump and the Nets would have to be willing to take on that longer term contract. (KVH has a small buyout, but the Nets could easily include “cash considerations” in any deal to defray the cost of the buyout…it’s not likely to be more than a half million dollars.)

The team can wait while before it has to make that decision. Al Iannazzone has reported the Nets have until October to work a deal. That’s when KVH will either have to waived or left on the roster for another year. (The longer KVH sits in limbo, the great likelihood the league will look askance at using his contract in a deal.)

Looking for Mr. Big.

It’s been hard keeping up with all the comings and goings of big men since the end of last season, and it’s hard to tell who will still be around when the Nets face off in Europe during preseason. Nenad Krstic’s status is likely to dealt with this week. Krstic, who turns 25 on Friday, is expected to get several offers. Iannazzone reports that at least four teams are interested: Memphis, Cleveland, Milwaukee and the Knicks. Memphis has the most cap space. In fact, Memphis is the only team in that group that has any cap space. Cleveland is the only team with their MLE still intact so the chances of those teams signing him outright is small. The more likely outcome would be a sign-and-trade involving multiple players…so the Nets could reduce the number of players they have on their roster.

The Nets keep insisting they don’t want to lose the oft-injured seven-footer who they thought could develop into a reliable 18-and-8 player. It would be risky to think he can never return to pre-injury form.

Assuming he stays, here is the current mix, always subject to change, of the big men and their prospects for this season:

Brook Lopez – 7’1”, 260, 20 years old. The only really true center on the roster. He looked great-–on offense—in the summer league, averaging 19.5 ppg in five games, and getting better with each game. He is tough, his athleticism has been underrated—same vertical leap as DeAndre Jordan, and he can shoot out to the college or even NBA three point line. Yes, he was a steal, BUT he is a rookie and a young rookie. He is likely to see games where he’s charged with three fouls in five minutes. How will he handle that? Analysts note his defense in general is a work in progress, his lower body strength leaves something to be desired and he didn’t exactly get a reputation for rebounding the ball in Orlando. Everyone who sees him upclose remarks about how big—“HUGE”—he is.

Nenad Krstic – 7’0”, 260, 25 years old. As noted, Curly or “Krle” as he’s known in Serbia, was on his way toward all-Star status until he blew out his knee. He keeps saying the knee is fine, but as Jarvis Hayes said this week, “they say it takes a year and a half” to deal with the mental aspect of such a devastating injury. IF he can come back and IF he and the Nets reach an agreement that makes everyone happy, he could be very important to the team. He has post skills as well as a deep jumper. As proven when he teamed up with Jason Collins, he can play the four as well as the five, at least on offense.

Yi Jianlian – 7’0”, 235, 20 years old. We’ll know more about Yi, the mysterious visitor from the East, very soon. He will be facing off against some of the biggest names in basketball in the Olympics, in China, in front of the world. There’ll be Carlos Boozer of the US; Andrew Bogut of Australia—his former teammate; Andrei Kirilenko of Russia; Dirk Nowitzki of Germany; all looking to take him down low. Can he handle them? Can they handle him when he moves outside. In our most pleasant daydreams, we are reminded of Drazen Petrovic, another international star who played elsewhere before joining the Nets and blooming as a bona fide NBA superstar. Yi plays the four, but may be best suited as a three. Again, his defense is questionable, at best.

Josh Boone – 6’10”, 245, 23 years old. Big improvement last year with more double-doubles than anyone in his draft class, and that includes LaMarcus Aldridge. He is reportedly working feverishly on his upper body strength and outside shooting. Remember, this is a kid who has yet to practice in camp or train most of the summer. In 2006, he tore his labrum in the last game of summer league and was restricted to the exercise bike and other lower body exercises, no shooting. In 2007, he needed knee surgery right after the season. Again, his routine was set back. He can play the five and with better range on his jumper (like beyond five feet), he could play the four. His defense is better than his teammates, but that’s not saying much.

Sean Williams – 6’10”. 240, 21 years old. So much potential, so much trade value. David Thorpe of ESPN calls him “a special talent” but maybe one without a true NBA position. No one can doubt his athleticism. His rookie teammates marvel at what he can do. His defense on Michael Beasley was superb…but he didn’t dominate the Summer League as second year players normally do. How much focus does he have? How much of a motor? Carter and Jefferson were constantly on him last season, pushing him, on the court and in the locker room. Lawrence Frank reluctantly gave him a starting spot and initially he proved worthy of the promotion. Then, he hit the wall and disappeared into rotation hell. He claimed not to know why. Carter disabused him of that notion. He isn’t a five, can play the four and there are some in Netsland who think he should try the three.

Ryan Anderson – 6’10”, 230, 20 years old. As noted, the youngest Net player in a quarter century. Reminiscent of Van Horn, minus the high whites. He was picked for that deep shooting range and his ability to get points however he can. He, like Lopez, proved that he is more athletic than given credit for, twice shocking people with driving two hand dunks through the lane. Fred Kerber wrote that Pacer coach Jim O’Brien thinks he’s “physically immature”, which could mean he is still growing but is more likely a way of saying, “Mr. Anderson, meet Mr. Dalatri, your new best friend.” Did we mention he is the youngest Net in 25 years? That is not said to encourage a belief he is ready right now. He can play the four and the three and in college, after Devin Hardin went down, he played the five. Can’t imagine him doing that in the NBA.

Stromile Swift – 6’10”, 235, 28 years old. There is nothing so exasperating in sports as a player who was given all the physical tools to perform at a high level, but not the manual on how to use them. In short, Swift is a tease, someone who on a given night looks like a player who deserved that overall #2 pick in the 2000 draft, but on most doesn’t come close. If he stays, the one hope the Nets could rely on is that he’s in his contract year. At his age, the next contract he signs will be his last. He needs to show just how good he is. It’s no longer a case of potential. It’s about performance. He is essentially limited to the four.

That’s seven big men, but two or three of them can be pressed to play the three. Too many? The Nets carried five bigs last season and everyone in the front office said the team had to get bigger. The Nets obviously are looking to make a deal or two. They’ve contacted the agents for Kwame Brown and Francisco Elson, possibly for inclusion after other deals are made. And what about Darius Miles, who the Nets worked out before anyone else did?

Draft Night Decisions

Okay, let’s suppose Brook Lopez wasn’t there at #10, that Charlotte had taken him instead of D.J. Augustin (another reason to thank MJ)? Who would the Nets have taken? In a meeting with season ticket-holders, a key team official offered no hesitation. Jerryd Bayless of Arizona was the answer. In spite of his similarities to Harris, the Nets felt Bayless was the best player available and as one Net official put it, “at that level, you go for the best player.”

And what about #21? Was there another contender for the Nets’ affections there? Indeed, and surprise, it was Courtney Lee of Western Kentucky, not one of the lesser bigs, like Darrell Arthur, Donte Green or DeAndre Jordan, all of whom were available. (One has to assume that if the Nets had taken Bayless at #10, they wouldn’t have taken Lee at #21.)

While almost everyone agrees the Nets got “steals” with Brook Lopez and Chris Douglas-Roberts, they feel they did just as well taking Anderson. And while CDR gets a lot of attention for his anger at being picked at #40, do not dismiss how pissed off Lopez is about being picked at #10. “He thought he should have gone in the top five…and wants to prove it,” said the same official.

Catching Up with Devin Harris

Harris is back in Milwaukee with a side trip to his alma mater, the University of Wisconsin, in Madison.

Harris told the local papers he is adjusting to being the Nets’ “point guard of the future” (not now?), a bit upset by the Richard Jefferson trade, but excited in general.

So what’s he been doing? He told the Madison Times that he is concentrating on working on his form and shooting a higher percentage from the field. “I’ve been working on my pull-up [jumpers] off the dribble from 15 feet out to make sure that that is a knockdown, 100 percent of the time bucket,” Harris said. “As always, I’m working on reading the floor and, really, just getting stronger, to keep my body healthy to make it through a full season.”

With the addition of Dooling, the Nets have two defensively oriented guards. Both can shoot a bit as well…and both, as noted above, are the product of the Kidd trade.

Harris, who practiced against Team USA last summer, won’t be in Vegas this summer. He had been chosen as an alternate for the NBA Select Team but wasn’t called.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim Considers Retirement.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim admitted this week that his troubled right knee could cause him to retire.

“I think at the end of the day with something like this, it’ll make the decision for you,” he told the Sacramento Bee. “Anyone’s body is only going to let you do what it’s going to let you do. That’s the thing. I haven’t really mentally started adjusting to (the notion of retirement) and thinking like that. I guess my body will let me know.”

The Kings would like that to happen since it would free them from carrying the last two years of his five-year, $29 million contract on their salary cap.

SAR missed virtually all of last season following the second surgery on the knee and this summer, things haven’t improved significantly. Of course for Nets fans, the combination of “Shareef Abdur-Rahim” and “right knee” bring back some bad memories.

As any Nets’ fan can recall, the team had an agreement with Abdur-Rahim in the summer of 2005. They would acquire the 20 point career scorer in a sign-and-trade with Portland. The Nets had commited to giving him a six-year, $38 million contract that would have expired in 2010-11. Then, the day before a press conference was scheduled to introduce him, Nets orthopedists thought they saw evidence that SAR’s right knee had a problem. At age 16, he had had knee surgery and the subsequent build-up of scar tissue was a warning sign, they thought, that he might not be able to play at the far end of the contract.

The Nets offered Abdur-Rahim a revised deal. Both Aaron Goodwin, SAR’s agent, and Rod Thorn confirmed the second offer. It was a bit complicated. The new offer included four guaranteed seasons–through 2008-09–with the years five and six guaranteed only if Abdur-Rahim showed “no significant problems” through the first three years of the contract…meaning through this year.

“And if he played two years without a problem, the fifth year would be guaranteed,” Thorn said at the time. “Basically, he only had to show up.”

Luckily for the Nets, Abdur-Rahim rejected the Nets’ offer and instead signed with the jubilant Kings of Sacramento who thought they had gotten the former All-Star at a bargain basement rate. Their doctors had looked at the same data the Nets orthopedists had but signed off.

It’s difficult to imagine what cap hell the Nets’ salary picture would be in today if SAR had even signed the Nets’ second offer. May we say, “Curse of Thorn”?

Next Up: Roy Rogers

Expect the next press release from the Nets, after the Dooling signing, to be one announcing the hiring of Roy Rogers, the former Alabama and NBA shot blocker, as big man coach. Rogers had a short, injury-marred career in the NBA, playing only four years after being drafted at #22 by the Grizzlies in the 1996 draft. He last played professionally in 2003 in Poland.

Most recently, he worked as an assistant coach for the Spurs’ D-League team, the Austin Toros, where he tutored Ian Mahinmi, their 6’-11” French prospect.

The Nets tried to obtain him in the late 1990’s as a back-up to Jayson Williams. While at Alabama, he tied the NCAA record for blocked shots in a game with 14 against Georgia on February 10, 1996.

Final Note.

We found an interesting blog last week, which unlike most sports blogs is both highly readable and original. And we liked the subject matter of their latest post: what happens if your team cuts salary to the bone hoping to sign a free agent in 2010 (like say Lebron James) and he decides to stay home or go elsewhere.

Here’s how BlackBall Sports described the problem:

“Teams are openly saying that they are positioning their salary cap and rosters to have space for these players. Teams such as the New Jersey Nets and New York Knicks are openly advertising that they’re moving their rosters around to get Lebron James. I’m not a fan of either one of these teams (matter fact Hate the Knicks) but this is ridiculous. How can teams be openly trading players and getting rid of salary in HOPE, HOPE I say of landing one of those big time players. First off what does that say to the fans and season ticket holders of these teams? There is no way that you can say the Nets trading Richard Jefferson for Yi Jianlian makes them a better team in the near future.. Right now, Richard Jefferson along with Vince Carter and Devin Harris makes the Nets a playoff contender. By trading for Yi, you clear Jefferson’s salary for 2010 and can HOPE for Lebron.

“I for one believe that teams should openly rebuild and say, ‘as our team is constructed we can’t win a title.’ But if that is going to be the stance of the organization some kind of restitution needs to be offered to the fans and season ticket holders. I would even be willing to support the team trying to get a great player if weren’t still forced to pay full price for a product that isn’t worth full price. I don’t hear the owners in New Jersey saying ‘tickets cheaper this year, because we want Lebron in 2010.’

“And the other problem with this philosophy is what if Lebron or D. Wade don’t leave and come to any of these teams. So, now you have no superstar and you have retarded whatever process your team had made these last couple of years. All these teams that are getting rid of salary can’t sign Lebron and or D. Wade. And would signing Carmelo Anthony or Chris Bosh really be worth postponing your team’s progression?”

By Khalid Salaam,
Olympic Hoop 08

China’s recent ascension to global power in the modern age has largely been fueled by its bustling economy. With a manufacturing industry that makes the world go round and workforce of hundreds of millions, everything that China does is felt by every citizen who chooses to
indulge in modern amenities.

That thirst for success is not a singular obsession related to the business sector alone. The Chinese love sports, too, and their focus on doing everything right for the 2008 Summer Olympics is only bested by their focus on winning in the Olympics. They’re amped to make an
impact—especially in basketball—and if you think that their ability to do so rests only on the shoulders of Yao Ming, well, then, congratulations. You’re half correct, but keep reading to learn about the other half.

First, a little background. With apologies to Wang Zhi Zhi, the Chinese legacy in the NBA is improved greatly with the addition of Yi Jianlian (pronounced EE jee-AHN-lee-AHN), whose success in the Chinese Basketball Association set off a whirlwind of interest from
international scouts. Over the last few years, several NBA teams sent the scouts or executives to watch Yi in action, noting his demeanor and just trying to see, up close, if he had the proper skills to earn an NBA roster spot or better, become the League’s next great international star. Depending on who you ask or what you value, his coming-out party was either at the’02 ABCD Camp here in the States (held at New Jersey’s Farleigh Dickinson University, where Yi played against future NBA players like LeBron James), at the 04 junior World Championship
Games in Greece (where he averaged 18 points, 11 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game) or by earning MVP honors for the Guangdong Tigers in ‘06 on the strength of his averages of 20 points, 9 boards and 1.3 blocks per contest.

Either way, his name has circulated throughout basketball circles for the last few years, so when he formally announced his entry into the NBA Draft, it was expected he would be a lottery pick. Courted by several teams, it was the Milwaukee Bucks who showed the most interest.

Only problem was Yi didn’t want to play for Wisconsin’s finest. He wasn’t using the rookie “I won’t play here because its too far from my family” card. His family is thousands of miles away; so wherever he played in the US is obviously far His beef was with the city, not known by any means as one of the marquee NBA locales nor as an area of the country with a high Asian population. It’s virtually a random city as one could get for an international player looking to make an impact.

He–and/or his people–weren’t feeling America’s dairyland and the Chinese government had his back like a chiropractor. Chinese officials agreed and told the Bucks he would not play there. The Bucks, floating in NBA irrelevancy, were steadfast in their assertion that if he was
there when they picked at No. 6 that he would be selected. He was, they did, setting off a relative firestorm of commentary and controversy with Yi and his handlers demanding the Bucks trade him because playing for the Bucks would not supply the 19-year-old enough playing time, and that lack of burn would weaken him for the Olympic Games. Regardless of all this melodrama, he did go to Milwaukee and ended up averaging a respectable if quiet 8.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game while playing an average of 25 mpg. As predicted, the typical
NBA fan didn’t much notice what was going on in Milwaukee, but the 20-year-old showed impressive offensive ability.

Yi is expected to team with Houston Rockets All-Star Yao Ming (assuming the latter’s recovery from foot surgery continues to go well) to provide the host nation with arguably its best basketball team ever. At 7 feet and 238 pounds, and possessing guard-like sills, any all comparisons between Yi and Yao (besides the obvious) fall under the “white guy/small forward reminds me of Larry Bird” category of stereotyping.

Long and versatile, Yi has a modern game, heavy on perimeter skills if lack in the ability/interest to do much banging down low or catch many and-ones. He has the potential to surpass assumed international player limitations and turn himself into a legit NBA player.

But all that is a long way and a lot of improving from now. At this moment in time, the world’s introduction to Yi will com e via the 2008 Games. In a recent interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Yi shared his enthusiasm for the upcoming Summer Games. “I’m very
excited,” he said. “Often, I catch myself thinking and imagining about the Olympics right now. To have the Olympics right at our front door and look and see the stadium and it’s all Chinese fans, this is something I am really excited about.”

The Chinese have drawn the unenviable task of being placed in the same group as the US as well as the defending world champions, Spain. (The participating teams were drawn in two groups of six teams each. Three spots are yet to be taken, as 12 teams will fight for the available tickets during the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Athens from July 14-20.

The participating sides will be Cameroon, Cape Verde, Puerto Rico, Canada, Brazil, Korea, Lebanon, Greece, Germany, Croatia, Slovenia and New Zealand). In fact, for China’s opening game, they are set to play what looks to be the second best US basketball team of all
time. Keeping the game with the US from being a buzz-killing romp will be an accomplishment in and of itself. Beating the American team seems to be unrealistic, unless of course Yi and the rest of his teammates are up to a remarkable task.

Like Yao, Yi is also rehabbing injured body parts (a sprained ligament in his right wrist) and how he is feeling come the Games’ August tipoff will undoubtedly play a major role in whether he will be able to go at full speed. “The time off is enough for me,” he recently told China Daily. “I am confident that me and Yao Ming will be at our best shape ahead of the Games.” And regardless of the talent disparity, he seems fairly confident of what to expect from the US team.. “After spending a whole season in the NBA, I am a lot stronger and have a better understanding of the game”.

Yi seems excited, as is his country (Though some excitement has surely been dampened by the very real, very tragic earthquake took the lives of thousands in southwest China. Both the Chinese men’s and women’s teams have donated 500,000 yuan–around $75,000 USD–and Yao Ming 100,000 yuan himself.)

The country has devoted a large amount of time and money into the game For example, all basketball games will be played the brand-new state of the art Wukesong Arena. It has an 18,000-seat capacity (It will seat 12,000 for the Olympics, however) and inside it is beset with all the modern trappings of an NBA arena. The Chinese team placed eighth in the 2004 Games and will be looking to improve upon that. With an estimated fan base of 350 million–about as many people as are in the United States–basketball has arguably become the that nation’s most popular sport, and expectations are higher than usual. Because of this, players on the basketball team have become real celebrities, Yi chief among them. He recently participated in the Chinese leg of the Olympic torch relay and led a group of athletes in unveiling apparel for the Games at a Nike event..

China is no longer a rising superpower. They’re squarely here, and with that star power comes more visibility in the Summer Games, their athletes are taking center stage with this newfound visibility. In his home country, Yi is already a star. However, what he does in the Olympics is his chance to position himself as one of the faces of China’s future.

You can bet that all of China, and the basketball world as a whole, will be watching to see what happens.

By Andrew Katz
Dime Magazine

Though his style can be called impetuous, his mindset impregnable, and his will to win ferocious, there’s no expression that better describes Chris Douglas-Roberts’s game than Muhammad Ali’s infamous self-assessment: he floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee.

It should come as no surprise to learn that CDR crafted his slick game on the basketball court one story above Detroit’s legendary Kronk boxing gym, where he mixed with Emanuel Steward, Tommy “The Hit Man” Hearns and “Iron” Mike Tyson. While Chris only ventured down to the Spartan gym to pop the heavy bag a couple of times, his hoop game is predicated on a read-and-react arsenal of leaners, floaters, scoops and hooks no different from a boxer’s toolbox of jabs, uppercuts, and haymakers. Combine his knowledge of the sweet science with a 6-7 frame and an electric first step, and Chris Douglas-Roberts has a puncher’s chance to be the steal this summer’s NBA Draft.

When we got up with CDR, he was in the heart of an intense training period at the Attack Athletic Center in Chicago. Working with MJ’s former trainer Tim Grover, Douglas-Roberts was pushing himself to the limit in preparation for upcoming workouts with NBA teams, and the opportunity to go head-to-head with other draftees. The kid was licking his chops thinking about the chance to prove that he’s just as good, if not better, than many of his colleagues who will receive twice the hype heading into the Draft.

“He’s going to be a big-time player in the NBA,” says fellow Detroit native Jalen Rose. “A few people are sleeping on my guy. When I see people talking about who’s about to become the top players coming into the League, I haven’t heard his name mentioned as much as I would like. But he’s going to be one of the top young players in the NBA.”

While everyone witnessed Douglas-Roberts’ consensus first team All-American junior season, in which he led Memphis to a 37-2 record on 18.1 points at a 54 percent clip, many are still quick to marginalize his game as “squirrelly,” or as a collection of “old man tricks” as ESPN.com’s Pat Forde wrote. But ask UConn’s Stanley Robinson, a gifted defender, if CDR’s 33 points of terror in front of a packed MSG crowd last November felt like any sort of trick. Run that same question of any of the seventeen teams he scored 20 or more points against. Even if he’s not the quickest or the strongest guy around, CDR still routinely dominated guys trying to guard him.

“He was either the most gifted scorer in the nation, or was pretty darn close,” says former Memphis top assistant and new UMass head coach Derek Kellogg.

Game in and game out, Douglas-Roberts took his opponents’ best defender, and absorbed that guy’s best shot. He’s knocked down almost everyone who has stepped in his way at Memphis, and now he’s ready to start swinging in the League.

Dime: You grew up playing hoops in the same building that housed the legendary Detroit boxing gym, Kronk. What did that gym do for your game?

Chris Douglas-Roberts: Upstairs in the gym it was a great run. Everybody was really tough, and some guys could really play. I always played with the older guys, so I was never playing with my peers. That just made me much better. My brother and his friends were playing, and he’s 10 years older than me. That just really influenced me and it made me who I am today on and off the court. The boxers tried to come up and play, but I was always telling them, “Stay in the gym, man. Stay in the ring.” Nah, but I used to go down there too and do little stuff. I never got in the ring, but I hit the bag or jumped rope with some of the boxers just for the fun of it.

Dime: What do you mean when you say that playing up there made you who you are as a person?

CDR: When you’re competing with older guys, veterans, they know all of the tricks to the trade. And I didn’t. By playing with them, I was forced to learn early. That’s where the trickery in my game, or whatever people call it, comes from. I learned it early. I learned all the veteran stuff around 13, 14. All I had to do was polish up the older I got. That just made it much easier. And off the court when you’re playing with the older guys, you develop that mental toughness - toughness is instilled in you. Kronk was a huge part of my upbringing, huge part. Like I said, it really made me who I am.

Dime: As a 13-year-old playing against 23-year-olds, were you actually able to put in work?

CDR: Oh yeah. It doesn’t really matter how much older, or how fast - I mean some guys are considered great defensive players but I never looked at it like that. By playing with them I was always competitive, especially at a younger age. I was always playing against somebody who was supposed to be better - “He’s older, so he’s better,” or “He’s faster so he’s better.” But I never paid attention to it. Never.

Dime: This season at Memphis, you went up against some guys who were supposed to be some of the better defenders around…

CDR: I played a lot of these guys who are considered to be some of the best defensive players in the country. Throughout the whole year, I faced the best defensive player on the other team. Of all the guys I played this year, Russell (Westbrook, UCLA) was very good. I have a lot of respect for Russell. But I don’t think there’s such a thing as a defensive stopper. If a guy is good on offense, he’s just good on offense. That’s with anybody. There are guys who are really good defensive players, but I don’t feel like there’s such as a lock-down defender. If a guy has it going that night, he just has it going.

Dime: What do you think about the fact that some guys who you’ve outperformed are still slated to go above you in the draft?

CDR: That’s before the draft. I feel if you put me in a room with somebody, I’m going to be the one to come out. That’s all those workouts are. You’re going to have to play me eventually. You can’t run from those - so eventually you’re going to have to see me in a workout, and whoever comes out is a better player, period. Whoever does the best in these workouts, that’s the better player. Me being at the bottom of the draft boards, it doesn’t matter to me. You can’t deny what will eventually happen. That’s me up against somebody - and the team has to pick. I just feel like they’re not used to my game. I’m not the conventional two.

Dime: You talk about it like it’s not a matter of if, but when.

CDR: Haha, I feel that I’ve always had it. I don’t know why, but I’ve always been confident my whole life. You have to have it when you’re the underdog because if you’re not confident in yourself, you’re just feeding into what everybody is saying. You have to have it. It’s still going on now - even though I was consensus All-American, people still have their doubts. That’s why I stay confident.

Dime: How has Coach (John) Calipari impacted that confidence? We’ve heard that your relationship goes beyond that of a coach and player, before the UCLA Final Four game he said, “I love you, Chris,” and you said, “I love you too, Coach.” That’s a really strong bond.

CDR: It definitely is. I don’t think we could be anywhere we are today without one another. We both understand that. Without him coaching, I actually don’t feel that I would have been that successful on the college level. That’s just being honest. And I don’t feel that he would have been that successful at Memphis these past three years without me. That’s where it all comes from. We really understand that, and we really understand each other. We’ve had our misunderstandings, and we’ve bumped heads a couple of times while I was there, but it was the right thing to do.

Dime: Can you give us any stories about you two bumping heads?

CDR: Out of everybody on the team, he’s always been the hardest on me. No matter if I was a freshman or, he was always the hardest on me. I remember in the Tulane game I had 20 points in the first half, and I missed one layup. The whole halftime speech was about me missing that one layup. “You’re going through the motions! You’ve gotta be kidding me!” I’m looking around, like, “Is he talking to me? It’s halftime and I have 20 - come on coach, you can’t be serious.” But he was just doing that to make me better. If anything happens on the team, he’ll point me out. Joey (Dorsey) could mess up, but he’ll yell at me.

Dime: You’re used to taking the punishment for your teammates?

CDR: Exactly. I’ve always taken adversity well. That’s really all the world is - being able to take adversity. I’ve always been able to do a good job at that, and I feel that I’ve been mentally strong for a long time. It probably started when I was younger. That carried over to Memphis. If you’re not mentally strong for Coach Calipari, you’re going to quit. Coach is crazy, and he’ll play mind games with you the whole week. Your numbers could be real good, but he’ll still play mind games with you. If you’re not mentally strong, you can’t play for him at all.

Dime: After you had two rough games at Middle Tennessee State and Cincinnati, did Coach Cal put you through a crazy workout to get your ‘motor’ running?

CDR: That’s what he did. It was tough, man. Those two games when I didn’t get 20 it was because they were running a box-and-one. It was really tough - any player knows it’s really tough to score on a box-and-one especially at the college level. They’re so athletic, and their primary focus is you. That’s another part of the mind-game thing. He knew that they were running the box-and-one. He knew that. But he still feels like I shouldn’t use an excuse. That’s no excuse. You should still be effective. For the next week we had these workouts and they were rough, man.

Dime: What did he have you do?

CDR: It was basically a lot of running and jumpshooting. But the running - you had to sprint - until he feels that you’re sprinting. At the end of the sprint, you have a layup. As you hit the layup, you’re getting hit with a pad in your face by (assistant coach) Tyrone Weeks, and he’s like 6-5, 240 pounds. He’s trying to take your head off. And with our strength and conditioning coach, it was two pads hitting you. It was tough, man. I was tired, no water. You could get water but it was when he felt you needed it.

Dime: That was the middle of an amazing run through 37 wins and two very tough losses. What did you do after you guys lost the national championship game to Kansas?

CDR: I just sat down and thought about it. “What could I have done more?” And the whole free throws thing… (Editor’s Note: Douglas-Roberts missed three free throws at the end of regulation, leaving the door open for Mario Chalmers’ miracle three.) I just sat down and thought about it. But at the same time I’m the leader of the team. So I looked around and mostly the whole team had their head down. So I got up and told them, “We had a hell of a year, man, we had a hell of a year. Of course we came up short. But don’t let nobody see us weak. It’s no reason for us to hold our heads down.” I walked around and tapped everybody on their forehead that had their head down and told them to get their head up. You don’t want to see people you care about and love like that. Family, or anybody you really care about. And I still really care about them even now. I didn’t want to see them like that.

Dime: There’s a rumor that you’ve never lost a game of one-on-one in your entire life - true?

CDR: That is true. DK [Derek Kellogg] knows I’ve never lost one. I’ve never lost one though. You could ask around from me being in Detroit, or any of my teammates, we played a lot of one-on-one. A lot of the guys were close. Derrick, Robert (Dozier), a lot of them were close. But I’ve never lost one. Ever.

Miles and miles of perfect white sandy beaches. Disney World. Humidity that would curl your toenails. Snakes in the swimming pool. Summer thunderstorms that would put the Kodo Drummers to shame. Living in Florida has its advantages—some might say “quirks”—but nothing can compare to the opportunity to attend the Pepsi Pro Summer League at the Magic’s training facility in Orlando. So when the Nets graciously offered me a press pass for their game Friday against Indiana (thanks Suss!) I jumped all over it. A chance to see the three newest Nets up close and personal? A two-hundred-and-fifty mile round trip to see a glorified scrimmage in a tiny gym? Sounded like a perfect day to me. I was also hoping that Vince Carter would make another appearance so I could (finally) formally challenge him to a footrace, after insisting that I could outrun him in an online preseason guide last fall. He’s got roughly ten years on me, and is (of course) a premier world-class athlete, but is coming off of ankle surgery, so I figure that if I ever have a shot at victory, it would be now. Just in case, I made sure to toss a pair of shorts and a Power Bar into the back of the car.

The RDV Sportsplex in Orlando, which serves as the Magic’s training facility, is the size of a small city, complete with a children’s day camp, two dozen tennis courts, a swimming pool shaped suspiciously like the letter “P” (don’t worry, I couldn’t understand it either), and about seven hundred treadmills and half as many Stairmasters sitting on an open floor. The Magic train in just one corner of this massive structure, accessed through a separate entrance. A press pass was waiting for me and I was in.

The facility was like a high school gym, only smaller and better smelling. It immediately became obvious why this league was not open to spectators: Lack of seating. On one side of the court were small wooden bleachers, about five benches high, and on the other were a few rows of chairs. I chose a discreet seat in the bleachers, across the court from where Rod, Kiki, and Lawrence Frank were sitting, and watched the Nets warm up.

The view of the Nets warming up before the game from my seat in the bleachers. Across the court, in a green shirt, sits Rod Thorn. Next to him are Lawrence Frank and Kiki Vandeweghe (partially blocked out).

My first thought: Brook Lopez is big. REALLY big. My second thought: Why are there so many foreign-speaking journalists sitting in the bleachers around me? They couldn’t really be there to report on pseudo-Pacers Aleks Maric and Vlad Gulobovic, could they? At some point later in the game I realized that they were probably scouts for foreign teams, here to identify a few players to offer contracts to. Third thought: No Vince Carter today. Bummer.

The game soon started, and almost immediately CDR threw up an alley-oop to Sean Williams that clanged off the rim. Not a good sign. Later in the quarter, the pair tried running a give-and-go. It failed, but Sean was fouled and sent to the line. Sean looked active—he seemed to touch the ball on every possession. He was hustling, too: At one point he dove on the floor, scrambling for a loose ball. On the other hand, though, I heard Tom Barrise shout at him several times that he was lining up on the wrong side of the court. Sean, Sean. Brook Lopez showed off a pretty jump hook, and Ryan Anderson got into the act, hitting a long three.

I’ve got to say that it is a totally different experience watching NBA players at eye level and a distance of about fifteen feet. It was a perspective that definitely requires getting used to, and I found it difficult to get a good read on the players’ defense. On offense, there appear to be few set plays other than the pick-and-roll. It’s understandable, since these guys have only practiced together for about a week. Brook Lopez seemed to have problems with the “pick” half of the play, establishing position two feet to the side of the opposing PG’s path, and halfheartedly sticking out his hand to try to slow him down. It didn’t work. Lopez is really big, though. Did I mention that?

The second quarter was more of the same. Jaycee Carroll is running the point, and he takes it to the rim on nearly every possession. At one point, the Nets play a big lineup with Lopez, Sean, and Ryan Anderson in the front court (Anderson came off the bench in this one). It struck me that Ryan was lining up on the offensive end as if he was a SG, hanging out at the top of the arc next to the PG. I watched him hit a couple of three-pointers from straightaway. If that’s truly where Ryan is most comfortable, I could envision the Nets altering his role when he’s on the court with Vince Carter, thus possibly allowing Vince to post up more frequently. We’ll see.

At halftime, the Nets had a one-point lead, 48-47, despite allowing the Pacers to shoot a blistering 63% from the field, including 5-of-10 from behind the arc. That the Nets were even within shouting distance was due to shooting 18 more free throws than Indiana, of which they made all but one. There didn’t seem to be much defense from anyone other than Anthony Tolliver, who received nearly ten minutes of action in the half. Chris Douglas-Roberts led the team with 11 points in nearly fifteen minutes, courtesy of a perfect seven-of-seven from the line. Ryan Anderson had eight, and Brook Lopez six points and two rebounds. Other Nets of note in the first half: Sean Williams with five points and a pair of rebounds in 12:34; Jaycee Carroll with four points on two-of-seven shooting, but just a single assist. Julius Hodge , who entered the week amidst such high expectations, played for all of 3:21, and scored two points. Kiki spent most of the first half on the phone, pacing back and forth along the edge of the gym. Something was up. Rod Thorn happily watched the game in his shorts from his court-side seat, uninterrupted, and letting Kiki do the heavy lifting. Delegation, delegation, delegation.

I then approached N.Y. Post beat writer Fred Kerber, and shyly introduced myself. “Fred? I’m ___, from NetsDaily,” I said, using my real name. “Dumpy!” he practically shouted. “Al [Iannazzone] will be so jealous that I got to meet you!” Fred was kind enough to allow me to join him for a bite to eat during the break, during which he filled me in on what Kiki was doing: The Nets were about to sign Jarvis Hayes. In return, I explained why I use the handle “Dumpy.” You’ll have to ask him that one.

Then the pace picked up, if that could be possible, and the game became more physical. In the second half, it was the Brook and Ryan show. The Pac-10 duo combined for 31 points after the break, finishing with 25 and 20 points, respectively, with Anderson doing a pretty good Keith Van Horn impression. When Will Conroy entered the game, the Nets looked like they were running a real offense, as he directed traffic and called plays like an experienced PG (he earned three assists in his eight-plus second-half minutes). As a team, the Nets shot a blistering 61% (19 for 31), to pull away from Indiana in the final few minutes and put the game away. The final score was 107-99, an astounding total for a game consisting of ten-minute quarters.

There isn’t much I can add to the game (and the performance of the rookies) that hasn’t already been said by Kerber in his terrific articles and blog entries. Let me add, though, that the greatest impression that I got from watching the game didn’t have anything to do with how any one individual played (although you couldn’t help but be impressed by Brook Lopez and Ryan Anderson)–it was that this team desperately wanted to win. As the game became more physical, the bench became more and more enthusiastic, yelling encouragement and cheering on every play down the stretch (best part: Brook was hit on the hand while shooting, and, after no foul was called, Barrise yelling to the ref, “You didn’t see it, but you heard it!”). The pride and camaraderie were evident, and those are the first steps to becoming a winner. Just ask baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays, who have gone from doormats to contenders in the course of a season, in part because of the attitude and professionalism brought by off-season acquisition Cliff Floyd, at least according to a number of beat writers covering the team. I know you’re thinking: Big deal, these guys are pros; they should always play hard. Thing is, we haven’t really seen that the past few summers, at least as far as could be discerned from the webcam feed over the Magic’s web site. This year, with these players, things are clearly different. The Nets played hard and played physically, hustled during transition on both ends of the court, and looked like they are starting to bond. I have no idea if they will be any good, but obviously the rookies all showed strengths–not the least important of which was that they look like winners.

And for those looking for good signs everywhere: The three draftees combined for an amazing 29-for-29 performance from the line. For a team that was one of the worst free-throw shooting teams in the league last season, that is a welcome sign.

Finally, I was also impressed by Anthony Tolliver. In this game, Tolliver scored 11 points on 4-5 shooting, played solid defense, and hustled for each of the fifteen minutes he was on the floor. Anthony, I don’t know if you have a future in the NBA, but there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to have a career playing this game. Hopefully, one of those foreign scouts was paying attention.

Would I come back to the summer league in the future? Definitely, if they’ll have me. Suss? How about it?

Every Sunday, we’ll be updating the Nets’ off-season with bits and pieces of information, gossip, etc. to help take the edge off missing the playoffs, relying on the Nets’ beat reporters and others who have slipped interesting data into larger stories and blogs.

So where do we go from here?

It would appear that the Nets are overloaded at a couple of positions, underwhelming at others, or both.

Vince Carter and Devin Harris are set at the two guard positions, but who are their backups? Right now, Carter’s back-ups are a player unlikely to be on Opening Night roster, Maurice Ager, and an untested if interesting rookie, Chris Douglas-Roberts. Marcus Williams remains on the roster if only because the team can’t find someone to take him off their hands. He could back up both positions for the Nets…or some other team.

Meanwhile, upfront there is a logjam, much of it created during the off-season. We wonder what’s the difference between small forward Bobby Simmons and small forward Jarvis Hayes, other than one has $20 million in salary commitments and the other $2 million. Neither can be expected to play shooting guard although both think they can play some power forward. Both can shoot spot-up jumpers from long range.

Then, it gets really confusing. The Nets have one legitimate center, Brook Lopez who while looking great in the summer league is still a (barely) 20-year-old rookie. Josh Boone played some center last year but 1) he is undersized and better suited at the power forward, and 2) he is on the block as well. The Nets do have a legitimate center, when healthy, in Nenad Krstic, but they apparently don’t want him back in spite of Rod Thorn’s insistence it’s not over til it’s over. Most likely, he’ll be gone in a sign and trade. The assumption must be that they don’t think he can return to his 17 and 7 past. How they can expect to get value for him, if they don’t think he has real value?

Yi Jianlian and Ryan Anderson seem legitimate prospects at power forward, but neither is rugged and may be better suited to small forward (see above). Is Eduardo Najera a three or a four in the Nets’ scheme? Don’t know yet. Has he ever scored 20 points in a single game during his 11 years in the NBA? More on Najera later. No. Stromile Swift anyone? Don’t laugh.

Sean Williams has no position, as is becoming increasingly evident. He may have had the best single game of any Net in the summer league, shutting down Michael Beasley. But just like last year, he was inconsistent. Don’t be surprised if he is traded.

Did we miss anyone? Yes, Trenton Hassell.

The Nets say they are not done. That’s a good thing, because right now this team would be a cellar dweller in the East with no more than 30 wins. Just our opinion, but we’re not even sure the front office would disagree.

So what else can they do?

Marcus Camby? It’s been rumored and re-rumored and re-rumored again. Do you think he’d be happy here and produce at that Defensive Player of the Year level? And this morning, Fred Kerber says the Nets’ interest has cooled.

Andres Nocioni? Sure, get him. He’d be terrific, but it to has been rumored for weeks. What’s the likelihood of a long rumored trade going down with Nocioni having four years left on his deal? Again, Kerber says not much.

Keyon Dooling? He will remind you he has three kids. He isn’t taking $2.3 million, what they have left on their MLE after signing Najera. The Nets could always work something with KVH’s contract or the trade exception because they do want him. The 2010 rule would hurt the Nets chances with him. (More on that later).

J.R. Smith? The Nuggets say they will match what any other team offers him, so he would have to tell Denver he wants to come to New Jersey, the Nets would have to offer him better than $30 million and maybe a lot more over five and the Nuggets would have to go along with a sign-and-trade. Forget it.

A surprise? Bank on it.

Thinking Happy Thoughts

It’s only summer league, it’s only summer league, it’s only summer league, but damn, those guys looked good. The three draft choices and the Nets’ favorite summer league pick-up, Jaycee Carroll, all averaged double figures and each brought something to the table.

We expect the great Dumpy to give us his thoughts on the team…he was actually on hand with his NetsDaily press credentials. Here’s what we saw through the grainy video off OrlandoMagic.com:

Brook Lopez needed to grab more rebounds and pick up fewer fouls…think about what his first few months in the league are going to be like with refs calling everything on him. Still, he is a legitimate 7’1”, with great hands, good moves—with both hands and over both shoulders, and a nice shot out to 18-to-20 feet. Unlike most Net big men of recent vintage, he can hit some free throws too. And all this malarkey about his not being that athletic, based on his scores in the Orlando PreDraft camp? Take a look at those measurements again. His lane agility score was awful, true, but his vertical leap was the same as that supposed freak, DeAndre Jordan. And how agile do you need to be in the lane when you are as big as he is and have a 7’6” wingspan.

Ryan Anderson was another athletic surprise. Monster dunks in each of the last two games proved that. And Fred Kerber hinted Saturday that Anderson was “physically immature” which suggests he is still growing, still filling out. He looked like he learned to shoot three’s in a basement, considering how flat his trajectory is, but a lot of them go in and a lot of them are from very, very far away, shocking his defenders. That may change in the National Basketball Association. Of the three picks, the Nets deserve the most credit for Anderson. Lopez at #10? Close to a no-brainer. Douglas-Roberts at #40? A true no-brainer. Anderson at #21 was deemed a reach. Not so anymore.

Chris Douglas-Roberts is indeed unorthodox…high dribble, herky-jerky style, not super athletic. But he gets the job done. As John Calipari noted, Memphis won 104 games in three years with him starting. He is physically and mentally tough, not backing down from a challenge and never, ever hinting that he is anything other than supremely confident. We don’t think it’s a front either. He IS supremely confident, even arrogant, and he will need that come November because his unorthodox style will be challenged on the court.

Pacer coach Jim O’Brien said the Nets may have had the best draft in the NBA this year. They certainly had the best summer league team.

Which brings us to Jaycee and Julius.

Jaycee Carroll was a surprise addition. He was the leading deep shooter in the NCAA last year with a 49.8% average (Both CDR and Anderson also shot better than 40% from the college three last season). Yes, he is undersized. Yes, he is not a point guard. Yes, he is 25 years old. Yes, Mario Chalmers owned him, and yes, he will be challenged to get time in the Rocky Mountain Revue with Marcus Williams and new signee Richard Roby joining the roster in Utah next weekend. Still, the Nets moved aggressively after the draft to grab him, then started him in the first game. He showed he could shoot, showed he was willing to take some hits on his way to the hoop and in the final game, showed he liked taking the big shot, hitting a three to give the Nets the lead against Indiana. He’ll very likely be in preseason camp…unless of course he’s in Raptor camp. Between gigs on the Nets’ Orlando and Salt Lake City roster, he’s playing for the Raps in Las Vegas.

Julius Hodge was very disappointing. This is a guy who burned up not just the Australian NBL, but the D-League last season, averaging a combined 24/7/5. He never seemed to get untracked and in spite of his versatility, he never seemed to find a position where he was comfortable. We hope he gets more of an opportunity in Salt Lake City, but wonder if he might start thinking of other opportunities.

Ager was hurt. Let’s move on.

Marcus Slaughter looked tough and blocked a few shots. He’s likely, we think, to be in East Rutherford as well. Will Conroy, the speedy D-League point guard, too.

More Summer League Action

Iran was supposed to play in China’s Stankovic Cup in Huangzhou starting next Thursday morning, but now it appears they won’t make it. Read on to find out where they’ll be. So now comes word that Serbia, which does not have an Olympic gig, will replace them. That sets up a Krstic-Yi match-up. The two are already scheduled to play against each other just before the Olympics in Nanjing. Yi and Krstic will also now be going up against Andrei Kirilenko in the Huangzhou tourney, which runs from Thursday through Saturday

The Nets’ rookies will be in action starting a week from Monday in the Rocky Mountain Revue. Marcus Williams is expected to join the team, as is Richard Roby, the half-brother of Kenyon Martin. Roby, a 6’6” shooting guard, was seen as an early second round pick before breaking his hand in the Orlando Pre-Draft Camp. The hand is healed and he is hopeful of wearing a Nets’ uniform like his brother did, come November. Swift currently wears Kmart’s old #6, but who knows if it will be freed up again by training camp.

New Jersey’s first game in Salt Lake City will be against Golden State (Anthony Randolph) on July 21 at 12:15 p.m., followed by a game against Utah (Kosta Koufos) on July 22 at 5 p.m. The Nets will play their third and final game in the Revue against Dallas (Gerald Green) on July 24 at 2:30 p.m.

Speaking of the Revue, the Nets will be witnesses to some interesting diplomatic maneuverings in Salt Lake City. The Iranian National Basketball Team will be playing in Salt Lake, but not against the Nets. The FIBA Asian Champs will go up against the Jazz and Mavs on July 19 and July 21.

Iran’s basketball officialdom, backed by the country’s leadership, called David Stern’s office recently and asked if they could get a summer league gig on their way to Beijing. Stern called the State Department to ask what he should do. State said people-to-people (or in this case, player-to-player) exchanges are great…do it.

Our Iranian sources (yes, we have Iranian sources at NetsDaily) say the government approved the plan at the highest levels in spite of some resistance from hard-liners. And they note, other Iranian teams, including its Olympic ping-pong team, are also in the US for exhibition matches.

Najera en Espanol

Eduardo Najera is getting plenty of love as he departs Denver. Aaron J. Lopez of the Rocky Mountain News wrote this in his blog on Saturday:

As both a Mexican-American and an NBA beat writer, I’m disappointed to see Eduardo Najera fly east to New Jersey as a free agent.

Not only was he was one of the most accommodating players in the Nuggets locker room, but he embraced his status as the only Mexican-born player currently in the NBA. I know the Nuggets are over the luxury tax, but they could have justified retaining Najera by considering it a continued investment in public relations with the Hispanic community. Ever since former coach Dan Issel lashed out at a Hispanic fan back in 2001, the Nuggets have done a good job making amends. Acquiring Najera in 2005 was the ultimate apology.

Not only was Najera an ambassador in the community, but he was the true definition of a team player, something the Nuggets lack far too often.

Najera can be expected to have a big role in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area’s Hispanic community as well. According to the New York City Planning Commission, Mexicans are among the city’s fastest growing ethnic communities, with estimates of its size ranging between 200,000 and 300,000, including both documented and undocumented.

The newest Net (a description always subject to change) has his own foundation, the Eduardo Najera Foundation for Latino Achievement, which provides college scholarships for outstanding Latino students facing barriers to their educations.

Najera set it up in 2004 after receiving letters and emails from Mexican-American students seeking help.

“Many families without immigration status, or even families with a legal immigration status, would call me asking for help,” Najera told Latino Leaders magazine last year, specifically citing one he received from a young boy. “His father would not allow him to go to college because he had to go to work to help sustain his household. He sent me his school report card, which had very, very high marks. At that particular moment–I had not started the foundation yet, thus I did not know how to help him–but I must say that, that letter touched me very much.”
In addition to his own funds, Najera has solicited money from companies who have hired him to endorse their products in Mexico…and there is no shortage of them. Najera makes more than a million and a half dollars a year in endorsements, according to the Denver Post.

Najera, who was born in Chihuahua and went to high school in San Antonio, has had endorsements over the years with Gatorade, Adidas, Telcel, Wonder Bread, Corona Extra and Stanford Financial Group.

The Post also reported he had local endorsement deals with Qwest and First Bank of Colorado and is among a long list of celebrities available for bilingual speaking engagements through Brooks International. The demand for his time is so intense he turns down endorsements if it’s not a good fit.

“Now I’m more and more able to choose the best one for my image,” Najera told the Post. “Financially, it’s been great. I’ve made a lot of money. I love it. There’s more to it than just making the money. It’s given me a chance to travel the world and meet different people from all over the world.”

And when the Nets have their next press conference, expect a crowd similar to the one that showed up for Yi, except this time, there’ll be Spanish speakers rather than Chinese speakers dominating the audience.

(Special note to Brett Yormark: Sunset Park, Brooklyn, might be a good place to focus your marketing. NYC Planning Commission says it’s becoming the city’s newest Chinatown and the home of many new Mexican immigrants.)

Yi’s Fast Turnaround

Chinese basketball officials REALLY wanted Yi back in China to practice with Yao Ming, now that the Rockets’ center is back on the court. Yi left China last Sunday for New Jersey, arriving Tuesday morning. On Wednesday, he had his press conference in East Rutherford and then on Thursday, he was back in China.

That’s 14,000 miles in three days.

Final Note

We will miss Boki…and to be quite frank, don’t understand the Nets’ resistance to keeping him. He gave it up on a regular basis, even playing through a bad back in hopes of getting the team into the playoffs.

We find the Nets’ policy of not signing players for more than two years a bit rigid…and some of us are skeptical that it’s all about Lebron. We suspect it’s about cutting back on salary commitments just in case Brooklyn falls through and the team is put up for sale. Whenever any business with poor growth prospects starts cutting back on long-term commitments, selling assets, investors believe that company is “in play”, meaning up for sale.

We await the final roster, but right now, we remain unconvinced this strategy is going work, basketball-wise. As Ian O’Connor writes in the Record, the most frightening scenario for an NBA executive is clearing out money under the salary cap and then finding nobody worthwhile to take it.

“That happened to Chicago, after Michael Jordan,” Thorn said. “They had significant cap room and they tried to give it to Tracy McGrady, and they tried to give it to (Kevin) Garnett at different times and it didn’t work.

“That’s the misnomer about having cap space … . If you have a team that’s just not very good, to think that you are going to get a top quality free agent is kind of pie in the sky.”

Our feelings exactly.

Link: http://one.co.il/Article/119521.html

Translated by Doron Tamari

Serbian reports on such sites as eurobasket.com have stated that the 25-year old (2.13meters tall) is interested in returning to Europe after 4 successful years in the NBA, and Maccabi may be his landing spot.

Krstic started his career with the Nets in 2004-2005 and after 2 successful seasons he extended his contract with the team. However, during the next 2 seasons he suffered from injuries that limited his growth and playing time.

Maccabi is still looking for players to strengthen their squad for next season, and only said this: “Nenad Krstic is part of a long list of players we are looking at.”

Last season Krstic finished with 6.6 points per game and 4.4 rebounds. In his first season he averaged 10 points and 5.3 rebounds while being picked for the All-Rookie 2nd Team. Against Miami in the playoffs he averaged 18.3 points and 7.5 rebounds.

Krstic went to the Nets after playing for Partizan Belgrade. His play there earned him the 24th pick in the draft.

After Terrence Morris (CSKA) and Nicola Vujcic (Olympiacos) left Maccabi this off-season, the yellow and blue are looking to add a center or power forward, especially considering Marcus Fizer’s injury from last season.

Krstic is a starter for the Serbian national team and his arrival at Maccabi would help the team return to the top of European basketball in terms of summer signings. Until now they have signed Yaniv Green, Trey Simmons, Dror Hagag, and Jayson Williams.

The Nets’ VIP Access officials held a reception for about 40 season ticket-holders Tuesday night at the Barclays Center showroom in midtown Manhattan, assuring them that “Brooklyn is happening” in spite of various reports. Officials added that the team still “anticipates” playing in the Barclays Center during the 2010-11 season and expects to have an official ground-breaking at the site later this year.

Other news from the reception:

–The Nets anticipate building a new practice facility in Brooklyn to replace the team’s current East Rutherford facility around the same time the team moves into the Barclays Center. No word on where the facility would be built or whether Frank Gehry would be the architect of the practice facility as he is for the Barclays Center.

–There will be a new insignia and possibly a new color scheme–no details, but the name will “probably be the Brooklyn Nets”.

–The team has begun a Chinese language advertising campaign in local newspapers and on local radio stations to take advantage of the arrival of Yi Jianlian and anticipates becoming heavily involved in Asian and Asian-American community affairs. In the past few days, the team has hired a consultant to help integrate it into the Asian and Asian-American community.

–The team anticipates that at least 35% of the Nets’ New Jersey season ticket-holders will move with the team and to facilitate that is considering shuttle bus service from New Jersey to Brooklyn once Barclays Center opens.

–No decision has been made on Permanent Seat Licenses–an extra fee to reserve seats in the Barclays Center–for season ticket holders. Season ticket pricing should match that for the Knicks.

If the Nets began the 2008-09 season with the 15 players they currently have either under contract or about to be signed (Chris Douglas-Roberts), they would no doubt be one of the youngest, if not the youngest, team in the NBA…also one of the youngest ever.

Nets brass keep cautioning the roster is a work in progress but it’s unlikely that the next round of changes is going to change the rebuilding dynamic.

Here are the players and their ages, in alphabetical order, with NBA experience in parentheses:

Maurice Ager, 24 (two years)

Ryan Anderson, 20 (rookie)

Josh Boone, 23 (two years)

Vince Carter, 31 (ten years)

Chris Douglas-Roberts, 21 (rookie)

Devin Harris, 25 (four years)

Trenton Hassell, 29 (seven years)

Nenad Krstic, 24 (four years)

Brook Lopez, 20 (rookie)

Bostjan Nachbar, 27 (six years)

Bobby Simmons, 28 (six years)

Stromile Swift, 28 (eight years)

Marcus Williams, 22 (two years)

Sean Williams, 21 (one year)

Yi Jianlian, 20 (one year)

We’re not counting Keith Van Horn (32, 10 years). KVH has a team option exercisable just before the season begins. His contract may be used in a trade, but there is no way he shows up for warm-ups in London or Paris.

There are other indicators of just how young this team is.

* Last year, the Portland Trail Blazers were the NBA’s youngest team, with an average age just below 24. They were the third youngest team in league history. The Nets are one trade away from that territory, as long as they don’t ditch one of the younger players for a veteran.

* At barely 20 years old, Ryan Anderson is the youngest Net in nearly 30 years, since 1979. Brook Lopez, five weeks older than Anderson, is the second youngest during that time. Yi Jianlian is the fourth. (Marcus Williams had been the youngest, but he turned 21 in December of his rookie year. Anderson won’t turn 21 til next May, Lopez til next April. Yi turns 21 in October.)

* The 15 average three and a half years’ NBA experience.

* Nine of the 15 are 25 or under; only one, Vince Carter, is over 30, although Trenton Hassell is close.

Beyond those under contract, the most likely player to get a chance as one of Kiki Vandeweghe’s “fallen angels” is Julius Hodge, who is all of 24.

It’s not that a young team can’t succeed. The 2001-02 Nets were the fourth youngest team in the league that year and the youngest team to make the Finals in 25 years, since the all-time youngest Portland Trail Blazers of 1977. Still, as we’ve noted before, nothing says rebuilding like a lack of razors in the locker room.

And the Nets have twice had four rookies on their roster, compared to the three on this year’s roster. Richard Jefferson, Jason Collins, Brandon Armstrong and Brian Scalabrine were on the team in 2001-02, and Marcus Williams, Josh Boone, Hassan Adams and Mile Ilic in 2006-07.

Yi Jianlian is going to be big. Really big.

Everyone is counting on it: the National Basketball Association, the Chinese Basketball Association, his agent Dan Fagen, and even the William Morris Agency. Of course, the Nets have a stake in his success as well.

It can be argued that no player in the 2007 draft was as big as Yi (pronounced “Ee”, as in “Big E”). At a listed 7′0″, he is as tall as anyone else in that draft, but that wasn’t the issue. Others may be more talented, like Greg Oden and Kevin Durant, but none can affect the league’s long-term future as much.

How much? On the morning of the draft–morning China time–tens of millions of Chinese fans were sitting in front of their television screens, watching the live feed of the NBA Draft on CCTV state television. Then for hours and days later, they debated it on the league’s Chinese language Web sites.

David Yang, the NBA’s Vice President for Business Development and Marketing Partnerships is a Beijing native. As the draft approached last year, he predicted the addition of Yi would be a big plus for a league already comfortably ensconced in the Chinese consciousness.

“Yi is a very prominent Chinese basketball player, who will have a positive impact on Chinese basketball as a sport and given the population, this will be a huge boost for the NBA,” said Yang just before the draft, then adding in a bit of understatement, “I think it is very positive from the league’s perspective.”

It’s not as if the league needed a lot more help in China. With a weekly TV audience of 32 million people, and 300 million Chinese playing basketball, Yi’s arrival in the NBA was just the latest manifestation of a wildly successful NBA marketing campaign.

The real questions revolve around how good of an NBA player he is and will be and how much his commitments to marketing and Chinese basketball will affect his future. On the former, his rookie year provided flashes of real promise but on the latter, there were muted complaints that China and his handlers may never let him go.

Yi became the fourth player from China to enter the NBA, but only the second with any marquee value. The most successful, 7-foot-6-inch Yao Ming, was a no-brainer for NBA teams. He had excelled on the international stage prior to joining the Rockets in 2002. His height and his skill set as a traditional NBA center made him a very rare commodity. Once the Rockets won the draft lottery that year and were guaranteed the first overall pick in the draft, Yao was the easy choice.

Yi, on the other hand, was and is more of a mystery, more intriguing. He doesn’t have Yao’s talent or height, was only 19 and was seen as a possible pick anywhere from #3 by the Atlanta Hawks to #13 by the New Orleans Hornets, the wide range mainly because of uncertainty at how successful Team Yi would be at engineering his future.

Then, the Milwaukee Bucks screwed up everything by taking him at #6. Not since Stevie Francis flashed a meaningful scowl on being picked by the Vancouver Grizzlies in 1999 has there been an unhappier draft choice. He even cancelled his appearance at the traditional post-draft press conference. It was precisely the scenario Yi and his handlers wanted to avoid.

Fegan, who has a reputation as a skilled manipulator of NBA general managers, had limited Yi’s exposure. He hadn’t allowed him to work out against other NBA prospects, only in controlled settings. He hadn’t allowed him to workout beyond the Home Depot Center in suburban Los Angeles — even forbidding him from playing pick-up games around Southern California. And he had (mostly) limited Yi’s workouts to teams from cities with large Chinese and Asian populations. Milwaukee, Memphis and Minnesota, all of which have high picks, couldn’t get in the door.

The Chinese government supposedly wanted it that way. The decision to let Yi join the NBA wasn’t an easy one. He was the biggest star in the CBA by far, its meal ticket.

Ma Jian, a former Chinese basketball star himself with the Shanghai Sharks, and the first Chinese to significantly break into the American basketball scene, told NBC News just before the draft that he understood why the CBA would be so particular.

“Of course, definitely, CBA and Yi’s agents would prefer that he play in cities with large Chinese population,” Ma Jian said. “It will benefit both CBA and Yi, it will help promotion. And it will guarantee him better restaurants and perhaps better looking Chinese girl friend.”

The Chinese government also saw an opportunity to give him a lot of experience before this summer’s Olympics, which are not coincidentally in Beijing. China wants to medal at home in basketball.

“This is a very good opportunity for him to improve his skill level and when he returns to his home country, it will have a positive impact for him and his team,” said Yang.

Yi’s take was a little different but he knows he has a debt to pay.

“It’s because I want to, and my country supports me in my decision so I have to thank my fellow countrymen for that,” he said politely.

Yi is more than just basketball, however. Fegan and others have been building Yi as a global brand, one that will capitalize on his personality and energy, his work ethic and dedication…and yes, his good looks. The government knows Yi Jianlian is more than just an athlete. He is the New Chinese Man, smart, confident, handsome, a multi-cultural youth icon.

William Morris, the legendary Hollywood agency, molded his image as it would a Hollywood star, getting him “A list” invitations to the premieres of “Shrek” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” while working out in LA. He looked “A list”, dressed in sunglasses and a sleek leather jacket at the “Pirates” opening. There was also a very public tour of Disneyland, sponsored by Disney. He has agents, press people, trainers, translators. While other young players have posses, Yi has an entourage that would be the envy of Vincent Chase.

Grace Chen, managing director of William Morris in China, said at the time that Yi was fully involved in the process of making him a household name in both countries.

“It’s important to have an understanding of the cultures, where the brand is coming from and where it is going,” she told NBC. “Yi is thoughtful of and sensitive to this. He gives us a lot to work with: he has a great personality, he is relatable, and he has an open-minded approach,” said Chen, who added that Yi is likely to be as attractive to U.S. companies seeking an entry to China as he will be to Chinese companies looking to make moves in the other direction. That has to be music to Brett Yormark’s ears.

“Yi will travel not just within the U.S. but between China and the U.S., which is fantastic because it keeps him relevant and accessible in the various markets,” she added.

Yi knows about marketing. He has been starring in Nike commercials since he was signed by the sneaker company five years ago at age 15. In China, he is a teen idol, regularly attracting mobs of screaming young girls. As Yang noted, “With Yi in the NBA, we will have further established an affinity of Chinese youth to the NBA.”

In a commercial for a milk company, Yi is the center of a romantic triangle featuring China’s most famous young soap opera star. In his first commercial for Nike, he takes over a staid practice in a rundown gym, suddenly flying above the rim for thunderous dunks as the music switches from soothing Chinese string instrumental to blaring hip-hop.

The message was clear: Yi is the hip-hop Yao. Yao on the other hand is best known for an Apple commercial where he and Verne “Mini-me” Troyer, compare laptops.

Yi himself is by turns shy and very, very confident. He spends time both on the court and in intense English classes, which seem to be working. In an interview with NBC before the draft, he was asked if he is a mystery, as virtually every sports writer has described him. He seemed genuinely taken aback.

“I don’t think I’m a mystery. I don’t know why they would think that, because I train here (in America)? Maybe I came to U.S. and stay in L.A., practice here and I’ve never been
to other city so some people cannot (see) me,” he said.

He was a bit less taken aback when asked if he is a star.

“I wouldn’t use the word star. In America, there are a lot of very big basketball fans and they have an interest in me, and are supporting me,” he said.

But asked which NBA player he is most like, Yi leaves no doubt of his opinion of himself. “I don’t think there is one,” he said.

So how is he as a basketball player? Before the draft, scouts who had watched him develop over the years, watched him in youth camps, in international tournaments, or in the Chinese Basketball Association had come away raving, but not everyone.

Jonathan Givony, who runs DraftExpress.com, a respected draft Web site, said in a podcast just before the 2007 draft that there were doubters.

“There seems to be a lot of confusion as to what kind of prospect he really is,” Givony said back then. “One team we spoke to…drafting in the mid- to late- teens told us they wouldn’t even take him if he was on the board for them. There is a big discrepancy on what people think his stock is right now.”

The then-general manager of a team drafting in the mid- to late-teens — the Nets at # 17 — expressed his concerns last year on WFAN.

“The Chinese kid,” said Ed Stefanski, referring to Yi. “I went over to see him play. He’s a real interesting character but how do you equate the talent level in China, which isn’t very good, to playing against the best players in the world.”

Stefanski even questioned Yi’s listed height.

“You take two inches off whatever they list them in the program, so he’s probably 6-feet-10-inches,” but he is a four man (power forward) not a center. He can really run the floor. And if you give him one or two steps, his head is literally at the rim. Now, inside against half-court, grind-it-out basketball, I think he is going to have to learn how to do that, but he is quite an athlete.”

The man who ultimately succeeded Stefanski when he moved on to Philadelphia wasn’t so reserved. Kiki Vandeweghe, then working for ESPN, compared him to Dirk Nowitzki…high praise, particularly from the man who worked with Nowitzki in Dallas and is generally credited with taking him from a draft bust to an NBA star.

Vandeweghe told USA Today he was “blown away” by the Yi workouts he saw.

“What I didn’t realize was how athletic he is,” Vandeweghe said. “I’ve worked out big players for more than 20 years, and I compare Yi very favorably to when I first” worked out with Dirk Nowitzki.”

Watching him work out, you can see all of Stefanski’s troubling concern and Vandeweghe’s gushing praise. Yi is quick, fundamentally sound and likes to play above the rim. Yi easily pounds the ball inside for a quick turnaround jumper or baby hook shot (both left and right handed).

His three-point shooting wasn’t that consistent but he was very reliable from the top of the key. He is high energy, fast paced but pretty quiet.

The whole package is what drove the Bucks to take him. And after two months of often acrimonius negotiations and a visit to Hong Kong by the Bucks owner, U.S. Senator Herb Kohl, Yi finally signed to much fanfare in Milwaukee. He professed excitement. The Bucks didn’t mention his holdout. Face was saved.

His rookie season was up-and-down, with a fast start, a peak in late December, then a slow fall-off that had people questioning his drive and his mental conditioning. He had never played so many games before…and he was living in Milwaukee in a completely new culture, where the entire Chinese-American population of the city could have been dropped into the Bradley Center, with enough room left over for another 15,000 people. His anxiety was evident to his teammates.

One high point came early…the NBA scheduler makers made sure of that. On November 9, an audience of 200 million Chinese tuned in to see Yi battle with Yao and the Rockets, the other half of China’s Twin Towers. It was the largest audience for a basketball game ever, a spectacle the NBA couldn’t get enough of. It was, as more than one person noted, China’s Super Bowl…with an audience twice the size of the NFL’s Super Bowl. Yao scored 28 and the Rockets won the game. Yi scored 19.

David Thorpe, an ESPN columnist who makes his living training NBA players in Chicago is a big fan of Yi’s. A timeline of his comments throughout the season reveals a lot about how things went:

In a November 15 article headlined, “Best Rookie? Yi Has Edge On Favored Durant”, Thorpe wrote: “Yi’s play has been both surprising and inspiring. Surprising in that no one has a bigger cultural change to adjust to, yet Yi looks like he’s been an NBA pro for years. He has a clear plan for success and has executed that plan with discipline and talent.

“What I love about Yi’s offensive game is his versatility and mental acuity. In a series of plays, we will see him post up and back his guy down, face up in the midpost, slash to an opening inside, go glass, and play off the ball beautifully. And he does all of it with p