There's been a lot written lately about teams gathering for workouts. One by one, team captains have said they will be calling teammates to get them into a gym for a few days of largely unsupervised work. The Nets' captain, of course, is in Turkey and there's been some grumbling he should be home doing the same thing Amare Stoudemire and Kevin Durant are doing.
But the Nets have already gathered to work out...before the lockout...with professional supervision...and organized by Deron Williams. Is it better that teams work out now, two and a half months after the lockout began or is it better that teams came together just before the lockout with professional trainers who provided players with a plan to deal with months of layoff?
In the weeks before the draft, the seven Nets still under contract --and in the week after the draft, the two Nets draft picks-- traveled to Santa Barbara for separate workouts at the Peak Performance Project, which tested the players, worked them out and provided them with follow-up regimens. P3 posted videos of the Nets efforts, saying its trainers had a "great week with the NJ Nets" noting "each now have a personalized off-season prescription."
But it was more than that. There was bonding. Anthony Morrow tweeted at the time that "this is the most time I've ever spent with a team I was on in my life, Its cool." Jordan Williams tweeted similarly, "Just got done wit a great workout wit @Marshon2...I live my job." Brooks was wowed by the "crazy technology."
What does P3 do? According to its website, it offers a "comprehensive evaluation" of a variety of physical tests, including things like "isolated movement testing, functional movement testing, biomechanical alignment, neurodynamic mobility, individual muscle strength testing, compound muscle strength testing and sport-specific technique analysis." The follow-up regimen is based on that testing.
It was Williams' idea. He had worked out at P3 while with the Jazz. "Deron had mentioned it to me so I looked into it and I thought it would be good for our guys and Deron helped organize it," said Bill King at the time. He noted it wasn't a Nets sponsored event. "but "Nets people are there observing in case there are injuries but they train" and P3 staff "test them, different parts of the muscles. Give them a plan, map it out for them for the summer. It’s more than weights and training."
More recently, in an interview, Avery Johnson alluded to the P3 experience and its value. "The main thing is, it starts with having players that understand the need to train intensely in the off season. We feel we gave them the necessary tools at the end of the season so that they can go and improve themselves in the off season."
Certainly, there's something to be said for bonding in a time of uncertainty, but so is there for preparation in advance of such uncertainty.