Off-season strategy begins to emerge in press conference, interviews

Billy King has spent a lot of time in front of microphones the last two days and now as the quotes get posted here and there, a picture of what the Nets objectives this off-season have begun to emerge.

At the press conference, King laid out in general what the team needs while noting he expects the core to remain "intact," that the Nets need "a lot of little pieces."

"We need to add some shooting," King told the assembled media. "We need some more shooting on the bench to space the floor. We need more athleticism...

"We've got to get out and run, challenge guys to run, get the ball up quickly, and don't settle for guys walking the ball up the court."

He didn't attach any names to the mix, but Jason Kidd suggested the team will be run, saying he'd like the team to "pass the ball ahead." That suggests a need for athletes, the kind he had in Kenyon Martin, Richard Jefferson and Kerry Kittles?

On the need to replace C.J. Watson as back-up point guard, King told Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts that he and Kidd have already spoken about it, and didn't assume Watson was leaving.

"I haven't got the official letter," replied King when asked if Watson has official opted out. "But I'm assuming he will because the salary he makes, he knows he can get that. If you want to make more, you can. So Jason and I have discussed if that happens, and we aren't able to retain him, we've got some guys in mind who we'd like to replace him with."

The most King could offer Watson, without giving him a chunk of the mini-MLE, is $1.43 million next year as part of a $6.1 million four-year deal, a little more than a four-year vets minimum deal. The Nets are expected to give all or part of their mini-MLE to Bojan Bogdanovic, who could help with their three-point shooting and to a lesser extent athleticism. Bogdanovic may not be a super-athlete but he is not un-athletic.

On the biggest free agent issue with the current roster, Andray Blatche's contract, King has to be encouraged by what Reggie Evans told ESPN's Jared Zwerling Thursday night. Zwerling tweeted...

Reggie Evans believes Blatche will be back in BK. They haven't discussed it, but Evans told me, "In my heart, I'm expecting him to be back."

— Jared Zwerling (@JaredZwerling) June 14, 2013

• Billy King: Brooklyn Nets need "a lot of little pieces" - Devin Kharpertian - The Brooklyn Game
• Not much wiggle room for Nets this summer - Mike Mazzeo - ESPN New York