Brook Lopez has high expectations for Nets this season

Brook Lopez sat down with Jorge Sierra of Hoops Hype in a one on one interview. One of the surprising things he said was that he thinks the Nets can go deep in the playoffs this year despite dealing away Vince Carter.

"Without Vince Carter, what’s a realistic goal for the Nets this season?"

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BL: "Our goal is to be a very good playoff team. We have really good young talent, but also a little bit of experience. So it's a good combination and I think we can go somewhere."

http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/61055/20090809/lopez_nets_want_to_be_good_playoff_team/#

(Click on the link in the article for the blog.)

Right now, I just do not see the Nets having enough outside shooting and depth to compete in the Eastern Conference. However, they have proven us wrong in the past, and Lawrence Frank tends to muster a lot out of teams that are suppose to not perform as well. They are definitely in a great situation with a stud young PG in Devin Harris, and I think Lopez is a budding big man star. Rafer Alston and Courtney Lee gained a lot of valuable playoff experience from last year with the Magic, and bring some scoring punch to the lineup. I believe this team is a year or two away from making some noise in the east, but they will have a shot to make the playoffs as a 7th or 8th seed if they play around .500 basketball. The question is, will they get enough scoring to be able to play around .500 ball. (AP Photo)

Nets Interested in Hakim Warrick and Glen Davis

According to the New York Post, the Nets are strongly pursuing Hakim Warrick and Glen "Big Baby" Davis. Warrick played last season for Memphis and was originally a restricted free agent until the Grizzlies rescinded his $3 million qualifying offer. He averaged 11.6 points and 5 boards a game last year in his 4th NBA season. If the Nets can lock him up long term for a cheap annual salary, it would be a smart move. His jumper has improved each season, and he is someone that can run the break with Devin Harris. Warrick is very long, and the Nets need players that can play the 3 and the 4.

New Jersey will have a much tougher time signing Davis because he is a restricted free agent, and Boston will most likely match any offer. There is no way the Celtics would let a valuable player off the bench behind KG leave for a division rival.

The other problems for the Nets are that they already have 15 players with guaranteed contracts, and they are losing a lot of money. I could see Warrick as a strong possibility since a lot of teams are not willing to spend a lot of money. The only thing is the Nets would have to make a deal or a roster move, and they also want to save up for next summer's FA class.

(Photo courtesy of Joe Murphy/NBAE/Getty Images)

Ratner could be looking to sell Nets

According to the NY Post, Bruce Ratner is investigating the feasibility of selling the New Jersey Nets. This despite a very poor seller's market. Sources claim that Ratner still wants any owner to continue progress towards moving the team to Brooklyn, and he still wants a minority share in the team. The Brooklyn investor bought the Nets for $305 million in 2004, but they have struggled mightily and had a sharp 29% drop in attendance this past season.

Faced with mounting financial losses, the Nets are cutting costs this offseason. They have reduced their office workforce by approximately 25 percent. Most non-basketball employees have faced Friday furloughs in the summer, reducing their pay by 20 percent. The Nets also dealt away Vince Carter on a draft night trade, their most expensive player, to the Magic to lower their payroll for prospective buyers.

According to Nets CEO Brett Yormark, "We have recieved interest from potential investors in the team. That interest is growing as it is clear that we are moving to Brooklyn. Our ownership group is as committed as ever to the success of the Nets and to the Barclays Center."

I think Ratner should sell the team to someone who wants to keep it in New Jersey. I have never supported the move to Brooklyn. The Prudential Center would be a perfect fit for the Nets, and be a good thing for the city of Newark. The Nets are playing two preseason games at the Rock this year, and Devils owner Jeff Vanderbeek has told the Nets they can gladly join the Devils in Newark longterm. Newark also has a large population and great public transportation, which would help spur ticket sales.

The Brooklyn idea is just not smart because New York is a Knicks town. If people from Brooklyn wanted to go to a game, they would go to the Garden to see the Knicks, especially if money was close for tickets. Ratner is just sabotaging the Nets right now because he is trying to get an arena plan passed that costs way too much money. The team is a lame duck right now at the Izod Center because people do not want to see a team that could be out the door.

(Photo courtesy of NJ.com)

Nets Summer League Wrap Up

The New Jersey Nets wrapped up their participation in the Orlando Summer League on Friday, and the main thing head coach Lawrence Frank looked for was improvement.

The Nets fielded a single entry team in the summer league with their Atlantic Division rival the Philadelphia 76ers. While the 0-5 record does not look good for the eye, two key young players took big strides over the past week.

Chris Douglas-Roberts, the former Memphis Tiger, finished up an injury plagued rookie year by averaging 9.5 ppg in the final 15 contests. He came out scorching in the first two games of the summer league by scoring 57 points, and even more impressive was that he shot over 50% from the field and attempted 24 free throws in the two games. He struggled in the next two games by only scoring seven points combined, but showed some bounce back ability by putting up 15 points, three boards, and four assists in the finale.

Nets 2009 first round pick Terrence Williams out of Louisville got his first dose of pro ball this past week and improved after struggling in the first two games. Williams was 4/19 from the field during the first two contests, but was more aggressive attacking the basket thereafter. Williams was 3/8 from downtown, scoring 30 points to go with 12 boards in the next two games. He could not find the touch in the finale with a 3/11 performance, and he also averaged four turnovers a game. Coach Frank was impressed with T-Will's progress and thinks he possesses a strong skill set of which he can build upon.

Williams has been ''tweeting'' about his NBA experience since being selected by the Nets with the 11th overall pick. Here is a link to his Twitter page.

http://twitter.com/TheRealTWill

TAKE: It was nice to see CDR get a lot of playing time in a low pressure situation at the Orlando Summer League. Despite the fact he could not develop a level of continuity with his teammates, (since only two Nets players were on the team) he improved on his shooting and scoring abilities. If he can stay healthy, he could be a reliable bench player for the Nets and maybe even challenge Bobby Simmons for his starting spot. He also needs to work on his demeanor. Last year Nets assistant coach Doug Overton was extremely unhappy with CDR's attitude and work ethic at times.

Williams will take time to develop, but he's a great athlete and comes from a storied program in Louisville. He should have a strong basketball IQ after playing for Rick Pitino, but he needs to work on his outside shot and consistency. His speed should help out Devin Harris in the fast break game, and his length will help him out while guarding bigger and faster swingmen.

The Nets seem to have a great young foundation with Devin Harris, Courtney Lee, and Brook Lopez. It will be up to their wing players to step up. It's a very young team that lacks depth outside of those three players and newcomer Rafer Alston. If the Nets get decent bench play, they could be in the hunt for a playoff spot. However, if they still struggle to get reliable scoring and play good defense, then it will be back to the lottery for the third straight year.

(Photo of Terrance Williams courtesy of the AP), (Photo of Chris Douglas-Roberts courtesy of nj.com)

Nets: Terrence Williams

With the 11th pick in the 2009 NBA draft, the Nets drafted do-it-all forward Terrence Williams from Louisville. Here is a good writeup, courtesy of nbadraft.net.

http://www.nbadraft.net/players/terrence-williams