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New Jersey Nets (Last Year: 34-48)
Live 2009 NBA Draft Grades:
11. Terrence Williams, F, Louisville
Especially with the trade of Vince Carter, the Nets needed to add a wing player. I’ve been high on T-Will all season. If he can develop a consistent outside shot, he will be damn good in the NBA. (Pick Grade: LOVE IT)
2009 NBA Offseason Transactions:
2008-09 Season Summary:
Despite ending up in the lottery yet again, the Nets showed some signs of promise. Despite many factors not going their way, New Jersey did some what surpass expectations. Devin Harris made “the leap” and had himself an All-Star season, despite a rash of injuries. Brook Lopez proved to be a steal with the tenth pick in last year’s draft, as his numbers climbed every month. In another season of missing the playoffs, the franchise found some bright spots in the guard play of Keyon Dooling and Chris Douglas-Roberts and the constant growth of rookie forward Ryan Anderson. Coach Lawrence Frank might be on the hot seat next season, and should focus on finding ways to make the team less guard dependent if he hopes to keep his job.
2009-10 Projected Depth Chart:
C: Brook Lopez/Sean Williams
PF: Yi Jianlian/Josh Boone/Eduardo Najera/Tony Battie
SF: Terrence Williams/Bobby Simmons/Jarvis Hayes
SG: Courtney Lee/Trenton Hassell/Chris Douglas-Roberts
PG: Devin Harris/Rafer Alston/Keyon Dooling
NBA Free Agents:
2009-10 Team Salary: Approximately $50.3 million
2009-10 Expected League Salary Cap: $57.3 million
NBA Offseason Needs:
1. A direction – Are we rebuilding? Are we trying to make the playoffs? Are we waiting for 2010? Are we trading Vince Carter? What’s going on? Needless to say, the Nets have to figure which direction this franchise is headed. As it stands, N-e-w Jers is in a position to be well under the cap for the next off-season and pursue one of the numerous big name free agents hitting the market. Odds are they will stand pat and not make any big moves to acquire a monster long-term contract that would screw up future cap flexibility.
2. Backup point guard – Devin Harris is an emerging superstar, but playing heavy minutes led to his problems staying healthy. Keyon Dooling is a combo guard who can play the point, but the Nets could still use a veteran like Orlando’s Anthony Johnson to provide quality minutes when Harris needs a blow.
3. A complimentary big man for Brook Lopez – Lopez displayed All-Star potential during his solid rookie campaign, but the Nets need a physical complement for him down low. A big reason the Miami Heat won a title was because they had a Udonis Haslem to complement Shaq and the Nets could use another big to provide a similar combination. Since Kenyon Martin fled the Garden State more than five years ago, opponents have not feared going into the paint. While Anderson and Yi are talented bigs, they are better suited playing for the perimeter than on the block.
Written by Paul Banks of NBC Chicago and the Washington Times, and David Kay of the The Sports Bank.
Send Paul an e-mail here: paulb05 AT hotmail DOT com.
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