NYCbballFan

The Nets resign Harris - which I and some others didn't think was the best move to make - and Kidd, and sign Zo. They gave K-Mart what I thought was a fair offer to set the stage for the negotations next off-season.

Yet ugly comments are made over K-Mart's contract situation, by K-Mart's people at least, and over the Deke situation.

I don't think it'll affect the play on the court, but am I the only one who thinks the Nets front office has done enough in the off-season to be spoken of more kindly by their players?

Petey

Postives:

Resign Kidd, a super-star.

Sign Zo. A all-star (or I think so even this season if he plays more then they say they will play him).

Negatives:

Not acquire a shooter.

Not able to get Krstic over.

Wash:

Signing Harris.

-Petey

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Aurelino

Drafting Planinic: the jury is out

Another positive: Giving Veal a decent contract

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Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness. - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Petey

Yes I did miss those 2, they are both positive for me.

-Petey

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NYCbballFan

Agreed, although I might nudge the Harris re-signing slightly over into the negative because it seems to have stopped the Nets from filling his roster spot with a better player.

I guess what I mean is that the organization has been fair enough to the players themselves, made enough positive moves and thrown around enough salary where, while we as fans can point out shortcomings like Krstic-still-in-Serbia and no perimeter scorer, the players shouldn't be as harsh as they've been in their criticisms of management.

NYCbballFan

Yeah, forgot about Veal. I still think the Nets are the wrong team for him - too deep at PF. He needs to go somewhere that's top-heavy at the 4 but thin on the bench, so he can compete for a back-up spot. Signing him should have won some brownie points from the players, too.

Dunno if Planinic deserved to go 22 in the 1st round, but I also don't think there was anybody better than him still available who would also be a good fit on the Nets. Delfino? Josh Howard? Keith Bogans?

Petey

Resigning Harris is not a negative. Remember we used the whole MLE for Zo, so there was no way we could sign a shooter whom we desired. Jimmy Jackson didn't sign for the league min, or I don't think and Barry signed for 2 million, that is more then we could have offered.

-Petey

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Owner of the KVBL, Orlando Magic; Presenting: Chris Paul, PG, 05~06 ROY!
Owner of the Nets' Forum GM Draft (II), Orlando Magic. Home of: DHo, Darko, Iggy and Jameer Nelson!
Owner of the BBBBL, Cleveland Indians; Featuring: David Ortiz: 2006 & 2009 AL MVP!

Petey

Well folks said if he hadn't gotten hurt there was a chance he would had been a lottery player, and with that potential, I am happy with the 22nd pick. I am not sure about Bogans, Howard or Delfino, but if we had past him up for Lampe, I would be ok with that too.

-Petey

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Owner of the KVBL, Orlando Magic; Presenting: Chris Paul, PG, 05~06 ROY!
Owner of the Nets' Forum GM Draft (II), Orlando Magic. Home of: DHo, Darko, Iggy and Jameer Nelson!
Owner of the BBBBL, Cleveland Indians; Featuring: David Ortiz: 2006 & 2009 AL MVP!

DownUnderWonder

Sorry but the truth is...

Harris=Scrub. Same game as KK without the defensive prowess. That was a big waste of money, could have got an undrafted rookie better than him. He annoys me with his streaky shooting and average D....

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Aurelino

I have to say this in support of Lu: When KK went down with injury, Lu stepped up big time and even stole the starting position for a little while when KK got back.

He is okay, just inconsistent and someone you can not rely too much on. RR falls in the same category. I am not sure even what Lu is expected to do for the team. Using Lu to run the point is not really sensible and he is too inconsistent at SG. Maybe its just because he is Kidd's former team mate that the Nets signed him again. As a veteran he is supposed to bring it to the court more often than not but he is too unreliable and goes cold for long streches. I think he had a big role to play in the Nets' game 5 and 6 losses in the finals.

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Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness. - Martin Luther King, Jr.

NYCbballFan

I wonder if the players are just reacting to the uncertainty around the ownership situation, creating an anxiety monster that is making everyone jumpier than normal.

Don't get me wrong. I like Harris. He's a true pro who has worked hard to build himself an all-around game, which in that sense, puts him ahead of Kittles' limited game. I think the Nets are actually better with Lu as a starter than Kittles, but Kittles is nearly worthless as a bench player, so it makes sense to bring Lu in off the bench. I wouldn't mind at all if Lu was 5th guard insurance, but I don't like that he's returning to the same role.

Aurelino hit spot-on with Harris' pros and cons. Lu is actually better suited as a starter because he gives you a little of everything, steady veteran play and doesn't hurt you anywhere - an SG who can set the tone of a game. The problem is, he's not really on par with the better NBA SGs - that said, neither is Kittles. The problem with Lu as a 3rd guard is that he doesn't do any one thing particularly well, and you want your bench guys to inject some special skill or ability when they enter the game. He's not an athletic energy guy, he's not a PG, he's not an exceptional defender, he's not a scorer - he simply is not a game-changer. He's a player who maintains. I don't think Rogers is a fair comparison - Lu is better than that. He's more like the guard equivalent of A-Train, with less athleticism and streakier offense. The problem with Lu as a play-off performer is, vet though he is, he gets jumpy in the big moments, which is I think is due to the fact that by NBA standards, he's physically below-average. Under extra play-off pressure, when Kidd needs a little more from his fellow guards, Lu doesn't have an extra gear or extra move to go to.

What I don't like about re-signing Lu is that I think the Nets would actually be better off with a worse all-around guard filling Lu's roster spot who brings a few specialized skills necessary to his specific bench role, rather than Lu's all-around game but lack of any stand-out skill. My take is either make Lu the starter or replace him, but bringing him back as the 3rd guard doesn't help. Players like Eddie House, Shammond Williams, and Rafer Alston are worse all-around players than Harris, but I think any one would have been better for the team coming off the bench.

Aurelino

I agree. There has been too much noise from the players locker room over issue that they really have no say over. I can see why they would be unhappy but to put the organization in a bad light isn't exactly expected of a professional . To question the organization's desire to win is pathetic. The comments make it seem as if Deke was the missing piece in the championship puzzle, it was just that they couldn't fit him properly. This is far from the case and the players know it too.
I wasn't comparing them as a player. I just mean consistency_level-wise.

Yeah, we need a spark off the bench. Someone like Van Exel would be handy but even Walt Williams will do. Apart from streaky shooting, Lu falls short on defensive end as well.

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Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness. - Martin Luther King, Jr.

NYCbballFan

I think every good team could use a B-Jax, NVE or Troy Hudson type to come in running and gunning off the bench. It bothers me that the Nets don't even have the type, even an unproven one, on their bench. Brandon Armstrong is about the closest they have, and that's not close. As far as defense, the Nets are also missing out on a quick, little guard to match up with other little guards. Even the Lakers, who like to go big under Phil Jackson and have Kobe as an all-world defender, have always stockpiled a Tyronne Lue or Jennaro Pargo for cheap and to good effect. Are the Nets content matching up Kittles with all the quick little guards in the NBA? 6'4 Kidd can't do it anymore. 6'7 Planinic, 6'5 Harris, 6'5 Kittles, 6'5 Armstrong, 6'8 Slay - it just makes too much sense for the Nets to sign a little, quick, defense-disrupting, scoring, sparkplug type of guard just for balance, if nothing else.

Tom