Nets Plan B...will it work?

[Chris]

They were a better team before they added Troy Murphy.

I expect Devin Harris to continue to flounder in Vince Carter's absence. He just doesn't have enough help alongside him to hide his lack of playmaking and floor general skills.

I really don't understand giving up Courtney Lee to get Troy Murphy, I just don't.....

I think it comes down to Terrance Williams and Anthony Morrow. Where was Lee going to play if both those guys got minutes?

PLus it stopped them from having to start kris humpries or favors...both of which would've been a disaster.

Unless they flip Murphy as an expiring contract to a team that is trying to make a playoff run or dump salary it was a bad bad move.

Why?  I like Lee, but I don't think he is significantly better than Morrow or Williams.  And Murphy gives them a legit PF, which they were sorely missing.  

[Fafnir]

They were a better team before they added Troy Murphy.

I expect Devin Harris to continue to flounder in Vince Carter's absence. He just doesn't have enough help alongside him to hide his lack of playmaking and floor general skills.

I really don't understand giving up Courtney Lee to get Troy Murphy, I just don't.....

I think it comes down to Terrance Williams and Anthony Morrow. Where was Lee going to play if both those guys got minutes?

PLus it stopped them from having to start kris humpries or favors...both of which would've been a disaster.

Unless they flip Murphy as an expiring contract to a team that is trying to make a playoff run or dump salary it was a bad bad move.

Why?  I like Lee, but I don't think he is significantly better than Morrow or Williams.  And Murphy gives them a legit PF, which they were sorely missing.  

Because Murphy is an expensive rental who will eat up their cap space unless they renounce him. ( or worse sign him!)

[guava_wrench]

All I can say about the Nets is they look like mediocrity is a best case future for them at this point. They picked up a lot of mediocrity in the offseason and will have those guys around for at least 3 years.

[action781]

They were a better team before they added Troy Murphy.

I expect Devin Harris to continue to flounder in Vince Carter's absence. He just doesn't have enough help alongside him to hide his lack of playmaking and floor general skills.

I really don't understand giving up Courtney Lee to get Troy Murphy, I just don't.....

I think it comes down to Terrance Williams and Anthony Morrow. Where was Lee going to play if both those guys got minutes?

PLus it stopped them from having to start kris humpries or favors...both of which would've been a disaster.

Unless they flip Murphy as an expiring contract to a team that is trying to make a playoff run or dump salary it was a bad bad move.

They're going to have Favors being a sophmore, they're ought to be semi-competitive this season, and next summer they'll have 20 million to offer LeBron, as much as the KNicks.

I don't think it was a bad move if they concede that they're punting this season.

Offer Lebron?  Huh?  Am I missing something here???

[Fan from VT]

Couple things here.

1. I think the Nets are okay with an expensive one year rental at PF. They were heading towards a 4/5 rotation of Favors (Mr. Upside Project), Lopez (really good) and Petro (really not good), and Humphries (selfish offensive player). Yeah, they could keep planning for the future, but there's still an attempt to draw fans and play 82 real games; Murphy helps tremendously in this regard. They have a real roster now. It would suck for players and fans to run Humphries, Petro, Favors, and Lopez into the ground; not good for Favors' development either.

2. Outlaw and Morrow are nice pieces, who, along with williams and James, make Lee expendable. They were able to help their frontcourt this year by giving up an expendable piece; fine.

3. They will have max capspace next season after renting Murphy for one year; Murphy doesn't change that at all.

Harris/Morrow/Carmelo/Favors/Lopez with Farmar, Outlaw, James, Williams off the bench is not a bad foundation.

4. Financially, their new owner is insanely wealthy, and has no problem paying Murphy as a placeholder for one year while Favors develops and they can try to make an impact next offseason, so it's really not a waste of money.

[GreenFaith1819]

I saw no mention of New Jersey's coach, Avery Johnson, in this thread. His presence and the young talent they have will make them close to if not a #8 seed.

I think he is the X factor here, and he's a great X factor to fall back on.

[More Banners]

After losing out on all of the instant-win FA packages, I like the moves they made.  They have a decent PG, but he needs to secure his spot this upcoming season, and the Favors/Lopez future has potential, and I like Murphy as a one-year filler on the court and as expiring-contract trade-bait later.  Morrow and Outlaw on the wing aren't bad options for finishers, and I don't think paying Outlaw $7mil/year to start is worse than letting another team sign him for the MLE of $6mil/year, especially for a team that needs to secure some talent and depth long-term, as they may not have an uberstar and will need depth, team ball, great coaching, and lots of luck to even have a prayer.

[Mike-Dub]

They were a better team before they added Troy Murphy.

I expect Devin Harris to continue to flounder in Vince Carter's absence. He just doesn't have enough help alongside him to hide his lack of playmaking and floor general skills.

That's how I feel to.

[Mike-Dub]

They were a better team before they added Troy Murphy.

I expect Devin Harris to continue to flounder in Vince Carter's absence. He just doesn't have enough help alongside him to hide his lack of playmaking and floor general skills.

I really don't understand giving up Courtney Lee to get Troy Murphy, I just don't.....

I think it comes down to Terrance Williams and Anthony Morrow. Where was Lee going to play if both those guys got minutes?

PLus it stopped them from having to start kris humpries or favors...both of which would've been a disaster.

Unless they flip Murphy as an expiring contract to a team that is trying to make a playoff run or dump salary it was a bad bad move.

They're going to have Favors being a sophmore, they're ought to be semi-competitive this season, and next summer they'll have 20 million to offer LeBron, as much as the KNicks.

I don't think it was a bad move if they concede that they're punting this season.

Offer Lebron?  Huh?  Am I missing something here???

Yeah I'm confused on this too.

[GreenEnvy]

They were a better team before they added Troy Murphy.

I expect Devin Harris to continue to flounder in Vince Carter's absence. He just doesn't have enough help alongside him to hide his lack of playmaking and floor general skills.

I really don't understand giving up Courtney Lee to get Troy Murphy, I just don't.....

I think it comes down to Terrance Williams and Anthony Morrow. Where was Lee going to play if both those guys got minutes?

PLus it stopped them from having to start kris humpries or favors...both of which would've been a disaster.

Unless they flip Murphy as an expiring contract to a team that is trying to make a playoff run or dump salary it was a bad bad move.

They're going to have Favors being a sophmore, they're ought to be semi-competitive this season, and next summer they'll have 20 million to offer LeBron, as much as the KNicks.

I don't think it was a bad move if they concede that they're punting this season.

Offer Lebron?  Huh?  Am I missing something here???

Yeah I'm confused on this too.

Carmelo?

[indeedproceed]

They were a better team before they added Troy Murphy.

I expect Devin Harris to continue to flounder in Vince Carter's absence. He just doesn't have enough help alongside him to hide his lack of playmaking and floor general skills.

I really don't understand giving up Courtney Lee to get Troy Murphy, I just don't.....

I think it comes down to Terrance Williams and Anthony Morrow. Where was Lee going to play if both those guys got minutes?

PLus it stopped them from having to start kris humpries or favors...both of which would've been a disaster.

Unless they flip Murphy as an expiring contract to a team that is trying to make a playoff run or dump salary it was a bad bad move.

They're going to have Favors being a sophmore, they're ought to be semi-competitive this season, and next summer they'll have 20 million to offer LeBron, as much as the KNicks.

I don't think it was a bad move if they concede that they're punting this season.

Offer Lebron?  Huh?  Am I missing something here???

Yeah I'm confused on this too.

Carmelo?

Did I say LeBron? I meant Carmelo.

Stupid Decision. He's got me hating him so much I'm Freudian slipping.

[Birdbrain]

It seems that one of the biggest losers in the Lebron sweepstakes was the New Jersey Nets.  Going into the offseason, many people thought they had the best core to put around Lebron, and the fact that they had room for 2 max players made them even more interesting.  But then things started to go wrong.

First, the lottery balls bounced the wrong way, and instead of the sure-fire star (OK, thats an exageration, but he was certainly a significant #1 pick) in Wall, they ended up with a talented, but unproven big man in Derek Favors.  But its alright, because they would just get their star in free agency...right?

Well, then Miami happened.  The Nets held out hope for a while that Lebron would join them, but as word starting to get out that Miami was his choice, or that he would be choosing between Miami and Cleveland, we can all imagine how crushed the Nets felt.

But, instead of going out and overcompensating for not getting Lebron, they went another way.  They decided to bring in some talented young role players, who fill holes in their lineup, and may end up growing along with the talented young guys they already had. 

Yes, perhaps they overpaid a bit for Travis Outlaw ($7 million a year is certainly steep), and maybe Jordan Farmar isn't worth $4 million a year (although I think once he gets the Lakers stink off him, we may see he is a very good backup PG). 

On the other side, I think a lot of us are high on Anthony Morrow, and think he could end up being a very good.  And while Johan Petro may not be flashy, getting a 24 year old athletic center, who can defend, and still has room to grow, is not a bad pickup.

But these are all individual moves.  We can pick any individual move apart.  What about the team?

I think they finished off the "team" very nicely by trading Courtney Lee for Troy Murphy.  This team was very young, and needed some veteran guidance, and they also needed a PF to allow Favors to grow into the role a bit. 

So, now, here is the roster:

Harris, Farmar
Morrow, Terrance Williams
Outlaw, Damion James
Murphy, Favors
Lopez, Petro

I know that doesn't look like much, but lets look at another team that came out of nowhere last year, who many picked to upset one of the top teams in the East, if they didn't have a devastating injury.

The Milwaukee Bucks roster last year looked like this:

Jennings, Ridnour
Salmons, Bell
Delfino, Stackhouse
Mbah ah Moute, Ilyasova
Bogut, Thomas

Is that so much better than the Nets?  I certainly don't think so. 

And of course we can't forget about the X factor, Avery Johnson.  He is one of the best coaches in the league, and they have him to whip these young guys into shape.

And you want to know what the best part is?  They will have max cap space next year as well.  By picking up Troy Murphy, they were able to take a run at the 8th playoff spot, in order to sell some tickets, put a decent product on the floor for their fans, and get good experience for their young players.  And then, they can take another whack at the bucket, and try to convince Carmelo Anthony that he should join them in trying to knock off the Heat.

So yeah, it would have been nice for the franchise if they caught one of the big fish this summer, but considering how bleak it looked, I actually like where they have gone.  They certainly have a brighter future than the Knicks, Cavs, and Raptors.

Skiles is one of the best coaches in the league and makes up for their less than elite talent.  I don't consider Avery Johnson in his league, regardless of how many wins his teams had in Dallas.  He seems like a good guy I just don't consider him a good coach.  I do expect NJ to surpass their win total from last year though.

Not sure they have a brighter future than the Knicks or Cleveland.  I actually think the Knicks have a good shot at the 8th spot even with their less than average head coach.  On paper they are better than Cleveland but, I have to see how they play with all the 'horrible talent' LJ had to carry during his time in Cleveland.  The Raptors have one of the the worst GMs in the league so I agree with that part.

[moiso]

I think that the Nets win about 30 games next year.  Poor defense and poor leadership.

Exactly.  I'm not crazy about anyone not named Lopez on the roster.  Harris is vastly overrated and is not a competitor.  I don't think this roster is anyway near as good as the Bucks roster.  Favors is the wild card, but I think this team will be pretty bad once again.