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| I would pay good money to hear Avery Johnson and Brook Lopez in a shouting match. Weird voices collide. |
2009-10 Record: 12-70
Additions: Avery Johnson (coach), Mikhail Prokhorov (owner), Billy King (GM), Troy Murphy (trade), Derrick Favors (draft), Damion James (draft), Anthony Morrow (FA), Travis Outlaw (FA), Jordan Farmar (FA), Johan Petro (FA), Quinton Ross (trade), Brian Zoubek (FA), Ben Uzoh (FA)
Subtractions: Kiki Vandeweghe (coach), Rod Thorn (GM), Bobby Simmons, Tony Battie, Trenton Hassell, Keyon Dooling, Yi Jianlian, Jarvis Hayes, Josh Boone, Courtney Lee, Chris Quinn, Chris Douglas-Roberts
Last year's Nets were absolutely terrible. They were dead last in PPG, 2nd to last in point differential, last in FG%, 2nd to last in 3P%, last in APG, 3rd to last in RPG, and of course, last in wins. The Nets have made some sweeping changes to the team this past offseason, and it was clear that this needed to be the case. In the draft they took a project in Derrick Favors at #3, but also acquired a more NBA ready prospect in Damion James. Free agent acquisitions like Anthony Morrow and Travis Outlaw provide more shooting for a team severely lacking in that department the previous season, and Troy Murphy gives the team a rebounding machine who can also space the floor with his excellent three point shot. More importantly, having Murphy allows the Nets to slowly bring Favors along instead of simply thrusting him into action and hoping for the best. Murphy also has a nice expiring contract which can be dangled at the deadline as well, especially if Favors is coming along more quickly than expected.
Three of the Nets players from last year they chose to keep also figure to be a big part of their future. Brook Lopez is obviously the player most Nets fans look to as the star. I personally think he's a tad overrated, at least now, but it is obvious he's a tremendous talent at one of the hardest positions to find talent at.
Devin Harris also figures to still be a part of the Nets future. It was only in the previous season when he was selected to the East All-Star team. Nagging injuries and more focus on him by opposing defenses made him experience a rather severe drop off in production last year. But with more offensive weapons and floor spacers on the team this year, Harris could return to form.
Terrence Williams bloomed a little bit as a versatile rookie last year that helped get the Nets a few wins near the end of the season. He also was one of the more impressive players in this years Summer League. His shot selection still shows work, but Williams is a promising young player.
The front office also changed quite a bit with new Russian owner Mikhail Prokhorov being given the keys to the organization. It brought Avery Johnson's return to the organization, and while I think Johnson can be a tad overbearing and also tends to stick to his plan regardless of how its playing out (remember the Mavericks-Warriors series?), I think he has had time to learn from his mistakes in Dallas, and he is still a quality coach and a proven winner.
The change at the GM level is one that I most disagree with. Billy King was a disaster in Philadelphia and I'm not sure that giving him control of a rebuilding project is the way to go. This guy is liable to give Troy Murphy a 4 year, $40 million extension instead of treating him as the expiring contract he should be. We'll have to see how it goes though.
Overall though, the Nets have definitely improved their team at almost every position, and I would be very surprised if they were the worst in the league again.
Predicted Win Range (I'm going to give a range of what I think the best and worst case scenario's are): 25-35
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