| Nets Looking For Size Upgrade To Control The Division Of Attrition Authored by Matt McQueeny - February 11, 2005 - 3:24 pm
It is about that time of year. The trade deadline marks a chance for a team to put themselves over the top (ie the Pistons last year), gives a team a chance to start rebuilding a little early (i.e. Atlanta last year), but all in all basically signifies the beginning of the stretch run. Players can look around and see that this will be their squad for the remainder of the season. For the Nets, a team that seemingly has gone through many seasons in this first half, It is their last chance to gain some more much needed size.
Size upgrade or not, The Nets are still winning this division. This is the attrition division. The division by default. By treading water and basically going .500, a team moves up in the standings. And the Nets have two (three when/if Jefferson can get back for the playoffs) of the top five players in the division. They have the wherewithal to win and Jason Kidd, who wills his teams to win. Vince Carter has played out of his mind and when the Nets get a third guy to score 15 points or more, they usually win. That being said, the Nets need some more quality size to compete when they get to the playoffs.
Elden Campbell, their recent size “upgrade”, has been just about short of a disaster. He looks uninterested, out of shape, and ready to get on the first plane out when the season ends. Nenad Krstic has hit the rookie wall. He is completely cooked. Hopefully, the all star break will give him some much needed rest so he can get back to giving the Nets some consistency, because he has shown flashes of being a very productive player in this league. Jason Collins is what he has always been: solid. He sets good picks, boxes out well, and takes charges. He is intelligent, a pretty good passer, and has a pretty good mid-range shot. That being said, at some point his intangibles need to turn into real stats (rebounds, blocks, and some points). The surprise of the bunch has been Jabari Smith. This guy can play. He is a very good passer (especially of the back-door variety), he never seems to miss an open 17-footer, and he is a more than serviceable back up. However, none of these guys strike any fear into the hearts of a defender. Carter, Kidd, and Jefferson take care of that but in the playoffs you need some semblance of down-low, back to the basket presence. Even as a decoy.
So here are names that have either been directly talked about, rumored to have been talked about, or who I have brought to the table even though the Nets have not been linked to them.
Clifford Robinson: It has been talked about going on forever. The Nets want him but they are not willing to give up all the picks Golden State wants. Plus, the Nets just used the exception they would have used on Robinson on Elden Campbell. At this point, especially with the recent marijuana incident, the Nets should take a pass. The Nets should probably actually go after Uncle Cliff’s teammate Dale Davis. He is that hardworking, rebounding, defending, intangibles guy who does not shoot or worry about shots. Troy Murphy was also brought up but It was probably just Rod Thorn feeling like he could fleece another team so recently after the Vince Carter trade.
Carlos Boozer: the perfect guy for this Net team as currently constructed. A guy who will get dirty, back his teammates (enforcer type), is 23 years old, and who the Jazz might feel that they over payed for with the way the team has struggled this year. First, this is probably a pipe dream (so was Vince though) and second is the question of the Nets interest in accepting a contract of that size (6 year, 68 million dollars). Nets might be better served inquiring about Jazz teammate Matt Harpring, one of the more under-rated players in the league.
Eric Williams: A solid, good citizen veteran who can defend, score in the post, and hit the open mid-range jumper. Plus, he was a Net this season. The reason his name is raised here is because he is now asking out of the circus that is Toronto. It does not seem to be working there, his home is in New Jersey, and he has at least another year on his contract. Not likely but it makes sense.
Corliss Williamson: Tough guy with a good low-post game, rebounds, and plays good defense. Samuel Dalembert, a guy the Nets inquired about earlier this season, is getting a lot of playing time and there are a lot of bigs on the Sixers, diminishing Corliss’ role on the team. Maybe the Nets could find a way to make it happen.
Keith Van Horn: Probably not a good idea because of his propensity to softness (nicknamed the stay-puft forward) and his massive contract, but he was a Net and he is 6’10’’ with great range and a pretty good post-up game. Again, probably not a good idea but his name is out there. |
