Why the Nets would give up their leading scorer in Vince Carter, a proven NBA commodity who had serious chemistry with Devin Harris and a talented youngster in Ryan Anderson for what they got seems a bit obscene at first.

Sure, Rafer Alston is a talented point guard that showed flashes of brilliance during the playoffs, but the Nets already have a point guard, a good one at that and a more than competent backup in Keyon Dooling that proved during the season that he can be more than an understudy if he has to be. So where does Alston fit? Is Harris going to move to shooting guard to accommodate the loss of Carter? What’s going on here?

The same thing goes for the signing of Tony Battie, who despite being an excellent rebounder off the bench and a trusty veteran, comes in with players like Sean Williams, Josh Boone and cough, Yi Jianlian capable of manning the position and in need of minutes. With that being said, where will he fit in with the Nets?

Courtney Lee however is an interesting player. I think he can definitely be a solid small forward if given about 30 minutes a night and with some more pressure on him. He’s also an excellent three-point shooter that is far more explosive than Bobby Simmons, with much more upside. If he can score a dozen points a game and provide some energy, this trade may not be so bad.

With the drafting of Terrance Williams from Louisville as well, the Nets also continue to get younger and more energetic in addition to having cleared a ton of cap room by trading away high-priced veterans like Jason Kidd, Richard Jefferson and Vince Carter over the past two years.

It’s the end of an era.

But it could be the beginning of something great as well.

From CBSSports.com:

One of the more colorful characters in college basketball, to call Williams “unique” would be an understatement. When he first arrived on Louisville’s campus as a freshman, he was a brash, cocky youngster with a me-first attitude, but he quickly adhered to head coach Rick Pitino’s rules. He not only became the team’s leader and “spokesman,” but in this day and age where players opt out of college for a chance to play in the pros, he was very comfortable staying with the Cardinals until his eligibility ran out.

Never at a loss for words, Williams became the media darling on the team and also one who knew how to ignite the spark in his teammates, even though his actions sometimes rattled his opponents. In the 2009 Big East Tournament, Syracuse point guard Jonny Flynn described facing Louisville as “being chased by eight pit bulls, and you just got to keep running for your life.”

After Williams led the Cardinals to a 76-66 win over Syracuse in the Big East title game, he jumped on a press table, impersonating Syracuse’s Eric Devendorf for his teammates. He shook the television announcers’ hands at the conclusion of the victory and entertained reporters, saying he saw “Tweety birds” when he took a forearm to the face, and boasting about the 55 text messages he had waiting after Louisville won the Big East.

My Thoughts: It’s obvious the kid grew a lot during his time with Pitino and I love his energy. He’d be a fun addition to the team and given the fact that he’s a good rebounder and a decent three-point shooter, he gives the team even more options.

Jordan Hill-Arizona

From CBSSsports.com:

Hill has made remarkable strides in all areas of his game despite his virtual neophyte status. He rates as one of the premier rebounders eligible for the draft, excelling at attacking the offensive glass with the athleticism to evolve into an offensive threat.

Hill has tremendous explosiveness for a big man, causing problems for defenders trying to stay in front of him. Hill can create contact off the dribble and but defensively he’s nearly a finished production because of his elevation, wing span and explosive leaping ability. He developed into an exceptional shot blocker, and closed out his career ranking sixth in school history with 140 blocked shots.

Hill’s rebounding skills saw him set the school single-season record with 375 as a junior, and his career total of 763 boards place him ninth in Arizona history. A high-percentage shooter, Hill made 65.2 percent of his field goals as a freshman (second-best percentage in Wildcats’ annals) and 62.0 percent of his attempts as a sophomore (fourth on the season list). In 97 games for UA, his field-goal percentage of .578 ranks fifth on the school all-time record list.

My Thoughts: He’s a damn big power forward with great rebounding ability with the potential to be a better offensive player than he is right now. My personal choice for the Nets this season if they can land him.

“Not necessarily,” team president Rod Thorn told the Associated Press regarding the Nets potentially going for need and drafting a forward. “As we’ve said, if there is somebody there and we feel he is the best talent, and it may be a point guard, we’ll take him. There are a lot of good point guards out there.”

I still say this team needs another solid rebounder with some spunk. Some think Sean Williams should be given a good opportunity to fill that role and those people may have a good point. At guard, I think the Nets are strong as long as Vince Carter and Devin Harris can stay healthy. I like especially what Keyon Dooling was able to do last season and see Chris Douglas-Roberts as a viable option as well. Simply put, if the Nets go out and get another guard, how much is he going to play? If they go the route of a forward, that person can instantly be thrown into the mix and be put in a situation to earn minutes, rather than a guard that would be lost in the shuffle. Just my thoughts.

On the relocation-effort, the Nets have decided to make a big change that could possibly get the team over to Brooklyn a bit quicker.

According to NorthJersey.com:

“The Nets have replaced world-renowned architect Frank Gehry as designer of the proposed Barclays Center in Brooklyn, they said Thursday, in a move that could knock hundreds of millions of dollars off the $950 million projected price tag for the basketball arena.
Ellerbe Becket, a Minneapolis-based architectural firm, will take over for Gehry.”

My thoughts:

Beckett has designed a few NBA homes over the past few years and is a more than suitable replacement, especially considering the Gehry was looking to make the place a landmark, capable of drawing income from all over the world. In the big scheme of things, it doesn’t seem possible that a building located in the ever-changing neighborhood that the Atlantic Yards project is smack dab in the middle of could ever be home to anything internationally renowned.

Just build a great place to watch basketball and people will come.

In other news, check out this interesting piece that talks about Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson almost coming to New Jersey.

http://www.northjersey.com/sports/nets/OConnor_Kobe_was_almost_a_Net.html

Pretty crazy how things turn out sometimes.

I remember the hoop/rim at Tom’s house being maybe 9 1/2 feet off the ground (every time I’d step inside a gym and gaze at a regulation-sized hoop, I’d notice the obvious difference).  A cemented steel pole held an oversized, charcoal-colored, wooden backboard–enabling us to constantly practice our bank shots.  Yeah, I often wonder how the heck that backboard was immune to splintering with all those shots caroming off it–yes, YEARS-worth.  And the rim was strong, too, as I never remembering Tom or his Dad having to tighten the rusted bolts that held it in place (I guess it helped that most of us were still vertically-challenged and not yet tall enough to hang on it).  But what I’ll always remember about our beloved court was the CHAIN NET attached to the rim.  I had never seen one before that time; I don’t recall that type of net even being SOLD in stores at the time and always wondered how Tom (or maybe his Dad) came into possession of one.  What an unmistakable sound it made when a ball passed through it; unlike its nylon counterpart that would render a soothing ”swish,” the chains would always emit a loud “KUH-WISH” after a successful shot–and you could hear it throughout the neighborhood.  In fact, the sound would resonate to the point where no phone calls had to be made before organizing a pick-up game and/or shoot-around; the first few KUH-WISH sounds–usually made by Tom or his younger brother Steve–would be easily heard by all of our usual neighborhood participants and serve as an invitation to join in.  I remember us shooting for HOURS at a time until it got dark–seeing who could cause the net to make the loudest noise; the farther away one was successful with a shot, the louder the KUH-WISH.  The more we practiced shooting, the better we became–to the point where a steady stream of KUH-WISHES would cause non-basketball-playing and/or bike-riding kids passing by on Bruns Road to stop and marvel at the unique noise.  Funny, the chain net never seemed to get tangled/become unhinged despite all the “dancing” it did.  It rusted a bit after a few years, but that familiar sound never changed.  KUH-WISH, KUH-WISH, KUH-WISH–there was no better sound in the world.

I recall the daily pick-up games being so enjoyable and competitive while being contested on the smooth, slanted driveway; it was usually the same match-up as our football “wars”:  Jimmy and I vs. Joe and Tom.  Sometimes Steve would play and be told to be a part of our team strictly because we were younger and were assumed to need an extra player.  However, I don’t think our opponents realized that Jimmy and I–on days when our usual, geometrically-challenged court was off-limits–would practice at Jimmy’s house (about 50 yards away) for hours, too, honing our shooting skills.  Although Jimmy’s “court” was flat and more visually appealing, it was more congested, too–due to the surrounding landscape/property layout at his house.  But a perfect place to practice, for sure, and I believe the countless hours spent there playing “H-O-R-S-E” or “Around The World” gave us the skills and confidence needed to beat the older guys–even on a slanted surface.  I think Jimmy and I knew from the very beginning that we’d never out-muscle the older guys; shooting the lights out would be our strategy–and it worked.  Yeah, it was so much fun–especially when Jimmy and I could win games without placing a major emphasis on rebounding.  And I recall Joe often doing his Pete Maravich imitation–taking long jump shots and then purposely falling on the pavement to make it look like he was fouled.  Ah, it was magical in its hilarity.

Finally, I remember, when it snowed, all of us wanting to pitch in and shovel Tom’s driveway even before doing our own–clearing the way for another pick-up game to be played.  Yeah, as long as there was no ice underneath–and we could move freely without slipping–there was basketball to be played.  And now that I think of it, the soft, packed snow covering the out of bounds area–or even at the end of Tom’s driveway–actually helped stopped some errant balls from traveling down that dreaded grade.  Snow boots slowed us down a bit–but not as much as one might surmise.  Funny, we wore knit caps and heavy jackets when we played, but seldom donned gloves–which we discovered could negatively affect the “shooter’s touch.”  Somehow, my hands never seemed cold, either; I can only assume that hearing the desired KUH-WISH over and over made me forget about any bothersome chill I may have been experiencing.

Recently, I was in the sporting goods section at Wal-Mart after the holidays and came across a chain net for sale among the basketball items; yes, they DO sell them now.  I stopped and stared at it for awhile as a smile graced my countenance and a warm feeling engulfed me.  Then it all came back to me:  KUH-WISH, KUH-WISH, KUH-WISH.  Like riding a bike or tying a shoe, I guess certain habits–and memories–are bound to last a lifetime.