Alston’s take from Yahoo Sports:

“I’m excited not only to be with the Nets but to be able to play in front of family and friends, and also the opportunity to help a franchise turn things around,” Alston told Yahoo Sports. “I know we have a lot of young athletic guys. That’s one thing I stressed to Kiki (general manager Vandeweghe) and Rod (team president Thorn) is that I’m very excited to be on the court with a lot of young athletic guys, although I’m getting old.

“Most people get down about a trade. I had the opportunity to get traded from a contending team to another contender. Now I have a chance to help a team turn things around,” concluded Alston.

My Thoughts: He could have been shocked, but the guy is obviously adept at handling the media and is ready to play this upcoming season. While his role will most likely be smaller, Alston did a good job here of playing his cool and giving cliché answers. Nevertheless, he should be a good option off the bench.

Lee’s take from Yahoo Sports:
“Going all the way to the Finals on a good team, just expecting to regroup for next year and make it back to the playoffs again, and to get the news that you’ve been traded—it definitely was a shock but it’s one I have to live with,” said Lee.

My Thoughts: He was honest. Most young players say things like this and when they get older, they learn to keep quiet. Overall, I think it was more of the media trying to look for a story here. On my depth chart, Lee looks to get big minutes and while Orlando was the better team, he will have an opportunity to be a better player in New Jersey. After the first few games, he’ll understand that too.

From Yahoo Sports:

New Jersey Nets – Earl Clark, PF, Louisville: The Nets could use help at either forward position, particularly if they trade Yi Jianlian. The 6-9 Clark, a kind of combo forward with length and impressive physical ability, fills the bill. Quick for a big man, he can create some and is good scoring around the basket. He’ll need to develop and become a more consistent producer than he was for the Cardinals.

My Thoughts: I’m usually not in the habit of agreeing with Yahoo Sports, especially after where they predicted the team would finish this past season, but on this, they couldn’t be any more on the button. Clark is everything Jianlian isn’t- he has heart. Also, the fact that Clark can play either forward position allows them to hold on to Yi if they feel he deserves one more year to develop and can also play a part in getting him motivated. If he doesn’t respond, it’s likely he’d be trade bait. With Ryan Anderson continuing to develop as well, the Nets could get much bigger and skilled with Clark and Anderson at the forward position.

Here’s a scouting report from CollegeHoops.net:

Scouting Report: A versatile inside/outside threat.
 
Strengths: Great size for a small forward. Has the ability to play in the post or out on the wing. Very athletic. Great leaping ability. Long wingpsan. Great at slashing to the hoop. Can drive by defenders with either hand. Capable of posting up and scoring with his back to the basket. Good defender. Great rebounder. Great shot blocker for a forward. Has three-point range on jumper.
 
Weaknesses: Still inconsistent. Needs to become more consistent and a bigger threat from three-point range. Turns the ball over too much. Never was a huge scorer in college.
 
Projected 2009 Draft Range: Top ten pick.
 
Consensus: Earl Clark has all the makings of a solid, perhaps sometimes spectacular, NBA player. His size, athleticism and skill package make him a special prospect.

My Thoughts: Despite the fact that he wasn’t a huge scorer during his college days, playing with Vince Carter, Brook Lopez and Devin Harris will help change that. Simply put, the Nets need a solid rebounder with some spunk and Clark fits that bill to a T. Because of that, if the Nets pick him, he’ll get an opportunity to be a bigger part of the offense.

Battling injuries to key players and inconsistency from their bench and several young players, the Nets indeed have a plethora of work ahead of them before they’ll be a playoff team once again.

“It’s very disappointing,” Nets head coach Lawrence Frank told the Burlington County Times last week. “It hurts. It hurts not being able to participate in the playoffs. We’re a 34-win team. Is that acceptable? No. We want to put ourselves in position to be a playoff team. It you’re not in the postseason, then you should be disappointed.”

Earlier in the season, many felt that Frank was in danger of losing his job. However, it appears for the time being that the young coach has a home for at least one more season.

A season that will either cement his reputation in the league or force him to attempt to find a new home to do his job.

“I have always liked Lawrence as a coach and been supportive of Lawrence,” Thorn told the Associated Press a few days ago. “I know a lot of good things he does as a coach, it’s part of it. We’ve won a certain number of games two years in a row and it’s natural we sit down, we always sit down at the end of the year and talk about players, coaches and this is part of it.”

While Frank and the organization feel a bit more pessimistic about the team’s current situation, the team itself has a few ideas on how to make sure they don’t miss the playoffs for a third consecutive season.

“We’re just a couple of pieces away,” Vince Carter insisted to Yahoo Sports. “Rebounding, that’s what we need. We just need a guy who cleans up the glass. We have a lot of scoring. We have a lot of shooters. We have guys who can just get a bucket when you need it.”

While Brooks Robinson was no slouch on the boards this season, Carter definitely has the right idea here. A player that could help out on the boards at the power forward position could be a huge step in the right direction for this team, especially considering how inconsistent Yi Jianlian was last season.

Photo by Bill Menzel.

However at times, they actually looked like a playoff team and one that had a ton of potential.

Not many teams are in a situation to have two All-Stars while being under .500 and the Nets were pretty damn close to achieving that. As well, they had a host of talented youngsters that appeared to be turning the corner as well.

Now, despite the fact that the team should be happy with what they’ve gotten out of Brook Lopez this season and the flashes of brilliance from the rest of their babies, the Nets again, for the second season in a row will most likely be on the outside of the playoff picture, looking in.

17 losses in their last 23 games will do that sort of thing.

Now, a bigger dilemma than missing the playoffs is presented.

Is Nets head coach Laurence Frank to partially blame? Or is he rewarded for taking a team full of kids and dealing with injuries to his key players and making them at the very least, respectable.

“After the season, all of us get graded and rated,” Thorn said. “All of us. We look at everything at the end of the year.”

Heh, that doesn’t sound very good if you’re Frank.

The team too doesn’t know what to make of the speculation as well.

“It’s things we can’t control. The things we can control are on the floor,” Devin Harris told the AP. “Our effort, the things we do on the floor. And that’s the things we have to focus on. We can’t worry about that. It’s not a decision we make.”

Simply put, Frank was brought in to provide energy and get the team back the finals after Byron Scott could not.

Over the past few seasons, that situation, for a variety of reasons, has not changed.

Will Frank have to pay, with his job, at the end of the season?

“Rod, to me, is the premier executive in sports because he’s very honest,” Frank told Yahoo Sports. “I’ll take Rod Thorn any day of the week, not because he’s supported me, but because he’s always been honest with me. Everyone gets evaluated every year so this is no different than in the past. I don’t need a vote of confidence. What we need to do is play as hard as we can, compete and try to win as many games as possible. Then when the season is over then we’re all evaluated.”