This trade may end up going down as one of the worst in the team’s history. However, if things work out, it could be the beginning of a new-look Nets team that will be younger, faster and better on defense than they have been in quite some time.
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.