http://www.netsdaily.com/ All I can say is, oh god. Devin is a nice young player but we are screwed if thats the front office plan.
I'm actually not that adverse to this, although I can't give it my full support unless I see what Devin can do with a full year on our team. I'd throw out most of our preconceived notions of who Devin Harris is, as I'd bet that a lot of these perceptions are in the context of his time on the Mavs. We might not know how great this kid can be, and I'd point to all the career highs he now has as a Net.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Dark Defender @ May 22 2008, 12:21 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>http://www.netsdaily.com/ All I can say is, oh god. Devin is a nice young player but we are screwed if thats the front office plan.</div> Depends on what is meant by "build around". If it means "we are not entertaining trade offers for him and his skills are one of the main parts we need to consider when adding players" then I think it's fine. If it means "we are going to build our entire style of play around him and what he does as if he were Lebron James" then it's trouble. I think Kiki meant the former.
I listened to the complete interview from which the quote was taken, and I think Netted summed it up perfectly. Kiki did not bring up Devin, the interviewer was specifically asking about him and the Kidd trade. Kiki said they were going to give him the opportunity to really run the team the way good point guards are supposed to do, let him call plays and utilize his strengths to the fullest. Well into his comments, almost in an "oh by the way" tone, he said "we're gonna build around him" and "surround him with good players". I took the comments as a whole to mean that Devin is the only player on the roster whose age, salary, and skills make him someone they definitely see as being a key part of what they hope will be an elite team in a few years. Pretty sensible statement but not one which should be taken out of context.
If you're best player is Devin Harris, you're not winning any championships. He's a great player, and can be a corner stone, but he's not THE franchise.
You guys are reading too much into this. He's mostly just boosting Harris' confidence and saying that he'll be our PG. That doesn't mean he'll be our best player. For example, when he says "right now he has VC and RJ"... when both players are arguably better than him. He's just giving Harris a go as our PG.
Devin Harris in money in the bank. - He is a young, improving player. - He plays defense. - GMs around the league like him. - He is reasonably priced and signed long term. - If the Nets keep him, he'll fit into a lot of different systems and styles of play. - He can be used to get a veteran player if the Nets somehow get the opportunity to win right away. - He can be used to move contracts to free up money for free agents. - He can be used in a S&T for a star player without making the other team look too bad. Basically, he's the last thing the Nets need to be concerned about. They just have to build their team and when the time comes to decide what to do with him, he'll be an asset that will serve them extremely well.
I dont see why people think Kiki is calling him the next Kidd. IMO Kiki is basically saying Harris is our guy. Eveyone else be ready to read your names in all the Trade rumors. Thorn has always said the one of the most important pieces to a great team was a good PG. Kiki is just reinforcing that.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ghoti @ May 22 2008, 03:11 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Devin Harris in money in the bank. - He is a young, improving player. - He plays defense. - GMs around the league like him. - He is reasonably priced and signed long term. - If the Nets keep him, he'll fit into a lot of different systems and styles of play. - He can be used to get a veteran player if the Nets somehow get the opportunity to win right away. - He can be used to move contracts to free up money for free agents. - He can be used in a S&T for a star player without making the other team look too bad. Basically, he's the last thing the Nets need to be concerned about. They just have to build their team and when the time comes to decide what to do with him, he'll be an asset that will serve them extremely well.</div> I totally agree with all your points.
I think and hopefully he thinks build around Devin like the Spurs built around Parker. Yeah the team is probably built more around Duncan but stfu
You guys will do everything you can to avoid the obvious...the Nets intend to build around Devin Harris. NBA teams increasingly center on young, quick, and aggressive point guards. Harris can be one of them. Could he be Chris Paul? No. Could he be Deron Williams? Possibly. Could he be Tony Parker? Yes. This isn't some high school coach building up confidence in a 17-year-old. This is a guy in charge of a professional team with hundreds of millions of dollars in long term salary commitments. This wasn't some off-handed comment. He said it and then amplified it, pointing out how he was the point guard on an NBA Finalist at age 23 and the point guard on a 67-win team at age 24. He isn't on the trading block. That SHOULD be obvious. Win now? That's the plan. He has a very reasonable five year contract. At the end of that contract, he will be 29. That contract was as important a factor in the team's decision to pursue him as was his skillset and age. Vandeweghe is not saying he is the best player on the team, but his skills ARE the centerpiece of the team's future. Deal with it...don't try to treat it like a Sanskrit text.
Yes, I agree. Every player has strengths and weaknesses. By saying that the Nets will "build around" Devin, I think what they are saying is just that they will take into account his skill set and his deficiencies when making other roster decisions. That's so clearly the right approach: You pick the major piece that you think will be on the team the longest, and you ask yourself, "given that we have this guy, how can we build a winning team?" It doesn't mean that he'll be the focal point of the offense, just that his skills will inform other roster decisions. To use an analogy, in chess, when you come out of the opening, each side looks different, but one is (usually) not better than the other side. It's up to each player to create conditions on the board to maximize the strength and reach of their remaining pieces, given things like pawn structure. Whoever does that better will usually win. If it means that the Nets are going to be an up-tempo, running team, I'm all for it. However, it is also a given that Vince will be a member of the team for the next few years, so that has to be taken into account as well.
