In no particular order, 1. Like Dave D, he says the Nets are still in Love with Love and will try to move up to get him. 2. The brass went to Philly today and saw Ryan Anderson for the first time and Marresse Speights for the second. 3. Five players tomorrow and six on Monday, bringing the grand total to 48 by Monday...Courtney Lee, JR Giddens, Ante Tomic, Nathan Jawai, and the previously announced Joe Alexander and Roy Hibbert. (Who DIDN'T they work out??) 4. Jason Thompson may get the last workout next week. 5. and oh yeah, like Dave D, he reports it's Gallinari and Lopez at the top of the board, with the other Lopez not far behind. http://njmg.typepad.com/zzone/2008/06/getting-closer.html
I like Giddens. I remember watching him however many years ago in the McDonald's AA Game. Liked him ever since for some reason. And I would love it if we do, indeed, move up for Love.
The doubly smart move in the second round (assuming they use both picks in the first) is to take a Euro who they think can develop over a two year period. Spurs got screwed (Splitter) and Blazers could have been screwed (Fernandez) by taking a Euro in the first round. The dollar's decline against the euro has hurt NBA teams big time. When you take someone like Splitter at #28, the most you can GUARANTEE him is $2 million over two years when a rich European team can guarantee him five or more times as much over several years. If he had been taken in the second round, they could have used their MLE on him...and outbid Tau Ceramica. Ante Tomic, Victor Claver, either of the Turks, Nicola Perovic or Gogi Dragic would all be fine picks. The other reason it's smart is that with so many kids on the Nets roster, a second rounder isnt going to get much of a chance. Next season, the Nets have one pick, having traded their second rounder to Seattle for Mikki Moore. They could bring the kid over next year.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (NetIncome @ Jun 19 2008, 10:04 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>The doubly smart move in the second round (assuming they use both picks in the first) is to take a Euro who they think can develop over a two year period. Spurs got screwed (Splitter) and Blazers could have been screwed (Fernandez) by taking a Euro in the first round. The dollar's decline against the euro has hurt NBA teams big time. When you take someone like Splitter at #28, the most you can GUARANTEE him is $2 million over two years when a rich European team can guarantee him five or more times as much over several years. If he had been taken in the second round, they could have used their MLE on him...and outbid Tau Ceramica. Ante Tomic, Victor Claver, either of the Turks, Nicola Perovic or Gogi Dragic would all be fine picks. The other reason it's smart is that with so many kids on the Nets roster, a second rounder isnt going to get much of a chance. Next season, the Nets have one pick, having traded their second rounder to Seattle for Mikki Moore. They could bring the kid over next year.</div> Last year at this time, I would have agreed with you, but things change. By my count, the Nets have just ten players under contract (counting Krstic but not Boki), so they could certainly manage to take on three rookies and even have the space for Hodge. They've had a terrible record with their second-round picks--over the course of this decade, the only one I can think of that made ANY impact whatsoever was Veal, and his impact was minimal--and besides, he was an early second rounder. But maybe this year will be different. Not only is their second rounder #40 overall, but two of the picks right ahead of them belong to Minnesota, two to Portland, and one is one of Seattle's six picks on the night. Barring some trades, some of those could be Eurostash themselves. Bottom line: The Nets' pick could be a borderline projected end first-rounder. Why waste the pick on a seven-foot Serb, when you could possibly nab DeVon Hardin, Ryan Anderson, or Bill Walker? Or JR Giddens, who was a legit prospect who lost his way? Maybe these players will suck, but someone has to fill out the roster . . . and I'm not looking forward to seeing the 2008 version of Chris Childs. [they probably need three PGs on the roster, though, so even if they keep Marcus they would need someone else on the roster who could play the point. Maybe they could pick up Mario Chalmers at that point, who I don't know anything about but the mocks seem to like]
I would take Anderson and the Nets might take Hardin, but I dont think either of those guys will be there. I wonder if Giddens will even be drafted. He could drop because of his character issues. Note today, FYI, that Ford reports Randolph has not done well on the psychological tests and could drop. LSU = Whacko.
NI, Claver pulled out of the draft, and I doubt Pekovic EVER comes over. I do like what I hear about Dragic though. Boki & Gogi!
