2006/07 New Jersey Nets Payroll: $56.8 million2006/07 Estimated NBA Salary Cap: $52 millionRoughly: $4.8 million over cap The Good: The Nets were one of the hottest teams in the league by the end of the season, thanks in large part to their trio of stars. Leading the charge is Vince Carter who is playing as well as he ever has. Vince leads the team in scoring at 24.4 a game and also contributes almost 6 rebounds and 4 assists every night. He has two years and $31.4 million dollars left on his contract and so far, Carter has been worth every penny.Vince Carter's running mate on the wings, Richard Jefferson, came into this season having endured the worst year of his career. After signing a 6 year, 75 million dollar contract extension, Jefferson missed most of last season with an injury. He came back strong this season to average 19.6 points and nearly 7 boards and 4 assists per game while shooting 49% from the field. As long as him and Carter stay healthy, they should be able to earn their contracts.The Nets won't find a better deal on their roster than Nenad Krstic. The young center has improved this season and is now the team's second leading rebounder while shooting 50% and grabbing 6.5 rebounds a game. On a team devoid of talent in the post, Krstic will need to play well (and rebound more) if New Jersey has any thoughts about going deep in the playoffs. The Nets owe Krstic just $1 million dollars for next season and will undoubtedly exercise their option on the following year for $1.8 million. He is a bargain now, but if Krstic keeps improving, he will be in for a big payday very soon.The Bad: I debated whether to put Kidd in the Good section, but I still believe his contract falls in the Bad despite his performance. There is no question that Kidd is the engine that makes the Nets run, but an average of $19.7 million for each of the next three seasons? That is a ton of money for a 33-year-old point guard with a history of injuries. Kidd is also a career 40% shooter, something that will really hurt them in the playoffs against good teams. Don't get me wrong, Kidd is a great player and if he stays healthy, he can earn that money. It's the size of the deal and the age of the player that makes it quite risky.I mentioned last year that Jason Collins' contract was a joke and it still is. Another $6 million a year each of the next three seasons is ridiculous for a guy averaging 3.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. It just goes to show you how desperate the Nets are for some size.The Future: Besides Kidd, Carter, Jefferson and Collins, no one on the Nets has a contract that is over $2.5 million or longer than three seasons. That is mostly because their bench is horrible. With no cap room to spare, New Jersey will have to gather more talent using draft picks and mid-level exceptions. They don't have much to trade without giving up one of their starters and their success means they won't be picking very high in the draft.Are K.C.J. enough to make the Nets a true title contender? No. They simply do not have enough talent surrounding those three to compete with Miami and Detroit in the East. The Nets desperately need a good power forward to replace old man Robinson in the starting line-up. Unless they can convince a talented veteran to sign for the mid-level exception, it will be interesting to see how they attempt to accomplish this.Bonus Points? for catching fire at the right time. The Net's 14 game win streak towards the end of the season really turned some heads and gave this team a lot of momentum. It made people wonder if the Nets are closer to contender status than anyone realized. Could New Jersey be one move away from joining the NBA elite?Grade: B-http://nbadraft.net/2006stateofthecapnewjersey001.asp
Nice write up, I read it all. I think we could get that PF we want this summer. K-Mart is on his way out. The nuggets despertly want him out so they wont be greedy for what they want in return. Plus we could offer them 2 draft picks in this years draft.
He didnt write that.The Nets definately need a Big man to bang around inside there and give them some more inside points. I look at Nazr Mohammed right now. He would be the right guy for them. They wouldnt have to pay him that much either.
Yeah I just realized that my fault. I think we need to go after Kmart first. If we could get him back without giving up any of the big 4 we are title contenders. If that dosnt work out, we could always go after other PFs.
^ I doubt you can put enough people together to match Kenyons salary. He is vastly overpayed, so I think it would be difficult for you guys to get him back.
Well Collins is making 6 mil a year, that leavs only 5 million left. And there is always a chance of the buyout since they want Kmart out so bad.
They won't buy him out, especially when they can prolly get somebody of value from the KnicksAnd we rescinded Shareef Abdur Rahim's deal because of scar tissue, and he was a proven 20-10 player. Kenyon has a bad knee and he's a 12 and 6 player now
I know its a long shot lol I just wish we could get him back. We would be one of the best teams in the the league with him. Kidd Carter Jefferson Martin Krtic...damn :worthy:<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ace_o_spades @ May 14 2006, 12:55 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>And we rescinded Shareef Abdur Rahim's deal because of scar tissue, and he was a proven 20-10 player. Kenyon has a bad knee and he's a 12 and 6 player now</div>Well I think with him back with jkidd he could be a great player again. Back to the old kmart we knew.
Anybody who can contribute off the bench. I want JR Smith, he's worn out his welcome in NO but we all know he can score. He needs work on his defense but learning from Jefferson and Kidd is never a bad thing. A backup point like Keyon Dooling would be unbelieveable, but that's a stretch. A more likely scenario would be a trade for a guy like Maurice Williams or Charlie Bell. A big man that we can sign would be Lorenzen Wright, I doubt he's going back to Memphis.In the draft, dream scenario would be to move up and select Shelden Williams or JJ Reddick but that's highly unlikely. Realistically, I like Josh Boone and Rajon Rondo.I'll make a blueprint for 2006-2007 when the season's over. Hopefully I won't have to until mid-June
If we could trade up and get J.J that would be awesome. Cant wait to see your off season blueprint lol
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jkidd51524 @ May 14 2006, 02:29 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>If we could trade up and get J.J that would be awesome. Cant wait to see your off season blueprint lol</div>Oh it's coming. I'm actually gonna think about it tonite while I try to sleep and I'll prolly save it on Word and once the Nets season ends (officially) it'll be up
Lol alright man cant wait. You know most of the stuff I know about the Nets I learned from you. Like for example I had no idea Jefferson had a trading clause on his contract, you did though and I learned from you. Im glad your around or I wouldnt know half of the stuff I did lol
