Troy Murphy landed with the Nets last week as part of a four-team, five-player trade that involved the Pacers, Hornets and Rockets. A native of New Jersey, Murphy doesn't understand why this offseason's top free agents didn't strongly consider signing with the Nets. "It's not just because I'm from Jersey, but I couldn't understand when all these free agents were looking for places to go that so many of them overlooked the Nets," he said. "Really, look at it ... objectively: Besides a great young center and an All-Star point guard, all the pieces are in place for this to be a very good team very quickly once we develop some chemistry. And by that I mean a playoff team." Murphy, who was attractive to New Jersey in part because of his expiring contract, understands that his time with the Nets might be short -- especially with rookie power forward Derrick Favors waiting in the wings. "It is what it is," Murphy said. "Really, I'm happy to be in this position. If it's just for a year, I will do whatever I can do for them in whatever role they want to put me in. I'll do the best job I can. I'm really looking forward to working with (Favors), and I'm hearing nothing but good things — he can be a stud." Read more: http://www.nj.com/nets/index.ssf/2010/08/homeward_bound_newest_net_troy.html
So you think a 70-loss team can, with Murphy and Favors as the only major additions, win about 30 more games? I disagree. Why are the Nets better than the Knicks again?
- The Knicks > Nets - The Knicks suck Therefore, the Nets really, really suck and shouldn't be considered in the playoffs, especially as a 7th seed.
Enlighten me please. With the exception of a rookie in Favors and Troy Murphy, the 12-70 Nets are virtually the same. The Knicks added an all-star and arguably the best PF in the league. We also upgraded at PG with Felton. The presence of Randolph, Azubuike, and Turiaf, will be felt more than Lee. So the Knicks, who already were much better than the Nets, improved much more than the Nets.
Amare really scares me. Let's see how he handles himself when he no longer has Nash giving him easy pick and roll buckets. He's got no defense. He only plays it when he feels like. And he doesn't rebound the ball. Harris > Felton. Azubuike could be a player off the bench. Turiaf? Really? Randolph can become a good player, but he definitely won't give you much as Lee did right now.
Amar'e averaged 20/9 in his second season, so clearly he's capable of producing at a high level without Nash. Nash isn't responsible for Stoudemire being able to shoot, post up, run the floor, or any of his other skills. Sure, Nash is an excellent floor general, but players don't become 5x all-stars, and make All-NBA teams by being sole products of point guards. And for all of his deficiencies, Amar'e is arguably the best PF in the league. He also, despite being a poor defender, is a step above Lee so we actually improved in that area. David Lee is one player and we got three players in return for him. It's not about who individually plays better than Lee. It's about how they play collectively. Collectively, Turiaf, Randolph, and Azubuike all play way better defense and compliment Amar'e well--more so than Lee would have. Turiaf and Randolph are good rebounders and play good defense to offset Amar'e's shortcomings. Harris being better than Felton doesn't mean much since collectively the Knicks are better than the Nets. And Felton will be serviceable for us at a position we struggled at last season.
