No indication that he has a guarantee, but if he does, that makes 17 players with guaranteed contracts, including KVH. Teams can only have 20 players in camp, with or without contracts, so with the Nets wanting to bring Gill in, they had to dump someone and it turned out to be Farmer. And if he does have a contract, one has to think there will be a series of moves to get them down to the 15--or 14 players--they want to keep. It also doesn't bode well for Julius Hodge or DerMarr Johnson.
I was thinking that, about Hodge. But the question being, what about Armstrong? If Gill is being brought in to be the 3rd PG, are we to assume Armstrong will be traded/released/retire? I still think Hodge has a shot, but it will require some sort of movement by the time training camp ends, and it's possible.
Darrell Armstrong is an unrestricted free agent. Like any other NBA free agent, he is listed on the team's website as a free agent. Note on the Nets website, he doesn't even have a uniform number assigned. He didn't work out with the team--he couldnt since he hasnt been signed--and so he is in limbo. He COULD be used in a sign-and-trade and then waived...with the Nets adding cash to a deal to pay him off. Unlikely. He turned 40 in June and said a few months ago he would like play another year. Doubtful. Not in the Nets' plans. As for Gill, the Magic were interested in signing him last week but then went in a different direction. Not sure he will even make the team, but he probably will. I guess we will hear details on his signing--if that's what it is, rather than just a camp invite--tomorrow. ...or maybe this is a prelude to a trade, to get the team down to size.
Interesting. Things should be slightly eventful in the next 48 hours or so. Awesome. I still think DA has value somewhere, best of luck to whatever happens to him.
I'd rather they develop a young PG. Would you rather have a scrub like Eddie Gill or a young guy like Ramon Sessions was last year? Find a prospect with some talent. The Nets have time to let him grow.
I'm with you on that one. I can see bringing in a vet third string guy if it was the right situation for that...but this is not. Much better off trying something new and seeing how that works out.
Maybe Gill is more coachable than Hodge maybe not, could be what the coach's prefers, could be just cause they need another body in camp. We already have a 1+2 punch at pg, a third guy is injury protection so maybe a guy who's got less talent but more content over the long haul rather than a guy who just rots on the bench. Hodge could play multiple positions so maybe this is a better way to go in terms of adding another player to this roster. With Gill you might go small for a mismatch? what's it all mean???
These second rounders bounce around. There's plenty of them available from the past few drafts along with young, undrafted guys who have played overseas and/or in the D league. There's tons of good college point guards out there who haven't had a shot in the NBA. I'd just rather the Nets scout around for a young guy they like and let him grow in their system for a few years than carry a player with no future like Eddie Gill.
How does one "develop" a second-rounder when he would be playing behind a 25-year-old who starts and a veteran combo guard? How'd that work out with Marcus Williams? Keyon Dooling is a guard without a position. He averaged fewer than two assists a game last year. He is more of a shooting guard and defensive stopper at the point, not a pass first point guard. I don't like Gill very much either, but bringing in someone like Darius Washington, who they did look at, doesn't strike me as a very good idea, considering that Harris IS injury prone and Dooling does not distribute. Gill at least is a decent, experienced decision maker. What this move suggests is that they are not satisfied with Dooling and may already regret letting Williams go for peanuts. The Williams trade was a Frank move, just as the signing of Dooling and Gill were Frank moves. If Williams plays well and the other two do not, it will reflect poorly on Frank.
I agree that Dooling is a player Frank wants and Williams is not. So who specifically is "not satisfied" with Dooling's vast body of work as a Net? Thorn? Kiki? Is that person waiting in a conference room smoking a giant cigar with his thumb on Julian Garcia's speed dial number waiting for Dooling to fail so he can tell the story of how Frank held his head in the toilet and gave him continuous swirlies until he agreed to sign Dooling and trade Williams for some used laptops?
If Williams did not respond to Frank, then he needed to be traded for the good of both. It's just that PG's aren't easy to develop. Nobody wants to give an inexperienced PG time unless they're a projected starter, like Chalmers or Williams.
Haven't we been looking for a third string PG all summer? This is barely news let alone an indication of dissatisfaction with Dooling. If by any chance he makes this team he's not even going to sniff PT unless an injury occurs. The days where Eddie Gill can crack a decent rotation are long gone. He'd simply be an insurance policy with some veteran advice for the kids, that's it. Anything Marcus does this season is inconsequential because his situation in Golden State is much different than it would be here and it's not like all of a sudden he's going to be DPOY. His stats will look nice but if we kept him we would still have a hole in our defense every time he was on the floor. I still hold out hope for Marcus but when you're building from scratch you need to get rid of as many liabilities in your rotation as possible to build a foundation and hopefully an identity. He and Frank were a bad combination and the front office went with the guy who works his ass off and cares about winning games so I have no problems with that move no matter how well Marcus may play.
Let me repeat: Dooling averaged 1.8 assists last year--0.7 in the playoffs. He has averaged 1.9 for his career. He plays defense. He can shoot. He is athletic. He is NOT and never has been a distributor. That is why the Magic didn't resign him and instead went with Anthony Johnson. They needed a distributor they could rely on. IF Dooling was a pass-first point guard, then the Nets could have gone young.
I think they can develop a young, pass-first PG and the roster will be just fine. As you just indicated, there is even a limited role for him right away that will help get his feet wet. I guess it boils down to this. I think having Eddie Gill on the roster has no benefit. He isn't good enough to help the team win if he is forced to fill in for an injured player, and he has no room for improvement. At least a young player who they think is willing to learn would eventually become something of value. Any player with talent would be the equal or better of a guy like Eddie Gill even on his first day. Also, you make it sound like the Magic jumped at the chance to replace Dooling with Johnson. I don't think that's true.
