<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Wright is Staying Active in the Summer to Avoid Inactivity in the Fall by Chris Creed Wright played in 39 games for the Nets in 2005-06. (Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE/Getty Images) Vince Carter will be spending the next few months relaxing at his home in Florida. Jason Kidd will be on a golf course somewhere looking to improve his handicap and Richard Jefferson will be splitting time between Arizona and San Diego. The offseason gives Nets players a chance to spend time with their families and recharge their batteries after a grueling 82-game schedule. Rookie Antoine Wright is taking a different approach this offseason. Instead of working on his tan, Wright will be working on his shooting and ball-handling skills at the Nets? practice facility in East Rutherford and in the summer league. ?Our team is a running, fast-paced team. I'm going to get a lot of open shots with Jason, Vince and Richard demanding double team,? Wright said, looking ahead to the 2006-07 season. The transition from high school basketball to college ball was easy for Antoine Wright. In his freshman season at Texas A&M, Wright was the consensus choice for Big 12 Freshman of the Year, averaging nearly 15 points a game for the Aggies. The transition to the NBA, however, was a bit more challenging for the 6-7 swingman. Wright played extensively in the 2005 preseason. He averaged 14.6 minutes per game and netted nearly five points a contest. But when the opening night roster was announced, Wright found his name on the inactive list. ?I didn?t really know what was expected of me in order to play,? Wright said after a workout. ?At that point I was down but the coaches stayed with me, my teammates stayed with me. I kept working and finally got my chance.? The chance came on November 23rd in Sacramento. Wright played just two minutes against the Kings but in his brief time on the court he scored his first NBA basket. ?Right before the game Coach came to me and said, ?no matter if you play five minutes, one minute, seven minutes or 20, play as hard as you can for those minutes and your minutes will increase.?? Wright remembers. His minutes would increase in mid-January when back-up point guard Jeff McInnis went down with an injury. During that stretch of inactivity, Wright stayed focused and prepared himself mentally and physically for the next time he was called to play. He also began working with Vince Carter, who imparted the knowledge he gained in his eight years in the league on the young rookie. ?The main thing he helped me with was personnel,? Wright said of Carter. ?He was a big help with knowing how to guard guys and knowing what to do against guys.? Nothing could have prepared Wright for the assignment he was given in the postseason against the Miami Heat. In Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, Coach Frank picked Wright to defend All-Star guard Dwayne Wade at a pivotal point in the contest. ?That was a real shock,? he said. ?You?re coming off the bench, you?re stiff and Coach says, ?get out there and stop the best player on the court.? ?But it?s all about knowing how you can help the team. If coach puts you out there for that possession you have to try to impact that possession. When I get in there next year, I?m going to do whatever I can to stop him.? With a year under his belt, Wright now knows what is expected on him and is doing everything in his power to not have a period of inactivity next season. ?I?m working towards being in the rotation all year long,? he said. ?Being a guy they can count on for scoring and defense, night-in and night-out. That comes with coming in early and proving to the coaches that I want those minutes.?</div> Anybody else falling in love with this guy more and more?
He has the right mindset. He knows that he must earn his play, unlike many of the NBA talents in the game today. I really hope he starts getting comfortable with the NBA game, cause we could really use some help on the perimeter.
Depending on how much he improves in the offseason, he might help make the Nets' bench solid next season. Perfectly said by giftedvisionz, "He has the right mindset".
Yes I like the mindset as well but realistically he has alot of work that needs to be done, we need to see great strides in his perimeter shooting, because that is the way he is going to be able to crack the rotation consisently, the draft of Adams now puts alot of pressure on him because with Carter and Jefferson being big minute guys there will only be consisent minutes for 1 of the 2. He has the edge going in because he knows the system but Adams probably brings more intangibles to the table, so his ablty to shoot if it takes a big developement jump that will be what seperates the two.
Adams will break the rotation if he provides us with solid defense, rebounding, and knowledge of the system. He can run the floor, and if our team can make stops, he'll definitely be helpful.
