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If you haven’t heard it yet, Richard Jefferson has been dealt to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for forwards Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons.

Coming off the best season of his career Jefferson averaged over 20 points a game for the first time in his NBA career, but was still unable to lead the Nets to playoffs. With the loss of Jason Kidd this season, the team looks like they could be preparing to make room for an impact player.

Can anyone say Lebron James?

As a Brooklyn-Native and life-long Nets fan, nothing could be finer than seeing the King in BK, no pun intended. At any rate, it’s going to be a while until that situation plays itself out and for the time being, the Nets are going to have to make due with the team they have.

Yi averaged 8.6 points and 5.2 boards a game in 66 games this season. Those stats don’t exactly open up eyes, but the Nets are still convinced his best days are still ahead of him. Simmons is a proven player who gives the Nets more depth. If they keep Boki Nachbar, the Nets bench should be pretty damn solid, if you ask me.

“We feel that Yi can be a very special player,” said Thorn on the team’s official site. “He is a 20-year old seven footer who shoots the ball extremely well, and he is an excellent addition to our frontcourt. Bobby Simmons is a veteran NBA player who has averaged 10 points for his career and should be a rotation player for us.”

The Nets also drafted Marc Lopez, Ryan Anderson and Chris Douglas-Roberts with their three top-40 picks.

In Lopez and Anderson, the Nets get two more big men, giving them plenty of options with Josh Boone and Sean Williams already regulars. However, Lopez and Anderson have much more offensive skill and give the team much more depth on offense. Could this be the end of DeSagana Diop and Nenad Krstic’s time in New Jersey?

It looks to be that way.

Douglas Roberts is a 6′7 swingman who averaged 18 points a game his last season in College. Just like Simmons, his presence on the team will also solidify the Nets bench.

“We were surprised, very surprised,” said General Manager Kiki Vandeweghe on the team’s official site in regards to selecting Lopez. “A lot of people had him going number four and he was mentioned in a lot of places.

“I think that we got a good big man. Traditionally we at the Nets have been a very good perimeter team. We suffered a little bit with lack of low post scoring last year, lack of interior defense - with probably not a true center. And Brook Lopez is a true center and I think he’s going to be very, very effective at that position. Like all young players, there’s going to be a learning curve. And center is an extremely difficult position to learn in the NBA. But I think we got a good one.”

“The draft is an interesting thing because sometimes you know right away we got a guy who is going to have a long career,” explained general manager Kiki Vandeweghe to Yahoo Sports. “But lots of times you’re not going to know for a couple years what these guys are going to be.”

I don’t know what the following quote does to some of you, but it confuses the crap out me. I wish for the record someone in the Nets organization would come out and say one of two things:

1- We plan to draft the best players we can with our three picks, yes three, in the top 40 selections and build a team that will make the playoffs for years to come. How do you like that, Eastern Conference?

Or

2- We plan to trade our picks for players that can help us kick major amounts of tail this season. Because simply put, that’s how we roll here in New Jersey.

Instead however, I am forced to read quotes like this:

“It’s a deep draft and I think you’ll see good players at all those picks,” said Vandeweghe to Yahoo Sports. “Right now, we intend to keep our picks because we think they’ll be good people there but if somebody comes with an offer that is interesting, we’re open for business.”

Did Vandeweghe watch Bull Durham before getting quoted, or is it just me?

All jokes aside though, stuff like this is commonplace in all sports. I do wish though that team’s would be more open to the media and let a card in their hand slip out from time to time. Instead, fans and reporters are forced to speculate and wait for the team’s to show their hands. As I have said in previous posts, the Nets are a team that need serious help on the bench and could use another veteran to help the youngsters develop.

With that being said, draft day can’t come quick enough for me. I know it’s only June, but it would be great to see this team get the help it needs and give the hardcore fans something to cheer about.

They haven’t had much to in quite some time.

Links:

This article lists the needs of every NBA team going into the draft.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=Aiun49H5jbzLoaXLJv.IAaG8vLYF?slug=ys-atlanticdraftneeds060208&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

This piece talks about a few local products working out with the team. A bit dated, but a good read nonetheless.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/nets/2008/06/03/2008-06-03_local_products_to_workout_with_nets.html

With the draft a few weeks away and the Nets having three picks in the top 40, I thought it was quite interesting to see this quote online today:

“We’re starting to get calls on the No. 10 pick and 21. I think later in the first round is getting very popular,” Vandeweghe theorized to Yahoo Sports. “People are seeing this is a deep draft. They’re going to find somebody they like there. The discussions are starting. What that tells you is we have the opportunity or the chance to get somebody pretty good there.”

The only question, which was also raised on Yahoo Sports, is will the Nets wait and develop talent, or will they trade for an established player?

For my taste, I’d like to see an injection of youth join the team. Jason Kidd and a slew of other veterans couldn’t get this team a championship, so I think it’s time this team starts to develop players. I’ve already stated that I feel that Devin Harris can be a much more productive player if given a real opportunity and everyone has seen first hand the development of Richard Jefferson. If the Nets are patient, I think Sean Williams and Josh Boone can also develop into a solid duo at center and if Marcus Williams can get his head screwed on right, he can be a more than solid option off the bench. That will ultimately prove to be a huge step in the right direction for this team.

If the Nets can also add a veteran via free agency that can help lead this youngsters and draft a boards banger or another shooter [maybe even both] this team will be headed in the right direction in my opinion. However, we’ll have to wait and see what the organization has up their sleeves.

Boki wants to stay-

Considering what I posted on this site last week, it’s obvious that I would love to see Boki Nachbar off the bench next season with the Nets. From the looks of it, he wants to come back as well. Again, as I said last week, plenty of teams will be interested in him and the faster the Nets can get a deal done, the better. Having a solid bench in the NBA is pivotal to having a quality team today. Having Nachbar around will give New Jersey one less thing to worry about and will help them build a winner.

“Come July 1 when we can talk, they will be the first team. I like New Jersey and appreciate what the Nets have done for me,” Nachbar told Yahoo Sports.

Along with DeSagana Diop, Nenad Krstic, Darrell Armstrong and Boki Nachbar, the Nets have four players that will all be valuable to other teams this offseason. Diop is a great second option off the bench for rebound and blocks. Armstrong is a good leader and can be a great teacher for a young point guard. Krstic, despite injuries, still has a ton of potential and can still be a dependable starter in this league. However, I think Nachbar is someone the Nets can’t afford to part ways with. The development of Sean Williams and Josh Boone will limit the playing time of a guy like Diop and there’s no telling of Krstic will ever be the same player again. With Devin Harris continuing to prove he’s capable of being the newest member of the “Big Three” and Marcus Williams eager to put last season behind him, Armstrong may find himself the odd man out as well.

Nachbar on the other hand, is a dependable scorer off the bench who can and will produce if given more of an opportunity. He plays with his heart on his sleeve every night and while he is an extremely streaky shooter, he’s someone that every team in the NBA would want to have and a player that the Nets need coming off the bench.

“When you’re trying to assess players, the ones who care and the ones who give you all they have are valuable,” Thorn told the Star Ledger during the trading deadline, when some people expected Nachbar to be dealt. “Certainly you take that into consideration. It says a lot about him that he’s still out there playing. Even though our chances don’t look very good right now, he’s still out there competing. But that’s the kind of guy Boki is.”

Injured during the playoff stretch, Nachbar continued to play the same way he played all season and while the Nets didn’t make the playoffs, I don’t think Nachbar has anything to be ashamed of.

“If it were a December thing, I’d take off. But now is not the time to do it, so I’m willing to suck it up a little bit and hope for the best,” Nachbar said. “This team has given me so much, it would be unfair for me to shut it down right now when it’s the most important part of the season.”

Hopefully the Nets can give Nachbar another contract so he can prove how good he can be when he’s healthy.