While New Jersey Nets President Rod Thorn has stated for the record over the past few weeks that the team is looking for a rebounder out of the draft, Yahoo Sports has done a solid job of looking at some of the players the team may have some interest in.

Much like last season, the team acknowledged the fact that things are very wide open and they may be able to get a much better player than they expect.

“I do think this year, other than maybe the first pick, there’s a divergence of opinion among a lot of teams about who they would take,” Thorn told the Associated Press. “So somebody that we may think is the fourth or fifth player in the draft may drop to 11 because of people having differing opinions about different players.”

Here are a pair of players the team may be looking at according to Yahoo-

James Johnson- F, Wake Forest

Scouting Report from Rivals.com-

“Very athletic, Johnson both plays above the rim and shoots the ball well from outside. A combo forward, he does need to improve his strength in order to grind out rebounds and refine his overall skills with the ball.”

My Thoughts: A little wary of his rebounding skill, but I love that he has the ability to play both forward positions and can shoot. Nevertheless at 6′8, he may not be the ideal player the team is looking for.

DeJuan Blair, PF, Pittsburgh
Scouting Report from CollegeHoops.net
 
College: Pittsburgh
Class: Sophomore
Position: PF
Height: 6’7”
Weight: 265lbs
 
Accolades: Honorable Mention Freshman All-American – CHN (08), Big East co-Rookie of the Year (08), Big East All-Rookie Team (08), Honorable Mention All-Big East (08), Pennsylvania State Player of the Year – AP – high school (07).
 
Scouting Report: A beast in the paint.

Strengths: Huge wingspan – 7’2”. Very physical and strong player. Clears a lot of space out in the paint, both on offense and defense. Uses his strength and long arms to score over taller defenders. Good hook shot. Fantastic rebounder – snatches rebounds with two hands. Overpowers defenders in the post. Variety of low-post moves with both hands. Very good footwork. Capable of dominating a game.

Weaknesses: Very undersized for the post in the NBA. Not much of a leaper. Needs a lot of work on defense. Doesn’t block nearly enough shots for a player with his wingspan. Can get into foul trouble. Very inconsistent.

My Thoughts: I could care less about the blocks, especially with Brook Lopez at center and Sean Williams in the lineup. With Ryan Anderson in the lineup as well, they can give this kid the time he needs to develop and will have completely different looks at the power forward position. Like Earl Clark, who I spoke about last week, Blair may be able to provide a spark for the team.

With the Nets now set at number 11 for this season’s draft, I figured I’d give you guys some info from around the net.

From Yahoo Sports:

New Jersey Nets – Earl Clark, PF, Louisville: The Nets could use help at either forward position, particularly if they trade Yi Jianlian. The 6-9 Clark, a kind of combo forward with length and impressive physical ability, fills the bill. Quick for a big man, he can create some and is good scoring around the basket. He’ll need to develop and become a more consistent producer than he was for the Cardinals.

My Thoughts: I’m usually not in the habit of agreeing with Yahoo Sports, especially after where they predicted the team would finish this past season, but on this, they couldn’t be any more on the button. Clark is everything Jianlian isn’t- he has heart. Also, the fact that Clark can play either forward position allows them to hold on to Yi if they feel he deserves one more year to develop and can also play a part in getting him motivated. If he doesn’t respond, it’s likely he’d be trade bait. With Ryan Anderson continuing to develop as well, the Nets could get much bigger and skilled with Clark and Anderson at the forward position.

Here’s a scouting report from CollegeHoops.net:

Scouting Report: A versatile inside/outside threat.
 
Strengths: Great size for a small forward. Has the ability to play in the post or out on the wing. Very athletic. Great leaping ability. Long wingpsan. Great at slashing to the hoop. Can drive by defenders with either hand. Capable of posting up and scoring with his back to the basket. Good defender. Great rebounder. Great shot blocker for a forward. Has three-point range on jumper.
 
Weaknesses: Still inconsistent. Needs to become more consistent and a bigger threat from three-point range. Turns the ball over too much. Never was a huge scorer in college.
 
Projected 2009 Draft Range: Top ten pick.
 
Consensus: Earl Clark has all the makings of a solid, perhaps sometimes spectacular, NBA player. His size, athleticism and skill package make him a special prospect.

My Thoughts: Despite the fact that he wasn’t a huge scorer during his college days, playing with Vince Carter, Brook Lopez and Devin Harris will help change that. Simply put, the Nets need a solid rebounder with some spunk and Clark fits that bill to a T. Because of that, if the Nets pick him, he’ll get an opportunity to be a bigger part of the offense.

As many of you already know, hall of fame NBA coach and broadcaster Chuck Daly passed away last week. A class act through and through, Daly was renowned worldwide for his ability to keep teams together. In his two seasons with the Nets, he had personalities as different as Kenny Anderson, Derek Coleman and the late Drazen Petrovic on close enough pages to get them to play playoffs both seasons.

For a short time, while Daly was at the helm, the Nets were a team that the rest of the league respected. Where they as dominant as some of Daly’s other teams? No way. As a matter of fact, it would be borderline crazy to compare the Bad Boy Pistons to the the mediocre Nets of the early 90s, but after the coaching tenures of Willis Reed and Bill Fitch left the team towards the bottom of the league or barely at .500, the fans in New Jersey were hungry to get the Nets to the playoffs on a consistent basis.

Daly did just that, as he was a combined 88-76 in his two seasons in New Jersey.

“I played against Chuck’s teams throughout the NBA for a lot of years. He always had his team prepared, he’s a fine coach,” NBA legend Larry Bird told the Associated Press shortly after Daly’s pancreatic cancer diagnosis became public.

Rest in peace, Chuck.

Nets Not Pondering Draft Options- Nets President Rod Thorn seems to already know what the team will be looking for this upcoming draft and is now making sure his team is ready to get exactly what it needs to get to the next level.

“It appears we are going to be 11,” Thorn said. “We’ll start doing the interview process, the workout process (after the May 19 lottery). I would say right now, if we could get a rebounder-slash-defensive player, if one of those guys were available, we would look at him very closely.”

That comment alone seems to verify what Vince Carter said a month ago when he believed the team was a good rebounder away from being a playoff team.

With less than a week to go before the NBA draft lottery, things could start to get interesting very quickly.

Photo by Bill Menzel.