Jefferson in danger of being dealt?- It looks like Richard Jefferson is out of hot water. Cleared of assault charges from an incident earlier in the year, Jefferson can now continue to focus on developing as a player. However, he may be forced to continue that development elsewhere.

On Wednesday, the New York Daily News reported that Jefferson could be traded to the Denver Nuggets as part of a deal for Carmelo Anthony. However, Jefferson’s agent was quick to say that he doesn’t see anything going down as of yet.

Thorn and Vandeweghe confident in turn around- Yahoo Sports had an interesting update today with some pretty choice quotes from Rod Thorn and Kiki Vandeweghe regarding the team’s direction next season:

“I think we have a real good chance to get a player who can help us at 10,” said Thorn. “And in this draft, we should get a good player at 21 and even 40.”

With the returns of DeSagana Diop, Boki Nachbar and Nenad Krstic unknown and an apparent need for another quality shooter and rebounder, the Nets may have their hands full at the draft. However, with three picks in the first 40, the Nets may be in a situation to trade up or get three quality players who can fill voids. As I’ve stated in previous entries, the continued development of players like Sean and Marcus Williams in addition to Josh Boone may help solve this problem, but that doesn’t seem likely for next season. Right now, the Nets need another player who can help lead this team on the floor, either on the boards or on the perimeter. It’ll be interesting to see what they do come draft time.

From the way Thorn and Vandeweghe are talking, you think that they’re in this for the long haul as well. While they have consistently said that they will be going for the best players they can, they understand they can’t just bring in anyone and need to play this situation very carefully.

“When I got here, I was very excited to work with somebody like Rod Thorn, who I’ve been an admirer of for a long time. I sat across the table from him and knew I had a lot to learn from him and know I know I have a lot more to learn,” Vandeweghe said. “I hope that I’ve had some input and some positive input as to the roster and the direction. I think both of us really believe you have to pick a direction, you have to know where you stand and do things that fit that direction. Neither one of us likes Band-Aid solutions.”

Not a lot of Nets-related stuff going on this week, however, I’ll share a few clippings I came across.

“The calls haven’t really started yet. I guarantee you we’ll have calls,” the new GM said. “Having two picks in the first round, I think you have some very good players potentially in this draft. You never know until a couple of years down the road. But I do like this draft. Our picks will be valuable.”

I took this from the team report on Yahoo Sports. It’s basically in reference to what the team will do this year in the draft and how the Nets have both hit and missed in the first round over the past few years. At any rate, the Nets have two picks and should be able to find someone with some potential to help on the bounds and give them more speed or size, depending on how they want to build the team. I personally would like this team to continue to run the floor they were when they first traded for Devin Harris. If guys like Josh Boone and Sean Williams continue to develop as feel, I think this team could be in good hands. The draft can only help them get deeper and that I believe is the thing the Nets need the most right now.

Carmelo to Nets not likely- http://www.sportsnet.ca/thewire/basketball/2008/05/16/anthony_to_nets_not_seen/

Came across this the other day and it didn’t really make sense to me. For my taste, Carmelo Anthony is someone the Nets don’t need. Sure, he’s a great ballplayer who makes the players around him better, but the Nets have enough star power. Like I said earlier, this team needs depth. They need Marcus Williams to become a better option off the bench and they need Nenad Krstic to turn back the clock a season and a half. Bringing in big names doesn’t turn a team that won 34 games this season into a contender. Developing what you have and trimming the fat however, does.

Appeals court to consider slur in Jayson Williams case-http://www.centredaily.com/sports/basketball/story/592628.html

It’s hard to believe that Jayson Williams is 40 years old now. For me, seeing him at center and power forward for the Nets in the late 90s was a complete blast. What a good rebounder he was. He was so much fun to watch and knowing that he could be depended on made those young Nets teams very confident and a pleasure to watch. It’s a shame to see this guy going through all these problems off the court. I could have totally seen him on television if things would have worked out differently. I mean c’mon, he’s cooler than John Salley, was a much better player and look at how many things he’s gotten himself involved with since he retired. He could totally have had his own basketball show or even a radio show if he would have played his cards right.

What a shame.

In the era of guys like Pacman Jones and Terrell Owens, big name athletes often get the short end of the stick. While some of them are arrogant and self-obsessed individuals, a guy like Richard Jefferson is not one of them.

Awaiting a June 18 court date where he is alleged to have beaten a drunken fan at a Minneapolis hotel, Jefferson is one of the last people in the NBA, who I’d ever expect to get himself in a situation like this. Nonetheless, he now finds himself having to tell his side of the story in an effort to protect himself.

“You know, it is unfortunate,” Jefferson told the Associated Press. “I’ve never been involved in an incident in my life. I don’t even think I’ve ever been thrown out of a basketball game. But some drunk individual wants to come up and, you know, then, of course, when they start telling their side of the story we’re the big bad athletes that think they can get away with everything and then they’re some innocent individual that has never made a mistake in their life.”

The incident, which occurred in late January, is alleged to have been a byproduct of an altercation between Jefferson and someone who asked him to leave. What then happens here is kind of fuzzy. The victim alleges that Jefferson choked him, while Jefferson says that no punches where thrown and the person doesn’t have a scratch on him. I personally don’t know if Jefferson would pull a Latrell Sprewell and treat this guy like PJ Carlesimo, but he never exactly said there was no choking involved.

For instance:

“They were saying there was choking. It was more of a getting your space,” he told the AP. “This individual doesn’t have a scratch on him. There was no mark. There was no blood. There was no anything.”

On another note:

Kiki Vandeweghe was recently promoted to the General Manager position. Well, after Ed Stefanski boogied over to Philly midway through the season, you knew a replacement was in the wings for a while.

From what Rod Thorn had to say about the appointment, the team seems pretty happy with the choice:

“We are very pleased that Kiki will continue his relationship with the Nets’ organization,” Thorn told the AP. “When Kiki joined us in December, I felt that his experience as both an All-Star player and front office executive would be an invaluable asset to both myself and the franchise, and his work in the ensuing months has reinforced that belief.”

I don’t know how you guys feel, but watching a team like the Hawks have their way with the Celtics really makes me wonder what could have been with the Nets this season. We all know that it’s a completely different ballgame once the playoffs start and it doesn’t matter if you have Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce or Ray Allen in your lineup, if you don’t out work your team for four quarters and limit your mistakes, you’re going to be in trouble.

Watching this series between Atlanta and Boston is living proof of that.

For that reason, it makes me wonder if the Nets were playing the Celtics right now, would they have exited early or would they be where the Hawks are right now? Nothing Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Marvin Williams or Mike Bibby, have played with reckless abandon for the Hawks in this series, but how would Richard Jefferson, Vince Carter and Devin Harris fare if they really played the way they are capable of? Would they be able to hold their own, or would it not matter?

I don’t know, I’m just throwing the question out there guys.

Right now, I’m feeling like I’m reading an issue of the old Marvel Comics series “What If?” What if Sean Williams could move laterally and shoot a little more efficiently? What if Jefferson and Carter shot efficiently the entire season? What if Marcus Williams found a way to be more consistent? What if Boki Nachbar doesn’t get injured down the stretch? What if Nenad Krstic too wasn’t dealing with injuries all year?

I thinking we know all the answers to those questions. The Nets would have made the playoffs, to only lose to a team with more size and consistency. Interesting little plot twist there, eh? My whole point of this diatribe this week is to point out that teams that are missing pieces that just barely make the playoffs need to play the best basketball of their lives to hang with greatness. That’s exactly what’s happening now with the Hawks. The Nets however, are missing a few big pieces right now and even if they found a way to get into the playoffs, it wouldn’t have been long before they would have been eliminated.

After the summer is over and the pieces begin to come together a little more, this team is still a few pieces away from being more than a mediocre team with promise. Rather than dream, like it’s easy to do, fans need to simply wait and see where the chips fall. Once they do, then this team can have some kind of expectations put on them.