After trading away another key member of their team at the draft for the second consecutive season, the New Jersey Nets’ star power is at all time low.

The Nets say they are trying to get smaller and more athletic, but it looks pretty obvious that they’re looking for as many ways to shed salary as possible.

“With Williams and Lee and Devin we have three guys who can handle the ball and are very, very quick. I’m sure we’ll play them together a lot,” Nets President Rod Thorn told the Associated Press. “We think we’ve got a real nice cadre of young players that have a lot of talent. Not only are they young but they have talent. We have some great athletes now and we think that’s the way the league’s going. I don’t think we’re a finished product. I think you’ll see us do other things between now and the start of the season.”

Notice how Thorn repeated himself in that quote? It’s almost as if he’s trying to assure himself as well.

If you’re trying to build a young and talented team, why trade Ryan Anderson and leave Yi Jianlian to middle his way through another NBA season? The guy has as much passion as a pet rock and is about the same in terms of agility.

Saving money is one thing, but getting rid of your leading scorer and forcing this team to rise above it again may be asking too much. The fact that the team hung in the playoff picture as long as they did last season was a miracle, especially since they had no real small forward or power forward most of the season and rookie center, who thankfully was able to grow and develop.

Asking it to happen again is an absolute impossibility.

Forcing more youngsters to come in and play big minutes right away for a second consecutive season, the Nets are rebuilding.

Make no mistakes about it.

The only team that doesn’t know it or is unwilling to admit it is them.

So while there is a possibility they make another move or so, don’t expect one; the real work will come in 2010-11, forcing fans to wait through another disappointing season.

This trade may end up going down as one of the worst in the team’s history. However, if things work out, it could be the beginning of a new-look Nets team that will be younger, faster and better on defense than they have been in quite some time.

Why the Nets would give up their leading scorer in Vince Carter, a proven NBA commodity who had serious chemistry with Devin Harris and a talented youngster in Ryan Anderson for what they got seems a bit obscene at first.

Sure, Rafer Alston is a talented point guard that showed flashes of brilliance during the playoffs, but the Nets already have a point guard, a good one at that and a more than competent backup in Keyon Dooling that proved during the season that he can be more than an understudy if he has to be. So where does Alston fit? Is Harris going to move to shooting guard to accommodate the loss of Carter? What’s going on here?

The same thing goes for the signing of Tony Battie, who despite being an excellent rebounder off the bench and a trusty veteran, comes in with players like Sean Williams, Josh Boone and cough, Yi Jianlian capable of manning the position and in need of minutes. With that being said, where will he fit in with the Nets?

Courtney Lee however is an interesting player. I think he can definitely be a solid small forward if given about 30 minutes a night and with some more pressure on him. He’s also an excellent three-point shooter that is far more explosive than Bobby Simmons, with much more upside. If he can score a dozen points a game and provide some energy, this trade may not be so bad.

With the drafting of Terrance Williams from Louisville as well, the Nets also continue to get younger and more energetic in addition to having cleared a ton of cap room by trading away high-priced veterans like Jason Kidd, Richard Jefferson and Vince Carter over the past two years.

It’s the end of an era.

But it could be the beginning of something great as well.

With the draft still on its way, NetsNotes.com takes a look at a couple of players the Nets could get their hands on.

Terrance Williams-Louisville

From CBSSports.com:

One of the more colorful characters in college basketball, to call Williams “unique” would be an understatement. When he first arrived on Louisville’s campus as a freshman, he was a brash, cocky youngster with a me-first attitude, but he quickly adhered to head coach Rick Pitino’s rules. He not only became the team’s leader and “spokesman,” but in this day and age where players opt out of college for a chance to play in the pros, he was very comfortable staying with the Cardinals until his eligibility ran out.

After Williams led the Cardinals to a 76-66 win over Syracuse in the Big East title game, he jumped on a press table, impersonating Syracuse’s Eric Devendorf for his teammates. He shook the television announcers’ hands at the conclusion of the victory and entertained reporters, saying he saw “Tweety birds” when he took a forearm to the face, and boasting about the 55 text messages he had waiting after Louisville won the Big East.

My Thoughts: It’s obvious the kid grew a lot during his time with Pitino and I love his energy. He’d be a fun addition to the team and given the fact that he’s a good rebounder and a decent three-point shooter, he gives the team even more options.

Jordan Hill-Arizona

From CBSSsports.com:

Hill has made remarkable strides in all areas of his game despite his virtual neophyte status. He rates as one of the premier rebounders eligible for the draft, excelling at attacking the offensive glass with the athleticism to evolve into an offensive threat.

Hill’s rebounding skills saw him set the school single-season record with 375 as a junior, and his career total of 763 boards place him ninth in Arizona history. A high-percentage shooter, Hill made 65.2 percent of his field goals as a freshman (second-best percentage in Wildcats’ annals) and 62.0 percent of his attempts as a sophomore (fourth on the season list). In 97 games for UA, his field-goal percentage of .578 ranks fifth on the school all-time record list.

My Thoughts: He’s a damn big power forward with great rebounding ability with the potential to be a better offensive player than he is right now. My personal choice for the Nets this season if they can land him.

It’s pretty interesting to see how most of the time professional sports operate above many of the constraints that plague its fan base. However, it seems that the economic problems destroying the middle-class in this country are starting to affect the NBA as well.

Here’s a snippet from the Herald’s Al Iannazzone yesterday that I found pretty interesting:

The Nets had three picks in last year’s NBA draft, worked out more than 50 players and it cost them well over $100,000.

“I think you’ll keep seeing it,” he said. “From my perspective it’s a heck of a lot of cheaper and you get to see everything you want to see.”

Not a bad idea if you ask me. There’s no reason to spend more than someone makes in a year to have players come down and workout. Sure these guys have to be transported in and taken care of while they’re there, but 100,000 smackers is a bit nuts if you ask me.

That same kind of rational thinking has affected the Nets potential new home as well, as they have changed designs and architects, which has caused a bit of controversy form the New York Times and others who feel the new design is a “colossal, spiritless box.”

Nevertheless, the Nets have to do whatever it takes to get an affordable building up in time before their lease runs out at the Izod Center.

“Unfortunately the world we live in today is very different than what it was three or four years ago when we hired Frank, [Gehry, the original architect for the building]” Nets chief executive Brett Yormark said Wednesday at Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal’s conference on sports facilities and franchises.

“The world is more simplistic. It’s not as grand and glitzy. And I’m not sure that design would have been appropriate right now, as much as we all loved it. I think the design that we have now is very appropriate. It speaks to Brooklyn.”

After all this talk over the past few weeks about the Nets looking for another forward to help on the boards, the team may not be looking in that direction after all.

“Not necessarily,” team president Rod Thorn told the Associated Press regarding the Nets potentially going for need and drafting a forward. “As we’ve said, if there is somebody there and we feel he is the best talent, and it may be a point guard, we’ll take him. There are a lot of good point guards out there.”

I still say this team needs another solid rebounder with some spunk. Some think Sean Williams should be given a good opportunity to fill that role and those people may have a good point. At guard, I think the Nets are strong as long as Vince Carter and Devin Harris can stay healthy. I like especially what Keyon Dooling was able to do last season and see Chris Douglas-Roberts as a viable option as well. Simply put, if the Nets go out and get another guard, how much is he going to play? If they go the route of a forward, that person can instantly be thrown into the mix and be put in a situation to earn minutes, rather than a guard that would be lost in the shuffle. Just my thoughts.

On the relocation-effort, the Nets have decided to make a big change that could possibly get the team over to Brooklyn a bit quicker.

According to NorthJersey.com:

“The Nets have replaced world-renowned architect Frank Gehry as designer of the proposed Barclays Center in Brooklyn, they said Thursday, in a move that could knock hundreds of millions of dollars off the $950 million projected price tag for the basketball arena.
Ellerbe Becket, a Minneapolis-based architectural firm, will take over for Gehry.”

My thoughts:

Beckett has designed a few NBA homes over the past few years and is a more than suitable replacement, especially considering the Gehry was looking to make the place a landmark, capable of drawing income from all over the world. In the big scheme of things, it doesn’t seem possible that a building located in the ever-changing neighborhood that the Atlantic Yards project is smack dab in the middle of could ever be home to anything internationally renowned.

Just build a great place to watch basketball and people will come.

In other news, check out this interesting piece that talks about Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson almost coming to New Jersey.

http://www.northjersey.com/sports/nets/OConnor_Kobe_was_almost_a_Net.html

Pretty crazy how things turn out sometimes.

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.