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It looks as though our 2nd big offseason in a row will end in lackluster fashion. I'm not despondent (at least not yet...), because I know that our FO has Dwight Howard in their cross-hairs. But in the meantime, we need to fill holes in our lineup. The idea is to sign 1-year deals, that will keep our capspace intact in case we do get the chance to sign Dwight in the offseason.

The starting PF spot is where we need the most help. The last two 2nd-tier PFs left in free agency, Kris Humphries and Andrei Kirilenko, both seem interested in the 1-year, $9mil offer we are dangling. After all, there isn't much money left on the market, and this would give either player the chance to re-enter free agency next summer, where unlike this offseason, there figures to be alot more demand for than supply of PFs.

Kris obviously lends continuity in our frontcourt, and already has a decent rapport with Brook. His rebounding is big for a team like NJ, and he seems to be learning what Avery has to teach about defense and shot selection. He had quite a whirlwind summer, though, and who knows if he'll catch lightning in a bottle twice and produce double-doubles. Speaking of, Hump would "double" alot of what Dwight Howard would bring, and they might be awkward together...

AK-47 has enjoyed success with CSKA Moscow over the summer, and his elite weakside defense and passing could do wonders for our team. People say he's more of a SF, but his best years (including his only All-Star appearance) happened while playing full-time PF. Andrei was good soldier in Utah, but lamented the fact that he wasn't allowed to play his natural position, as a "stretch 4" point forward. He seems a more logical fit next to Dwight. But for right now, he isn't the banger that Lopez needs to mask his deficiences...

So, which would you choose?

Blueprint

CoolKids wrote:Blueprint

I hope you come back and say it again when we have Dwight.

I'm a huge AK47 fan. It's not just about stats with him. He does everything on the court and is an extremely valuable piece for any team. He's clearly the best player in Europe this season and had great European Championships. Comparing him to Humpries in an insult to him imho although he's more of a SF than PF. But he can certainly play some quality time at PF. If you guys could somehow manage to get Deron,Morrow,Kirilenko,Dwight together then other 11 roster spots don't really matter that much. Kirilenko will do his job on elite wingmen like LeBron and Melo and Deron+Dwight will make damage to every team you face. Keeping my fingers crossed you can do that cos it would be a very fun team to watch.

Pofukauskas wrote:I'm a huge AK47 fan. It's not just about stats with him. He does everything on the court and is an extremely valuable piece for any team. He's clearly the best player in Europe this season and had great European Championships. Comparing him to Humpries in an insult to him imho although he's more of a SF than PF. But he can certainly play some quality time at PF. If you guys could somehow manage to get Deron,Morrow,Kirilenko,Dwight together then other 11 roster spots don't really matter that much. Kirilenko will do his job on elite wingmen like LeBron and Melo and Deron+Dwight will make damage to every team you face. Keeping my fingers crossed you can do that cos it would be a very fun team to watch.

I watched a lot of EuroBasket (being from N.Ireland it was easy time wise) and AK47 was killing it. He really looked outstanding, defensively was a beast and was really really dangerous on offense, he was on fire. Now I know he wasn't great in Utah last season so im not going to preach how amazing he would be for us BUT maybe a change of scene really helps focus him again playing good ball.

Can't go wrong with 1 year 7/8 million dollar deals for AK & Hump.

Deron/Farmar/Gaines
Morrow/Brooks
AK/James
Hump/S Williams/J Williams
Lopez/Petro/S Willaims

That is a solid roster that would surprise a few teams. Remember we went on a winning streak with Deron beating the Celtics and pushing the bulls till the end who were on a big win streak while we didn't really have a team system in place. We just took a few Utah plays and ran with it with Deron. Now we get to design the team through Deron and have a few weeks to work out the kinks and also Deron, Farm and Gaines are in mid season shape which will be a huge advantage. I believe alot of players will be rusty as hell as the season starts and the basketball will be of poor quality while players get in game shape. I expect us to hit the ground running with that roster and wouldn't be surprised if we shocked a few of the big boys while we await the arrival of Dwight (fingers crossed).

That would be a good roster with great flexability to move for Dwight at any time and still being able to contest for a playoff spot.

Has anyone thought how unreal it would be to sign Dwight at the deadline and say we end up 7th or 8th seed. Could you imagine the Nets vs Heat???

That would be amazing to watch for our last season in New Jersey.

CoolKids wrote:Blueprint

CP3 is coming to DUH MECCAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!! BOOK IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Deron hates AK though... They didn't get along in Utah.

mikenielsen wrote:Deron hates AK though... They didn't get along in Utah.

BK has Deron in the loop regarding Free agents and potential trades. If we sign Kirilenko it'll be with Deron's blessing and/or recommendation.

I want us to wait until the new year deadline before signing 1 year deals for players because it gives the Lakers 60 days to freely negotiate a deal with the Magic due to the fact we can't trade our 1 year contracts for 60 days.

That worrys me, so why not keep the cap and keep pushing like crazy for Howard until he can't sign a 5 year after new years. You can bet the agent and Howard are pushing to get traded pre 1st Jan so why not keep going hard for him. We got so close once so why not keep going, i dont want to give the lakers more time to debate the merits of trading both Gasol and Bynum. If it was possible I'd keep trying to trade, I mean we're already all in for Dwight so why waste more time waiting till the deadline now?

At worst wed have a trash lineup for 4 games until the new year.

Wow that's actually a really interesting angle/thought(s) J Black.

I mean we have to form some type of team, but yeah that makes a lot of sense.

If Kirilenko is actually allowed to play PF he's still a good player. As always though Kirilenko's greatest concern revolves around his durability...

I'd sign Humphries over AK-47 for the simple fact that there would be more continuity on the team and I'm pretty confident a broken toenail won't sideline Kris-Kross for an extended period of time.

I also don't see any reason Humphries couldn't fit alongside Howard.

You beat teams up inside by beating them up inside not by throwing some fancy stretch four whose afraid of rebounding out there.

(Don't get me wrong spacing is important and there are benfits to it, but the Magic have had great spacing around Dwight for years and when push comes to shove it's not enough. Why go small and minimize Dwight's talents when you could play to the biggest baddest MF'er in the league's strengths and simply overwhelm the opposition with size and strength?)

With the Udoka signing it looks like it will be one or the other. I would bet for 1 year 8MM.

Likely Rotation

DWill..................Farmar..................Gaines
Morrow..............Brooks
Udoka................James
Hump or AK47......Shawne Williams.....J Williams
Lopez..................She. Williams.........Petro

Netaman wrote:With the Udoka signing it looks like it will be one or the other. I would bet for 1 year 8MM.

Likely Rotation

DWill..................Farmar..................Gaines
Morrow..............Brooks
Udoka................James
Hump or AK47......Shawne Williams.....J Williams
Lopez..................She. Williams.........Petro

Udoka should NOT be starting. Dude is awful.

If we sign AK or Hump to big one year deals we are basically praying for 60 days and I bet Billy King has invented a new xmas calender with 60 windows. Behind each one is a golden nugget and once he gets to open door number 60 is a black baby jesus who goes by the name of Dwight Howard.

My worry and its a real concern as soon as we make signings is the Lakers get to mull trades for 60 days, 3 team, 4 team trades, do we trade Gasol + Bynum?? That worries me.

BUT there is no way Billy King hasnt spoken to Fagen and Williams (who speaks directly to Howard) to find out if he's ready for Brooklyn and joining the long haul because Billy King couldn't risk the future of the franchise by taking a losing team with no real hope into Brooklyn. He has to know Howard is 1000% confirmed to join the Brooklyn bandwagon.

Again the only fear is Orlando can trade Howard to the Lakers at any point regardless of how much Howard wants the Nets. I've got to admit im worried as hell but Im a positive person.

We've got a superstar point guard fully fit and in season shape who improves everyone on the roster instantly. The back up point guards are very good 2/3 liners with having played in Europe during the lockout means there in great shape and mid season form so we can hit the ground running. We've got a top young centre in a contract year who must be pissed off at being discarded in any big trade were involved in, so hopefully he's ready to go HAM on people. I expect an All star year from Lopez and he is capable of it with Williams. Hopefully Brooks lives up to the hype and add real oomf off the bench and scoring ability. Morrow has meant to have been working on his handle and agility etc for defence so againg it should work very well at the sg position. By the looks of it we have good depth now at SF with James, S Williams and Udoka. Thats just solid obviously for the year contracts. At PF is where were struggling big time and is the only position I worry about because if we sign the Hump I think it directly effects Lopez's rebounding numbers and therefore his value. If Lopez stays around 20-23 ppg and improves back to 8.8-9 rb a game his value shoots straight back up.

Lineup off:

D Williams / Farmar / Gaines
Morrow / Brooks
S Williams / James / Udoka
Hump / Sheldon Williams / J Williams
Lopez / Petro

(Obviously if we sign Hump or Ak etc you slot them in where ever and itll be a toss up between S Williams and James for starting SF)
Sooooo Im not doom and gloom at all, were obviously all in on Dwight but I believe this team is capable of doing some damage and can challenge for that 5-8 playoff spot.

Seriously, this guy better be 12th man 6mpg bench fodder to preserve legs on all the back to backs.

Udoka is just to fill the roster and a 1 year for cap flexability purposes. If we sign AK itll be a rotation of AK, James and Williams which is a solid group tbh

Hey Im glad we signed the dude because its just another body to get rid of OUTLAW.

Now gtf out of Jersey Outlaw you piece of horse Intestine, ugly, linky, crap, dopey, rubbish boxing loving son of a female dog.

^

I actually like the Udoka signing. He doesn't give us the scoring punch of a Josh Howard, but I think JoHo was looking for a multi-year deal. Despite his 6'5 frame, Ime is a quality defender at either wing spot, can knock down some 3's and is a good locker room presence. Plus, even though we've lost Kim Kardashian on the sidelines, we at least get Nia Long! :p

In all seriousness, I'm actually a little leery about Kris because of the divorce. The NBA is full of professionals who work through life issues, but Hump strikes me as the kind of guy who might let his off-court woes bleed into on-court frustration. I'm glad we're going hard at AK-47, with a one-year deal.

Williams, Morrow, Udoka, Kirilenko, Lopez
Farmar, Brooks, James, Williams (pick one), Petro

ecuhus1981 wrote:^

I actually like the Udoka signing. He doesn't give us the scoring punch of a Josh Howard, but I think JoHo was looking for a multi-year deal. Despite his 6'5 frame, Ime is a quality defender at either wing spot, can knock down some 3's and is a good locker room presence. Plus, even though we've lost Kim Kardashian on the sidelines, we at least get Nia Long! :p

In all seriousness, I'm actually a little leery about Kris because of the divorce. The NBA is full of professionals who work through life issues, but Hump strikes me as the kind of guy who might let his off-court woes bleed into on-court frustration. I'm glad we're going hard at AK-47, with a one-year deal.

Williams, Morrow, Udoka, Kirilenko, Lopez
Farmar, Brooks, James, Williams (pick one), Petro

Booty aside, Nia Long > Kim Kardashian

Ime Udoka hasn't been a quality anything for a handful of years now if he makes the team the Nets are doomed.