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Here's a season preview from Tom Chisolm, a Canadian sport writer. The article is not nearly as negative as the title suggests, he actually gives slack to Carter and is pretty positive about the younglings:

SG - Vince Carter

For all of the grief Carter gets for not being a winning player, it's becoming time for people to just accept what he is and move on. Carter represents a particular aspect of professional sports that exists so far out of normal public life its endless intriguing. Here is a player who is perfectly happy being where he is as a player and a teammate, and yet because of his natural abilities people vilify him for being complacent and indifferent. It's like someone slamming a gifted co-worker at the office for not dying to do paperwork long into the night. Carter is simply a guy who is living out his dream and not holding anyone back as a result of it. Sure he's getting paid unimaginable sums of money, but no one can argue that he doesn't put forth effort to earn it - scoring, rebounding and assisting like he does in the NBA takes tremendous effort -he, however, just chooses to play his game and go home. People want borderline sociopathic behavior from all comers because a league of guys with the dedication of Kobe Bryant or Kevin Garnett would be incredibly exciting to watch. But that kind of personality is rare and potentially destructive even amongst winners. Carter has simply chosen his path and found people willing to pay him gobs of money to do it. He isn't the first athlete for whom this is true and he won't be the last. To continue to rail on about it a decade later is getting a little bit redundant, one thinks.

http://www.tsn.ca/nba/story/?id=248308

Yeah i've read it before as well . I thinks it's pretty much the best Nets preview i've read so far .

1st time I read that.

Good article.

Pretty unbiased.

I just wonder if Yi or Lopez will start?

I could see any combination of Lopez, Yi, S.Williams or Boone starting between the 4 spots.

Swat really impressed me in the limited minutes he played in summer league.

I still wonder if there are some serious off the court and/or mental issues with this guy though, because he couldn't even seem to get many minutes behind his very good play.
I know in summer league they want to get a feel for the rookies and all the unsigned guys on the roster, but you would think they would also want to see what he had, maybe even showcase his abilities if the rumors were really true that they wanted to trade him in a package for a guy such as Camby.
Maybe they did realize his improvements and didn't want to risk his injury?
He seemed alot less awkward, he seemed to gain better post position, he looked stronger and he actually looked as though he has gotten a small offensive repertoire including a decent jumper.

We will see.

This will be an exciting season, and at the same time it will probably be a somewhat disappointing season, even a little boring.

Atleast we don't have to justify watching the Knicks for 82 games this year like the less fortunates across the water.

I still think we may see a blockbuster trade, either midseason this year, or next off season as well though. I feel that was the main reason to get Simmons and Yi.
Get an expiring for next season with a lot of young talented guys with potential, pick up a lotto pick again next year and make a huge move.

In all reality we are probably not going to land Lebron, so the next best option would be Simmons expiring and one or more of our cheap young guys for next seasons VC, or Gasol, Sheed etc.

Next year Thorn would really have a much better gauge on the whole FA class, as too how much they would probably want, how much they are worth and if their respective teams would match.
He would also then be able to make a blockbuster deal, and still have a big amount of caproom.

So then you have Harris locked up at a reasonable deal, along with whoever you trade for, with the cheaper contracts we have signed this season.
Plus you have this years rookies, and next year's lottery pick signed for peanuts with a huge amount to spend on a big time FA, even though it almost definitely isn't going to be Lebron.
Then after all the smoke clears, if management felt he was worth it you can resign VC for a very reasonable contract and have a very scary lineup from 1-5 to 6-12.

Good read. I can't wait for the season to start. It will be the longest seven weeks of my life. lol. I mean i just can't wait to see how our boy's will go.

I think I read somewhere that the Nets is planning to let Yi play a lot more min than his 25 mpg with the Bucks last season. I think both Simmons and Yi will have better production this season. The Bucks had a first year head coach who was terrible and misused many players. I think Yi will be more effective if he could get more touches in the post rather than hanging around 3 point line to make jump shots.

I think Nets could be better than they look on paper. Offensively, the experience back court will generate some basket for the bigs, and if some of these young guys can come to their own, Nets won't be too bad oftensively. Defensively, I don't know much about Rookies since I don't really watch college basketball, but if all the young guys hustle, I think it might be ok in the east.

Very good read.....
The team still looks kinda bad though lol........

YiOF wrote:

The Bucks had a first year head coach who was terrible and misused many players. I think Yi will be more effective if he could get more touches in the post rather than hanging around 3 point line to make jump shots.

I don't know a lot about Yi, so correct me if I am wrong, but I was under the impression Yi has basically no post game whatsoever.

I have heard the comparisons to Dirk.
Not their respective skill level's, just their playing style and skill sets, and when Dirk was younger he had basically no post game either.
Dirk still doesn't have a low post game, but has developed a nice high post game.

So I understand that Yi would need touches in the post to develope a post game, but I guess you see where I am going with this.

vincecarter4pres wrote:YiOF wrote:

The Bucks had a first year head coach who was terrible and misused many players. I think Yi will be more effective if he could get more touches in the post rather than hanging around 3 point line to make jump shots.

I don't know a lot about Yi, so correct me if I am wrong, but I was under the impression Yi has basically no post game whatsoever.

I have heard the comparisons to Dirk.
Not their respective skill level's, just their playing style and skill sets, and when Dirk was younger he had basically no post game either.
Dirk still doesn't have a low post game, but has developed a nice high post game.

So I understand that Yi would need touches in the post to develope a post game, but I guess you see where I am going with this.

Here is 2 game highlights of 2007 summer league, this was before he played for the Bucks. Now, I know the competition wasn't quite NBA level, but it shows you some flashes of what he can do in the post.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxqBRDDrk7Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPtZov2bcXc

Now, fast forward to Yi's best game with the bucks. He scored 29 points against the bobcats. You'd probably notice after watching, not once did Yi get the ball in the post. I know it's just one game, but it's a good example of how the bucks was using Yi, defend, rebound, and shoot jumpers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owYGm9OQIVs

It's true that Yi needs some more muscle to cruise in the post with the big boys. But you ain't getting better if you don't get the chance to play there.

People in Milwaukee would probably tell you how Yi had hands that were made of stone, or he was too weak to finish around the basketball. Which was true, especially towards the end of the season when he lost his confidence. But the fact is if he losses the ball in the post once in a game, the chances are he's not getting the ball down there again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOzjo27nFMc

Oh, and this to refresh Nets fans' memory

I gotta tell you, this kid has a serious all around offense repertoire.

Looks like he has a bit of a mean streak too.

His jumper is absolutely silky smooth.

Nice face up game, with some serious handles for a guy of his freakish height.

Lotta potential.

He just needs someone to inspire him with some confidence, a system that works towards his strengths and he needs to learn English so he can communicate on the court with his teammates and the coaching staff efficiently.

He seriously looks like he might even be able to play SF.

He would be a nightmare matchup for less mobile 4's and 5's as well.

Almost like Kevin Garnett with Rashard Lewis' jumpshot.

I am not trying to get to hyped up strictly by highlight reel stuff either, but you can see the skills and potential for something great are there.

Well hopefully he pans out.

yes, he does have a lot of potential. He may or may not develop into the player people think he could become. I was just pointing out the fact that the Bucks did not even attempt to develop his post game what so ever. I think a guy like Yi's biggest advantage is to create mismatches in the post. He can shoot over shorter and quicker guys, and he can drive past big slow guys.

If any of you Nets fans were familiar with the Bucks, you'd know how terrible of an organization, and how bad the Bucks locker room were. I think Yi just lost some passion and motivation as he went deeper into the season last year. That's basically my take on what happened to Yi after following the Bucks last season.