RealGM

You guys are loaded with young big men. Who do you expect to start together in the frontcourt?

This will be interesting. I think alot of it will come down to training camp/pre-season.

I'm thinking..
C- Lopez (He is arguably the only natural C body and while Boone had a great season last year I think Lopez will impress enough to be a starter, if not right away, soon thereafter)

PF - Yi (fans probably expect Yi since he was the main piece in moving RJ. If Lopez starts, Boone is also a possibility but I think there will be pressure to see Yi there & if he looks like a bust then Boone)

SF - Najera (probably a battle between Najera / Hayes / Simmons...I just think Frank will like another "old-timer" to go with VC in an otherwise young line-up + Najera & Lopez would bring a physicality to the team)

Pure guess work here, but

C: Boone. Frank has never been one to throw rookies right into the fire. I doubt Lopez will be the exception.

PF: Yi. I think there will be pressure for Yi to start and make an immediate right away because of the RJ trade. Frank also seemed to like Sean's energy more as a bench player.

SF: Simmons. I can see Najera getting more minutes, but his energy/physicality mike make him a better fit off the bench.

This is actually a really good question! It's up in the air. If we all participate in this thread i would expect a lot of diversity among the answers. I have no idea what to expect this season, but here's my optimistic prediction:

C: Boone. I don't think he deserves to be the starter but Coach Frank seems to love him and his is the only opinion that matters.

PF: Swift. The best of all the Nets big men, Swift is going to win this starting spot of given a chance with his defense and with his ability to score inside.

SF: Yi. The Nets will go big, and Yi will flourish in the low post at the SF position.

Starting the season:

C: Boone
PF: Najera
SF: Simmons

Hopefully by the end of the season if everyone progresses how we hope/expect:

C: Lopez
PF: Yi
SF: Simmons still, or CDR or Vince if we want to play CDR at the 2

Swift and Ager are gonna look good in a suits all 82 games unless we have some injuries or make some trades to get to 13 roster spots.

deviljets7 wrote:Pure guess work here, but

C: Boone. Frank has never been one to throw rookies right into the fire. I doubt Lopez will be the exception.

PF: Yi. I think there will be pressure for Yi to start and make an immediate right away because of the RJ trade. Frank also seemed to like Sean's energy more as a bench player.

SF: Simmons. I can see Najera getting more minutes, but his energy/physicality mike make him a better fit off the bench.

Agreed, agreed and agreed.

I agree with Birth of the Cool.

Brook Lopez will start because he's our only true C, and we need low-post scoring in our starting lineup.

Yi Jianlian was the jewel of the RJ trade, and he is also an international superstar / cash cow. But the real reason he will start (shh, we wouldn't want Nets fans to hear this...) is that he's the most talented PF on the roster. I don't care if he's 20 (as listed in the draft) or 24 (as listed in his birth certificate), he has a wealth a potential yet to tap, and could top out at a Gasol-lite with better defense and more range.

Bottom line, Bobby Simmons is the 2nd-highest paid player on the team. Our FO will tout his four-years-ago stats, saying "if he can regain his pre-millennial self,...". But really, if you have a player with ANY talent at all, making what he's making over the next two years, you're kind of obligated to give him 1st crack at the starting spot (see: Richardson, Quentin). Also, while we are fortunate enough to have many decent SF options at our disposal, Bobby is the only veteran jack-of-all-trades. Hassell is a defensive ace, but an offensive liability (on a team with only one established elite scorer, that's a no-go). Najera's an energy guy and a leader, but not as effective for long stretches. Hayes is a quality shooter, but a defensive dolt. Simmons gives you a bit of it all, and hey, if he can regain his pre-millennial self...

Simmons- SF
Yi- PF
Boone- C

I think Frank will start Yi, Sean Williams and Josh Boone if he goes with the youth movement but I can easily see him start Najera. You know with a starting five of Devin, VC, Yi, Sean and Boone that is a very athletic starting five that can run up and down the court.

Yi is not a SF. He is a face-up PF. Even Anderson is more of a 3 than Jianlian.

so Kiki was talking up Simmons .... so pre-training camp he may be the one Mgmt envisions at the starting 3.

I wouldn't be surprised at all if Boone is the starting 5 at the beginning of the season, but imo it would be a disappointment if Lopez hasn't shown he can be a starting C on this particular team by the 1/2 way point.

...still over a month left...at least training camp is just around the corner.

Yep, Kiki said just what I thought he would about Simmons. Pencil him in as the day-one starter, but don't be surprised if any one of the other suitors takes over for good once Bobby suffers his first injury of the season (I'm calling Nov 14th, if someone is starting a pool).

As for Boone, as I have said before, he will take the starting nod from either Yi or Brook, if the Jianlian-Lopez frontcourt stalls out of the gates. But it's their starting spot to lose, unfortunately, not his. Consider it similar to Nick Collison's revolving starter-on-call role with the Thunder. Whenever the season starts, there's always big talk about starting one of the young true Cs (Swift, Petro or Sene). But when the youngsters show their lack of polish, Nick cleans up the mess and ends up starting the last 75 or so games.

Preludepunk27 wrote:Starting the season:

C: Boone
PF: Najera
SF: Simmons

Hopefully by the end of the season if everyone progresses how we hope/expect:

C: Lopez
PF: Yi
SF: Simmons still, or CDR or Vince if we want to play CDR at the 2

Swift and Ager are gonna look good in a suits all 82 games unless we have some injuries or make some trades to get to 13 roster spots.

Swift is a lock to be on the active roster. Ryan Anderson would be the one in a suit most of the time. Unless of course they intend to trade Swift's expiring contract

Money Changer wrote:

Preludepunk27 wrote:Starting the season:

C: Boone
PF: Najera
SF: Simmons

Hopefully by the end of the season if everyone progresses how we hope/expect:

C: Lopez
PF: Yi
SF: Simmons still, or CDR or Vince if we want to play CDR at the 2

Swift and Ager are gonna look good in a suits all 82 games unless we have some injuries or make some trades to get to 13 roster spots.

Swift is a lock to be on the active roster. Ryan Anderson would be the one in a suit most of the time. Unless of course they intend to trade Swift's expiring contract

OH NO!!!!! another Swift fan. Look out Stro, I meant Rag-Time!!! You have competition or wait a minute.

Rag-time did u create a new poster?

Swift will never get a roster spot over Anderson unless Anderson gets hurt. Management sweats this kid. Add to the fact that he stretches the defense since he can shoot the 3-ball. The ONLY thing Stro has over Anderson is his athleticism, but if we have Sean active, we don't need to have Stro active because as of right now, they do the EXACT same thing. Having them both active is redundant.

Anderson >>>>>> Stro every single day of the season.

SWAT>>>>>>Stro every single day of the season

Well, if you start Boone at center you need to pair him with an offensive minded player. That would be Yi.

I like this lineup:

Harris/Carter
Simmons/Yi
Boone

Four guys who can hit open shots and a beast in the middle. Simmons will open things up for Carter/Harris with his corner threes.

so Dave D's depth chart has starting unit as:
C- Boone
PF - Yi
SF - Simmons
SG - VC
PG - Devin

a few things of note on his depth chart is the rotations (unless he didn't list them in order)
C - SWat shown here behind Boone/Lopez (SWat at C & not PF...really ?)
PF - Swift / Anderson (many here believe Swift was on the outs & again I would have thought SWat would be the 1st bench guy for this position)
SG - CDR behind VC (thought CDR was more a 3 & also Hayes behind the rook, also thought Dooling / Hodge would be used to spell both the 1 & 2 positions)
of course this is just Dave D speculation but interesting none the less.

& what about this Brian Hamilton...? (6'6 forward/guard from Utah D-League team...)

Birth of the Cool wrote:so Dave D's depth chart has starting unit as:
C- Boone
PF - Yi
SF - Simmons
SG - VC
PG - Devin

a few things of note on his depth chart is the rotations (unless he didn't list them in order)
C - SWat shown here behind Boone/Lopez (SWat at C & not PF...really ?)
PF - Swift / Anderson (many here believe Swift was on the outs & again I would have thought SWat would be the 1st bench guy for this position)
SG - CDR behind VC (thought CDR was more a 3 & also Hayes behind the rook, also thought Dooling / Hodge would be used to spell both the 1 & 2 positions)
of course this is just Dave D speculation but interesting none the less.

& what about this Brian Hamilton...? (6'6 forward/guard from Utah D-League team...)

I think D is a little off. I doubt Sean is gonna play much of the 5 unless Boone or Lopez is out of the game, so he'll get more reps at the 4...and play before Swift. Anderson I also think will get more time than Swift at the latest by all-star break, however, he will also be playing some 3 to pose match up problems. You figure, we have a ton of big guys who can shoot the ball. We have a chance of putting on the court a team that has the 3/4/5 positions at 6'10" or taller at all times. Not a lot of teams can do that (the Lakers and Magic are the only ones in my head that I can think of. Maybe OKC but I can't remember how tall Jeff Green is.) That will totally pose some match up problems for opposing teams.

I think CDR will play more 3 in the NBA. I don't think his jump shot is consistent enough to be a 2 in a lot of offenses unless the offense is a dribble drive then it doesn't matter where he plays...we're incorporating that into our offense so he'll probably split time between both and I expect him to make strides by seasons end. I'm not expecting the world from this kid but he's got poise and leadership skills and a chip on his shoulder so I anticipate he'll progress rather well.

SF: Bobby Simmons is the starter. The other options are Jarvis Hayes (best as a backup), Edjuardo Narjera (Best option for 6th man), and then "defensive specialist" Trenton Hassell. Simmons is the best option to start and is the highest paid, might as well get the most value out of him.

PF: Yi Jianlian. There are lot of different types of players who could start here, but I think Yi is the best bet. I think really brings a lot that this team needs.

C: Josh Boone. Made huge strides from his 1st to his 2nd season. Gives the team a very good rebounder. I think he'll continue to develop.

Najera and Sean Williams should be the 1st two options of the bench. Hayes for when the team needs offense and Anderson for when the team needs size. Swift and Hassell should hardly ever play. Ager should just be let go. Chris Douglas-Roberts and Brook Lopez should be brought along slowly, no reason to rush them.

Looking at all that, this team has too much depth.