We had a lot of back and forth about the Nets...and should they have bought a second rounder. Sounds like they got two guys the had interest in without buying the picks.
Z-Men Join the Nets
Brian Zoubek and Ben Uzoh arrived quietly this week. Without notice, the Nets announced that they had been signed to contracts. We like both signings for a lot of reasons.
Zoubek was, on a minute by minute basis, the best offensive rebounder in the NCAA last season, averaging 7.7 offensive rebounds per 40 minutes. His 16.6 overall rebounds were good for third. It's an axiom among NBA scouts that rebounding is the skill set that transfers most easily from college to the pros. Zoubek has had the added advantage of having played for Mike Krzyzewski at Duke. He's also a winner. Before winning the NCAA championship at Duke, he won three NJSIAA championships at Haddonfield High School. In fact, his teams went 110-10. In 2006, he was the State Player of the Year...and could become the 13th and quite possibly the last Jersey native on a Jersey team. Here's an interview and some highlights.
Uzoh hasn't gotten any attention this week. After all, he's not from Jersey. He's from Texas, San Antonio to be precise. He is, as Popeye Jones notes, a big point guard: 6'4" in sneakers, with a 6'9" wingspan and is a muscular 200 pounds. He's athletic and explosive if not a great distributor. He plays good defense. His draft prospects always point to his steadiness, his consistency and his defensive ability. He was brought in twice for workouts by the hometown Spurs and Kings. Here's an interview and some highlights.
Another reason we like the signings is because of what they represent: a willingness to spend money, even if minimal amounts, to get things done. Not something we saw a lot of in the Ratner Era. "We had both guys targeted in the late second and we were going to buy a pick to draft either one but got lucky when they went undrafted," says a Nets insider. When other teams approached both of them, the Nets decided to give them an incentive to sign with New Jersey. "Both guys have partial salary protection in their contract." No one is saying how much, but generally teams will provide a five-figure guarantee on the $473,604 rookie minimum.
They still have to make the team of course and historically undrafted players signed to partially guaranteed deals don't make it. The biggest partial guarantee we've seen dropped on an undrafted player was the $200,000 Isiah Thomas gave to Patrick Ewing Jr. In spite of that investment and and his name, Ewing Jr. didn't make the Knicks.
