Official: Andray Blatche Re-Signs With Nets For Minimum

[Basileus777]

Bill Simmons is a huge Nets hater, which makes this all the more sweeter. Not only did his franchise's two best players get traded, they got traded to the Nets.

The funny thing is...Boston actually got a very good deal. The only thing they had to do was eat Wallace's contract, which they can flip for more assets in a couple of years when he's an expiring anyway. But Simmons is way too heartbroken for that to even register...and I love it.

ABC should have called for him to be fired from his TV job after the draft. Just awful. Great entertainment writer...and his nonsense would be fine for sports radio. But he made Dick Vitale look impartial. And notice they dont let Dicky V come on the air during the draft anymore?

Im sorry but Simmons is no better than a John Sterling or Tom Heinsohn type of guy shilling for the fans of his home town team. The only difference is...he is the one guy who has a televised national platform to play the fool. And he doesnt even do it with that clever wit so perfect for his pop culture like wise cracks that he uses in print. Its just him throwing temper tantrums sounding like the rest of us. But we do it on a chat board. He does it on ESPN. Didnt anyone tell him he sounded like a schmuck?

Simmons was the best part of ESPN's draft coverage. He says a lot of dumb stuff and is obviously biased, but at least he's not another ESPN zombie. He was certainly entertaining on draft night, which is the best I can hope for from ESPN.

[richboy]

Blatche gets to play with the guy he has been compared to much of his playing career. Playing with KG could really take Blatche's game to another level.

[treiz]

I think back to last summer when I actually had to argue with a few people about signing Blatche on this board. And my exact words over and over again were...low risk, high reward.

Had he been a punk...we would have cut our 14th man making a non guaranteed 800K. That's about as low risk as you can get.

And the upside? We ended up with our best bench players and easily the 4th best player on last year's team. And now, we get a guy making 9mil for the year who was worth at least the full MLE on the open market that will only cost us 1.4 mil, and cause us to use our M-MLE to bring him back.

One of Kings absolutely BEST moves.

I honestly couldn't believe how much of a circle jerk that discussion was

It was just 50 pages of Paradise and Petro just not understanding the point, but still I'm glad everyone has moved on and we are all in the same team now regarding this

[jerseyjac]

I think back to last summer when I actually had to argue with a few people about signing Blatche on this board. And my exact words over and over again were...low risk, high reward.

Had he been a punk...we would have cut our 14th man making a non guaranteed 800K. That's about as low risk as you can get.

And the upside? We ended up with our best bench players and easily the 4th best player on last year's team. And now, we get a guy making 9mil for the year who was worth at least the full MLE on the open market that will only cost us 1.4 mil, and cause us to use our M-MLE to bring him back.

One of Kings absolutely BEST moves.

HUGE move...my fingers were crossed and this move really brings the necessary scoring off the bench and another year for Dray to grow as a player...hopefully him and KG can put aside their differences as opponents and KG can help tutor Blatche and max out his potential...

[NyCeEvO]

Here's the original Blatche thread: viewtopic.php?f=23&t=1203978

Looks like some of us have turned out to be pretty wrong.

[enetric]

Actually no, I wanted Kenyon Martin OR Lou for interior toughness on the glass. I clearly remember saying Evans/Martin would be a great off the bench tandem that would shore up each other's weaknesses while Lopez was on the bench.

I didn't hate it since I figured there was a good chance they would release him.

Just read through the first 20 pages of the original thread. My apologies. You didnt hate the pick up the way VC and Petro did. Those two and a few now banned posters were the ones who came off the worst in hindsight in that thread.


But you did say that you thought both Admunson and Kmart would have been vastly better pick ups. And you called the Knicks bench extremely deep in another post.

Can you at least admit you were totally off on those comments?

[BK nets BK]

Great signing, garnett will improve his defense and we already saw last year that he is very good at putting the ball in the rim, except those head scratching between the legs dribbles

Sent from my SCH-I605 using RealGM Forums mobile app

[enetric]

Bill Simmons is a huge Nets hater, which makes this all the more sweeter. Not only did his franchise's two best players get traded, they got traded to the Nets.

The funny thing is...Boston actually got a very good deal. The only thing they had to do was eat Wallace's contract, which they can flip for more assets in a couple of years when he's an expiring anyway. But Simmons is way too heartbroken for that to even register...and I love it.

ABC should have called for him to be fired from his TV job after the draft. Just awful. Great entertainment writer...and his nonsense would be fine for sports radio. But he made Dick Vitale look impartial. And notice they dont let Dicky V come on the air during the draft anymore?

Im sorry but Simmons is no better than a John Sterling or Tom Heinsohn type of guy shilling for the fans of his home town team. The only difference is...he is the one guy who has a televised national platform to play the fool. And he doesnt even do it with that clever wit so perfect for his pop culture like wise cracks that he uses in print. Its just him throwing temper tantrums sounding like the rest of us. But we do it on a chat board. He does it on ESPN. Didnt anyone tell him he sounded like a schmuck?

Simmons was the best part of ESPN's draft coverage. He says a lot of dumb stuff and is obviously biased, but at least he's not another ESPN zombie. He was certainly entertaining on draft night, which is the best I can hope for from ESPN.

Being overtly biased or acting like a fan in your every analysis is not appropriate for national coverage. If he wants to get a job doing Celtics coverage? By all means. He has parlayed his column into a TV gig he is simply poor at. Its an abuse of the platform.

[enetric]

Here's the original Blatche thread: viewtopic.php?f=23&t=1203978

Looks like some of us have turned out to be pretty wrong.

This was how I summed up the back and forth early on in that thread. Looking back, funny the points I made about Blatche, Green, Hump, Stackhouse, Bogans, Watson, Evans, Mirza and even Lopez....

It amazes me how often people fail to use PERSPECTIVE in their comments. A failure to to understand the word POTENTIAL and a failure to understand RISK is the big issue here.

I disagreed with the person who said better than ALL Nets bigs by saying I didnt see him as being potentially better than a healthy Lopez. He isnt. That level of potential isnt there. There is a LIMIT to the POTENTIAL.

Again POTENTIAL does not mean HE WILL DO X. It means that talent wise if SEVERAL things were to happen....he has the SKILLS to do something. Dont quote past overall fg% and efficiency to discuss what a guy CAN DO AT HIS UPSIDE. Hump was a throw away player just a couple of seasons ago. He has FILLED his potential by example. And yet many here know that even with his excellent rebounding skills...his further potential is now limited. His skills are lacking in many other areas.

Blatche is a guy in this league who has shown flashes of something special. He had a stretch of playing at a great level. Jeremy Lin took a 17 game stretch and parlayed that into a nice contract. He showed his POTENTIAL. Now his career numbers show that potentially the Rockets just over paid for him. By comparison....Blatche had a 32 game stretch starting on February of 2010 to the end of that season that was EXTREMELY impressive. The RISK to us? A VETS MINIMUM ONE YEAR NON GUARANTEED CONTRACT!!!!!!

Look. I have seen Blatche's moves. I have seen his shot. I have seen his awful...but I have also seen his good.

And where Gerald Green a guy who gives most of you chubbies showed his best last year and parlayed that into 3 mil a year low level role guy....Blatche parlayed his best into 7-8mil per year and his best in the NBA destroyed Green's best. And that is really who you should be comparing him to. The low end take a shot.....LOW RISK pick up. If Hump were to flop this year for whatever reason...it would be a monumental disappointment at his salary. If Teletovic were to flop after all the anticipation we have had this summer I think we would be very disappointed. But...if Blatche were to flop....OH WELL...CUT HIM!

I am not predicting his to play at his career NBA best. But I am saying that he has shown what he is capable of and that level destroys Hump. Destroys Green. And Teletovic? He hasnt played one single game in the NBA yet.

So here we come to it....IF things were to go his way...yes...potentially he could be a steal. Kenyon Martin? Old. Broken down...and declined. There is no upside POTENTIAL UPSIDE. Not saying his downside isnt higher than Blatche. Sure it could be. But signing Kmart is more of a feel good story than any shot whatsoever at POTENTIAL improvement. And by the way...Kmart was never more than a mediocre rebounder either. And his offensive game was always dependent on other others. He was a hustle guy...a defensive guy...and as you get older...that is the first thing to go. And if we are going to really talk rebounding...cough..Lopez.

So for this roster spot...here is where RISK matters. Its as LOW risk as you can possibly have. For a vets minimum...for a team whose biggest weakness is big man depth...go get the LEGIT sized big man who can play the 4 and 5...and see if you can get him...the 26 year old who showed flashes of being a go to player in this league...see if you can get that guy to put it together for a NON GUARANTEED vets minimum contract.

That is where it becomes a no brainer.

So instead of giving us his career FG% or his last disastrous season....lets look at his BEST. Since POTENTIAL IS ABOUT UPSIDE.

Those 32 games in 2010....

22.1 PPG/8.3reb/3.6 ast/1.5 stl/0.8 blk/.484 fg%/ .718 ft%


Show me the Kmart season in his entire career where he put up bigger numbers than that. Then remember that he turns 35 this year in his 13th NBA season.

Even if Blatche plays at his disappointing level of the last two seasons...its better than Kmart's entire Denver career. And realize he only has to do it backing up the 4/5 spots. Is there any shot Kmart could magically become better than he has been the last 5 years and move ahead of Hump? By comparison is there any chance that Blatche finds himself and becomes the guy he was the second half of 2010? Better question...which is more likely????

For 1 mil...YES this signing is something worth being excited about. Because Stackhouse, Bogans, Watson, Evans...the other low cost additions? They bring NO true upside to the table. But without question...this moron...this screw up...this outcast at 26 years old who HAS TALENT...does.

And that is ALL anyone is saying who is happy to make this move. And the big deal being made is not the signing. Its the reaction to some guys being so adamantly against using 1 mil to take the shot. The OVERREACTION against adding is why there is a reaction at all.

[Dexmor]

I guess im not the only Blatche lover. He is def a top 4 fav player of mine if not top 1. You gotta love a guy who gave up millions to stay almost as much as a guy who forces his way here or is drafted by us.

[Fiktion]

Last season he proved he could get his **** together. This season I'm hoping he'll prove he can continue to mature on and off the court. KG should help with that.

[bobbyc]

Blatche, Evans, Terry need to create an identity off the bench. That identity is to bring tons of Swag everytime they step on the court.

[Paradise]

But you did say that you thought both Admunson and Kmart would have been vastly better pick ups. And you called the Knicks bench extremely deep in another post.

Can you at least admit you were totally off on those comments?

Admunson/K-Mart were clearly not better pick ups although K-Mart proved why I wanted him and the Knicks bench was deep. JR Smith won 6th man of the year, Chris Copeland had a breakout season, Pablo Prigoni was on of their better defensive players, Kenyon Martin. Nobody thought Marcus Camby would fall off the face of the earth after having consistent productive seasons with Portland then Houston but my point still stood the Knicks were going to be clearly got better at the time with their roster moves which did translate into a better season while everyone proclaimed them another 7th or 8th seed which I knew was not happening but obviously they still are the Knicks, so...

[enetric]

But you did say that you thought both Admunson and Kmart would have been vastly better pick ups. And you called the Knicks bench extremely deep in another post.

Can you at least admit you were totally off on those comments?

Admunson/K-Mart were clearly not better pick ups although K-Mart proved why I wanted him and the Knicks bench was deep. JR Smith won 6th man of the year, Chris Copeland had a breakout season, Pablo Prigoni was on of their better defensive players, Kenyon Martin. Nobody thought Marcus Camby would fall off the face of the earth after having consistent productive seasons with Portland then Houston but my point still stood the Knicks were going to be clearly got better at the time with their roster moves which did translate into a better season while everyone proclaimed them another 7th or 8th seed which I knew was not happening but obviously they still are the Knicks, so...

Kmart sat out most of the NBA season because he couldnt get a job. he was a replacement player for a team whose bench had complete CRAPPED OUT further supporting that they WERE NOT deep. That they NEEDED a guy no one wanted to come in and take on a key role because they were so lacking of depth.

Kidd, Sheed, KT, and on and on of CRAP. Scrubs like Copeland had to play because as I told you a year ago...its not a good move load up your roster with an entire batch of guys over the age of 35. Pointing to that guy and saying...see depth? Is like pointing to our scrub team from 2 seasons ago and pointing at Gerald Green and saying see? We were deep.

Prigioni sucks. As I told you...Novak is a dime a dozen. Jr Smith wont the 6th man award BECAUSE they werent deep. Instead of letting him be the 7th or 8th best man like he was on Denver more than 5 years ago...he had to be the #3 on that team despite not being a better player now then he was then. No team has ever proved to be all about ONE guy more than that team.

Did you even watch them? They went as I told you they would go. Old guys crapped the bed...and yes I told you Camby and the rest were in trouble...and Melo had a career year until the playoffs.

I projected them to be a 4/5 team as well as we would be. They excelled beyond that by a few games. But you really dont see that it wasnt a result of depth but instead as a result of an offense that climbed on the back of ONE guy and turned all their mediocrity into role guys?

Come on man. That was a team loaded with holes because they had a laundry list of guys who were going to inevitably fall apart over an 82 game season. It was highly predictable that they went beyond veterans. They loaded up with washed up.

[Paradise]

Kmart sat out most of the NBA season because he couldnt get a job. he was a replacement player for a team whose bench had complete CRAPPED OUT further supporting that they WERE NOT deep. That they NEEDED a guy no one wanted to come in and take on a key role because they were so lacking of depth.

Minnesota had depth. They were injury prone all year and resulted into signing Chris Johnson and some guy from the french league. So, does that mean they weren't deep to begin with? That is basically what you are saying.

Kidd, Sheed, KT, and on and on of CRAP. Scrubs like Copeland had to play because as I told you a year ago...its not a good move load up your roster with an entire batch of guys over the age of 35. Pointing to that guy and saying...see depth? Is like pointing to our scrub team from 2 seasons ago and pointing at Gerald Green and saying see? We were deep.

Kidd was great to begin but yes, age caught up with him down the road. Copeland he got minutes because he could score when their 3 point shooting went cold and Brewer became useless. He turned out to be one hell of a find. He's not a scrub.

Prigioni sucks. As I told you...Novak is a dime a dozen. Jr Smith wont the 6th man award BECAUSE they werent deep. Instead of letting him be the 7th or 8th best man like he was on Denver more than 5 years ago...he had to be the #3 on that team despite not being a better player now then he was then. No team has ever proved to be all about ONE guy more than that team.

Prigoni has a high IQ, plays great defense, can pass first, shoot a consistent three and was getting steals off inbound passes nearly once every game and would have been the perfect backup PG here, I don't even think you watched them whatsoever to make that statement on him. He's literally the only player on that roster who knows what he's doing on the floor.

Did you even watch them? They went as I told you they would go. Old guys crapped the bed...and yes I told you Camby and the rest were in trouble...and Melo had a career year until the playoffs.

Yes I watched them on off nights when the Nets were not playing. Did you?

I projected them to be a 4/5 team as well as we would be. They excelled beyond that by a few games. But you really dont see that it wasnt a result of depth but instead as a result of an offense that climbed on the back of ONE guy and turned all their mediocrity into role guys?

They excelled very impressively to a 18-6 record because they had a fresh Kidd making shots, Carmelo was on a tear, Prigoni was the perfect playmaker to offset the poor IQs of the Feltons and Smiths of that team and of course, they were hitting an unreal amount of threes.

We all knew they were setting themselves up for failure down the road by that style of play. Their role players were a huge reason for it. Everyone made shots. Wallace was fairly useful. So, yeah....they had a hand in it.

Come on man. That was a team loaded with holes because they had a laundry list of guys who were going to inevitably fall apart over an 82 game season. It was highly predictable that they went beyond veterans. They loaded up with washed up.

I never once said they probably wouldn't fall apart but the argument was if they had depth in general. Whether or not or not they are risking injury possibility they had a deep amount of guys that were helping the cause at the time.

[enetric]

Well, you have a very bizarre way of defining Depth in the NBA. Having guys who are forced to be in rotation because your core of 35 year olds are on the DL is not what I define as depth. Depth means...wow...that guy on their roster who is their 8th best guy is a 5th best on most NBA teams. And they have a 10th guy who would be a nice 6/7 on many.

JR Smith was their 2nd or third most NEEDED player last year. On a team that had the majority of Denver's core players from several seasons ago. Smith is no better now than he was then. Those other guys are simply a lot worse. Amare is worse. TT, KIDD, Sheed...A LOT WORSE.

Prigioni is a 3rd string nothing player. And Copeland wouldnt have gotten Toko minutes on what I would define as a deep team. Injury as a result of lack of depth is why some of these nothings played. Just like the much overrated Gerald Green did for our awful team 2 seasons ago.

Well, no point in going round and round. You dont see it.

That team is about the greatest one man gang in desperate NEED of depth as there is in the NBA. Awful back court...bad bench as a result of guys taking on greater roles than they should have as a result of injury.

[PetroNet]

Guys putting up volume stats because they are asked to start/play 30 minutes due to injury doesnt make those players any better then they actually are. JR smith is still the same chucker he always was, he just needed to take more shots and play more minutes.

same reason brooks looked ok his rookie year and sucked last year. his rookie year he could chuck away all he wanted.

scrubs getting high usage are still scrubs

[enetric]

Thus...NOT depth.

[jeff1624]

If we trade Evans for a wing then I could see us going after K-Mart. As it stands though, we have enough depth at the 4 and 5 spots.