Breaking Down the Nets/Celtics Trade

By Ryan McDonald(@RonnieMac90)

After the first round of the NBA Draft, the Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics have agreed in principle to a trade that sends Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to Brooklyn according to Yahoo Sports.

What the Nets Give Up
Gerald Wallace
Tornike Shengelia
Kris Humphries
Reggie Evans
Keith Bogans
Kris Joeseph
2014 1^st Round Pick
2016 1^st Round Pick
2018 1^st Round Pick

What the Nets Get
Kevin Garnett
Paul Pierce
Jason Terry

A major deal that required Kevin Garnett to waive his no trade clause, which he did late Thursday night. This is has put the Celtics in full rebuilding mode, and expect them to trade Rajon Rondo later in the year as well.

For the Nets though, giving up 3 1^st round picks for three aging players? Pierce and Terry are both 35 and Garnett is 37 years old. However, all picks are expected to be non-lottery, which means they’re not as valuable as they would appear. So it’s not as bad as a negative as some are making it out to be.

Then we have the actual players that we gave up and their replacements. Is Kevin Garnett, even at his age, an upgrade over Reggie Evans, who started at power forward for most of the year for the Nets? Absolutely, a huge upgrade. Garnett is a better passer, a better defender, and of course, a better offensive player. Garnett has a great jump shot which will space the floor and allow Lopez to be much more effective than when he was paired with Evans. Garnett also brings the intangibles, he’s a natural born leader and has always been. He plays with maximum effort all the time, which not saying Evans didn’t, but some of this roster needs to start doing more often.

Next up is Paul Pierce replacing Gerald Wallace. Again, Pierce is a much better shooter than Wallace, so he’ll space the floor much better. However, Wallace is the better defender. The Nets will miss Wallace on defense and rebounding, but in scoring and passing, Pierce is superior. It’ll be interesting to see however who the Nets put on the oppositions best perimeter player, which was normally Wallace. Pierce at this point is a bit of a liability on defense, as is Joe Johnson, but hopefully Garnett will help protect the rim and Lopez will continue to develop his shot blocking to make up for Johnson and Pierce’s poor defense.

Jason Terry will most likely assume the role as Deron Williams’ back up and replace CJ Watson who will be lost to free agency. Again, the Nets lose perimeter defense, as Terry has difficulties on defense. But Terry is known for his big shot making, and can shoot off the dribble extremely well still.

The starting line up will be projected to be Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Brook Lopez. With Terry, MarShon Brooks, Mirza Teletovic, and Mason Plumlee off the bench.

With the addition of such aging players, it’s clear that the Nets have Championship or bust for the 2013-2014 NBA season. This means even MORE expectations for rookie head coach Jason Kidd. Already under what was called unrealistic expectations, Kidd will be expected to deliver a Championship this upcoming season. This could end with a short run of Kidd as the Nets’ head coach say the Nets lose in the 2^nd round of the playoffs which could easily happen.

If they don’t win a championship this upcoming season, the future is bleak. Terry, Garnett, Pierce, will all be another year older, and their play has already significantly downgraded. As well as Joe Johnson, who seems to have hit and past his prime already. Pierce’s contract expires after the 2013/2014 season, but Garnett’s and Terry’s do not expire till after the 2015/2016 season. Even with Pierce’s expiring contract, the Nets’ payroll will be roughly $84,000,000. Meaning they won’t be able to do anything in terms of free agency. After the 2015/2016, again, the Nets’ payroll will still be $62,000,000, tied up in Lopez, Johnson, and Williams. This means that after this crucial 2013/2014 season, the Nets will not be bad enough to get the few 1^st round picks they have left to be lottery picks, but they won’t be good enough to contend for a championship.

Even so, I still think this was a good trade for the Nets. The Nets as constructed with Gerald Wallace, would not contend for a Championship anyway, and they still wouldn’t be bad enough to get into the lottery. The Nets are trading away the next 3 years of being a 4-8 seed in the East, for a shot at being a 1-3 seed and a shot at the NBA Finals.

The trade makes them a better team for this year, and that’s all we can really ask for. They aren’t the favorites to win it all, but they’ve certainly gotten better, and anything can happen.

Nets Survive Game 5 to Extend Series

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By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

April 29th, 2013

Brooklyn Nets vs. Chicago Bulls Game 5 Recap

Final Score: Bulls 91 Nets 110

The Brooklyn Nets after a horrific triple-overtime loss in Game 4, which was by far their worst loss of the season, and probably one of the worst losses in playoff history, were somehow able to bounce back at home and avoid elimination. The Nets win in game 5 at the Barclays Center will send the series back to Chicago, and the Nets will have to win again to push a Game 7.

Positives:

- Nets All-Star Center Brook Lopez has probably been the Nets most consistent and best player throughout this series, and that continued in Game 5. Lopez finished with a game-high 28 points on 11 for 20 shooting, and 10 rebounds. Lopez has really stepped up his play from a great regular season, as he’s averaging more points, rebounds, and blocks per game in the series against the Bulls. 

- With Bulls Starting Point Guard Kirk Hinrich missing Game 5 with a calf injury it allowed Deron Williams to have a nice game, as Hinrich has quietly had a great series against Williams. Deron was able to finish with 23 points on six for 14 shooting, with 10 assists. Williams has had a very up and down series so far, but when he plays well the Nets win, so the Nets will need two more good games from Williams which is something he is certainly capable of doing.

Nets Beat Wizards Without Big 3

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By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

April 15th, 2013

Brooklyn Nets vs. Washington Wizards

Final Score: Nets 106 Wizards 101

The Brooklyn Nets were able to have a comeback win over the Washington Wizards on Monday night, as despite resting the Big 3 along with a few others, Brooklyn’s normal bench players stepped into the starting lineup, and played good games.

Positives:

With the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference already locked up, with no way of moving up or down in the standings, Head Coach P.J. Carlesimo had the luxury of resting some of his core players. Carlesimo sat four normal Starters in Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Reggie Evans, and Brook Lopez. He also gave Keith Bogans, whose been dealing with a sore back, and Jerry Stackhouse the night off.

Nets and Williams Unable to Beat the Jazz

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By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

March 30th, 2013

Brooklyn Nets vs. Utah Jazz Post Game Recap

Final Score: Nets 107 Jazz 116

The Brooklyn Nets were unable to bounce back from a loss in Denver against the Nuggets on Friday, as they lost on Saturday to Deron Williams’ former team the Utah Jazz 116-107. The loss makes it seems to make it look more and more difficult that the Nets will be able to catch the New York Knicks for the Atlantic Division, as the Knicks have won eight straight games.

Positives:

W2W4: Brooklyn Nets vs Portland Trail Blazers

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By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

March 27th, 2013

Brooklyn Nets vs. Portland Trail Blazers

Pre Game News and Notes

The Brooklyn Nets will be heading to Portland to play the Trail Blazers on Wednesday, as the Nets will be looking to get another win on their circus road-trip, which they have gone (3-1) so far, only losing to the Los Angeles Clippers.

- Joe A No Go

Joe Johnson will miss his second straight game due to a right quadriceps contusion, and it is expected that Keith Bogans will get his second straight start filling in for Johnson. Johnson’s injuries are starting to add up on him late in the season, as he has been battling a sore heel, and now is being forced to sit out with an injury to his quad. Johnson’s health has to become a concern to the Nets, as he is only averaging 13.3 points in his last 10 games. MarShon Brooks is also feeling a bit under the weather, but is expected to play, and will be getting minutes with Johnson out.

- Rookie of the Year

The Nets and more specifically Deron Williams will have their hands full on Wednesday with the Trail Blazers young Point Guard Damian Lillard, who seems poised to win the Rookie of the Year award. Lillard has led the Trail Blazers to a very good home record at (22-11), and (33-37) overall. The likely Rookie of the Year is averaging 19.1 points per game on 43% shooting, with 6.5 assists, and 3.2 rebounds per game. Williams has been playing very good lately, but so has Lillard, which should make this a very fun match-up to watch.

- Can Humphries Do It Again

Power Forward Kris Humphries had one of his best games of the season in the win over the Phoenix Suns, as Head Coach P.J. Carlesimo played Humphries 28 minutes after playing only 26 minutes in the entire month of March previous to the Suns game. While getting the extended minutes Humphries scored 17 points on six for 12 shooting to go along with snagging eight rebounds. If Humphries can start playing like he did against the Suns, which looked like the Humphries of the past two seasons the Nets might be able to do something in the weak Eastern Conference, as they have gotten almost zero production this season from Humphries, who signed a two year 24 million dollar deal in the off-season.

This game will be far from easy for the Nets, who will be playing their fifth game on the road-trip, and the Trail Blazers are a very dangerous team on their home court.

Nets Sneak Past Suns

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By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

Brooklyn Nets vs. Phoenix Suns Post Game Recap

March 24th, 2013

Final Score Nets: 102 Suns 100

The Brooklyn Nets were able to hold on and sneak by the Phoenix Suns, even though the Nets blew a 16 point lead, they were able to bounce back from the blown lead and get the win, which moved them to (3-1) on the road trip.

Positives:

- Deron Williams led the charge for the Nets against the Suns scoring 16 of his 20 points in the second half that was very up and down for Brooklyn. Williams finished the game scoring 20 points on eight for 15 shooting to go along with 11 assists for a nice double-double for the Nets star Point Guard.

- Kris Humphries getting extended minutes for the first time in a long time made the most of it with one of his best games of the season. Off the bench Humphries was able to score a season-high 17 points on six for 12 shooting, to go along with eight rebounds. Despite the good game Humphries did have a few gaffes, as he had three air balls, and a missed dunk.

- Humphries wasn’t alone in playing good off the bench, as Andray Blatche, and C.J. Watson both played very well too. Blatche scored eight points on four for eight shooting in just 11 minutes, and Watson scored 14 points on three for four shooting, including going a perfect seven for seven from the charity stripe. Overall the Nets bench scored a combined 45 points, as Carlesimo’s rotation seems to be taking shape.

Negatives:

- For the Suns they got a fantastic performance from Point Guard Goran Dragic, who nearly had a triple-double. Dragic had a game-high 31 points on 10 for 19 shooting, with 12 assists, and nine rebounds. For Dragic it is his fifth straight game with a double-double, but sadly for the Suns it wasn’t enough to get the win.

- The third quarter once again became a big problem for Brooklyn; as they were outscored 33-20 after have a 12 point lead at halftime. The 16 point lead they had in the early parts of the third quarter ended up turning into a one point deficit heading into the fourth. The blown lead was in large part due to former Syracuse star Wes Johnson scoring 17 points in the third quarter, which included him hitting five three-pointers.

Next up of the circus road-trip will be the Portland Trail Blazers, and likely rookie of the year Damian Lillard.