2009-2010 New Jersey Nets NBA Preview

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2009-2010 New Jersey Nets NBA Preview

26 September 2009 24 views No Comment

Preview courtesy of Stu Holdren @ NBANoise

Key Additions:
Rafer Alson (trade)
Courtney Lee (trade)
Tony Battie (trade)
Terrence Williams (draft)

Key Losses:
Vince Carter (trade)
Ryan Anderson (trade)

The Breakdown:
For a team that struggled finding wins last year with Vince Carter in the lineup, this season could be even more bleak for the New Jersey Nets without him. To recap, the Nets shipped out Carter and Ryan Anderson to the Orlando Magic in exchange for Rafer Alston, Courtney Lee and Tony Battie. I think it is safe to say that the Nets are in rebuilding mode. This trade unloads $16.5 million off New Jersey’s roster in the summer of 2010, puts the Nets under the salary cap and puts them into position to be a player in the 2010 free-agent feeding frenzy.

With this trade and through their existing roster, the Nets do have some solid young talent, but this is a league dictated by star power – not youthful potential. The focal point of their team will be Devin Harris, who had a fantastic first full season for New Jersey after being acquired in exchange for Jason Kidd. Harris led the team in points (21.3 ppg), assists (6.9) and steals (1.7) last season, in a campaign that certainly had him in the running for the Most Improved Player award. He will be called upon to carry an even heavier scoring load, as he is the only real go-to guy on their roster after Carter’s departure. And while Harris isn’t particularly known for being a volume scorer, he has the potential to go off on any given night (as we saw last year with three games of 40+ points).

New Jersey Nets 2009-2010 Preview (media)

The young Nets players will have a great opportunity to get their shine on. Lee will be coming off of his NBA Finals high, and can hopefully translate some of his big game experience into productivity to the Nets. After a solid rookie season, Brook Lopez is looking like a center that a team can build around and will be a key player for this Nets team. Lopez was the best amongst rookie centers last season, averaging an impressive 13 points, 8 rebounds and nearly 2 blocks a game. The progression of Yi Jianlian will be an interesting storyline for the Nets, as he has shown great flashes of potential but hasn’t shown much improvement over his brief career.

The Prediction
This will be a tough season for the Nets, who will likely put more of their focus on player development than competing for a playoff spot. I would expect the Nets to win less than 30 games this year before trying to make some noise in the 2010 free-agent market.