Blatche’s next destination will be in Brooklyn with the Nets, as he’s expected to sign with the team sometime in the next few days. The move has been met with plenty of derision on the Internet, thanks in large part to many of the interesting twists and turns of Blatche’s career in Washington.
But if you set aside the noise surrounding Blatche and look at the player the Nets are signing, it’s hard to see this as anything other than a win-win for the Nets.
Before his disastrous final season in Washington, where he spent much of the second half of the season away from the team, Blatche posted at least a 15.00 PER in four straight seasons, with an average rebound rate, surprisingly good assist numbers – given his reputation – and good steal rates for a big man. He’s also a good jump shooter, though his percentages have been terrible he’s taken far too many of them over the past few years while often being the focal point of Washington’s offense.
But that’s the key difference between Blatche in Washington and in Brooklyn: his role on the team. Think about everything that’s happened in Washington the last few years. The Wizards have been far from a picture of stability. Instead, they’ve been a colossal train wreck the past few years, especially since Gilbert Arenas brought guns into the locker room in late 2009.
— Reported by Tim Bontemps of the New York Post (Blog)
