Category: Brooklyn Nets Blog

The New Jersey Nets have signed free agent forward Dennis Horner from the D-League’s Springfield Armor to a 10-day contract, Nets General Manager Billy King announced today.

Horner is the fourth player to sign a 10-day contract with the Nets this season.  The 6-9 rookie from N.C. State signed with the Nets prior to training camp on December 9, 2011.  He appeared in five games with New Jersey, scoring a total of four points in 16 minutes of action.

In 25 games, 20 starts, with the Armor this season, Horner is averaging 17.0 points and 8.5 rebounds, while shooting .471 from the field and .373 from deep.  He had his best performance of the season on 2/27 vs. Maine when he scored 29 points on 10-for-15 shooting, including 3-of-4 from deep, and pulled down 15 rebounds.

Nets center Shelden Williams, who suffered an injury to his right eye in Wednesday’s Nets victory over the Indiana Pacers at Prudential Center, did not make the trip with the team to the West Coast today and on its official injury report, the team said it will update his condition April 5, after the trip.

Williams was injured in the second quarter of the game, when he was apparently poked in the eye by Indiana’s Tyler Hansbrough. He left the game immediately and was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center for further evaluation. The team did not say whether he spent the night in the hospital, nor did it give any details about the type or severity of injury Williams suffered.

Williams is the only Net to have played in each of the team’s first 52 games. He has started 30 of those, and has averaged 4.9 points and 6.3 rebounds in 22.3 minutes per game.

— Reported by Colin Stephenson of the Newark Star-Ledger

[Nets guard Jordan] Farmar, who has dealt with groin injuries all season long, was ruled out for at least the next 10 days before last night’s 105-84 loss to the Jazz at Prudential Center.

“Injuries are part of the game,” Farmar said after the game. “I’ve just got to understand that it happens, and you’ve got to get healthy. Health is first and foremost. I’ve got a long career ahead of me — I’m only 25 — and I just want to get it right.

“It was such a nothing-type, minor injury when it first happened that I took it for granted,’’ he said. “I felt I’d be OK in a day, but then it got worse. I sat out a week, and I thought it was OK, because it’s OK when I’m walking around and stuff, but once I get out there and do one thing, it jumps back to square one.”

After meeting with specialists, Farmar said he’s expecting to sit out for at least the next two-to-three weeks. With only a month remaining in the season, that leaves his chances of playing again for the Nets this season in serious jeopardy.

— Reported by Tim Bontemps of the New York Post

The New Jersey Nets have signed free agent guard Jerry Smith from the D-League’s Springfield Armor to a 10-day contract, Nets General Manager Billy King announced today.

Smith, who is the Nets’ fifth D-League call-up to sign with the team this season, has played 32 games with the Armor in 2011-12.  He is averaging 19.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 35 minutes per game.

The 6-2 point guard from Louisville was signed to the Nets’ 2011-12 training camp roster, and he participated in one of the team’s two preseason games, scoring one point in three minutes against the Knicks.  Smith took part in the 2012 D-League All-Star Game, where he scored 14 points, grabbed five rebounds, and dished out six assists in 23 minutes.

He was named D-League Player of the Month for February, leading the Armor to a perfect 8-0 record while averaging 22.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.0 assists in 35.4 minutes.  Smith scored in double figures in all eight games, recording back-to-back double-doubles on Feb. 2 and Feb. 3 and finished with more than 20 points in five contests.  In 78 career D-League games, Smith holds averages of 15.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.5 steals per game.

The New Jersey Nets have acquired forward Gerald Wallace from the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for center Mehmet Okur, forward Shawne Williams and the Nets’ 2012 protected first round draft pick, Nets General Manager Billy King announced today.

“We are excited to add Gerald’s experience and toughness at the small forward position,” said King.  “His leadership and defensive prowess will be assets to our team going forward.”

Portland also requested waivers on centers Greg Oden and Chris Johnson today.

“This trade was very compelling to us because not only does it give us more flexibility in free agency, but we also acquire a very attractive first-round draft pick,” said Trail Blazers’ Acting General Manager Chad Buchanan. “I’d like to thank Gerald, Greg and Chris for all they’ve done for the franchise and hope for nothing but the best for them and their futures.”

The draft pick is top-three protected, meaning the Trail Blazers will own the pick in 2012 as long as it is not in the top three of the NBA Draft.

Okur, 32, has averages of 13.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 29.1 minutes in 10 NBA seasons with Detroit, Utah and New Jersey. An NBA All-Star in 2007 and a native of Turkey, Okur has appeared in 17 games for the Nets this season, averaging 7.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists.

Williams, 26, has posted career averages of 5.7 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.7 assists in parts of five seasons with Indiana, Dallas, New York and New Jersey. He has played in 25 games for New Jersey this season, averaging 4.5 points and 2.7 rebounds.

Wallace, a 2010 NBA All-Star, comes to the Nets after making 42 starts for the Blazers this season and posting averages of 13.3 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.  The 6-7 forward was selected by Sacramento in the first round (25th overall) of the 2001 NBA Draft out of the University of Alabama and spent his first three NBA seasons with the Kings.  He then began a seven-year stint with Charlotte after being selected by the Bobcats in the NBA Expansion Draft in 2004.  Wallace enjoyed his best seasons in Charlotte in 2007-08, when he averaged a career- high 19.4 points per game and in 2009-10, with averages of 18.2 points and a career-best 10.0 rebounds, earning him NBA All-Star honors as well as a place on the NBA’s All Defensive First Team.  Midway through the 2010-11 season, Wallace was traded to Portland, where he played parts of three seasons.  Currently in his 11th NBA season, Wallace has played in a total of 657 games and holds career averages of 13.4 points on .475 shooting and 6.3 rebounds per game.  Wallace has helped his teams reach the playoffs on five occasions and lists postseason averages of 7.1 points and 4.0 rebounds in 25 games.

Okur, who was acquired from Utah on December 22, 2011, played in 17 games for the Nets this season, with averages of 7.6 points and 4.8 rebounds in 26.7 minutes per game.  He missed a total of 27 games this season with a sore lower back.  The 10-year NBA veteran from Turkey holds career averages of 13.5 points and 7.0 rebounds in 634 NBA games with Detroit, Utah and New Jersey.

Williams, who signed with the Nets as a free agent on December 15, 2011, played in 25 games for the Nets this season, with averages of 4.5 points and 2.7 rebounds in 20.6 minutes per game. He has missed a total of 19 games due to injury and underwent season ending left foot surgery on February 22.  The five-year NBA veteran holds career averages of 5.7 points and 2.8 rebounds over 215 games with Indiana, Dallas, New York and New Jersey.

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