New Jersey Nets Free Agency Thread!

[Nets fan 93]

Chris Broussard in a post-midnight tweet reports the following: "Nets have emerged as No. 1 choice for Dwight Howard, multiple sources say. D12 is expected to ask Magic to trade him to NJ."

Moreover, reports Broussard, "Nets still pursuing Nene in case deal for Howard falls through. NJ offering Brook Lopez & 2 1st rnd picks."

The trade, if it worked out, would give the Nets two of the NBA's seven best players. That is all.

http://www.netsdaily.com/2011/12/9/2...-trade-partner
Backup plan is Nene

[gigantes]

chandler to the knicks is interesting. they could have made another knucklehead lateral move (similar to getting the two talented doofuses they have already), but instead got someone who actually might make that team work. on paper, anyway. using the amnesty on billups is probably not that big of a loss since carmelo and stoudemire are such monstrous ball hogs already. but adding chandler gives them instant defense and intensity. if they're smart, the coaches will use that as the foundation of a whole new defense and effort from the big two. then again, pringles remains the coach... a far cry from rick carlisle.


battier to the heat scares me a little bit. another quality player to shore up the knuckleheadedness of lebron and wade. someone who can help everyone perform more professionally and smartly. potentially, anyway.


re: CP3 to the lakers, i thought dan gilbert raised some good points in his angry rant to stern. jerry bus was getting a free ride and NO fans were getting shafted before someone called a halt. then again, CP3's knees may be pretty shot at this point, so it would have been interesting to see that trade blow up for the lakers. especially since i think giving up odom AND gasol would have been extremely risky.


ah well... great to see some truly interesting stuff happening in the NBA in a long, LONG time...

[Nets fan 93]

Nets are currently in the lead for Nene offering 4 years/65 million. according to sources.

Stefan Bondy reports the Nets are "closing in on Nene after upping the offer last night. Went hard after the center after Chandler went to the Knicks." Meanwhile, Adrian Wojnarowski says the Nets will meet with Nene's agent, Dan Fegan on Friday afternoon where he will likely offer the Nuggets PF/C $60 to $65 million over four years, close to the max.

How this would affect the Nets interest in Dwight Howard or any of the other machinations the Nets are currently involved are unclear.

http://www.netsdaily.com/2011/12/9/2...ing-in-on-nene

[Nets fan 93]

OFF TOPIC: Vince Carter and the Mavs are close to a deal.

Kidd-Carter reunion?

[MTing]

OFF TOPIC: Vince Carter and the Mavs are close to a deal.

Kidd-Carter reunion?

Would be a fun thing to watch

[D12"Magic"]

So it seems like Otis is not gonna trade Howard right away, so it looks like Nene is no choice, and we have to grab him

[Nets fan 93]

So it seems like Otis is not gonna trade Howard right away, so it looks like Nene is no choice, and we have to grab him

If Orlando wants to lose their best offer. It's on them. Go get Nene before they Nets are left with nothing!

[gigantes]

If Orlando wants to lose their best offer. It's on them. Go get Nene before they Nets are left with nothing!

otis smith lives in another dimension, obviously.

this is close to their last chance to dump turkoglu's contract and get something decent for howard. once teams spend their money for the regular season it's going to be much harder for anyone to take on turk. but the magic are painting themselves in to a corner by their pigheadedness... putting themselves in to a position of trying to trade a very annoyed, uncooperative howard at the deadline for something better than the nets offer.

yea... let me know how that works out for you.

just that it also sucks for us, having to deal with these space cadets.

[MTing]

Soo uh Nenes going back to Denver.
What now .

Please dont tell me we're just gonna sign Humphries to a huge deal and call it a day.

[SidePocket]

Welp, now it's officially D12 or bust even more than it already was...would be nice if they can swing this multi-team deal they're working on w/ ORL and then bring back Hump/sign Kirilenko.

[gigantes]

the nets are still not a sought-after destination, or at least a top destination, anyway. i think that's what's hurting us in this free agency. obviously things will improve by increments over the next couple years, but i think we have to be patient with this. no doubt a lot of players still think of us as being the 'crappy, irrelevant old nets laboring in joisey'. therefore a lot of minds are not going to see the light until they actually play some games at barclays as visiting players. so we just have to deal with it. although... having mega-stars at the one and five positions would sure solve a lot of these problems next summer.

that's my take on it, anyway.

so given the situation, i find it pretty amazing that a player of howard's caliber actually wants to play for the nets. i mean, sure, he's focusing ahead on the positives, but i don't think that would be enough were it not for the strong friendship between he and deron williams. because they're good friends and talk every day as i understand it. so if we do get howard (oh no, only three days left under the self-imposed deadline!) i think we can rightly give a lot of thanks to deron williams for persuading him to come.

that, and of course the impressiveness of both prokhy and the new arena. i think having someone like prokhorov wine and dine you is a whole level of persuasion beyond what most other owners can supply. huge amounts of power and money available to be put to your use if prokhy wants you badly enough. other owners have those things, of course, but to lesser degree. plus, much more of their available power and money is tied up in other projects, other expenses. but right now prokhy is one LIQUID mofo, if you know what i mean.

and i wouldn't be surprised if he offered howard some things that are unique- access to a platinum-plated, diamond-encrusted world that even dwight howard does not necessarily enjoy. by that i mean rubbing elbows with the richest people in the world, vacationing at their elite island resorts, being able to hang out with film stars and film starlets that are beyond the scope of even sports stars. drop-dead gorgeous women, even beyond the most beautiful NBA groupies, coming on to you for kicks. in short, prokhy is one of those rare people who can show you the cream of all material things here on earth. he'll take you with him as he jets around europe and the world, like he did with deron williams, showing him an entrancing world beyond what even the jaded rich suspected existed. in fact i wouldn't be surprised if he did charm d-will the exact same way. compare that to a fumble-fingers like james dolan who probably knows how to impress by inviting you to jam with him in front of a live audience and hooking you up with a top NYC call girl to round out the evening- impressive to some, but not nearly prokhovian.

well, enough of that speculation.

EDIT: BTW, is there really money under the cap to sign howard AND hump and AK47? not saying that prokhy fears going over the cap and paying the penalties, but it's more than just about money. cap flexibility is crucial for making ongoing in-season and off-season adjustments... as we all know. ;)

[gigantes]

from netsdaily:
[quote]Howard: "Trade Me or Lose Me"

In an updated version of his story on the collapse of the Dwight Howard talks, Adrian Wojnarowski writes that Dwight Howard has warned the Magic that unless they trade him, they will lose him for nothing, in effect reminding the franchise of what happened 15 years ago when Shaquille O'Neal left Orlando without compensation.

"Howard has warned the Magic if they don

[gigantes]

i get it now- howard apparently said on monday, the 12th, that he might be willing to stay. no wonder the magic kept resisting the trade.

dwight, you son of a...

well, all i'm going to say is that son needs to make up his mind. plus four good #1 picks was a hell of a price, anyway. hopefully it will be a deadline trade for a lot less.

[Nets fan 93]

i get it now- howard apparently said on monday, the 12th, that he might be willing to stay. no wonder the magic kept resisting the trade.

dwight, you son of a...

well, all i'm going to say is that son needs to make up his mind. plus four good #1 picks was a hell of a price, anyway. hopefully it will be a deadline trade for a lot less.

Hopefully it is the Magic being scared of themselves losing him for nothing. good point.

[Rameek]

[COLOR="Navy"]What sucks for the Nets if they take back salary they already used the amnesty.[/COLOR]