I know what it sounds like, but I’m not remixing Kanye West’s “Stronger”. That’s the title I gave Mikail Prokarov’s 5-year plan for the Nets. Plan A was obviously go after the big 3 (Lebron Dwade and Bosh), but since that fell through, Prokarov is resorting to plan B, maybe even C or D, I heard he even has a plan E if things get real messy. Anyway, despite the free agent…situation, for lack of a better word, The Nets, in my opinion, got the best deal so far. I’ll give you a minute to badmouth that statement and say “what about the Heat”…..you good? Ok so here’s why I believe that: Yea we know what Miami’s roster looks like, but have we ever seen one like it? In retrospect it’s easy to name teams that rival hopeful success, but when the time comes, how will they perform? Your telling me 2 of the greatest players, who lead in some sort of scoring category every year, are going to put there ego’s aside and average 10 or so points, rather than 25 or 30? Realistically, no matter how good they are, they’re not dropping 200 points at any point, I can assure you that, this is the NBA and other teams are going to play JUST a little harder when Miami comes to town, they are now what the Lakers have been for the past 10 years.
New Jersey went out and signed some of the youngest, most skilled, and underrated players in the league. For starters, we’ve got a 3-point sniper in Anthony Morrow, who has a 3pt avg of .460. Next, we gave questionably big money to former 1st overall pick Travis Outlaw. With an average PPG of just over 9, Outlaw needs to prove his worth, and be given a little more responsibility. He’s basically taking over the duties of yi Jianlian, who had a better shooting touch from long range, but with Morrow there, Outlaw wont be needed to hit as many of those shots (even though he has a career avg of .363).
Than there’s the former LA Laker, Jordan Farmar. Farmar is without a doubt the most valuable asset acquired. Farmar brings NBA championship rings into the Nets locker room, and the ability to inspire the rest of the younger guys on the team, that it’s a very real goal. The best part about Jordan Farmar is, despite his average scoring ability in the regular season, his playoff percentages are almost double. Given the recent skid of missing the playoffs, New Jersey could use a reliable, experienced shooter when the time comes. When asked about his decision to change his address from 90210 to 08902, Farmar replied “In L.A., I came in at 19 and I was always ‘Little Jordy.’ Now I’m ‘Jordan Farmar, two-time champ’ – the person on this team with the most winning experience. It’s just a different view for me as a player and a person. It’s a chance to recreate myself and go at it again, from a different angle.” The Nets also signed bench player Johan Petro, from Denver. So far there isn’t much in place for him as a starter or sixth man.