Young Love

So, are you in love with youth yet?

The off-season Net makeover now has a huge dose of youth sprinkled, no, flooded into the mix.

You know the drill:

Marcus Williams - rookie first round PG is 20.

Josh Boone - rookie first round F/C is 21.

Hassan Adams - rookie second round G is 22.

Mile Ilic - Rookie second rounder from last year is 22.

and Antoine Wright - rookie first rounder from last year is 22.

Not to mention that Nenad Krstic is 23, but with 2 important years of experience heading into this season.

That makes 6 of 15 players expected on the roster that are 23 and younger. Hell, Spliff Robinson probably has socks older than that.

So, is this what championship rosters are built out of? At least, for now, as opposed to a few years down the road?

Get used to loving youth, because it will likely be served in great heaping doses this year. At L. Frank's peril.

By the way, because you asked, RJ is 26, as is Bostjan Nachbar. Jason Collins is approaching 28, Eddie House is 28, Vince Carter will be 30 in January, Mikki Moore will be 31, Jason Kidd is now 33, and Spliffie is pushing 40.

With all of this talk of youth, Joe does find it highly ironic that today he is the magic 4-0.

Ah, youth.

Get used to it. It will be needed to carry the Nets across the finish line, ready or not. The team could grow by leaps and bounds by serving youth large doses of playing time in games where it doesn't matter early in order to get them some experience when the pressure is on. Whether or not this occurs is up to L. Frank.

The time is now. Grow up fast, young ones.

Planet H

Never could quite figure out what Zoran Planinic was all about.

Those end-to-end, electric dashes to score two points that made you stand up and take notice, or the guy who was about a day late and a dollar short while guarding his man, letting up the easy layup?

It was like that with Z, I guess. Never quite had the coach's confidence as a backup point guard, and couldn't quite cut it as a shooter.

I'm still wondering why they picked up his option at the start of last season, at that point he hadn't developed, or perhaps more properly, hadn't been given a chance to develop. I'd say he got screwed over there by a coach that wouldn't play him, but that wouldn't be quite right either.

Wonder if getting him more playing time last season might have served him, and the team, better. Not sure how it could have hurt, at least during the regular season.

Now, Z is off to greener pastures and more playing time in Spain. Sounds like an ok deal to me (3 years, $3.6 million).

Still, you wonder what could have been with Z...what someone saw in him that couldn't quite translate during games.

His spot will most likely be taken up by Mile Ilic (they share the same agent, ironically, or maybe not so...), who comes to America to bulk up and watch and learn. Hopefully more Songalia (or Krstic) than Milicic.

Young bench the Nets have in place - Williams, Boone, Wright, Ilic, Hassan Adams (if he sticks). With the still un-announced Cliff Robinson, Mikki Moore, Bostjan Nachbar, and the shooter they hope to get.

Hope that's enough...

So long Z - we'll miss you, not exactly for your talents on the court, and I'm not exactly for what, but you'll be missed nonetheless.

Improvement?

Oh, there is hope in Nets-land this off-season.

But will there be improvement?

I'll wind up spending the better part of August and September wondering about that.

The Nets reloaded with a better draft than they probably had a right to expect in Williams and Boone, and Antoine Wright certainly has looked improved from the form of his rookie season.

But still no other major moves to restock the bench.

If the season started tomorrow, you'd be looking at Cliff Robinson as the first big off the bench. Williams as the backup PG. Boone on IR. Wright the backup slasher for Carter/RJ. And what else, really?

McInnis is gone, in any way they can make him go away. Planinic might just get sold to the Euroleague. Is Ilic coming? Probably not, and in any case, he probably wasn't ready to make a contribution. Other bodies? Mikki Moore. Bostjan Nachbar. Another rook, Hassan Adams.

And?

I just don't see, even with RJ/Carter/Kidd having figured out the chemistry thing, how that's enough not to overplay the Big Three and burn them out before the playoffs.

I don't see this roster being improved over last season, at least not yet.

It's early yet - let's hope Thorn and Stefanski don't think so either.