Yi Haw!
Well pardners, Yi is in town, and things will never be quite the same again in Netsfanland.
No, he's not an international superstar, at least not yet. But he's bringing in a media horde from the world's most populated country, and he's playing in the largest media market in the world. So, the Nets now have that going for them. Even if no one shows up at the Izod Center next season, the world's eyeballs will be watching...
Oh, we don't even want to get into the details of the wonderous press conference, where it was said that Yi is very talented and they expect big things out of him yada yada...what we want to know is, was it worth trading Richard Jefferson for him or not? Unfortuntately, that won't be proven out for awhile, and it will also largely depend on whom the Nets surround him with on the court.
And there's the Lawrence Frank factor. L Frank has never has as much talent or depth on the front line in his time here (guards and wing players ruled the day, obviously), but now he's got Brook Lopez (who went for another 22 and 8 tonight in a win over the Seattle Oklahomans...), Yi, Simmons, Josh Boone, Sean Williams, and Stromile Swift, not to mention the other rook Ryan Anderson and Trenton Hassell and possible Nenad Krstic. That's probably too much (who the hell shoots the damned ball from outside if Boki doesn't return, but it's a nice problem to have.
If they produce.
And when Yi is your best immediate hope for offense up front, well, that's trouble right there. His game needs polish, and Joe's still concerned that he doesn't want to put in the time, especially with his international Olympic commitments for China. Will he break down come February, or sooner?
Sure, the marketing will go into overdrive in Chinatown and the New York area (can't you see it now - come see the Chinese sensation from New Jersey and the Italian Stallion from New York in Danilo Gallinari), and it can't hurt when it comes to making news in the post Kidd era, but I think expectations had better not be high for the men on the court. We'll starve until 2010 and the move to Brooklyn as the youngsters learn how to play, and won't that be great for New Jersey Netsfans...
We'll have to comment more on that in the coming days, because the more I think about it, unless Thorn's got more moves up his sleeves, we're doomed to some boring, low scoring ball in New Jersey next year.
Just what Netsfans needed...
OK, we'll give it a chance today, especially if Thorn can move pieces for a Marcus Camby or someone else. But with the Sixers grabbing Elton Brand today, the division hasn't gotten any easier between the world champion Celtics, the improved Sixers and the always dangerous Raptors. More work is needed.
More to come tomorrow. Maybe we'll rank on Bobby Simmons, and talk about some of the other moves in the NBA (since the Nets appear to be striking out on their free agent hit list, with Pietrus and Mason signing elsewhere).
Joe
No, he's not an international superstar, at least not yet. But he's bringing in a media horde from the world's most populated country, and he's playing in the largest media market in the world. So, the Nets now have that going for them. Even if no one shows up at the Izod Center next season, the world's eyeballs will be watching...
Oh, we don't even want to get into the details of the wonderous press conference, where it was said that Yi is very talented and they expect big things out of him yada yada...what we want to know is, was it worth trading Richard Jefferson for him or not? Unfortuntately, that won't be proven out for awhile, and it will also largely depend on whom the Nets surround him with on the court.
And there's the Lawrence Frank factor. L Frank has never has as much talent or depth on the front line in his time here (guards and wing players ruled the day, obviously), but now he's got Brook Lopez (who went for another 22 and 8 tonight in a win over the Seattle Oklahomans...), Yi, Simmons, Josh Boone, Sean Williams, and Stromile Swift, not to mention the other rook Ryan Anderson and Trenton Hassell and possible Nenad Krstic. That's probably too much (who the hell shoots the damned ball from outside if Boki doesn't return, but it's a nice problem to have.
If they produce.
And when Yi is your best immediate hope for offense up front, well, that's trouble right there. His game needs polish, and Joe's still concerned that he doesn't want to put in the time, especially with his international Olympic commitments for China. Will he break down come February, or sooner?
Sure, the marketing will go into overdrive in Chinatown and the New York area (can't you see it now - come see the Chinese sensation from New Jersey and the Italian Stallion from New York in Danilo Gallinari), and it can't hurt when it comes to making news in the post Kidd era, but I think expectations had better not be high for the men on the court. We'll starve until 2010 and the move to Brooklyn as the youngsters learn how to play, and won't that be great for New Jersey Netsfans...
We'll have to comment more on that in the coming days, because the more I think about it, unless Thorn's got more moves up his sleeves, we're doomed to some boring, low scoring ball in New Jersey next year.
Just what Netsfans needed...
OK, we'll give it a chance today, especially if Thorn can move pieces for a Marcus Camby or someone else. But with the Sixers grabbing Elton Brand today, the division hasn't gotten any easier between the world champion Celtics, the improved Sixers and the always dangerous Raptors. More work is needed.
More to come tomorrow. Maybe we'll rank on Bobby Simmons, and talk about some of the other moves in the NBA (since the Nets appear to be striking out on their free agent hit list, with Pietrus and Mason signing elsewhere).
Joe
posted by Joe Netsfan at 10:03 PM
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