Kris Humphries Returns to Nets

nba.com

Kris Humphries to Return to Nets

Brooklyn Nets were able to sign free agent Kris Humphries to return with the team for 2 year 24 million dollar deal.

"Kris has been a very consistent player for us over the past two years," Nets general manager Billy King said in a statement. "He has developed into one of the top rebounding forwards in the league, and we are very pleased to welcome him back."

Humphries has seen his career take off with the Nets as in the last two seasons he has the most double doubles of any Power Forward in the NBA with 58, and a short stint on reality T.V as he was married to Kim Kardashian for 72 days.

Humphries best year was last year as he averaged 13.8 pts, 11.0 reb, and 1.2 blk per game making it his second year in a row of averaging a double double.

With the signing of Humphries the Nets starting lineup should be set for the regular season with Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Gerald Wallace, Kris Humphries, and Brook Lopez.

Nets Sign C.J. Watson

nj.com

Nets Sign C.J. Watson

The Brooklyn Nets were able to land free agent point guard C.J. Watson to be the backup for Deron Williams.

Watson’s new deal will be for two years at the veteran’s minimum making this a very good signing for Brooklyn; they are getting a very good backup for Deron at a good price.

"We are very pleased to add a veteran with the savvy and experience of C.J. Watson to our roster," Nets general manager Billy King said in a statement. "C.J. has the ability to be productive in a variety of roles, and he will add quality and versatility to our backcourt rotation."

C.J. Watson played in 49 games and started 25 for the Chicago Bulls last year as he played a lot with injuries to Derrick Rose throughout the season and in the playoffs. He was a reason the Bulls stayed at the top of the East, landing the number one seed still in regular season.

Watson averaged 9.7 points, 4.1 assists and 2.1 rebounds in 23.7 minutes per game in the regular season and in playoffs against the 76ers played 30.8 minutes per game with 8.0 points, 5.6 assists and 2.6 rebounds.

Deron Williams to stay with Nets

guyism.com

Deron Williams to stay with Nets

The Nets got great news on Tuesday, as superstar Point Guard Deron Williams will be staying with the Nets as they make their move from New Jersey to Brooklyn.

Williams will be getting the 5 year $100 million dollar max deal from the Nets. This deal is $25 million dollars more than the Dallas Mavericks were able to offer, as the Mavericks offer was only able to be 4 years at $75 million.

Williams had another great season last year despite very little help on the court. Williams averaged 21pts, 8.7ast, 3.3reb and 1.2stl per game.

Joe Johnson was acquired by the Nets on Monday, as the Nets have hopes that him and Williams will be the best back court in basketball and lead them to the playoffs.

The Nets still hold out hope that they can get Dwight Howard on the team as well with a trade. This Johnson trade also means that a Jason Kidd return seems unlikely. It was said he wanted to be a backup for Williams wherever Williams decided to go.

Now that Williams is signed, it would appear all focus will move to trying to trade a package featuring Brook Lopez, Marshon Brooks, and a bunch of future 1^st round draft picks to the Magic for Howard to establish a big 3 in Brooklyn.

Nets to acquire Joe Johnson

                      nba.com

With many rumors flying around the last few days about a trade between the Nets and Hawks for All-Star guard Joe Johnson, it is confirmed that the two teams have reached a agreement to send Johnson to Brooklyn.

The trade sends Johnson to the Nets for Jordan Farmar, Anthony Morrow, Johan Petro, Jordan Williams, DeShawn Stevenson, and the Houston Rockets lottery protected 1^st round draft pick.

Joe Johnson was handed a huge 6 year $119 million contract two years ago by the Atlanta Hawks and has not lived up to it, and it is considered by many to be a very bad contract. Johnson is now 31 and has 4 years and almost $90 million left on the deal.

The Nets still believe that Deron Williams is resigning and that him and Johnson will become one of the best back court duos in the NBA. With this trade, the Nets are also covering themselves to a certain degree that if Williams does in fact leave, they do have an All-Star to market for the move to Brooklyn, and can try to make a run at Steve Nash or maybe Jeremy Lin.

If Williams resigns, with the trade for Joe Johnson and his contract, it would seem extremely unlikely that Dwight Howard will get his wish to be playing for Brooklyn as the Nets wouldn’t be able to pay him.

The Nets starting lineup is looking good if they get their players to sign as it would be Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Gerald Wallace, Mirza Teletovic, and Brook Lopez, but it all depends on if they are able to sign Williams and restricted free agent Lopez. If they can, the Nets should definitely be a playoff team but them challenging Miami still seems a ways off.

Farmar to stay with Nets

nba.com

With NBA free agency kicking off, Jordan Farmar exercised his $4.25 million dollar player option to stay with the Brooklyn Nets.

Farmar is coming off a season in which he played in 39 games, starting 5 of them.  He averaged 21.3 minutes a game and scored 10.4 points and 3.3 assists.  Farmar shot 46 % from the field and 44% from 3 point land.

The Nets are beginning to have a log jam at the guard position. Farmar joins Marshon Brooks and Anthony Marrow under contract in addition to the drafting of Tyshawn Taylor in the 2nd round of Thursday's draft.

With the hope that Deron Williams is coming back and the talk of Jason Kidd  following where ever Williams decides to go, it would appear that Farmar maybe used in a trade. The Nets have been linked in conversations for Joe Johnson, Dwight Howard, and Luis Scola to try and give Williams some help.

Brooklyn Nets 2012 Draft Recap

prefixmag.com

Brooklyn Nets 2012 Draft Recap

The Brooklyn Nets only had one pick going in to the draft, which was 57^th overall, due to trading their first rounder at the trade deadline to the Portland Trail Blazers for Gerald Wallace. The Nets pick was only top three protected and their pick ended up being 6^th sending it to Portland.

There was some speculation of the Nets buying a pick in the first round, but the first 30 picks came and went with no pick from Brooklyn.

But, they were not quite on the trade front all night. The Nets traded for the 41^st pick, sending cash to Portland and received Kansas guard Tyshawn Taylor in return. Taylor had a great four year career at Kansas. In Taylor’s Senior year at KU he averaged 16.6ppg, 4.8ast, 2.3reb and 1.3stl. Combined with Thomas Robinson, he helped lead Kansas to the National Championship where they fell to Kentucky.

Taylor was able to get some individual accolades along with playing on one of the best teams in the nation. During his time at Kansas, he was a Bob Cousy Award finalist in his Junior and Senior seasons, and was named to many All-America 3^rd teams in his Senior year. He was also named to the Big 12 All-Freshman team by the media in 08-09 season.

The Nets future is very uncertain as it all is riding on what happens with Deron Williams, who has said he's only interested in staying with the Nets or going to Dallas, but Taylor is a good talent and has shown he can take over games at the college level. He should be able to give the Nets some minutes off the bench in his rookie year.

With the 57^th pick the Nets selected a draft and stash player in Ilkan Karaman who is a 6-9 forward from Turkey averaged 10.7pts and 6.4rebs per game in the Turkish League but he probably wont be in the NBA anytime soon.

New York Knicks vs. New Jersey Nets Pre-Game News and Notes April 18

Wednesday April 18^th 7:30 P.M. ET

New York Knicks vs. New Jersey Nets

After a great win last night against the Boston Celtics on national television, the Knicks get right back at it tonight with a quick turnaround against the New Jersey Nets.  The Knicks currently sit 3 ½ games behind Boston for the Atlantic Division title and lead the Philadelphia 76ers by 1 game for 7^th place.  This will be the 3^rd meeting between the Knicks and Nets, with each team winning one so far this season.  This will also be the last time the Knicks visit New Jersey, as the Nets are prepared to move to Brooklyn for the start of next season.  Everything is lining up for this to be a trap game for the Knicks, so they have to come out strong from the start and put away the Nets.

-Avoid Complacency

Coming off a big victory like last night for the Knicks, it is common for teams to come out flat in their next game.  This is especially true when the next opponent is one that should be easily handled, which is the situation the Knicks are in tonight.  They have to avoid coming out flat and not give the Nets any confidence.  The Nets are eliminated from playoff contention so this game is exponentially more important for the Knicks.  This game will not be a cake walk as the Nets are not going to back down to the Knicks.  Putting them away early will be beneficial for the Knicks because if they let the Nets hang around till the end the result may not be what Knick fans are hoping for.

Carmelo Anthony has become a leader on both ends of the court since Amar'e Stoudemire and Jeremy Lin went down with injuries.  It will fall on his shoulders to make sure the team comes out ready to play with energy and intensity. 

-Injury Updates

The Knicks now have another person re-added to the injury list.  Baron Davis was under the weather and tweaked his hamstring in the game against the Celtics last night.  Davis was limited to just 18 minutes last night because of the various ailments.  He also had to cut short his morning shoot around because of a knee problem.  This is something to keep an eye on because the Knicks are deathly thin at PG with Jeremy Lin going down injured and Mike Woodson not having confidence in Toney Douglas.  Look for Bibby to get ample opportunities to shine again tonight. 

Jared Jeffries will again be on a minutes limit tonight and will continue to be for the foreseeable future.  He is returning from a knee injury which has plagued him all season.  The Knicks can afford to rest him for spots now, but come playoff time they will need his defensive expertise to succeed.

The Nets are not unscathed when it comes to the injury front.  Superstar Point Guard Deron Williams was announced out for tonight’s game last night because of a strained calf.  It is the same calf injury that cost Williams 4 games in March.  Sundiata Gaines is expected to start in place of Williams. 

-Defensive Intensity

With the Nets playing without their best player in Deron Williams it is setting up for the Knicks to come out flat because they under-estimate the opposition.  That is a terrible mindset to have and will destroy the Knicks if that is indeed how they come out.  Instead the Knicks need to turn up the defensive pressure even more and rattle all the players that will be moving up in the rotation because of the injuries. 

The Nets can not be taken lightly though as they still have dangerous players.  Recently the Nets have sported three starters who have been explosive on the offensive end in Gerald Green, MarShon Brooks and Kris Humphries.  They are playing as if they are still in the playoff race and cannot be taken lightly.  It will take another top notch defensive effort from the Knicks to slow down those three and the rest of the Nets.  

New York Knicks vs. Philadelphia 76ers Pre-Game News and Notes March 11th

Philadelphia 76ers vs New York Knicks 
Sunday March 11th 12:00 P.M. ET 

The Knicks look to end their 4 game losing streak in a Sunday matinee against division leading and rival Philadelphia 76ers. Tyson Chandler is probable, while Jared Jeffries will again be out of action. This will be the second of three meetings between the Knicks and 76ers. The Knicks won the first meeting in a defensive struggle, 85-79, and will play one final time in Philadelphia on March 21st. Philadelphia enters the game on a 2 game winning streak, hoping to increase their division lead over the Knicks. The 76ers have a young athletic team and the Knicks have to match their intensity and energy in an early start if they hope to come out with a win and the end of their losing streak. This game has the potential to be ugly because of the early start so whichever team adapts to the changes will come out on top. 

-Have To Play Defense 
The return of Tyson Chandler will undoubtedly help the Knicks on the defensive end of the court. The Knicks have been beaten up in the paint without the presence of Chandler in the middle, giving up 110 points in the paint during the process. The Knicks were also out-rebounded by a total of 15 rebounds in the 2 games without Chandler. The 76ers will be without starting Center Spencer Hawes again, meaning the Knicks should be able to attack the middle of the 76er defense. The Knicks out-rebounded the 76ers 46-37 in the first meeting and another dominant performance like that should result in a Knicks win along with more urgency being shown on the defensive end of the court. 

-Point Guard Play 
Point Guards have been getting up to play against Jeremy Lin and the Knicks recently. According to ESPN Stats & Information, seven of the last eight starting point guards the Knicks have gone against have scored more than their season averages for points. Here is the list of Point Guards the Knicks have gone up against. 
Brandon Jennings: 25 (18.9) 
Tony Parker: 32 (19.5) 
Jason Kidd: 15 (5.6) 
*Rajon Rondo: 18 (13.6) 
Kyrie Irving: 22 (18.3) 
Mario Chalmers: 8 (10.8) 
Jeff Teague: 18 (12.4) 
Deron Williams: 38 (22.0) 
* - Rondo also had 20 assists and 17 rebounds 

The 76ers have the up-and-coming Jrue Holiday as their starting Point Guard, who is no slouch. Jeremy Lin is not the best defender in the NBA, but the rest of the Knicks have to do their part and help out in stopping the opposing point guards. The Knicks help defense at the rim has to become more consistent, which should be aided by the return of Tyson Chandler. 

-Bench Play 
The Knicks bench had been playing well before injured to Tyson Chandler and Jared Jeffries caused changes to be made to the rotation. Steve Novak has provided consistent 3 point shooting off the bench, but the Knicks have struggled to find contributions from anyone else on a consistent basis. J.R. Smith has been inconsistent and Iman Shumpert seems to have hit a rookie wall of sorts, playing only 5 minutes in the game against Milwaukee. Baron Davis is starting to round into shape, and the Knicks better hope it it happens soon because they will need it against Philadelphia. The 76ers sport one of the best benches in the NBA, led by team leading scorer Lou Williams and Thaddeus Young. Young center Nikola Vucevic, who the Knicks had their eyes on with their pick in this years past draft, is also starting to come on for the 76ers. The Knicks have to mach their intensity if they have any chance of winning.