In their second game of five at the Orlando Summer League, the Nets were able to get themselves a win.  Besides the fact that we don't have to hear any losing streak jokes now, the win isn't the most important part of the action.  Just like yesterday, we are going to take a look at how each of the "big five" at the summer league did.

Terrence Williams

Terrence Williams had another big game, this time he showed a little bit more in terms of looking for his own shot.  Williams scored 24 points on 8-18 shooting, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists.  What really impressed me about Terrence Williams game was his jump shot:

Remember last year it seemed like Terrence Williams' jumpers were just floaters from really far away?  Well, that isn't what they look like now.  On just about every shot Williams took last night, Williams was on balance taking off and landing in the same place.

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Sebastian Pruiti

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This is your open thread everyone.  An interesting thing to look at is to see how the Nets defend Lance Stephenson.  Stephenson was a 2nd round pick for the Pacers, and they seem content trotting him out there at point guard even though he is a true shooting guard.  He looked comfortable against a 5'10" Randle, but today he will be going up against a 6'3" Uzoh or even Terrence Williams.

If Uzoh is able to defend Stephenson, he might earn himself a spot on this team...

Sebastian Pruiti

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ESPN's Chris Broussard obtained some notes from Mikhail Prokhorov's conversations with his top executives from this past weekend. Some things Prokhorov notably said is he believes Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh will join forces in Miami and if LeBron James were to join them, he would win a few championships but diminish his own brand. He believes Cleveland's hometown edge is going to be tough to overcome but if the Nets do land James, they would sign Carlos Boozer or David Lee to be his PF caddy. If the Nets don't land James, they're going to play it smart, make some "meaningful trades" and keep cap space for next summer.

As for backup plans, Dave D'Alessandro notes that the Nets brass has been in contact with Lee and Boozer's people, despite not having a formal meeting with them yet. Adrian Wojnarowski believes the Nets could make a play for beleaguered PF Tyrus Thomas. Apparently the Nets didn't get their fill of big men not fulfilling their potential when they were dealing with Yi Jianlian. Al Iannazzone lists Matt Barnes, Richard Jefferson, Rasual Butler, Joe Alexander, Carlos Boozer, David Lee, Raymond Felton and Randy Foye as other options. But the Nets shouldn't start having dreams of landing next summer's big fish, Carmelo Anthony, as Fanhouse is reporting he's likely to sign an extension with Denver.

Mark Ginocchio

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The Nets ended up losing to the Sixers in their first summer league game yesterday.  It was a pretty intense and competitive game, and despite the loss I think the Nets players fared very well individually (and in my opinion, that is the most important aspect of summer league games).  Let's breakdown some of the key individual performances:

Terrence Williams:

I don't usually like to quote myself (that's a lie), but here is what I wrote before the game yesterday:

Honestly though, I am excited to see Terrence Williams play.  Most guys who have NBA experience tend to do much better in Summer League games because they are used to NBA-speed. If Williams has a good game, we don’t want to make too much of it, but if he struggles, it might be a little bit worrying.

Well, Terrence Williams had a fantastic game.  You might remember the way CDR and Marreese Speights just jacked up a ton of shots last year, well T-Will was determined to dominate the game a different way, with his passing.  T-Will had  plenty of opportunities to attack the rim and get a shot, but he was under control trying to find teammates.  Williams had 7 assists yesterday, and it could have been in the 15-20 range if the guys he was passing to were knocking down shots.  He also showed some pretty good body control on his drives:

Last year, that is a charge. Here is another one of Williams' passes:

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Sebastian Pruiti

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Avery Johnson and Sam Mitchell seem ready to watch some Nets' Summer League Basketball.  NBATV has been hyping up this game all day, and if you have NBATV or Summer League Broadband, you are going to be able to see Derrick Favors matched up against Evan Turner.  Honestly though, I am excited to see Terrence Williams play.  Most guys who have NBA experience tend to do much better in Summer League games because they are used to NBA-speed. If Williams has a good game, we don't want to make too much of it, but if he struggles, it might be a little bit worrying.

The third quarter of game 3 is finishing up as I type this.  So we are probably about 20-30 minutes away from tipoff.  Use this as your open thread, but I am going to have to ask that you guys don't post links to illegal streams.  It just makes more work for me because I have to delete them.

Sebastian Pruiti

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Lost in all of the free agency craziness is the fact that the Orlando Summer League starts today, and the Nets are one of the eight teams participating.  The Nets are ready, as they made final cuts yesterday to get the roster down to 11 players.  The Nets have three guys who are guaranteed to be on their opening day roster (barring any trades).  Derrick Favors, Damion James, and Terrence Williams all will be starting, with Williams playing shooting guard (my guess is that the Nets want to start him at SG, while bringing Courtney Lee off the bench).  Rounding out the starting lineup are the two players with make-good contracts (guaranteeing that they will be in camp, with a chance to make the final roster), Ben Uzoh and Brian Zoubek.  Ben Couch has the rest of the roster on the Nets summer league homepage.

I am really exciting about watching summer league, especially after last year's fiasco.  Unfortunately, they won't be streaming the games free this year, but you can watch them online (if you don't have NBATV) by ordering the Summer League Broadband package from NBA.com.

The Nets game vs. Evan Turner and the Sixers starts today at 7, and their schedule the rest of the way looks like this:

• 7/6 - 7:00 vs. Indiana
• 7/7 - 5:00 vs. Orlando
• 7/8 - 5:00 vs. Utah
• 7/9 - 12:00 vs. Boston

Sebastian Pruiti

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For a change of pace, let's start with the vacant GM spot and some interesting candidates the Nets have been speaking with. Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski says the Nets have spoken to Hornets GM Jeff Bower about their opening. With the Hornets ownership situation in flux, Bower could look to bolt NOLA. Al Iannazzone is reporting that the Nets also spoke to Pistons GM Joe Dumars, in addition to Bower.

With Bower one of the candidates, Dave D'Alessandro brings up some potential controversy with him and new coach Avery Johnson. Johnson felt a bit slandered when there were reports out of NOLA that Johnson was "power hungry" and "money hungry" in his interview with Bower - reports that Johnson believes the organization spread. Considering the bass-ackwards nature of what's going with the Nets right now - usually the GM is in place before the head coach is, this could get interesting, and messy, quickly.

As for the LeBron James saga, all reports are pointing to a decision on Thursday, when a salary cap is set for the season and players can officially sign with new teams. Ianazzone, quoting league sources puts the Nets in the "final three" with the Cavs and Bulls. The Knicks, in all of their infinite wisdom, apparently scheduled a second meeting this past weekend with LeBron's folks, though it doesn't appear that James, or anyone significant from the Knicks side attended. I guess they just wanted to give commenters over at TheKnicksBlog something to get excited about... which if you're in the mood for some crazy talk, is a recommended place to cruise these days. Meanwhile, the Nets are still in contact with David Lee, according to Fred Kerber.

Mark Ginocchio

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With the courtship of LeBron officially over, the Nets are doing the same thing they've done the past few days: wait for an answer. With reports from Dave D'Alessandro that Mikhail Prokhorov's Gulfstream V jet has left New Jersey, the story remains - the Nets are waiting out LeBron, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Sources close to Mikhail Prokhorov say that LeBron is 50-50 on coming to the Nets. Only after those three give their answers will they turn to a Plan B, which is a bit more complicated. According to Fred Kerber, the team is not looking to spend money just to spend money, and given some of the contracts that have been handed out already in free agency, that could be hard. They may still try and make a run to acquire a SF via trade, but not at the expense of Derrick Favors, Kerber writes. They could make a run at David Lee or Carlos Boozer to play PF, or they might seek a shorter-term stopgap like Udonis Haslem or Luis Scola. It's possible that if the "big three" spurn them, the Nets could sit on their cap space another summer and wait out Carmelo Anthony. Despite rumors that he's ready to sign with the Knicks, the Nets, and other teams, apparently have meetings set-up with Amare Stoudemire for later this week, according to Sam Amick and NBA Fanhouse.

Meanwhile, those still figuring out if the Nets are in on "Plan A," Chris Broussard, in an ESPN video doesn't dismiss it. He weighs out the three possible options for Chris Bosh and where he will follow LeBron and/or Wade.

Mark Ginocchio

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Remember how funny it was when the Knicks powerpoint presentation to LeBron James was leaked to the press on Friday? Well, while digging around for possible leads on Cleveland's pitch to LeBron today, I stumbled upon this. I mean, how could King James say no to this?:

Mark Ginocchio

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As we enter day three of free agency, the news with the Nets seems to be that they're keeping their focus on the "Big Three" of free agency, LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. According to a report this morning from Al Iannazzone, no other free agent meetings have been scheduled this weekend, and with reports yesterday that Amare Stoudemire was New York-bound and Paul Pierce was returning to Boston, more names are coming off the board for the Nets.

One player the Nets do seem certain to keep, if you believe a report from Dave D'Alessandro, is Derrick Favors. Rumors that the Nets are looking to package him and Devin Harris to Indiana for Danny Granger seem to be false: “Not the way this kid has played the first three days,” said one giddy practice witness, nodding toward Favors. “He competes like hell, and he’s even shooting it well right now. He’s got a chance to be really, really good.”

LeBron meets with Chicago and Cleveland today, considered the co-favorites to land him. He has no deadline to make a decision, but multiple reports the past few days indicate he's not going to linger too much on a decision, especially with the other big names being impacted by where he ultimately goes.

Mark Ginocchio

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LeBron James

Age: 25

Height: 6-8

Position: SF

Key 2009-10 Stats: 29.7 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 8.6 apg, 50.3% fg%, 31.1 PER

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Devin Kharpertian

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BALLER!!!

For the past few days, I've been using that word to the point where I'm severely annoying everyone. Well, more than usual. In fact, I'm fairly certain my NAS colleagues, or as I like to call them - John, Paul, and George (I don't mind being the ugly one that still tours, didn't lose his money to a pegleg, and doesn't look like Angela Lansbury) - have read many emails that contained the word, "baller" when it comes to that unavoidable image across from Madison Square Garden along Eighth Avenue.

It's an image that's panties in a bunch inducing (not the sexy type).... gets one all hot and bothered... puts a burr under one's saddle... and has someone ask, "Would you like some cheese with that whine?" All of this happens if you just got your face rocked by...

... the most BALLER move ever!... MORE →

Dennis Velasco

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