Hey guys - with about 500 things going on with this team right now, I thought I'd bring back the fuller a.m. link dump rather than the single links I've been doing since the season ended in April. However, I urge you guys to comment on the news that way you have been with the daily links:

So, one of the biggest things about Mikhail Prokhorov signing on to the Nets was this idea that with his money, charisma and business drive, he could change the decades-old negative perception around the organization. And if you read this morning news about LeBron James and his free agency plans, Prokhorov could be enough to snag the world's most coveted free agent. Al Iannazzone reports that Prokhorov and co. will be the first to make their pitch to James once free agency opens later this week.  The Frank Isola/Mitch Lawrence Daily News New York Knick cheerleaders CONTINUE to dismiss this notion that LeBron would never sign with the Nets because it would involve this horrifying notion of playing 10 minutes outside of NYC in Newark for 2 years before moving to Brooklyn (I'm still waiting for a non-speculative report from someone who is not Isola that explains to me how two years of Newark and three years of Brooklyn could damage LeBron's marketability compared to him just playing at the World's Most Famous Arena for the World's Most Embarrassing Owners in the Dolans). However, Iannazzone quotes someone close to LeBron saying:  "He’s coming to New Jersey." While that source is about as reliable as Jalen Rose telling people he's 100% certain LeBron might leave Cleveland, there's food for thought there.

Meanwhile, in one of the most rational pieces I've read yet on LeBronmania, Steve Politi of the Star-Ledger weighs the pros and cons of Newark.

Dave D'Alessandro reports the Nets might have to give up a piece of their young core (Devin, Courtney or TWill) in order to shed some of their dead financial weight (Yi) to make a run at two max free agents.

Sam Arnick of Fanhouse chides the Nets for not having a "plan B" in place with Rod Thorn leaving on July 15. Meanwhile, top candidate Jerry Colangelo says he doesn't know anything about being in line to replace Thorn.

Did Russian spies push Rod Thorn out of the organization?

Former coach of the year Sam Mitchell has been taken on as one of Avery Johnson's assistants while Tom Barrise and John Loyer have also been retained as assistants.

Mark Ginocchio

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Remember the post that Devin did the day of the draft talking about a media event that Derrick Favors was at? Well, we have found video of some of it, so take a look (the audio comes in low for the first few seconds and then returns to normal).

Sebastian Pruiti

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Yesterday I recorded an interview with Brian Doolittle, the man who runs the radio show At The Buzzer.  We covered a number of things the Nets draft, the CDR trade, and of course free agency.  While it is a St. Louis radio station, you can still listen to it online here.  The show starts at 6.

Sebastian Pruiti

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One of my favorite sayings about the Nets (and one I used a ton when trying to explain any Nets' move) was "In Rod We Trust."  After July 15th, that saying is going to be pretty much useless because according to ESPN's Chris Broussard writing for ESPN New York, Rod Thorn is stepping down:

Thorn, the Nets president since 2000, is under contract through June 30 but will remain for two weeks to help the club through the first two weeks of the free-agency period.

Thorn is not being forced out by new owner, Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, and there is no tension between the two, according to sources.

"They've given Rod everything he could want," a league executive said. "This is entirely his decision."

Many people are going to remember Rod Thorn as the "Man who drafted Michael Jordan," but what he did in New Jersey is going to always stick with me.  Thorn did a great job of bringing in talent and also getting rid of talent at just about the right time.  He somehow kept the team competitive, creatively bringing in big player after big player, retooling instead of rebuilding.  And when he finally decided to rebuild, he swiftly made that decision and took a roster of older, big salary players and stripped the roster down to a young core, most of them still on their rookie contracts.

Despite the 12 win season last year, I think that Rod Thorn did a fantastic job of putting this team in a very good position to turn around quickly.  Usually rebuilding takes 5-6 years (just look at teams like Indiana and Detroit) but Rod Thorn has put the Nets in a position to make the playoffs next year, even if LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, or Chris Bosh don't come to New Jersey.

Moving forward, the obvious choice for the new Nets GM has to be just fired Portland GM Kevin Pritchard.  In case you don't know who Pritchard is, he is the man who turned the Blazers around in short order and he wasn't fired because he was doing a bad job (there was some ownership issues there).  Prokhorov was willing to give Rod Thorn $8 million over two years, and in my opinion I don't think he'd have any reservations about opening up his check book and writing down a hefty sum to sign Pritchard, one of the best GMs in the league...even if he's unemployed.

Sebastian Pruiti

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The New Jersey Nets have added at least two undrafted free agents to their summer league roster today.  One was an expected name, and the other not so much.  According to a tweet from Draft Express (who did a fantastic job during the whole draft process, you really need to check them out) Brian Zoubek will be joining the Nets in Orlando:

Brian Zoubek will play summer league with the New Jersey Nets in Orlando.

This is the one that I expected.  Zoubek was an offensive rebounding machine, and a solid performance could mean that he gets picked up by the Nets as Brook Lopez's backup.  How good of a rebounder is Zoubek?  Well, according to Pomeroy Rankings, he was ranked 1st in terms of offensive rebound rate and 36th in defensive rebound rate.

The second undrafted player that will be joining the Nets is Wayne Chism.  According to GoVolsXtra, Chism will be playing for the Nets in Orlando:

Former Tennessee player Wayne Chism has agreements to play for New Jersey in the NBA's Orlando summer league and Sacramento in the NBA's Las Vegas summer league after not getting drafted Thursday night.

This one is more of a flier (as you can tell by playing for two different teams in two different leagues), and a bit of a surprise if you want my honest opinion.  At Tennessee, I liked Chism as a player, and he is a pretty athletic guy, but he is one of those "tweeners" without a position.  He is like James (who the Nets drafted at 24) that is plays between Small Forward and Power Forward, but I don't think he is physical enough for the NBA.

Anyway, some interesting signings and I am looking forward to seeing the Nets play in Orlando on July 5th.

Sebastian Pruiti

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It all began a long time ago when my mother and father met in Japan where my dad was studying ninjutsu and my mother was visiting from the Phillipines. It was there that they decided to come together. As a result, I was born into this crazy world and 30+ years later, find myself at the 2010 NBA Draft as a credentialed media member representing NetsAreScorching.com. Now, I hold Sebastian and Mark (Devin, not so much) in the highest regard and didn't want to disappoint them with my coverage... especially since I wasn't certain how I would cover the draft. I was more lost than the passengers of Oceanic Flight 815. Obviously, admitting not knowing what to write about is not an admission that will promote confidence in my ability to write for NAS, but honestly, I got to take a picture with Craig Sager, adorned in that beautiful lavender of his and that's pretty *damn cool!

*Sebastian had to remind me to not curse when I wrote this, otherwise, I would have used a more profane adjective in front of "cool."
... MORE →

Dennis Velasco

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With the 3rd pick, the Nets selected Derrick Favors out of Georgia Tech. They also traded their remaining two picks for the rights of Damion James. I'll give this draft a B, just because the James pick was a bit of a head-scratcher. What do you guys think? This thread is here for those who want to talk the draft before the posts tomorrow.

Sebastian Pruiti

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The Chat will start right around 7...this should be fun...

Sebastian Pruiti

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Hopefully, it's the New Jersey Nets. -Derrick Favors

Today, at Champs Sports in Manhattan, I had the illustrious pleasure of interviewing Derrick Favors, the power forward who will likely be wearing a Nets uniform this season (and Adidas shoes - they announced a multi-year partnership today) . While a lot of questions were thrown around, I got the chance to talk to Derrick about a lot of subjects leading up to the draft.

First things first: Derrick expressed very clearly that he wants to be a New Jersey Net next season. He said numerous times that the Nets were his choice if he had the option. When asked if he was leaning towards any team, Derrick said without any hesitation, "Hopefully it's the New Jersey Nets....I'm gonna work hard and whatever team picks me, picks me. Hopefully it's the Nets though."

Because the draft is so soon and our chat will be up soon, I'm just going to go through some of his answers quickly.

-When asked about fitting next to Brook Lopez: "I think it'll be a good opportunity for him. He's a good young post player that I could learn a lot from. I could work out with him, and hopefully the Nets pick me so I can help them out."
My take: Loving his confidence. He's talking about not only how he could help the Nets, but talking about what an opportunity it would be for Brook to play with him, as well as the other way around. Big fan of this answer.

-When asked about the perception of him being a project, and how much he can contribute next year: "It just depends on how much hard work I put in during this offseason, and as soon as a team picks me, I'm gonna go straight to the city and start working out, so that's the way I look at it."

-About the Nets: "I feel that it's a great opportunity. Young, rebuilding team, good head coach, a new owner, they're going in a new direction & I hope I can be a part of it, to help them accomplish what they want to accomplish in the next few years."
My take: I'm in love. The guy's done his research on the Nets and wants to be a part of the team. He wants to help out and be a part of the team's success. He's either been trained very well or he's just a very smart guy. I don't care which. I'm just happy.

-First thing he's buying with his contract: "A new house for my mom, but after that, I don't know."

-Skills we'll be seeing in the NBA that we didn't see in college: "My high post game. I know a lot of people didn't get a chance to see that at Georgia Tech because I was playing mostly low post."
My take: If his high post game is special, he'll complement Brook perfectly. Another perfect answer for a guy who wants to be in New Jersey next year.

-On possibly playing with Gani Lawal next year: "That would be a blessing. He helped me out through college, and if we're lucky enough to be on the same team next year, he can help me out again, and I can return the favor."
My take: Another answer oozing with smart confidence. Not only does he give props to the guy who helped him adjust (and take the high road), but also says slyly at the end that he could return the favor in the NBA. Big fan of that.

-On what a team will get with Derrick Favors: "Hard work, going out there and giving 100% every night."

-When asked who he would take number one: "Myself."

-On the workout with DeMarcus Cousins & the Nets: "I think we did good against each other. We've been playing against each other since high school. We're pretty much used to playing against each other. ... You know how DeMarcus play, he's a big strong guy, so he's going to do his thing. But I think I showed a lot of skill that they didn't know I had. ... It went real good. We did a lot of conditioning drills, a lot of skill drills, it was a good workout."

-On what part of his game is most underrated: "My faceup game. They just think I'm an athletic guy who just dunks all the time, but I can face up, shoot the jumper, drive, so that part of my game."
My take: It sounds like he really wants to work at complementing a low-post player as well as possible. Another great sign.

-On the Nets in FA: "Whoever they sign, I'll be happy to be along for the ride."

-On who he wants to play against: "Anybody. I'm excited to play against any power forward in the NBA. It's all gonna be a learning experience my rookie year, but I'm excited to play against all of them."

-Who he looks up to: "I look up to Kobe a lot. He was the first player I really knew about. (Were you rooting for the Lakers?) Yes. (Congratulations.) Appreciate it."

On a young kid asking about next season: "It's gonna go good. I'm gonna work hard and have a good season."

So there you have it. I was already leaning back towards Favors, but this interview sealed it for me. Hopefully we see Favors in a home uniform at the Rock next year.

Devin Kharpertian

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We here at NetsAreScorching are going to be covering the draft a few different ways tonight.  Most importantly, we are going to be at the draft as a credentialed member of the media, as Dennis Velasco will be at the draft doing his thing.  Look for some stuff from him tomorrow.  The rest of us will be participating in a Nets oriented live-chat here on NetsAreScorching.  The draft will start at 7, so make sure you check it out. Also, Devin Kharpertian will be meeting Derrick Favors for a media-day thing in New York today before the draft, so expect something from Devin on him before the draft tonight.

We aren't done yet.  If you want a more NBA-themed draft chat, well we got you covered.  Over at ESPN there will be a Daily Dime Live tonight, and I will be heading there during the Nets picks to discuss their picks.  So if you want to follow the Nets and their draft, NetsAreScorching.com is the place to be.

Also, I did a little something for Dime on the Nets and the draft.  You can find it here.

Sebastian Pruiti

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So after a three-day period where the Nets appeared to be going every which way with their draft picks and assets, this morning, there seems to be some universal belief that the Nets were going to take the guy they were projected to grab at #3 from the get-go - Derrick Favors .... maybe.

In Al Iannazzone's write-up, Favors appears the favorite, though there's still a problem in that Mikhail Prokhorov wants to "win now" and the organization may not be able to wait on Favors to develop. So, the alternative is taking the older and more polished Wesley Johnson and sign a PF in free agency.

But who knows what's going to happen on draft day. As NetsDaily reminds us in their preview this morning, the Nets have pulled off major trades on two consecutive draft days - swapping Richard Jefferson for Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons in 2008, and the Vince Carter trade last summer. Julian Garcia thinks Yi could move tonight, though Devin Harris is still a possibility as well. And what's the deal with Chris Paul?

I think, this is without a doubt the most interesting draft day for the Nets in years, and they haven't even made a major deal yet unless you consider dumping the Shakespeare of Twitter for a bag of magic beans major. My expectations for activity are mixed. On one hand, I could see a major, major roster shakeup happening tonight, though I could also see the Nets hold serve, draft Favors, and then enter free agency with a more conventional core to build around. The rumors lately have concerned me in that it feels a little Knickerbockeresque in approach - blow through every asset the organization has just in pipedream of an attempt to woo LeBron and a buddy to the Nets.

Mark Ginocchio

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For the record, this was up a 5PM, but just on the wrong site.  I accidentally posted it over at my other site NBAPlaybook.  I am a dummy, sorry for the confusion...

• With the 29th pick, the Magic selected Quincy Pondexter
• With the 30th pick, the Wizards selected Craig Brackins

And now, with the 31st pick in the 2010 NBA Draft the Nets select Stanley Robinson, Forward out of the University of Connecticut

As you guys may have noticed, the Nets need bodies going into the next season, but not only bodies, but athletic bodies.  Last year the Nets were way too old and nonathletic in the frontcourt playing guys like Josh Boone, Trenton Hassell, and Jarvis Hayes meaningful minutes.

Robinson, while looking like an old man, has a live body and will run around and create chaos, even dunking on a few people.  He's raw, so this may be a good pick for the Nets to take, stash him in the D-League and hope he develops.

Sebastian Pruiti

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