Happy weekend. Here’s the latest Nets news and notes from around the ‘nets:
- As you might expect, the Nets have some ties to March Madness. Here’s the guys with bragging rights on the line: Thomas Robinson (1-seed Kansas), Wayne Ellington & assistant coach Joe Wolf (1-seed North Carolina), Donald Sloan (3-seed Texas A&M), Shane Larkin (3-seed Miami), new assistant GM Trajan Langdon (4-seed Duke), and Chris McCullough (10-seed Syracuse).
GM Sean Marks had the worst upset on the team, as his fourth-seeded California Golden Bears lost in the first round. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (6-seed Arizona) and Sean Kilpatrick (9-seed Cincinnati) also might get some trash talk after both their alma maters lost in the first round, as well as assistant coaches Jim Sann & Jay Humphries, who both went to eliminated 9-seed Colorado.
- In the mood for weekend March Madness? At Barclays Center Sunday, #2 Villanova takes on #7 Iowa at 12:10 P.M., while #6 Notre Dame takes on #14 Steven F. Austin at 2:40 P.M.
- As we’ve mentioned a few times before, this Sean Marks section of the season serves largely as an audition for current players. Marks is using this time, in his words, to evaluate the roster and see who he wants on the team going forward. He’s already signed Sean Kilpatrick to a multi-year deal and waived Andrea Bargnani.
Another player in audition mode: Sergey Karasev, who doesn’t have a contract for next year after the Nets declined the fourth-year option on his rookie deal, worth $2.45 million. Net Income of NetsDaily notes that this is a real opportunity for the 21-year-old Karasev, who has struggled in limited time this season but can be a creative passer and cutter.
Karasev would likely only earn a minimum contract, given that he’s an end-of-the-bench backup on an 18-49 team, but the Nets couldn’t legally offer him more than the worth of his fourth-year option anyway.
- Joe Johnson on why he chose the Heat over other, more talented teams after the Nets waived him. Very fair. Also, have you been to South Beach?
- Thaddeus Young on playing through a losing season: “If that’s it, I’m gonna go down swinging with the knife. That’s what I continue to do. Just keep trying to fight my way out.”
- Hey, Brook Lopez: where did those 600 three-point attempts go?
