So far, the story of the trade is that the Nets dumped Andrei Kirilenko’s contract, attached some deep-future picks and Jorge Gutierrez to sweeten the pot, and saved themselves eight figures in the process.
But for 76ers coach Brett Brown, there’s a much deeper impact: losing new Nets acquisition Brandon Davies, who was a little-used forward but an integral part, in Brown’s mind, to the culture he wanted to build in Philadelphia.
From CSN Philly:
“When you start losing people that you are very fond of and have tremendous respect for … there is a human side of it that bothers me because you are trying to grow chemistry, you are trying to grow a culture,” Brown said after Thursday’s practice.
“That takes a hit when teammates lose teammates. There is a respect, effort-wise, of how they go about their business. There is a reality to our job that is just business in the NBA, but it doesn’t mean it has to feel right.”
…
“He is a role player, but we saw him grow his perimeter game,” Brown said. “We saw him make some turn-and-face jump shots. He always played with that reckless abandon. He is one of those low-maintenance guys that teams look for who want to have high-character, solid people at the 15, 14, 13 roster spots. I think his better days are ahead of him because he improved with us.”
The Nets have targeted high-character players in recent years and avoided those with checkered pasts and presents — their refusal to re-sign Andray Blatche, despite a career-best two seasons from the center, is a testament to that. Davies appears to fit the mold of a high-character backup with a strong work ethic.
Even so, Davies isn’t a budding superstar or potential dominating force. Those quotes, which are glowing about Davies’s character, tell the story of the complementary player he can be at his best. But with Kirilenko needing to pay much more attention to his personal life, it helps that the Nets can get a team-first 23-year-old to replace him.
Davies is expected to make his debut with the Nets Friday night in Barclays Center, where the Nets take on… the Philadelphia 76ers.
CSN Philly — Brett Brown upset by Sixers’ trade of Brandon Davies
