With Dwight Howard apparently socked away in Orlando until March when the trade rumor carousel can start again (if it ever settles), the Nets are stocking their roster with short-term deals. But that doesn’t mean they are looking way down the road. The time to win is now. And general manager Billy King feels they can do just that.
“Yeah, I think so,” King said of winning now. “If you look at it, having Deron Williams, one of the best point guards in the league, makes you a better team. Having Brook [Lopez], who’s bigger, didn’t come in with mono [like last year when he fought the disease’s aftereffects]. He’s one of the top five centers in the league … Anthony Morrow, one of the best shooters.”
King admits there are holes. But the Nets are filling in here, pasting there, and spackling everywhere with versatility and some specialization. They reached agreement with two-position forward Shawne Williams, a shooter. They brought in non-guaranteed Ime Udoka, who’s a two-position defensive wing. Earlier this week, they brought in another ex-Knick Williams — Shelden — who plays both power spots. They hope to sign one of the league’s most versatile players, forward Andrei Kirilenko.
Many of the Nets free agent targets went off the board — Caron Butler, Tyson Chandler, Tayshaun Prince and Nene. But King has waded through with caution and patience and still has over $18 million, including Kris Humphries’ $6.4 million cap hold, to spend. Of course, he still needs players.
“We all understand where we’re trying to get to and that’s where the confidence comes from,” King said. “We all understand where we’re trying to get to and don’t want to make a mistake … I knew if we wanted guys we could get them. If it wasn’t taking us in the direction we want to go, I didn’t want to just do it.”
The guy to get is Howard, who in Orlando yesterday said his trade request “still stands.” The Magic hope to keep him but there is no way on Earth it wants him coming to the All-Star Game in Orlando wearing an opposing uniform. So the Nets are perfectly content to wait until the March 15 trading deadline. If Orlando keeps Howard beyond that, he could walk and the Magic get zip.
The Nets are maintaining flexibility and not committing to anyone long term — they used the amnesty clause on Travis Outlaw yesterday. They would like Humphries back, short term for big bucks. Meanwhile, they hope to thrive through versatility.
“The goal is to still make the playoffs. That’s where you start,” said Deron Williams.
“We take pride in trying to be creative with the roster we have, trying to play guys in their strengths,” said coach Avery Johnson. “We’re going to have some different lineups out there that’s not going to be a traditional type lineup. We may be smaller in some positions.
“We feel our roster today is still better than what we started with last year, it’s not a championship roster yet but we’ve made strides,” Johnson continued. “Our priorities are to continue to improve. Everybody would like to make the playoffs. I don’t want to get used to having that meeting with players the day after the regular season and everybody cleaning out their lockers. I like to be game-planning for a playoff opponent.”