Once again we visit the “what have you done for me lately” NBA. This time a team with no talent called appropriately the New Jersey Empty Nets have been called upon to fire a once upon a time young coaching prodigy. His name is Lawrence Frank and he is now referred to as the Ex-Coach of the New Jersey Empty Nets.

You have to understand that in the NBA, if you have no talent or your talent screws up and you lose a bunch of games, the first person to have their head removed is the coach. Is it Lawrence Frank’s fault?

Does a front court of Brook Lopez, Terrence Williams, and Courtney Lee scare you? Only if you happen to be their coach. Does a back court of Rafer Alston, Devin Harris, Chris Douglass-Roberts, and Trenton Hassell rotating in and out to squeeze a few extra ounces out of your guard play even make sense? Not if you happen to be the Empty Nets coach.

Will Lawrence Frank end up on Dancing with the Stars?

So did anyone expect the Empty Nets to produce anything beyond empty stands of no fans once Vince Carter, Richard Jefferson, and Jason Kidd were dealt away? How good were those players? Hmm, Orlando took in Vince and will go for the Conference finals in the East. Richard Jefferson went to San Antonio and they will challenge the Lakers for the West. Jason Kidd led the Olympic team and now makes Dirk Nowitzki one of the most feared forwards in the league.

Yes, Rod Thorn is doing an excellent job of systematically destroying the Empty Nets.

So who are the prime candidates to replace Frank?

GM Kiki Vandeweghe prominently has been mentioned as a replacement, but one team source strongly denied the possibility. John Loyer, in his first season as Nets assistant but 10th overall in the NBA – he did nine years with the Sixers and Blazers – is a possibility along with other assistants Doug Overton, Roy Rogers and Barrise.

But Thorn said he will be meeting with candidates from outside the organization. A source from an opposing team said that former Rockets, Bucks and Lakers head coach Del Harris is one option.
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By the way, one time Kiki Vandeweghe was playing for Denver, your intrepid author NBAObsessed thinks, and he was on a fast break to the basket and had this uncanny knack of finishing in what seemed like slo-motion. So while other defenders flew by him trying to block his shot he slowly made his moves to the basket and laid it in. He was really a true joy to watch. That has nothing to do with any of the above, but thought you might enjoy that story.
Image: Zuma Press

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And the winner is…
But first a word from our sponsor…You! Hey, you, click on some of those ads off to the side and keep this blog a rolling. Rolling, Rolling, Rolling.
Now back to Billie Crystal as he announces the best player pickup in the off season…
Drum roll ta ta ta ta tata.
Richard Jefferson by the San Antonio Spurs.
Come on up Richard.

Congratulations and guess why you were number 1?

Jefferson (14 votes)
The first big move of the offseason will prove to be the best move, more than one-quarter of our voters said. RJ is the piece that will get the Spurs back into the West’s elite. Jefferson’s shooting numbers were down last season with the Bucks, but he shot 40 percent from beyond the arc and still knows how to score. Playing in a winning atmosphere certainly will help matters, too.

Most important, perhaps, is that RJ has been healthy for the past two years — something the Spurs’ big three has not been — and he’s still on the right side of 30. If he proves to be the perfect fit, the Spurs could push the Lakers for the Western Conference crown.

source

Duncan will have Richard Jefferson to help him to the NBA Title

Squibster take: This one stood out for me, because Richard Jefferson has been a quality player on a couple of confused teams. Now he won’t have to be the team leader. The Spurs have plenty of those guys. He can do what he does best and slash to the basket. Spurs may be once again looking at NBA title contention.

O’Neal to the Cav’s – does Shaq have enough left in the tank?
Artest to the Lakers – can Phil Jackson handle this guy? If he does then Phil goes to the Hall of Fame without retiring.
Carter to Orlando – Plenty of O, but will he deliver the D?
Marion, Miller, Turkoglu, and Wallace round out the field with Rasheed to the Celtics maybe paying the biggest dividends.

Photo source Newscom

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Tim Duncan will once again have a team to write home about. There was serious talk that the Spurs had just grown too old and too complacent to be kings of the hill any more. Were they facing the same fate as the Pistons and heading into a slow destruction while still winning quite a few games, but not enough games?

It made for a very important off season for the San Antonio Spurs and future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan.

Tim Duncan is ready to challenge for the NBA title!

So how did the Spurs do? It appears a major upgrade took place and the Spurs can’t wait to start the season. Richard Jefferson, once one of the big three in New Jersey with Kidd and Carter, was added to the team along with veteran Antonio McDyess, a stand up guy and a stand out 15 foot jump shooter.

If it was only those two players you would have to be happy, but the Spurs appear to have some up and coming young talent including second round pick, the supposedly undersized DeJuan Blair.

Former University of Pittsburgh star DeJuan Blair, once considered a lottery pick, slipped all the way to 37th overall, where the Spurs gobbled him up like Homer Simpson would a doughnut. After a standout college career, Blair entered the 2009 draft following his sophomore season. In his second season at Pitt, Blair, who averaged 15.7 points and 12.3 rebounds (a whopping 5.6 of which were offensive) per game, led the Panthers to the team’s first ever No. 1 national ranking before falling to Cleveland State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
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Spurs fans everywhere have to be excited about this team!

Photo source Newscom

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Look out Lakers.
Look out Celtics.
Look out Cavaliers.
Can we say Look out Nuggets? We are saying it. Look out Nuggets.
The Spurs are coming back with a vengeance.

First they picked up Richard Jefferson. They gave up Bruce Bowen, among others, but may get him back.
Jefferson will give them more scoring from the forward position.

Tim Duncan will be back with new friends

Now there are rumors of talks with Rasheed Wallace to increase the front line size and Rasheed still has plenty of game left.

The draft may present them with the possibility of getting Taj Gibson, the super junior big man from USC. Even with USC’s tall guards, the offense and defense still ran through Taj Gibson.

This could give the Spurs another NBA title.

If Wallace were to sign with the Spurs, San Antonio would have one of the best starting fives in the NBA with Duncan, Jefferson, Ginobili and Parker, catapulting the team into the upper-echelon of the league.
Should Wallace sign elsewhere or decide to walk away from the game altogether there are a few available options on the free agent market that could benefit the Spurs on the cheap… at least, compared to the money Wallace is expecting.

Former Denver Nugget Chris Andersen averaged over six rebounds and 2.4 blocks (second in the NBA to Dwight Howard) despite playing just 20 minutes per game could be available for a relative bargain and 13-year veteran Antonio McDyess, who is chasing an NBA title, is a possibility as well.

source

Photo source Newscom

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The masked man, Andrew Bogut, gets a lot of dough

Image details: Chicago Bulls v Milwaukee Bucks served by picapp.com

It is a big pile of money. Bigger than you will see in your lifetime of slaving at a regular job.

Andrew Bogut will sign a 5 year extension for 72 million bucks.

The signing should also silence critics who feel the team hasn’t shown a commitment to winning, Bauman said. The hiring of Scott Skiles as coach and the trade for Richard Jefferson demonstrated to Bogut that the team was making a push to be competitive.

“These moves show Andrew this team is committed to winning now,” Bauman said.

The extension does not affect the nearly $7 million Bogut is owed for the upcoming season, the final year of his rookie contract.

Despite the Bucks’ struggles in the past two seasons, Bogut indicated he wanted to stay with the team.

He played in 78 games last season, averaging 14.3 points and 9.8 rebounds.
source

Ordinarily, you would find me critical of a signing like this, but this is not the ordinary. John Hammond helped Joe Dumars build the Pistons and now he is trying to do the same with the Bucks. Think it over; they now have Michael Redd at shooting guard, Andrew Bogut at center, and Richard Jefferson at small forward. That is a pretty powerful nucleus. Throw in Scott Skiles at coach and this team is ready to move up the ladder!

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It was fitting that the Big Three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen all had great games as Boston won again.

Kevin had 20 points and 11 boards.

Paul had 18 points and Ray had 16 points.

With this victory the Celtics matched the 1959-60 Champion Celtics for best start in franchise history.

Final Score Boston 86 – New Jersey 77.

The New Jersey nets just seemed to wear down in the fourth quarter as the Celtics got a lot of help from their bench throughout the game.

“We got down on the road and our starters needed some rest,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “The bench was able to dig it out and get us the win. They were huge for us. Every game, we try to get our big guys rest because its a long season and were trying to give the bench more confidence.” source

The Celtics bench is often criticized, but will have to perform well if the Celtics have any chance of winning the NBA Championship, so Coach Doc Rivers was very pleased.

Maybe it was a battle of benches, because the starters for New Jersey did fine. Although, the team missed a ton of free throws going 9 of 24.

Richard Jefferson led the Nets with 17 points, Vince Carter had 16 and Josh Boone added 14 and a career-high 16 rebounds. Jason Kidd just missed another triple-double with 11 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists.

NBA Basketball Jason Kidd factoid - The assist by Kidd on Carter’s jumper with 8:07 remaining in the third was the 9,062 of his career, moving him past Isiah Thomas into fifth place on the all-time list.

So where do the Celtics go from here? Great defense, good coaching, solid bench play, almost unbeatable home and away…

It all comes back to the Big Three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen.

Kevin Garnett, especially, is on track for an MVP season and the winning certainly will attract the votes.

NBA Basketball Fan Question Would you vote for Kevin to be MVP?

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What do you mean ‘No Love’?

Jefferson, that is Richard, not Thomas, and that is hoops, not Congress.

And that is 4 commas in one short sentence.

Which fits, because Jefferson is only 6′ 7″ and 225 pounds. Not exactly Shaq sized, but in today’s NBA and the emphasis on speed and gliding to the hoop, Richard Jefferson is doing just fine.

The whole key is his health. Now that Jefferson has it and Vince Carter on one side and Jason Kidd in the middle, there is no stopping him. The problems lie in the fact that you can stop the Nets. They are 3 – 7 in their last three games and 10 – 14 on the season, all while Richard is second in the conference in scoring and heading for and All Star season.

ABC analyst Mark Jackson, who does Nets games for the YES Network, says Jefferson had been the most consistent Net in New Jersey’s first 21 games.

“You look at the impact he is having on ball games — win, lose or draw — he hasn’t disappointed,” says Jackson. “He is playing his best basketball and it is really fun to watch night in and night out.”

Though the 6-7, 225-pound Jefferson is having an All-Star caliber start, that wasn’t his goal.

“I didn’t want to average 20 points,” Jefferson says. “I didn’t want to make the All-Star Game. I didn’t want to do this or do that. I came in saying, ‘Hey, I just want to be healthy.’ And I’m glad I’m healthy.” source

Back at Arizona

You could tell Richard would be great when he met up with my Michigan State Spartans in his last year in college at Arizona back in 2001. My Spartans were led by Jason “Jrich” Richardson and the two met head to head. It was no contest. At that time Richard Jefferson was bigger, stronger, and just plain better. It was a shock to Spartan fans.

Get Rid of Richard Jefferson

Richard is healthy and teamed with Carter and Kidd and playing at a very high level. But the Nets are not winning and that is a problem. The talk is about breaking up the big 3 players.

Breaking this trio apart has been suggested before. It just seems appropriate now because if the floundering Nets are going to address the next phase of this franchise – contending for a title, filling that new arena in Brooklyn, etc… – they should be thinking trade right now, well in advance of the February deadline.

And they should trade Jefferson, who at 24.9 points per game, still has lots of value. The big hurdle is Jefferson, who will earn $12.2 million this year, still has another three years and $52 million left on his contract. But he should be moved to rebuild. source

Leave it to Rod Thorn and the Nets to always be moving the pieces. Gotta feeling that there are plenty of teams out there drooling at the prospect of picking up a player of Richard Jefferson’s caliber.

Will he stay or will he go? Nobody knows.

Break up the Big 3? Hey, thought the Big 3 was officially up in Boston now?

Rod ought to wake up and realize the Nets have historically stunk on Defense and have lacked a true presence in the middle for years.

Richard Jefferson is not the problem and besides, Richard is healthy!

NBA Basketball Fan Question Would your team trade for Jefferson?

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