Post by verysilentone on Sept 22, 2010 0:49:33 GMT -5
Nets Draft A Whitey
This movie will be on AMC(American Movie Classics) one day, or at least the Nets GM thinks it will
We all learned a lesson from the great 1992 movie “White Men Can’t Jump”, but no one learned more than New Jersey Nets GM Danny Torres. Apparently this is the theme of the Nets roster and the movie poster is hanging on the wall of the GM’s office. With new GM took over prior to the 1992 season, he had three five players on the roster with Keith Van Horn, Rony Seikaly, George Muresan, Jim McIllvaine, and Jaime Feick. Van Horn & Muresan were traded immediately to the Milwaukee Bucks for Tim Thomas and Haywood Workman, while Seikaly played out the final year of his contract before signing as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers. McIllvaine was traded a couple of days later for Tony Massenburg. The Nets were stuck with Feick, but his contract expired at the end of last season.
Troy is happy to be back home
Now, these move could all be a coincidence but let’s look at the Nets moves over the years. The Nets trades have been for Tim Thomas, Haywood Workman, Erick Strickland, Samaki Walker, Tony Massenburg, and Marcus Camby. Their signings have included Mark Blount, Greg Anthony, Duane Causwell, Corie Blount, Antonio Davis, and Chris Whitney. In the draft, the Nets chose Ron Artest, and Lee Nailon in 1999, and Morris Peterson and Jason Hart in 2000. What do all these players have in common? They all have a darker complexion. The Nets made an unexpected and unprecedented move by drafting Troy Murphy 13th overall in the 2001 draft. The Nets obviously did not draft Murphy because of his skin color, so why were they so excited about the last pick in the lottery in this year’s draft?
Troy can score in many different ways
Well to start off, Troy Murphy is a versatile scorer. He can beat you inside and score very efficiently from the post. He can also go out and shot the mid range jump shot, but the unexpected part of Murphy’s game is that he can go out beyond the three point line and beat you from out there. He shot well on threes at Notre Dame, but he will need to adjust to the longer three point shot in the pros. Torres has been looking for a third scorer since he took over as the GM. He has not been able to find the right combination of players that would give the Nets a trio of effective scorers. Last year’s third scorer was Antonio Davis, but most of his scores came off of rebounds. The team was looking for someone to beat his defender and flat out score and Murphy seems like he can fit the bill. Another reason for Murphy was that he is a great rebounder. He averaged a double-double as a sophomore at Notre Dame, and last season he averaged just over 9 rebounds en route to his second consecutive 1st Team All American nomination.
[AD brought the intensity that the Nets will need to make the playoffs
[/i]This movie will be on AMC(American Movie Classics) one day, or at least the Nets GM thinks it will
We all learned a lesson from the great 1992 movie “White Men Can’t Jump”, but no one learned more than New Jersey Nets GM Danny Torres. Apparently this is the theme of the Nets roster and the movie poster is hanging on the wall of the GM’s office. With new GM took over prior to the 1992 season, he had three five players on the roster with Keith Van Horn, Rony Seikaly, George Muresan, Jim McIllvaine, and Jaime Feick. Van Horn & Muresan were traded immediately to the Milwaukee Bucks for Tim Thomas and Haywood Workman, while Seikaly played out the final year of his contract before signing as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers. McIllvaine was traded a couple of days later for Tony Massenburg. The Nets were stuck with Feick, but his contract expired at the end of last season.
Troy is happy to be back home
Now, these move could all be a coincidence but let’s look at the Nets moves over the years. The Nets trades have been for Tim Thomas, Haywood Workman, Erick Strickland, Samaki Walker, Tony Massenburg, and Marcus Camby. Their signings have included Mark Blount, Greg Anthony, Duane Causwell, Corie Blount, Antonio Davis, and Chris Whitney. In the draft, the Nets chose Ron Artest, and Lee Nailon in 1999, and Morris Peterson and Jason Hart in 2000. What do all these players have in common? They all have a darker complexion. The Nets made an unexpected and unprecedented move by drafting Troy Murphy 13th overall in the 2001 draft. The Nets obviously did not draft Murphy because of his skin color, so why were they so excited about the last pick in the lottery in this year’s draft?
Troy can score in many different ways
Well to start off, Troy Murphy is a versatile scorer. He can beat you inside and score very efficiently from the post. He can also go out and shot the mid range jump shot, but the unexpected part of Murphy’s game is that he can go out beyond the three point line and beat you from out there. He shot well on threes at Notre Dame, but he will need to adjust to the longer three point shot in the pros. Torres has been looking for a third scorer since he took over as the GM. He has not been able to find the right combination of players that would give the Nets a trio of effective scorers. Last year’s third scorer was Antonio Davis, but most of his scores came off of rebounds. The team was looking for someone to beat his defender and flat out score and Murphy seems like he can fit the bill. Another reason for Murphy was that he is a great rebounder. He averaged a double-double as a sophomore at Notre Dame, and last season he averaged just over 9 rebounds en route to his second consecutive 1st Team All American nomination.
[AD brought the intensity that the Nets will need to make the playoffs
Another thing that Murphy brings is the hometown connection. Two years ago, we learned that the Nets were bringing in local players in an effort to increase attendance. The strategy worked two years ago and now the Nets are doing it again, but hopefully this time it will bring a playoff appearance as well. Troy Murphy was actually born in Morristown, New Jersey, which is just 28 miles from East Rutherford and the Izod Center. Murphy could be the starting power forward in New Jersey next season, but he will need to improve his defense during training camp. The Nets are still looking to add some competition to the position, and will definitely be to resign Antonio Davis as one of the options. As of now, however, the job is Murphy’s to lose and he will need to keep it from Samaki Walker, who could take the job after playing very well last season off of the bench.
DISCLAIMER: I'm not racist, just realized this trend lol.[/center]
