Netlinked 10/22/12: Former Nets Terrence Williams and Chris Douglas-Roberts Released; Nets Voted Most-Improved Team

After an All-American career at the University of Memphis, Chris Douglas-Roberts was a star, so it seemed like the Nets drafting him at 40th overall in 2008 was a major steal. Guess that didn't turn out exactly as expected, right?

We have some former Nets news today on Netlinked as a few former draft picks of the team were released today by their respective teams. 

First off, we have Terrence Williams who, along with Jonny Flynn, was cut today by the Detroit Pistons as a training camp invite. The Nets drafted T-Will with the 11th overall pick in the 2009 Draft out of Louisville and the guard/forward just couldn't find his place on the team, as he was traded to the Rockets midway through the 2010-11 season, just his 2nd in the New Jersey. Since then, he has bounced around from Houston to Sacramento and then finally Detroit.

A year before picking Williams, the Nets drafted Chris Douglas-Roberts with the 40th pick of the 2008 Draft, in the 2nd round out of Memphis. CDR was cut by the Lakers today but, unlike T-Will, was widely believed to have a legitimate shot at making the Lakers' squad. His skill set--bench scorer, occasional defense, consistent hustle--is one that a bunch of teams in the NBA could certainly use.

And finally, the NBA's annual survey of general managers came out today and the Nets were pretty well represented in the results. The most glaring and predictable of them? Roughly 60% of the 30 NBA GMs voted the Nets as the team that is most likely to be improved this upcoming season. Makes sense, the Nets have been flipped and turned upside down (to quote Will Smith from "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air") over the offseason and are a completely different team from last year, as most of you already know.

Houston Rockets Eliminated From Playoff Race, Keep Their Lottery-Protected 1st-Round Pick

By losing to the Miami Heat on Sunday afternoon, the Houston Rockets have been eliminated from contention for the 8-seed in the Western Conference and will spend another season not in the playoffs. Normally, this news would mean nothing to Nets fans but it actually is very important because by missing the playoffs and entering the lottery, the Rockets keep their protected-1st rounder that they traded to the Nets for Terrence Williams last season. This means that the Nets might not have a 1-round pick in this year's draft. On the bright side, the pick rolls over the next season and is once again lottery-protected so if Houston finally makes the playoffs, the Nets get their 1st-rounder.

Trade Speculation Candidate: Anthony Morrow

When he gets hot, Morrow is the most dangerous 3-point shooter in the NBA

In this truncated season, Anthony Morrow hasn't been amazing for all 35 games but has been one of the Nets' most reliable players on the offensive end. However, he could become a casualty of New Jersey's quest to clear cap space for this upcoming offseason as his 2-yr, $8 million contract, identical in pay and length to Jordan Farmar's, is one that GM Billy King would love to get rid of in a trade for an (hopefully) expiring contract that might be able to fill some of the production void left by Morrow's departure.

Honestly, Anthony is one of my favorite Nets right now and I would hate to see him go to another team but the truth is that may be necessary for New Jersey to acquire big-name free agents this summer (I think you guys know who I'm referring to explicitly). Let's take a look at two potential trade scenarios which could benefit the Nets, and the other team involved, in both talent and salary cap perspectives: