Netlinked 9/4/12: It's Too Early To Call the Nets A True Part of Brooklyn

This is a sign many Nets will see when they head from the Barclays Center after games back to wherever they reside for the season; be that in New Jersey, Manhattan, or anywhere else for that matter.

New Nets beat-writer for the New York Times, Howard Beck, published an interesting piece in today's paper about how the Nets need time to truly become a fabric of Brooklyn's very complex and interesting culture. He cites how no Nets plan to live in Brooklyn during this upcoming season as many will chose to be closer to the team's current practice facility, the PNY Center in East Rutherford, NJ, the same place the team has practiced since they played at the nearby Izod Center.

It is for this reason that Beck says that until the Nets establish a brand-new practice facility in Brooklyn itself (sites in the borough as being visited by the Nets' front office currently), no one on the team will live in Brooklyn thus distancing the Nets from the borough they represent. It's an interesting point nailed down by the final lines of the article:

Brooklyn seems ready to adopt the Nets. It may be a while before the Nets adopt Brooklyn.

I haven't thought of this before, the fact that the Nets' only true current connection to Brooklyn is where they play and what's on the front of their jerseys. However, that idea will probably become naught in the upcoming seasons when the Nets start to practice in Brooklyn and develop legitimate roots in the storied borough. And when that happens, it's gonna be even more fun and exciting to be a Nets fan than it is now.

Andray Blatche Becomes Latest Player to Be Linked to Nets; Will Meet With Avery Johnson in Houston

Blatche was amnestied this offseason by the Wizards to shed themselves of his $23 million contract, making him a nice, low-risk potential addition for the Nets

According to the New York Times, amnestied Wizards power forward Andray Blatche and Nets' coach Avery Johnson, are scheduled to meet in Houston in the upcoming days to gauge each parties' interest in a potential training camp contract. Since the Nets' acquisition of Donte Greene ended up stalling, the team has an open roster spot for a power forward/center with some size, and Blatche fills that mold.

When healthy, the 6'11'' 26-year old has proven that he can provide decent to good scoring and rebounding numbers, posting careers averages of 15.7 points and 8.6 rebound per 36 minutes respectively. Honestly, with a guy that has Blatche's talent, there is almost no risk for the Nets to bring him aboard for training camp and beyond.

He doesn't have to play 20 minutes a night; he can just sub in occasionally to give the starters or higher reserves a blow when needed and can help out on the boards and maybe score some points in his action. With a roster as filled out as the Nets' is, having another player who has shown he can effective in the NBA can never hurt, and is a low-risk, medium-reward transaction. Of course, you can't go wrong with one of those.

After Breaking Ankle, Donte Greene's Deal With The Nets Stalls

Looks like Donte Greene won't be a Net as soon as we thought he would be. It's being reported (and has been for a few days) that the former King needs surgery for a fractured ankle he received while playing in a pick-up game last week in Charlotte. Just more wonderful injury news for the Nets, as we certainly haven't had much of it in recent years (snickers bitterly).

This recent development has led Billy King to look around the free agent pool for a suitable alternative Greene, who, it's important to note, could still very much end up a Net but with his timetable unknown, nothing is for certain right now.

Names are being floated around the Nets right now by the usual assortment of "insiders" (no, you suck Chris Broussard, you taint actual NBA insiders everywhere) and beat writers, but nothing is even close to happening right now.

Just stay tuned to Brooklyn Balling and we'll update you on both Greene's contract situation and Billy King's  search for a potential replacement for him. However, know that it won't be Hilton Armstrong, who signed with Panathinaikos in Greece a few days ago.

To Fill Out Roster, Nets Are Working Out Hilton Armstrong And, Gasp, Eddy Curry

This is what Eddy Curry is associated with right now in his career. The only thing he could provide for the Nets is another mouth to feed, a hungry one at that.

Yep, Eddy Curry, seriously. In their seemingly desperate search for a back-up center, the Nets have tapped former NBA player Hilton Armstrong and Eddy Curry for work-outs. NBA fans in the New York City area should know both of these players well. Armstrong, a Westchester, NY native, was a star at the nearby basketball powerhouse University of Connecticut while Curry played on the Knicks from 2005-10.

Unlike the addition of Donte Greene to the team, I don't like Armstrong or Curry as potential members of the Nets. Both players have nice size but Armstrong just hasn't been able to convert his physical skills into solid performance during his NBA career while Curry has suffered from a myriad of injuries, weight problems, and even a heart condition in recent years.

Sorry Billy King, but neither of these guys would be a good fit on the Nets and certainly wouldn't be more than a benchwarmer at this point in their respective NBA careers.

Netlinked 8/28/12: Former Nets Edition And More

Oh boy do I miss that guy. Remember when we called him Veal Scalapini? No? Ok, maybe that was just my dad and I

Former Net, and current league-wide, fan favorite Brian Scalabrine is close to joining the Chicago Bulls' coaching staff as an assistant. I knew he was a good bench cheerleader but assistant coach? Kinda surprising.

Ex-Net point guard Jacque Vaughn, who played with the Nets from 2004-06, has been hired by the Orlando Magic to succeed Stan Van Gundy as their head coach.

Yet another former Net, forward Eduardo Najera, has officially retired from the NBA to serve as the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks' D-League affiliate, the Texas Legends. He will also hold an ownership stake in the Legends and will serve in some capacity in the Mavs' front office.

Shelden Williams has signed with Elan Chalon, a French team. In 58 games with the Nets last year, the Duke product averaged 4.6 points per game and 6.0 rebounds per game.

More links after the jump:

Brooklyn Nets Jerseys to Be Unveiled on September 28th

These depictions may or not turn out to be the Nets' legitimate jerseys for their debut season in Brooklyn at the Barclays Center, but we won;t know for sure until the 28th, a month from today

It's official, one month from today, at the opening concert (and event) of the Barclays Center, the Brooklyn Nets' first jerseys as a team will be unveiled. That day, September 28th, is also the date of the first event at the Barclays Center which happens to be a Jay-Z concert. I can't even begin to describe how pumped I am to see the much-hyped and anticipated Nets jerseys end up looking like. I really hope they don't screw this up.

Deron Williams and Joe Johnson: A Match Made in Heaven

The two guys in the middle; pretty important to the future of the Brooklyn Nets

February 23rd, 2011 and July 11, 2012. Those are two dates that will live on in Brooklyn Nets history forever. The former, in 2011, was of course when the Nets traded Derrick Favors, Devin Harris, two 1st-round picks, and cash considerations to the Utah Jazz for one of the top point guards in the entire NBA: Deron Williams. Prior to the trade going through, the Nets were heavily rumored to be going after, and nearly trading for, Carmelo Anthony from the Denver Nuggets until he was dealt to the Knicks on the 21st of February.

The latter, occurring just last month, was when the Nets emptied their roster by dealing Johan Petro (thank God), Anthony Morrow, Jordan Williams, Jordan Farmar, DeShawn Stevenson, a 2013 1st-round pick, and a 2017 2nd-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks for their All-Star shooting guard, Joe Johnson. Similarly to the D-Will trade, this deal went largely under the radar until it went through as JJ was not widely reported to have been on the Nets' offseason wishlist.

Appropriately so, a crazed and long-loyal Nets fan like myself was going mildly nuts after hearing of each of these blockbuster deals. In 2011, with the Deron deal, I was on vacation in the Caribbean with my family when my dad gets an email on his phone from the Nets' organization. When I read the headline announcing that my favorite NBA team had traded for a star, specifically one of the best points guards in the NBA, I flipped out.

No, I didn't care that we essentially gave up three 1st-round picks (including Favors, selected in the draft preceding that season) for D-Will, I only cared that the Nets had finally gotten the franchise point guard that we had been searching for since trading Jason Kidd to the Mavericks a few years prior. I immediately dropped my regrets about missing out on Carmelo and didn't even care he went to the most-hated basketball team in my mind, the Knicks.