<H1 class=red>Open season on free agents
</H1>Nets out to address frontcourt issues
Friday, July 01, 2005 BY DAVE D'ALESSANDRO
Star-Ledger Staff
In the late evening of April 20, on a typically dismal night at the Air Canada Centre, Raptors forward Donyell Marshall looked up at the out-of-town scoreboard and saw that the Nets had been triumphant in their must-win game at Boston.
"Well, well," the 11-year veteran said to someone seated beside him. "It looks like my new team is going to the playoffs."
While the Nets are certainly interested in the free-agent sharpshooter, Marshall's remark illustrates how attractive the Nets have become in eyes of quality veterans looking for a change of address.
And though the team has only a few methods in which to sign free agents when the market opens today -- one is with a trade exception valued at $4.9 million, the other is the mid-level exception of roughly $5 million -- they hope to find at least a few live bodies to add to what can be a very strong roster heading into the 2005-06 season.
"We are going to address our frontcourt issues as quickly as we can," team president Rod Thorn said. "We certainly need another big player who can play in our rotation and be a good player for us. We are still a small team right now."
Hence, the first call Thorn and GM Ed Stefanski made at 12:01 this morning was to Aaron Goodwin, agent for Portland forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim. While there will be a great deal of competition for the nine-year veteran, the Nets believe they have an advantage for one reason: Abdur-Rahim's relationship with Lawrence Frank. They worked together for three seasons in Vancouver and even attended each other's wedding.
"I think that will play a big part, as will Shareef's relationship with Jason Kidd," Goodwin said yesterday. "But he's going to look at a lot of situations. There is interest in New Jersey, definitely. But I also expect to hear from Washington, Orlando and, possibly, San Antonio and Miami. And unfortunately for the Nets, they all need that position (upgraded), and they know of Shareef's ability to score and defend both three and four."
The problem is that Abdur-Rahim would have to settle for the exception money from the Nets, whereas teams such as Charlotte, Atlanta and Cleveland -- who will show varying degrees of interest -- have the cap space to blow any Nets offer out of the water.
That may not be the case with Marshall, who may be resigned to settling for the mid-level exception, that extra fund that teams over the cap use to sign free agents.
"The Nets are very high on his list, because they fit a couple of criteria we've discussed," agent Andy Miller said. "He wants a winning situation and he wants to play with some All-Star level players who can allow him to fit into his specific role, whether that's as sixth man or as a starter. But the other variable is the marketplace: What will the market bear for a player of his caliber? I can't determine that now, but somewhere over the course of the weekend, we'll get a better gauge."
The third big man the Nets will pursue is Stromile Swift, a dazzling athlete who has never found his niche in Memphis -- mostly because he'd rather jump over people instead of working on his technique -- and won't re-sign there by mutual agreement.
"We have mixed feelings about him," one Nets official admitted. "But he can block shots, he's lively, and for the way we want to play, he'd fit. So he's a guy we have to look closely at."
The Knicks will also recruit Swift, which ordinarily would be ample reason for the Nets to dismiss the idea as imprudent. Both teams will also consider the centers from the draft class of 2001 -- Sam Dalembert, Kwame Brown and Eddy Curry -- who are all restricted free agents.
Dalembert, however, is expected to be retained by Philadelphia, Brown is undeniably talented, but doesn't deserve a long-term commitment after walking out on the Wizards during their playoff series against Chicago, and Curry has a heart condition and is likely to be used by the Bulls as sign-and-trade bait.
League-wide, the biggest prizes are wings such as Ray Allen, Michael Redd, Larry Hughes and Joe Johnson. The point guard class is extremely weak, but the Nets will consider backups such as Milt Palacio and Tyronn Lue.
Negotiations can begin immediately, but instead of the usual two-week recruitment period, players cannot sign until July 22, because the lawyers need the extra week to finish mangling the language on the new collective bargaining agreement.
</H1>Nets out to address frontcourt issues
Friday, July 01, 2005 BY DAVE D'ALESSANDRO
Star-Ledger Staff
In the late evening of April 20, on a typically dismal night at the Air Canada Centre, Raptors forward Donyell Marshall looked up at the out-of-town scoreboard and saw that the Nets had been triumphant in their must-win game at Boston.
"Well, well," the 11-year veteran said to someone seated beside him. "It looks like my new team is going to the playoffs."
While the Nets are certainly interested in the free-agent sharpshooter, Marshall's remark illustrates how attractive the Nets have become in eyes of quality veterans looking for a change of address.
And though the team has only a few methods in which to sign free agents when the market opens today -- one is with a trade exception valued at $4.9 million, the other is the mid-level exception of roughly $5 million -- they hope to find at least a few live bodies to add to what can be a very strong roster heading into the 2005-06 season.
"We are going to address our frontcourt issues as quickly as we can," team president Rod Thorn said. "We certainly need another big player who can play in our rotation and be a good player for us. We are still a small team right now."
Hence, the first call Thorn and GM Ed Stefanski made at 12:01 this morning was to Aaron Goodwin, agent for Portland forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim. While there will be a great deal of competition for the nine-year veteran, the Nets believe they have an advantage for one reason: Abdur-Rahim's relationship with Lawrence Frank. They worked together for three seasons in Vancouver and even attended each other's wedding.
"I think that will play a big part, as will Shareef's relationship with Jason Kidd," Goodwin said yesterday. "But he's going to look at a lot of situations. There is interest in New Jersey, definitely. But I also expect to hear from Washington, Orlando and, possibly, San Antonio and Miami. And unfortunately for the Nets, they all need that position (upgraded), and they know of Shareef's ability to score and defend both three and four."
The problem is that Abdur-Rahim would have to settle for the exception money from the Nets, whereas teams such as Charlotte, Atlanta and Cleveland -- who will show varying degrees of interest -- have the cap space to blow any Nets offer out of the water.
That may not be the case with Marshall, who may be resigned to settling for the mid-level exception, that extra fund that teams over the cap use to sign free agents.
"The Nets are very high on his list, because they fit a couple of criteria we've discussed," agent Andy Miller said. "He wants a winning situation and he wants to play with some All-Star level players who can allow him to fit into his specific role, whether that's as sixth man or as a starter. But the other variable is the marketplace: What will the market bear for a player of his caliber? I can't determine that now, but somewhere over the course of the weekend, we'll get a better gauge."
The third big man the Nets will pursue is Stromile Swift, a dazzling athlete who has never found his niche in Memphis -- mostly because he'd rather jump over people instead of working on his technique -- and won't re-sign there by mutual agreement.
"We have mixed feelings about him," one Nets official admitted. "But he can block shots, he's lively, and for the way we want to play, he'd fit. So he's a guy we have to look closely at."
The Knicks will also recruit Swift, which ordinarily would be ample reason for the Nets to dismiss the idea as imprudent. Both teams will also consider the centers from the draft class of 2001 -- Sam Dalembert, Kwame Brown and Eddy Curry -- who are all restricted free agents.
Dalembert, however, is expected to be retained by Philadelphia, Brown is undeniably talented, but doesn't deserve a long-term commitment after walking out on the Wizards during their playoff series against Chicago, and Curry has a heart condition and is likely to be used by the Bulls as sign-and-trade bait.
League-wide, the biggest prizes are wings such as Ray Allen, Michael Redd, Larry Hughes and Joe Johnson. The point guard class is extremely weak, but the Nets will consider backups such as Milt Palacio and Tyronn Lue.
Negotiations can begin immediately, but instead of the usual two-week recruitment period, players cannot sign until July 22, because the lawyers need the extra week to finish mangling the language on the new collective bargaining agreement.
:notworthy
