The days are flying by—as are the NBA trades and free agent wheelings and dealings. Let’s take a look at what the latest address changes represent for player and team.
Eduardo Najera—New Jersey Nets
Constant hustle, belligerent defense, and as evidenced by a new-found proficiency from beyond the arc, the ability to learn new tricks are primary qualities of Najera’s professional attitude. A high character individual on and off the court, Najera’s work ethic will rub off on New Jersey’s young front line and should serve as a beacon as to how to play the game the right way.
Since New Jersey is in the midst of a rebuilding process, the signing of Najera will have more long-term benefits than short-term ones, but his energy alone won games for Denver last season.
Grade: A+
Jarvis Hayes—New Jersey Nets
Hayes is a willing defender and long-range bomber who sometimes becomes too trigger-happy when given a green light. He’s also athletic enough to run in transition, which is probably the style that will serve the Nets best next season. Expect Hayes to be the primary wing backup next season over Bobby Simmons.
Grade: B+
Keyon Dooling—New Jersey Nets
The lithe Dooling’s best qualities are his above average defensive skills at the point-guard position, and his athleticism which allows him to get into the paint more often than not. He doesn’t have great playmaking skills, nor does he have three-point range, but he’s adept at creating chaos and tempo off the bench.
Grade B
New Orleans—James Posey
If Posey is right, he’s exactly the player New Orleans needs—a tough, strong, wing defender who can hit important shots in important games. However, after his first championship with Miami in 2006, he reported to work out of shape, and was a profound disappointment in 2007. Plus, at the ripe age of 31, he isn’t as quick as he once was, and should continue to decline, especially if he doesn’t take care of his body.
Assuming Posey heads to New Orleans in shape and energized for the chance to win a ring with a third team, then he’ll automatically take over as the team’s best wing defender, and with Tyson Chandler, Morris Peterson, and David West, to go along with the quick-fingered Chris Paul, the Hornets should boast an exceptional defensive core. Also, Posey will give the team a three-point outlet in fourth quarters of big games when Peja Stojakovic waves his magic wand and makes himself disappear.
Posey might be an expensive burden at the tail end of his contract, so his final grade will be determined by whether or not he can push the Hornets over the hump the next two seasons.
Grade: B+
Anthony Johnson—Orlando Magic
Strong, unathletic, and possessing more heart than skill or court awareness, Johnson is a veteran duplicate of Jameer Nelson, which may not be a good thing. AJ’s always been more adept at creating for himself than others, and his defensive abilities are eroding with time. He’s certainly capable, but couldn’t the Magic find anyone better suited to leading an up-tempo unit off the bench, or making good decisions in the half court?
Breaking Down The Deals, Edition 2
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17 comments Last one added 11 months ago — Leave a Comment
Greg Haefner 11 months ago
Love this article.
The only thing I disagree with is Marcus Williams, as I think you have judged - and criticized - him a little too quickly, given that he was a rookie last year.
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Erick Blasco 11 months ago
Last season was Williams' second NBA season.
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Greg Haefner 11 months ago
My bad I was thinking of the other Marcus Williams who was picked No. 33 overall by the Spurs in last year's draft.
Judge away, sir.
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Erick Blasco 11 months ago
Gotta hate those duplicate names.
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Michael Inglis 11 months ago
"and is basically a worse version of either Marcus Camby"
Are you saying Camby is a a bad player?
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Erick Blasco 11 months ago
No, I'm saying that Anderson shares some qualities with Marcus Camby and with Eduardo Najera, but he isn't as pronounced in those qualities as either Camby or Najera.
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Michael Whittenberg 11 months ago
Great stuff, but I have to argue the A+ you gave for the Nets. Najera is a great guy, but I can't see him making a big impact.
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Erick Blasco 11 months ago
He'll flat out win a handful of games for New Jersey just with his energy, something he did a lot last year with Denver. For a young team with very low expectations, those wins will be something to feel positive about. He'll also get the team into a habit of valuing every possession and bringing constant energy. That won't make a difference next year, but it will in Sean Williams', Josh Boone's, and Brook Lopez' careers.
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Brandon Schleigh 11 months ago
I think you've underrated Matt Barnes.
He is a deadly shooter when he is consistent. Prior to last season he averaged almost ten a game for the Warriors and then last season I think he averaged 7 a game. Barnes said he hasn't really been the same last year since his mother died in the beginning of the season and that may be why he didn't play so well. However the case may be he still didn't have a great year last year but the Suns are great at finding players under valued and resurrecting their careers (Raja Bell, Tim Thomas, Grant Hill).
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Erick Blasco 11 months ago
"He is a deadly shooter when he's consistent."
Every shooter is deadly when he's consistent. It's like saying a player's a great scorer against teams that don't play defense. This is the NBA, what can you consistently do extremely well? For Barnes, it's run, jump, pick up a steal or a block here and there, and finish well in early offense.
His career 3-point % is 32.4% That's below average. Even during 2007, his 3-point % was only 37%, decent but nothing special. Can he provide spacing for Phoenix, something they lacked last season? Can he consistently defend? He's just a streak scorer off the bench, and is worse than Grant Hill and Boris Diaw at the same position.
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Dave Finocchio 11 months ago
To say that Matt Barnes is a streaky player doesn't even begin to capture the range of his performances.
When he gets into good shooting rhythms, they tend to last for multiple weeks, and the confidence he gains from made shots will translate over to the rest of his game. However, when he's missing his shots, he gets down on himself really easily, and makes a lot of stupid, over-aggressive plays on the defensive end.
In short, I think the guy's heart is in the right place, but he doesn't have a great temperament to be a solid role player in the league.
In terms of the Suns signing Barnes, I agree with Erick's analysis that he doesn't fit in to their "new" style of play. Perhaps it's time to consider that Steve Kerr doesn't have a real plan, and is throwing darts against the wall to see what sticks?
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Erick Blasco 11 months ago
I think Kerr's simply trying to mold the Suns into a halfcourt-oriented, power basketball team. But all the holdovers from before last season don't mesh. The Suns lineup is much more versatile than it's been in the past as they can go small and fast, or big and strong, but the team is still weak on defenders and spacing. They need to fix that if they want to be anything more than a first round exit again.
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sam the fact checker 11 months ago
what about ramon sessions backing up mo williams for the bucks. sessions was amazing at the end of the season and played really well during summer league...yea it was during the end of the season when noboidy tried but his numbers for the last month were quite exceptional...dont you think sessions might be backing up williams and lue just riding the bench...
and maybe you were a little too hard on chris anderson and the nuggets...instead of an f...maybe a d or d-...haha...becasue nuggets really needed someone cheap to replace camby and because the nuggets are over the payrol by a loooooooooot of money...anderson might be somewhat understanable becauses he cheap...haha...
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Erick Blasco 11 months ago
It's hard to know just how good Sessions is just from a month of impressive games. Walter Herman broke out during the last couple of months of 2007 for the Bobcats and then disappeared.
Lue can also play the 2-guard off the bench in a pinch. If Sessions backs up his strong 2008, it isn't out of the question to see Lue and Sessions on the floor at the same time. I'm not sure where Charlie Bell fits into the equation then. He never wanted to return to Milwaukee after 2007's offseason, and had an uninspired 2007-2008.
For the most part, I look at deals as to how they'll help their team out on the court the next season. Anderson's a cheap scrub. There are plenty of other players out there who can do more than Anderson. Even Kwame Brown would have made sense before the Pistons picked him up.
Thanks for dropping the line.
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sam the fact checker 11 months ago
wow thanks for mentioning walter herman...as a huge bobcats fan i was pretty sure noone out side of the the bobcats fan base knew about his amazingness in the last couple months of the 2007 season...i dont think it wasent hermanns fault thought...i really thought coach sam vincent was going to play him a lot at the bigenning of the 2008 season but herman just never got off the bench...didint really know why...but oh well...i guess were just gonna have to see how sessions does in the first couple months...
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A-Train 11 months ago
Nice job, E.
I agree with all except for Marcus Williams--I think he'll be out of the league in a few years.
Turiaf can be a solid guy.
Najera was a great pick up in the context of what the Nets are trying to do. Nobody is expecting the Nets to compete anytime soon, but he's a great addition for character reasons. I like it.
I'm not a Chris Anderson fan. He's just big and active. But he doesn't know what he's doing.
Good read.
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Erick Blasco 11 months ago
I'm not sold on Williams either and I hate him as a pure point guard. But he can shoot alright and he'll make plays in a broken field. If he'll succeed anywhere, it will be Golden State, though I don't think he has Warriors-type athleticism.
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