Kittles NOT protected!?

[throwback]

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">With the Charlotte Bobcats entering the NBA next season, a Nets source said the franchise's second all-time leading(kerry kittles) almost certainly will be left unprotected for the June 22 expansion draft.</div>

this took me by suprise, but maybe it's a sign that they want to improve the sg position. if you read the article it says the bobcats most likely wont pick him b/c of the money, but u never know. he is a vet who knows how to win which could benefit a brand new franchise, even if that means you have to dish out more money than you want.

players said to be protected: kidd,kmart,rj,twin,train,zoran,debo, lu/veal(should be lu over veal b/c lu is a vet and makes less than kerry does. so he might go over kerry and lu is one of our leaders)

NY Daily Times full article

 

[Henacy]

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting throwback:</div><div class="quote_post">this took me by suprise, but maybe it's a sign that they want to improve the sg position. if you read the article it says the bobcats most likely wont pick him b/c of the money, but u never know. he is a vet who knows how to win which could benefit a brand new franchise, even if that means you have to dish out more money than you want.
[/url]</div>

Thats is exactly it the Nets are going to try to upgrade the shooting guard. Its going to be sad in one way if KK goes because he has been with us since we drafted him in 96'. He has had some good years for us like in 1997. He has been here thru the bad years & the good years. But you can tell these last past 2 seasons that his best years are behind him. And its time for the Nets to upgrade at that position.

Even if the Bobcats dont take him(which would surprise given the fact that he can go thru stretches where he looks like one of the top shooter in the league) I think Kittles will be gone in some type of offseason trade. Or if he doesnt go then the Nets will ship Lucious Harris in a package deal.

 

[og15]

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Bobcats GM Bernie Bickerstaff has said that the only veterans he wants are those with one or two years remaining on their contracts. However, Charlotte, which must select at least 14 expansion players, will start with just two-thirds of the league's salary cap (perhaps $31 million). A Bobcats source said the team likely would pass on Kittles because of how much he'll make.

However, according to expansion rules, teams can entice the Bobcats by offering them draft picks and up to $3 million to select certain players to get them off their cap.

"I'm not sure what we are going to do," Nets CEO Rod Thorn said regarding protecting players. "You never know what transpires between now and the end of the season, who is going to be hurt, who is not. You look at what you have and who you think might be picked." </div>

I don't know if they'll take him but this is what they said.

 

[King James X3]

This move would make absolutely no sense what so ever. Why would New Jersey just give away their shooting guard? Doing so would leave them without a replacement, they're so far over the cap and their draft picks are never going to be high enough to get a talent the caliber of Kittles. Perhaps he is overpaid, but with New Jersey always in the elite teams in the Eastern Conference, now isn't the time to be giving away talent just to save a buck...

 

[throwback]

yea, thats why it shocked me. i think kerry's days in jersey are numbered. the guy will always have a special place in hearts of nets fans b/c when we sucked, he did ask to be traded, he didnt bitch about how bad we sucked. we when started winning he never took any credit, he never said it was about time he had success in his career as a net. there are days that i swear i want to trade him as soon as he gets on the bench, then there are days that you love him b/c he can't miss. but thats his problem, too inconsistant the past years. imagin if kerry was consistant these passed two/three years. he gets the ball from kidd, just cant convert enough times. he also seems to shy away from shooting some days. even when byron was the coach he kept saying they want kk to shoot more.

i think they are puttin kk on the unprotected list b/c they probably figure the chances of him getting picked is 40%. that gives them one spot to protect a player like lu who has a smaller contract but also has experience. if you look at other teams, you see they have younger, faster guards. then when i see lu have to guard faster, younger guys it gets me upset that we havent upgraded that position in a while. that position is supposed to be one of your best, if not your best, shooting position. hence the name shooting guard. we need a guy we can be a 3pt threat consistantly and drive down the lane and kick out or make a layup or floater. kerry sometimes attacks the rim, but he cant really break someone down and create his own shot. we need someone who can do that. i would love to keep kerry, but i think he is done being a starter. i think he would act professional if we moved him to the bench. but if that did happen, i think it would make the players feel weird and since they are all friends they would want him to start. so i think if we upgrade that kerry will most likely be gone. maybe for a draft pick or trade him in some kind of package and maybe nets pay some of his contract. well, we can talk about this when the off season comes and if anything further happens. then we can throw names out who should replace kerry/lu or both.

 

[Henacy]

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting throwback:</div><div class="quote_post">yea, thats why it shocked me. i think kerry's days in jersey are numbered. the guy will always have a special place in hearts of nets fans b/c when we sucked, he did ask to be traded, he didnt bitch about how bad we sucked. we when started winning he never took any credit, he never said it was about time he had success in his career as a net. there are days that i swear i want to trade him as soon as he gets on the bench, then there are days that you love him b/c he can't miss. but thats his problem, too inconsistant the past years. imagin if kerry was consistant these passed two/three years. he gets the ball from kidd, just cant convert enough times. he also seems to shy away from shooting some days. even when byron was the coach he kept saying they want kk to shoot more.

</div>

This is exactly how I feel about Kerry Kittles. As a Nets Fan I feel like I been thru the struggle with KK. I mean I remember when everybody was saying he might not ever play again after he missed the entire 2000-2001 season with the leg injury. He fought back and came back as a solid 2 guard. But you can see the injuries over his career have taken a serious toll.

I remember the Kittles from 97' when he was lighting fast.And was o0ne of the best defenders at the 2 guard spot. He was extremely aggresssive on both ends of the court. But after 98' he has never really been that type of player ever again. But He never blamed his play on injuries nor did he ever degrade his teammates during the losing years like some former Nets have done(like Kendall Gill). He just suffered thru the losing years kept his head up. And then excepted a less role on this current Nets roster. So I give him a alot of credit for having that type of class. But on the other hand I wish he would take a more aggressive role on the team.

Kittles is the difference maker for the Nets. He the one person who can stretch a teams defense with his shooting. And when he being aggressive.And knocking down the jumper, the Nets are a totally different team. But He doesnt come out every night with the aggressiveness it takes for him to be affective. And with the way the current NBA is, getting scoring on a consistent basis from the 2 guard spot is extremely important.

So with that being said it is time to find away to upgrade at the 2 guard spot.

 

[InNETSweTrust]

Wow, this took me by surprise. They're leaving Kittles who's one of the few reasons that they have a decent perimeter game and one of the reasons why the Nets perimeter defense is outstanding and not to mention someone who can also finish the break. But I guess this is all business. I would've to agree that they'll be needing a more consistent SG. But I'm sure Kittles will always have a place in the hearts of Nets' fans. He's a role model as a player and as a citizen

Throwback may have a point though. They're leaving Kittles unprotected because there's a very slim chance that he'll be taken considering the money that he's making.

 

[#1NETSfan]

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting King James X3:</div><div class="quote_post">This move would make absolutely no sense what so ever. Why would New Jersey just give away their shooting guard? Doing so would leave them without a replacement, they're so far over the cap and their draft picks are never going to be high enough to get a talent the caliber of Kittles. Perhaps he is overpaid, but with New Jersey always in the elite teams in the Eastern Conference, now isn't the time to be giving away talent just to save a buck...</div>
I agree. It would make no sense. At least trade him for someone or a draft pick. Not flat out give him up.

 

[throwback]

im sure rod thorn has thought this out and doesnt fear giving our sg away for nothing. as for backup, we do have lucious harris and possibly keeping brandon armstrong. the only way i see kerry being in a new uniform next year is via trade. he has a rather big contract for a guy who has slowed down over the years and hasn't been as effective, but he also is a guy who can be a leader for younger players. he can teach them how to respect the game, teammates and learn how to play TEAM ball. he was never a ballhog kind of player. if he was hot he took the shots, if he isnt hot then he passes to his teammates. he still is a good defensive player, but offensivly he is very,very sporatic. if he was more consistant we could have possibly won the champ last year and won more games this year.

as we all know, half-court offense isnt our specialty. therefore if we do get a new sg, we need a sg who can create his own shot and penetrate the defense.im not asking to get this guy or denying wanting to get him, but a player that comes to mind is a guy like allen iverson. he can obviously create his own shot, he can penetrate the defense and over the years he has gotten his teammates more involved with his assits going from 5.5apg to 6.8apg this year compared to last. hes a guy that could help us in the half-court offense b/c he can go 1on1 and win, can penetrate and dish out to a guy with an open look or could dish it inside to kmart or collins if he can handle it. you can also have rj or jkidd penetrate and create an open shot for ai(or whoever the sg is) and he would actually make the shot more than not,unlike kerry were has b/c inconsistant in his jumper. a guy like ai who can also be a good defender, ai avgs 2.38spg as his career avg. a sg who can also take the last shot of the game. with rj's improving jumper and ability to get to the rim and take guys 1on1 and of course jkidd,that would give us 3 perimiter options. we could also dump it down to kmart. iknow a guy like ai probably wont get 27-30pts a game in our system, but he won't have too. he wouldnt get banged up as much on this team b/c he would actually have other options. we need a guy who can stretch the defense and drain the 3 consistantly and have a good jumper and break down the defense. a shooting guard might be the 2nd or 3rd most important postition on a team. of course i think the pg is the most important b/c he is the qb, then pf then its basically a toss up between sg and sf.

kerry has show a lot of heart and dedication and loyalty to the nets, but its just time. business is apart of the game, and kerry will know it IF it happens. we are just speculating that kk will be gone next year. hes a true professional and would understand that we absolutly need to improve. whatever the outcome of the playoffs are, we need to improve. we need to improve our sg, c and bench. later on i'm going to make my 'offseason wish list'. but for now, lets hope kerry doesnt fade away in the playoffs. he won't have to worry about houston, so he should not have a hard time on defense and should be able to get any shot on offense, xpecially with his height