Every team has talent. Look at Charlotte--they're just loaded: Felton, Jason Richardson, Gerald Wallace, and Okafor--That's probably equal to our top-four, and they're terrible!
There are three things that set teams apart, in my view.
(1) Ability to play together. You could have all the talent in the world, but if you're selfish, the team isn't going to win in this league.
(2) Ability to play defense.
(1) and (2) are somewhat related in that they require the team to be on the same page, and be together, and they are impacted by the ability of the coaching staff.
(3) Depth of the bench. The better teams have shooters up and down the bench that are almost interchangable with the starters. Look at Portland--they can bring James Jones and Travis Outlaw off the bench! And Jarrett Jack and Frye can score, too, and meet the first two criteria.
So:
Trading the Nets' starters for new starters isn't going to help unless you can improve (1) or (2). The Nets starters play very well together, especially with Boone and Smokey in there. They actually are playing at a quicker pace than they have in years, which plays to Kidd's strength.
Can you improve their defense? Well, among the starters, the weak link is clearly Vince, and he's not terrible. Kidd is erratic but can bring it defensively when he has to, and Boone and Sean will improve greatly over the next year or so, so there's no reason to pull the plug on them.
That leaves us with . . . the bench. The way to most improve this team is to improve the bench. As. it. has. been. every. year. for. the. past. five. years.
Stop talking about trading the nets' starters! The Nets need young atheletes who can shoot and be pests on defense. These guys are actaully AVAILABLE but the nets have chosen instead to sign veterans every year to one-year deals. From the looks of things, this will continue and continue.
Trading Vince for Pau or RJ for O'Neil will not make the team better. It'll just shuffle the pieces a little bit. Remember, the bench players, in total, will use up roughly between a QUARTER to a THIRD of the team minutes. In other words, the bench, in total, is worth MORE than a starter. The Nets' bench is TERRIBLE--one of the bottom five in the league in terms of both production and defense. Maybe Charlotte's is worse. Minnesota's and Memphis' might be better.
Everyone harped on how Collins was the worst starter in the league . . . well, the Nets' bench is worth MORE than a 20-minute-per-night starter, and it is worse than Collins. THIS should be the target of everyone's ire. THIS is where the Nets should figure out how to improve the team--but by "blowing up" the starting unit. Blowing up the starting unit will NEVER improve the team UNLESS we get a better bench.
