By FRED KERBER
Posted: 5:00 am
June 28, 2008
Size. Check. Shooting. Check. Depth and scoring. Check. Some cap relief in the future, specifically 2010. Check.
The Nets are nowhere near a finished product, but in one draft night containing a very significant trade, the Nets addressed most of their often-glaring needs. In short, they liked their draft.
Team president Rod Thorn and general manager Kiki Vandeweghe drafted 7-foot center Brook Lopez for size and toughness, 6-10 forward Ryan Anderson for shooting and 6-6½ swingman Chris Douglas-Roberts for scoring and depth. That was after they landed 7-0 big upside project Yi Jianlian and 6-6 veteran Bobby Simmons from Milwaukee for Richard Jefferson. With the $22 million they will save, (Jefferson is due $42.4 over three years, Simmons gets $20.4 over two) the Nets can make a spirited run in 2010 at free agent LeBron James.
"We acquired some very good players," coach Lawrence Frank said. "The next couple months is filling in more pieces, making sure how all these parts are going to fit together, continuing to improve the team."
Trades and free agency are routes to go and some names that certainly will appear on the Nets' shopping radar are two-three types. J.R. Smith of Denver is one. He's restricted and the Nuggets have promised to match any offer. For unrestricted types the Nets likely will look at Warrior Michael Pietrus, Wizard Roger Mason, Clipper Quinton Ross, Pacer Kareem Rush and Knick Fred Jones.
"We got a lot bigger in positions where we needed some size and strength," said Thorn, who again insisted the Jefferson-Yi trade was about upside first, not getting James later. "It puts us in a position where we've got something to build. We like where we are now compared to last week."
The Nets could have done more. Cleveland offered Wally Szczerbiak for Vince Carter in what would have been a straight salary dump. It never went anywhere.
But the work continued. Nets brass yesterday presented a $2.7 million qualifying offer to Nenad Krstic that gives them the right to match any offer he gets. Krstic is a 7-foot perimeter power forward. Yi is a 7-0 perimeter four. But they are as similar as Serbia and China. fred.kerber@nypost.com
