As busy as the Nets have been so far this month, we haven't heard much out of majority owner Mikhail Prokhorov. That changed today, however, as Prokhorov released an official statement discussing the team's offseason:
"I'm thrilled with the way our team has come together. My congratulations and appreciation go out to general manager Billy King, assistant general manager Bobby Marks and head coach Avery Johnson for their tenacity, nerve and heart throughout this process. With the re-signing of Deron Williams and the trade for Joe Johnson, we go into our new home led by an All-Star backcourt and with every hope of a great season for the Brooklyn Nets. I can't wait until opening night."
While Prokhorov starts counting down the days until opening night, we'll round up the rest of the morning's odds and ends right here:
- The Pistons currently have no plans to use their amnesty clause on Charlie Villanueva, tweets Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News.
- After acquiring Jarrett Jack, the Warriors will look to acquire a power forward, GM Bob Myers told reporters, including Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle.
- EuroCup MVP Patrick Beverley is working out with the Bulls and is a candidate for the team's bench, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
- As the Bulls decide whether to match the Rockets' offer sheet to Omer Asik, management is asking coach Tom Thibodeau which players he wants to keep long-term and Thibodeau's reply is basically "All of them," says Wojnarowski. The Yahoo! scribe adds that the rising price tag on Taj Gibson will also be considered when deciding whether to match the Asik offer (Twitter links).
- Bobcats owner Michael Jordan discussed Charlotte's offseason with Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer, noting the team has "a lot of things on the table."
- If you're interested in the in-depth details of teams' cap management, Mark Deeks of ShamSports has a list of players whose rights were renouncd yesterday (Sulia and Twitter links). He also says Rashard Lewis will count for $13,765,000 on the Hornets' cap this season (Twitter link).
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the nets are not gonna be that good next year .. joe johnson is over rated and brook cant rebound .. and they are gonna let humphires walk .. the nets and knicks will duke it out for the 8th playoff spot ..
i think in a top heavy eastern conference led by MIA, BOS,CHI(healthy) and IND, the BKN nets will get no worse than eight and as good as fifth.
maybe i hope so cause i like d- will .. but he didnt do much last year with the nets .. and joe is declining fast .. im no expert but i think the east will shake out like this now this is thinking that howard will play some of the year with orlando.
1 mia 2 bos 3 phi 4 atl 5 chi 6 orl 7 ind 8 new york/bkn/clev duking it out for the 8th seed ..
How is Philly earning the #3 seed after losing Lou Williams and Elton Brand? Replacing them with Nick Young and Kris Humphries arguably makes you worse.
1. Heat
2. Boston
3. Knicks
4. Nets
5. Pacers
6 thru 8: Tossup with Atlanta, Philly, Chicago, Cleveland