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ADDITIONS: Jordan Farmar (LA Lakers), Derrick Favors (Georgia Tech), Damion James (Texas), Anthony Morrow (Golden State), Troy Murphy (Indiana), Travis Outlaw (Portland), Johan Petro (Denver), Quinton Ross (Washington), Joe Smith (Atlanta) and Ben Uzoh (Tulsa).

SUBTRACTIONS: Tony Battie (Philadelphia), Ike Diogu, Chris Douglas-Roberts (Milwaukee), Keyon Dooling (Milwaukee), Courtney Lee (Houston), Sean Marks, Sean May (Sacramento) and Yi Jianlian (Washington).

STRENGTHS: In his first two seasons, Brook Lopez has developed into one of the bright young centers in the NBA and is approaching All-Star status ... Lopez has shown great durability, playing all 82 games each of his first two years ... He knows his limitations and has demonstrated good shot selection ... Devin Harris is strong taking it to the basket, bringing an offensive mentality to the point guard position ... The addition of Troy Murphy gives the Nets some badly needed frontcourt scoring ... Murphy is one of the better three-point shooting big men in the league (.394 career) ... The addition of Murphy means the Nets can be more patient with the development of highly regarded rookie Derrick Favors ... As a coach, Avery Johnson will bring toughness and accountability, two traits that were sorely missing last year ... The additions of Anthony Morrow and Travis Outlaw should help an offense in dire need of some punch ... New owner Mikhail Prokhorov has brought energy to the team and the Russian billionaire won’t be afraid to spend money ... While the Nets didn’t make he major strike in the offseason, the moves they made have improved their depth and the team after a disastrous 70-loss season.

WEAKNESSES: Rebounding must improve after the Nets finished 28th in that department ... Harris takes too many ill-advised three’s and isn’t proficient from beyond the arc (.276 last season, .301 career) ... Harris’ troubles from beyond the arc were a major reason why New Jersey was the NBA’s second worst three-point shooting team (.318) ... The Nets must show better shot selection after being the lowest scoring team in the NBA (92.38 per game) ... While Johnson will make the Nets accountable on defense, this still doesn’t appear to be a strong defensive unit ... Although everybody in the organization is excited about Favors’ upside, he is extremely raw offensively ... With a chance at more minutes, Jordan Farmar must show more consistent play than demonstrated with the Los Angeles Lakers.

PROJECTION: (37-45) 3rd in the Atlantic Division / 9th in the Eastern Conference

.PROJECTED STARTERS
	Point guard Devin Harris		Shooting Guard Terrence Williams		Small Forward Travis Outlaw
	Extremely quick and talented. Followed an All-Star season with a mediocre one. Will have to prove if he's still an elite player.		Very athletic. Can do a little bit of everything and play several positions. Showed flashed of brilliance during his rookie season.		Very prolific scorer with great length and athleticism. Looks too much for his own shot too much. Team play is really not his thing.
	Power Forward Troy Murphy		Center Brook Lopez		Sixth Man Anthony Morrow
	Good rebounder with the ability to stretch defenses thanks to his outside shooting. Has never played a postseason game.		One of the best centers in the NBA already. Has both finesse and physical play to dominate in the post. Clearly and All-Star in the making.		One of the best three-point shooters in the NBA. Landed a big contract three years after getting drafted. Will he remain hungry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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