HoopsHype.com Rumors

Blatche on Lapdance Tuesday: "Lapdance Tuesday is not a strip club." He said it was a regular club with a promotion. Blatche on everything else: "The whole little Gil incident [with the torn-up suit and such]. That was me. That was me being stupid. As far as all that, didn't want back in the game, the finger guns and such, that's overdoing it." Bullets Forever

Brooklyn Nets, Washington Wizards, Andray Blatche 

John Schuhmann: Andray Blatche to reporters in BKN locker room: "Anybody seen how the Wizards are doing?" Twitter @johnschuhmann

Brooklyn Nets, Andray Blatche 

Brooklyn Nets coach Avery Johnson was talking about practice. And he was talking about Nets center Brook Lopez. "He's had to raise the level of his practice habits because of the competition," Johnson said, referring to 2012-13 Nets additions Reggie Evans and Andray Blatche. It was a polite, non-inflammatory way of saying Lopez's practice habits in previous seasons were not what the Nets sought. "We want him to be a presence inside," Johnson said. USA Today

Brooklyn Nets, Avery Johnson, Andray Blatche, Reggie Evans, Brook Lopez 

Stefan Bondy: Nets wearing special Veterans Day socks with American flag. Blatche jokes that Shengalia can't wear them cause he's from another country Twitter @NYDNInterNets

Brooklyn Nets, Andray Blatche, Tornike Shengelia 

Blatche actually scored a team-high 15 points in Friday night’s win, and so far he’s been completely happy with his new role on his new team. “It always feels good to be on a team who’s got real goals and a real chance to be something and get somewhere,” Blatche said. “Just to chip in with my effort and my minutes, it feels good to be a part of it.” HoopsWorld

Brooklyn Nets, Andray Blatche 

It also feels good to have more of a support system in Brooklyn, something Blatche certainly could’ve used while in Washington. The hope is that his being pushed by a hard-working group of veterans will prove good for him. “To have the teammates I have encouraging me at practice, in the weight room, that’s what I needed,” Blatche admitted. “We’re all for one another. Whenever anybody scores, we all clap and cheer them on and give them confidence. We all need that, and we’re a family over here.” HoopsWorld

Brooklyn Nets, Andray Blatche 

The Nets won their home-opener in Brooklyn last night amidst chants from a capacity crowd. The win itself was a little lackadaisical—remember how everyone wondered whether Deron Williams would go back to defending his position now that the Nets are good? Kyle Lowry had 28, 8 and 8—but it was a win, and Nets newcomer Andray Blatche contributed seven points and two rebounds in his 15 minutes off the bench. Good start! Then, in both typical Andray Blatche fashion and, for the moment, typical tri-state area fashion, Andray ran out of gas in New Jersey on his way home. Deadspin

Brooklyn Nets, Andray Blatche 

Brooklyn Nets backup forward-center Andray Blatche sent out an update on the weather conditions from his neighborhood earlier Monday afternoon. Outside my house now should I leave http://t.co/E0AFPGIC SheridanHoops

Brooklyn Nets, Andray Blatche 

Blatche has been impressive for the Nets since inking a partially guaranteed one-year, $1.1 million deal. He came into camp in tip-top shape and had 12 points and five rebounds in the team’s preseason opener Saturday night, hitting the game-winning shot as the Nets edged the 76ers 108-105 in overtime. Blatche credits the time he spent over the summer with noted guru John Lucas. Blatche’s aunt introduced him to the former NBA player and coach, and Blatche spent two months in Houston, working out three times a day three days a week and twice a day three other days to get into better condition. “That’s what I needed to do,” Blatche said. “That was important for me this summer.” He added: “It paid off.” New York Post

Brooklyn Nets, Andray Blatche 

The 6-foot-11 Syracuse product chose to wear No. 0 after signing with Brooklyn, a reminder of the amount of support he felt he had after the Wizards used the amnesty clause to rid themselves of the remainder of his three-year, $23 million contact. “Everybody thought I was going to be out of the league,” Blatche said. “Zero reminds me I didn’t have any support system outside of my immediate family, nobody who thought I was going to bounce back and get on another team.” New York Post

Brooklyn Nets, Andray Blatche 

Johnson said the Nets think that Blatche “could be one of the steals of free agency,” just the latest compliment that he’s been paid since training camp began. It seems pretty clear that Blatche is going to begin the season in the rotation, and is a lock to be on the court whenever Lopez gets a break. What’s left to be determined now is whether or not he’ll push for some time alongside Lopez, as well, over power forward Mirza Teletovic and Evans. New York Post

Brooklyn Nets, Free Agency, Andray Blatche, Training Camp 

But the best sign might be Blatche’s willingness to own his past. “A lot of mistakes,” he said of his Washington tenure. “But I was a young guy. And not to make no excuses for myself, I did a lot of things. And I also didn’t do a lot of things. But I was punished for the things I did and I learned from it, and I’m moving on.” Johnson is not looking back, either. “No concern whatsoever,” he said of Blatche’s missteps in Washington. He added, “It’s a clean slate.” New York Times

Brooklyn Nets, Andray Blatche 

Blatche was so out of shape last season that the Wizards at one point shut him down and publicly listed the reason as “conditioning.” “A wake-up call,” Blatche called it. “The job of my life, the job I love doing, can be taken from me in an instant, a blink of my eyes. To see what happened to me, to see that I have another chance, I don’t want that to happen again.” New York Times

Brooklyn Nets, Andray Blatche 

Andray Blatche doesn’t want to talk about the Wizards. And let’s face it, nobody wants to talk about the Wizards, just like nobody wants to talk about the New Jersey Nets. But it happened, and mostly it was ugly until the relationship was severed by an amnesty clause. The best thing is to move forward, he said. “To be honest with you, I’ve forgotten about Washington. It’s old. It happened. I took it,” Blatche said. “Now I’m moving on. I can’t do over the past. It would make me bitter and hold me back from what I’m trying to do.” New York Daily News

Brooklyn Nets, Andray Blatche 

And about that weight problem? “That was a major effect with Washington -- the weight problem. So I took the summer as a big, big, big commitment. I started working out there with John Lucas in Houston to lose weight, to get back in shape, so I can come here and be ready.” New York Daily News

Brooklyn Nets, Andray Blatche, John Lucas 

Stefan Bondy: And Andray Blatche on the Nets: "Looking at our team, we have a great roster. "We have a team that's winning the title." Twitter @NYDNInterNets

Brooklyn Nets, Andray Blatche 

Stefan Bondy: Andray Blatche dropped some weight http://t.co/ggy9cUY2 Twitter @NYDNInterNets

Brooklyn Nets, Andray Blatche 

Alex Raskin: King said Blatche is in shape and has a clean slate with the #nets Twitter @alexraskinNYC

Brooklyn Nets, Andray Blatche 

Fans at the Barclays Center won't have nearly as much fun that way with the 26-year-old Blatche. If he generates anything close to that level of unpopularity in Brooklyn, he'll be gone sooner rather than later -- that's the understanding all around with the one-year, non-guaranteed contract he's expected to sign for the NBA veteran's minimum salary of $1.1 million. Low-risk, high-reward, they're calling it around Netsland. It can pay off only if Blatche sees it as high-risk, priceless-reward -- the salvation of his basketball career. "You didn't have to be around Andray long to get the feeling that, until he reached rock bottom, he might never have an opportunity to move forward," said an NBA insider familiar with Blatche's career and self-imposed career obstacles. "I don't know if he's still going to find the answer. But he definitely has reached rock bottom." NBA.com

Brooklyn Nets, Free Agency, Andray Blatche 

As the Nets complete the additions of Andray Blatche and Josh Childress, they're also handing out some training camp invites. The first goes to rookie forward Carleton Scott, who (sort of) announced the invite in a twitter conversation with MarShon Brooks, who's in Moscow. NetsDaily

Brooklyn Nets, Josh Childress, Andray Blatche, Carleton Scott, Training Camp