Coach Avery Johnson likely wanted to talk about anything, probably even the difference between European and Pacific swallows, other than the specter of Carmelo Anthony that hung over the opening of his first Nets training camp.
“Guys are not worried about anything,” Johnson said. “Ninety percent of the trades that you hear about never happen.”
Well, the Nets are looking to finalize the deal before the Nuggets open their training camp Monday. Anthony does not want to be in Denver. He’ll probably be a real treat to be around if the deal does not get done. So the Nets play a waiting game. Denver needs to sign off on the deal which is complicated beyond imagination. The Nets, as they have been all along, are confident Anthony would agree to a three-year, $65 million extension. They would never do the deal without assurances. So they’d like to get it agreed upon Sunday, approved by the NBA Monday.
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Reluctance has become withdrawal on one front in the deal. Charlotte did not want to include D.J. Augustin in the trade. Now it is definite that he is out of the trade equation, according to a Western Conference exec with knowledge of the discussions.
The Nets, though, will push on and simply look elsewhere for a point guard, although the withdrawal of Augustin from the deal means they might need to add a minor piece and tweak the deal. And it cannot be official before Monday when the league offices open. And no one seemed to think there would be major headway tonight, despite on-going talks.
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Devin Harris looked about as chipper as a high school junior awaiting his chemistry exam. But he said the experience of going through all this once before in Dallas has him as least prepared.
“You have to set your emotions aside. Dallas was a tough trade, but it was an opportunity for me and there’s opportunity in everything,” Harris said, adopting his best philosophical approach. “You focus on the good things and there’s opportunity in everything presented to you.
“I’ve been here before. Just come to work every day and just come out and practice. The only thing I can control is what I do on the floor. I can’t really worry too much about it.”
Harris insists he wants to be part of the Net turnaround but noted, “We always don’t get what we want. That’s the way life is.”
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Derrick Favors, he of the huge upside and even bigger hands (you mitt disappears in a handshake with him), said he has tuned out TV, radio, newspapers.
“I been laying in bed, listening to music, really not paying attention to TV or reading newspapers. Just relaxing,” the No. 3 pick last June said. “I really am not paying attention to it right now. I just focus on training camp and getting ready for the season. Whatever happens, happens. I’m not in control of it…I haven’t heard from nobody. I guess they just want me concentrating on training camp right now.”
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Troy Murphy did not practice. He rode the bike, did over non-contact work as he is working through a minor groin strain. “Just a little strain. I was running a couple weeks ago and I’ve been nursing it and they’re trying to bring me back slow so I don’t have any setbacks,” he said. . .Damion James suffered a minor right ankle sprain at the end of the morning workout. . .One observer: former Nets assistant, Kings head coach and Warriors GM Garry St. Jean who now will do some West Coast scouting. . .Brook Lopez, who insists he has gained back the 25 pounds he lost to a bout with mono, said he “felt good running up and down the floor. Hopefully, I’ll continue to feel good as the days wear on.”
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And in other matters not Melo related, Avery Johnson stressed defense first and foremost. He allowed a little bit of satisfaction to seep through because the team was ahead on the offensive end – he figures the guys who were in summer league had a head start. But defensively, well, suffice to say the Nets are not a finished product, sort of like a lump of coal compared to the Hope Diamond.
So the main focus?
“Transition defense,” Johnson said. “Stopping the ball in transition, stopping easy baskets, having vision wherever you are, having some sort of physicality.”
You know, all the stuff that was as much a part of Nets games last season as square dancing.
“We did some good things today. They’re a little bit further ahead with some of our offensive stuff…Defensively, transition defense and pick-and-roll defense were a focus of ours in practice.”
