ATLANTA – It’s not “Spahn and Sain and pray for rain.” But the Nets’ bench of late is basically “Smith and Best and forget the rest.”
Depth and Nets have not been synonymous all season, but since the Nets traded for Vince Carter and then lost Richard Jefferson to season-ending wrist surgery, the workload on the starters has been ridiculous. Consider in the three games since Jefferson went out:
Rodney Buford has averaged 37.7 minutes, up from 21.1; Vince Carter went from 41.1 to 43.3; Jason Collins is at 42.0 from 36.0; Jason Kidd, whose minutes fluctuated all season because of doctor’s orders, has averaged 43.3 minutes; Nenad Krstic has averaged 38.3, up from 26.7 in his previous 15 games.
The bench? After Jabari Smith (17.7 minutes in the last three) and Travis Best (20.3), Kaniel Dickens played one minute, Jerome Moiso played two and Jacque Vaughn played 11. Two roster players, Jefferson and Brian Scalabrine, are injured.
Actually, four of the Nets’ top eight rotation players from season’s start are injured when you add Ron Mercer and Zoran Planinic to Jefferson and Scalabrine. See why the Nets, who face the Hawks here in a 2 p.m. Martin Luther King Day game today, are both praying for health and desperately seeking trades?
“We’re exploring every option but you need two people to make a trade,” said GM Ed Stefanski. “We are trying everything to get a couple of bodies.”
The two bodies still in the crosshairs are Warrior Cliff Robinson and suspended Hornet Jim Jackson (the Nets offered a trade exception and a second round pick for each). But when teams know you’re hurting – as the Nets are – pricetags rise. Golden State, seemingly reluctant to deal Robinson, wants at least two second-rounders, if not a first. New Orleans wants a first. Won’t happen, say the Nets.
“We will not mortgage the future to bring in veterans who will help in the short term,” Stefanski said.
Robinson will be a free agent after the season. His $5.875 million salary for next season is at team option. Good luck.
Jackson has refused to report to New Orleans. Claiming he was “shocked and surprised” at the trade from Houston, Jackson has said he would not report to the struggling Hornets.
“No disrespect to the Hornets, but starting over is not what I want to do,” Jackson said.
The Nets may stay in play for either or both – at the right price. But if they continue falling from contention, there’s no need for stop-gap health.
Salvation may be the Atlantic Division. The Nets are as far away, five games, from the eighth- seed Bulls, as they are the Atlantic Division-leading Knicks and the No. 3 seed. Figure two more weeks and the Nets will be 11 games from eighth place but two from the No. 3 seed.
“We’re not going to quit. We’re going to continue to play hard, no matter what,” said Kidd, whose play has been a revelation lately – 15.3 points, 9.5 assists, 9.3 rebounds in his last four games, which contain two triple-doubles.
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NETS at HAWKS Today 2:00 – YES; WFAN (660)
