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| Joe is having a great season, and barely made the Eastern Conference All-Star team as a reserve |
Netlinked is back, with some big announcements for some Nets players and rumor that could shock the basketball world in the 2016 offseason:
When Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant becomes a free agent for the first time after the 2015-16 season, all 30 teams in the NBA will be clamoring to gain (for the Thunder, regain) his services. Now, according to a widespread report, your Brooklyn Nets will be one the foremost teams in the Durant chase, as the Nets could possibly have no money on the books by then.
Clearly, it's way, way too early to predict where Durant will end up when he's an unrestricted free agent, but Brooklyn would certainly be an attractive destination, especially if he's not able to win a title in Oklahoma City in the next few years. The hype over LeBron going to Miami was nuts, but just imagine if Durant announced he were to sign with the Nets? The Big Apple just might split in half over the excitement.
When the All-Star Game's reserves for the Eastern and Western Conferences tonight on TNT's Inside the NBA, a Net's name was called, and it wasn't Deron Williams. For the 7th time in his career, Joe Johnson will be participating on the East's side of the All-Star Game, which is in New Orleans this February. Joe has probably been the Nets' most consistent player this year and, game-winning buzzer beaters aside, has significantly opened up his game in his 2nd year with Brooklyn, taking more shots in the paint to create a more effective balance with his threes.
Arguments could be made for Toronto's Kyle Lowry and Orlando's Arron Afflalo to make the team over Joe, but neither of those players has been as crucial late in games for their teams as Johnson has been for Jason Kidd and the Nets. As we all know very well, Joe's best play comes late in games with a score differential of three points or less.
Finally, Brooklyn rookie Mason Plumlee was named, a few days ago, to play in the Rising Stars Challenge–the updated Rookies vs. Sophomores game–while his brother, 2nd year forward Mason of the Phoenix Suns, was not. Plumlee hasn't played much recently for the Nets but has shown a lot of promise so far in his freshman campaign.
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