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| James had a promising future with the Nets, but sometimes things just don’t work out |
The Nets were dealt some more tough injury news today as it was announced that Damion James’ foot surgery, which was performed earlier today at Indiana Health Hospital in Indianapolis, will indeed sideline him for the rest of the 2011-12 season. James has played well so far in his short NBA career and has shown that he can get the dirty work done on the boards and on defense that many other players in the NBA, and especially on the Nets, simply aren’t willing to do.
However, James simply hasn’t been able to stay healthy for extended periods of time so far in his NBA time. At multiple points last season, Damion was sidelined for extended swaths of games mainly due to injuries he suffered on the right foot that is plaguing him right now. The news of this injury’s severity is bad news for the Nets and James alike because the Nets miss Damion’s toughness in the interior and his ability to guard some of the opposition’s best players and do so with moderate success.
The news is bad for James because he probably won’t play another game as a Net as his rookie contract has a team option at the end of the season. The Nets most likely won’t exercise said option due to the constant injuries James has suffered so far in his young career since the Nets acquired him in a draft-day from the Atlanta Hawks after he was selected with the 24th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft. Damion won’t garner many lucrative offers on the open free agency market this offseason because NBA owners and GMs have showed that they are being tighter with their money and won’t give a lot of guaranteed money to an extreme injury risk like Damion.
I wish Damion luck in whichever situation he finds himself next season as I liked his style of play and thought he could contribute to the Nets’ defense positively going forward. Its just highly iunlikely that we are going to ever see him in a Nets uniform next season.
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