Four years to the day after making one of the riskiest trades in franchise history, the Nets made another move–albeit much smaller–on February 23rd by signing the recently waived Thomas Robinson, a former lottery pick, to a 10-day contract.
On February 23, 2011, the Nets sent Devin Harris, Derrick Favors and a pair of first-round picks to the Utah Jazz in exchange for Deron Williams, whose time with the team has been rocky to say the least. Now, a few days after trading Kevin Garnett for Thaddeus Young, Brooklyn adds another young forward in Robinson, who was just bought out by the Nuggets–the team the Nets play tonight–after he was traded to Denver by the Trail Blazers in Arron Afflalo deal.
Robinson played three years at Kansas under Bill Self, only standing out in his junior season with averages of 17.7 points and 11.9 rebounds. He then declared for the NBA draft and was selected with the 5th overall pick by the Sacramento Kings in 2012, one pick before Damian Lillard, who Portland took with the pick obtained from the Nets in the Gerald Wallace deal.
Because time is a flat circle, one of the main reasons then-New Jersey was willing to part with the pick was because they really wanted Robinson, who they thought wouldn’t last until No. 6. He didn’t and instead has bounced around the West for a few years with the Kings, Rockets, Blazers and Nuggets (for a day) while Lillard has developed into one of the league’s most exciting point guards.
In Robinson, similarly to Young, the Nets get a forward with size who can provide much-needed athleticism. His role with Portland hasn’t been too big in his two seasons and 100+ games with the team, as he has averaged around 12 minutes per contest and between 3.5-5 points per game, but he can be useful in limited minutes here and there off the bench.
Yet, his 12 rebounds per 36 minutes is promising, as his strength–at least right now–is his ability to get to loose balls quicker than his opponents. The scoring hasn’t developed yet for him but the defense and rebounding have, which are desperately for this Nets team.
By getting Robinson on a 10-day contract, the Nets limit the risk of the signing to basically nothing while leaving the door wide open for some reward. When a talent, raw, admittedly, like him can be had for nothing, it’s a no-brainer to at least try to make a deal work. Billy King did, and now the Nets get a value piece. Can’t beat that.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
