Shocker: Devils Hire Lemaire

After bringing back a ton of former Devils players last season, Lou Lamoriello is once again reaching for a blast from the past by hiring Jacques Lemaire as the team's new head coach.

Naturally, this move has shocked the entire sports world. Actually, sarcasm aside, while Lemaire had been rumored to be getting the job at first, the prospect was called into question when Lou began taking his sweet time in hiring him; if the choice was so apparent, why wait? But the speculation is over, and it's the guy we all thought it would be.

Naturally, this is going to provide for a great deal of debate among Devils fans. Like the rest of the offseason, this reeks of conservatism, as Lou goes for an old faithful candidate, rather than reaching out to bring in someone new. (For the record, on the lack of offseason movement, I find it frustrating, but appreciate that Lou is not overpaying for undeserving players. I won't call the offseason a success, but Lou is navigating it smartly, and it's really the best we can do. The least of all evils, I guess.)

Devils fan will fall into one of a few camps. Some will applaud the signing, noting Lemaire's track record, including his Stanley Cup with the Devils in 1995. Others will scream and cry that the team is taking a step back, giving up the progress they made under Brent Sutter. And still a third will continue to float out John MacLean's name, as he has once again been passed over as head coach.

Admittedly, I would have preferred a more Sutter-esque coach (minus the homesickness). But who, exactly was out there? There's Peter Laviollette, but while some Devils fan forums liked the guy, he was never a candidate for the job. There was John MacLean, but Lou has never given him a shot, and his stance hasn't changed.

Lemaire is, if nothing else, a safe choice. He's a good, proven, successful head coach in the NHL, and has worked well with this franchise before. He also works very well with Brian Rolston, who clashed mightily with Sutter, and was actually happy to see him go. There is a very legitimate fear that the Devils will go back to the old ways of trapping, and that this method will not work in the "new" NHL. But he got some very good scoring out of Rolston and Marian Gaborik, so it's very possible that Lemaire has adapted to the new league, and will be fine.

As alluded to earlier, this move is similar to the other decisions made by Lou this offseason, and it is probably the least of all evils. While Lemaire may not have been the most ideal choice, he was probably the best coach available. The Devils make the playoffs consistently, and Lemaire garners consistent success. The two will be a good match, but whether they are a great match is a different story altogether.

The big, but mostly overshadowed story here is MacLean, who was named the head coach of the Lowell Devils, while Mario Tremblay replaces him as an assistant coach. First of all, Tremblay is a very good assistant, so the move immediately helps the big-league club. But MacLean is also getting his first shot as a head coach, albeit on the minor-league level.

MacLean may very well be the best long-term option for the Devils, as he has been with the organization for a very long time, and not only knows the system, but has progressed with the team. He has plenty of NHL coaching experience, and will now get to show how he runs his own team.

Considering Lemaire's age, he may be a short-term option until someone better comes along. And that someone better might very well be MacLean. When Lemaire's time is up in a few years, MacLean will finally get a very long look as a candidate to become the Devils' coach of the future.

Until then, Lou is looking for a safe, grizzled veteran to guide his roster, now full of young, unpredictable rookies. Lemaire will work very well with the current roster, and a new coach will be waiting in the wings to replace him.

Overall, it's very difficult to get excited over the hiring of Lemaire, but Lou wasn't looking for the most exciting coach, but the most effective. With Lemaire, the Devils will surely wind up in the same place they've landed for more than a decade: the playoffs. Will they go further? That has yet to be seen.

I'm not crazy about Lemaire's age, as the team has had so many coaching changes since his initial departure, and long-term stability would be better. I also would have preferred to see a more Sutter-esque coach. But Lemaire's defensive tendencies are overrated, and while his style is more defensive than Sutter's, he won't be going all the way back to the extreme defense of the neutral-zone trap. And if there has to be a coaching change in the near future, it will hopefully be a familiar, in-house candidate in MacLean.

Perhaps the biggest impact Lemaire will have will be on Rolston, who struggled under Sutter. Sutter utterly misused Rolston, relegating him to the third and fourth lines, never allowing him to utilize his scoring ability. Lemaire has brought out the best in Rolston during their time together in Minnesota, and Rolston's return to prominence is imminent. The added scoring will be a huge boost in replacing Brian Gionta, who was lost to free agency.

Lemaire will be good for the Devils, and was probably the best available coach. But like the rest of this offseason, the sensible choice may not be the most dynamic.

(The Devils have also hired longtime captain Scott Stevens as a special assignments coach.)

Devean George Got Traded!

The big NBA news of the day is the 4-team trade that is sending Shawn Marion from Toronto to Dallas.

But of course, who are the other players? Interestingly, three players connected to the Nets/Mavs trade featuring Jason Kidd and Devin Harris are involved.

Jerry Stackhouse is headed to Memphis. He was expected to be part of the Nets deal, and was presumed to getting a buyout, only to return to Dallas. Except he happily boasted about this to the media, so the NBA nixed the deal, and it had to be redone. Well, I guess he kept his mouth shut this time. Interestingly, the Nets were mildly interested in acquiring him and not buying him out this offseason.

Antoine Wright, sent with Kidd to Dallas, is going to Toronto. Nothing more to comment on that.

But the BIG little player on the move is my old buddy DEVEAN GEORGE!!! The man who stalled the trade because he wanted early bird money as a free agent is now being shipped to CANADIA!

So long, buddy! Enjoy Turgel!

(I don't know who the other players are yet, for the record.)

The Devils' Offseason To Date

I suppose it's high time I weighed in on the Devils' utter lack of offseason action.

Aside from re-signing Johnny Oduya and Andy Greene and bringing in former draft pick Itkka Pikkarainen, the Devils have brought in exactly zero players (unless you count AHL center Ben Walter), and have watched four of their own find new homes.

Admittedly, it's frustrating. I've always been a big fan of Brian Gionta, and would have loved to see him stay. John Madden has been a superb defensive forward for years, and despite his off year, would have been welcome back. But those two players were let go for a reason. (The other two players, Mike Rupp and Scott Clemmensen were unlikely to return anyway, and most Devils fans were happy to see Clemmensen earn his deserved paycheck and playing time elsewhere.)

Madden wasn't brought back due to age and the presence of ready rookies. With Rod Pelley poised to make the team, Lou Lamoriello opted to let the old Madden walk and save some money. I would not have been upset if Lamoriello had opted to match Chicago's offer to Madden: a one-year deal would certainly be worthwhile, as there is minimal risk. If he continues to show his age, he's gone after the year, but if he returns to form, it's a great investment.

But Lamoriello never made an offer to Madden, probably because he assumed Madden would draw a bigger deal. He was willing to let the guy walk, and didn't even consider matching anybody's offer, as he felt it wouldn't be worthwhile anyway. While I do think a one-year gamble on the longtime Devil would have made sense, it was not an option that crossed Lou's mind. I disagree with the move overall, but I understand it.

Still, I doubt the return of Madden would have satiated Devils fans. As stars moved all around the league, the return of an old third-line center would not be so appealing. Brian Gionta's return certainly would have made fans happy, but that didn't happen either.

But Gionta's dismissal is easily understandable. There was a mutual interest between the team and the player, but they disagreed about the money. After earning a $4 million-per-year contract following a 48 goal season, Gionta has never matched that output, and has only peaked at 25 goals since then.

Yet Montreal was willing to spend $5 million a year over five years to attain him. For those not keeping score, that's a raise of a million bucks a year over five seasons. There was no way Lamoriello would have paid Gionta even the same salary after three years of 20-25 goals, let alone pay him even more. Especially when one considers that Brian Rolston is expected to replace Gionta on the second line, there was absolutely no reason for Lou to overpay to bring him back. It hurts to see the shorty go, but he just isn't worth that kind of money. Montreal gave him a crazy offer, and Lou was smart for not matching it.

So the Devils lost two key players, but they were able to replace them, right? Not quite. Stars like Marians Hossa and Gaborik joined new teams, but the Devils stood pat. The loss of players and lack of new players only made Devils fans even more restless.

It's definitely frustrating to watch other teams bring in big names, but after a closer look, it appears the Devils have been very wise about it. The players shuffling around have signed for ludicrous amounts of money, price tags that will only serve to hamper teams in the future.

The Rangers, after unloading Scott Gomez's awful contract, signed Marian Gaborik to an even worse one. For the next five years, the Rangers will be paying $7.5 million to a guy who played all of 17 games last season, has never played a complete season, and has reached 70 games only once in the past five years. A player with his talent certainly deserves the big paycheck, but when one considers how much time he spends off the ice, it becomes apparent that this was a terrible move.

The Canadiens took on Gomez's horrible contract, and then overpaid significantly to bring in his former linemate, Gionta. It was clear they wanted to reunite the two and hope to bring back the magic, but at what cost? There's no guarantee whatsoever that they'll perform at an elite level, especially since Gionta has only done it ONCE in his entire career! The season after the 48-goal outburst, Gionta was still playing alongside Gomez, but fell far short of the previous season's stats. The Canadiens took on two long, bad contracts with no guarantee of results. Meanwhile, thanks to the new players, the Candiens have let go of Alexei Kovalev and longtime captain Saku Koivu.

The Blackhawks have taken on a lot of new players, and are now over the cap, despite not having signed Calder Trophy candidate Kris Versteeg. For all their moves, they're extremely cap-strapped, and will lose a significant young player in the process.

Meanwhile, the Devils will remain well under the cap, and will replace their losses with a youth movement. This strategy has worked well for the Devils in the past, but that's no guarantee it will work now. But Lamoriello doesn't only have this year to consider. The NHL will play again next season, and the salary cap is expected to drop significantly. With so many teams so close to the cap, many tough decisions will have to be made, and bad contracts will do severe damage to many teams. Lamoriello will have none of that.

It's an interesting strategy, and I think Lamoriello is making the right decision. While it's frustrating to watch players leave and none come in, it would be downright awful to be trapped under bad contracts. So many teams have and will have this trouble, and the Devils won't. That's a good thing.

And it's not like they've sat back and lazily watched everyone move. They've looked at players who they felt would be affordable, only to see them sign elsewhere. Scott Niedermayer was pursued by his former team, but he re-upped with the Ducks without any hesitation. Saku Koivu was also recruited, but he ultimately also signed with the Ducks.

(While Koivu's one-year, $3.25 million deal looks so attainable from a Devils' fan's standpoint, keep in mind that this probably wasn't available to the Devils. Koivu was offered more money to play in Chicago, but turned it down because he wasn't offered a fourth year. He's taking a pay cut and a short contract to play where he thinks he can win NOW, like Karl Malone and Gary Payton did with the Lakers. He also wanted to play with Teemu Selanne, who is retiring after the year. The Devils would have had to do better than the Blackhawks to bring him in, and that wasn't happening, especially since Koivu is 34 years old.)

There are still free agents available, and I'm sure a move will be made. Perhaps Derek Morris can be had for very cheap now. He'd be a top-four defenseman on this team. And while Jason Williams isn't an ideal player, he could be an affordable option at center. Lou could supplement his roster with cheap players that would improve the team without costing it too much, and it would be the best way to go.

I think the Madden move was a mistake, I wish we could have brought back Gionta, and if Koivu could have been acquired for that kind of contract, we should have taken him. But overall, the offseason has been an odd success for the Devils, even if the results won't be seen until later.

Devils And Nets Draft Notes

A little late, I am. Stuff came up.

Okay, the Nets first. The Vince Carter trade was great for everyone involved. The Nets dump Carter's salary, and receive three valuable assets in return: two expiring contracts, two trade exceptions, and one Courtney Lee. The young shooting guard fits the Nets' plans for the future, and adds to the very young core. The oldest starter on the team is now Devin Harris. The team is very young, but has tons of potential. With all the salary cap space available next season (they'll lead the league in that category), they can lure at least one megastar, noting the team's great potential for years and years to come.

Meanwhile, the Magic add an all-star to their already excellent team. And Carter gets to go home and play for a contender. Everybody happy! Carter's end was not as messy as Jason Kidd's, and I hope he has success with his hometown team.

The only thing I don't like about the deal is the loss of Ryan Anderson. Kid's young (obviously) and a sick shooter. Actually, the team passed up on Lee last tear to draft him! Still, if he was necessary to get the deal done, I understand. I just hate to see him go.

The pick of Terrence Williams is great, as he fills a need and is a good player. He will rotate with Lee and Chris Douglas-Roberts, and may see some time at point guard as well. A smart pick from a team who repeatedly said they'd take the best player available, and did so. I'm glad they didn't take the unathletic Tyler Hansbrough, who would have been a solid choice later in the draft, but not at number 11.

Now onto the Devils. They had a solid draft, but the big story was obviously the first-round choice of Jacob Josefson. First of all, he's a great choice. He fell a little, and the Devils moved up a little to get him, and all was well. He's a solid center on both sides, and plays a very good all-around game. Great pick by the team, no doubt.

But more interestingly, they had to deal with Calgary to move up. Compensation for Brent Sutter? Not quite. Lou Lamoriello said the timing was pure coincidence, and the trade was pretty even, as the Devils gave up a third-rounder to move up the three spots. But Lamoriello allowed the Flames to speak to Sutter rather than burn a bridge with the team, and it's already paid off. It has turned out to be a good business move by the Devils, as they won't be at odds with another NHL franchise with whom they might have to deal.

(But it still doesn't exonerate Brent Quitter.)

One final note: it's a day late, but happy birthday to the great Derek Jeter. Like I said, things came up, and I didn't blog yesterday. Doesn't take away from the fact that it was the Captain's birthday, and it must be acknowledged. Here's to many more birthdays in a Yankee uniform.

Lou Lamoriello's Hectic Day: June 23, 2009

There were two big stories in the NHL yesterday, and both involved Devils GM Lou Lamoriello.

The first was the announcement of Brent Sutter as coach of the Calgary Flames. There's already been plenty of discussion about that story from Sutter's point of view. But Lamoriello was involved as well: he was the one that gave the Flames permission to speak to Sutter in the first place.

Originally, many fans (myself included) demanded compensation. The coach was still under contract, and Lou had no reason to be nice and give him away. But no compensation was given, and now many fans are calling for Lou's head.

Unfortunately, what those fans don't realize is that Lou couldn't ask for compensation. Those are the rules of the NHL. It may not seem to make sense, but that's how it is. And believe me, Lou would have asked for compensation if he could. A direct quote from Lou:

"You know once you give consent, because of the new rules in the NHL there is no recourse and no compensation. I certainly believe there should be compensation in situations like this for all the obvious reasons, but there isn't. That's a league rule and you accept it."

The fact of the matter is that Lou is trying to sign a coach as well, and needs to ask permission from other teams to do so for some candidates. To deny the Flames permission and then ask the same of other teams would be hypocritical.

In addition, Lou had no reason to burn a bridge with Flames GM Darryl Sutter, with whom he may have to make a future trade.

The second news story surrounding Lou was the announcement that he'd been voted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. This honor is extremely well deserved, and I extend my mazel tov to Lou. He's been on of the best GMs in sports for a very long time.

Wrapping Up The Brent Sutter Ordeal

Well, we know the whole story now. Brent Sutter is in Calgary, and the Devils won't be receiving anything in return.

There is (and always will be) speculation that there was collusion. Brent's brother Darryl is the Flames' GM, and it's silly to think they hadn't discussed this even while Brent remained head coach. Even if they didn't technically directly speak to each other about it, they surely beat around the bush to "legally" discuss the matter.

But no matter what it looks like, and no matter what we believe, we'll never be able to prove anything, so the point is moot. However, there are some very interesting details about this entire situation, details that really don't make Brent Sutter appear like a stand-up individual.

Darryl plainly stated that he'd asked Lou Lamoriello for permission to speak to his brother on June 12th. For those keeping track at home, that's three days after Brent resigned. That's a very, very fast turnaround. Say what you will about Calgary's proximity to Brent's home in Red Deer, and whether or not he'd have ultimately decided to coach in Calgary, but you'd think Brent would at least take a little longer to think about it. Three days? That's all it took to pull him back into the coaching world? Doesn't seem like Brent needed much time to think about it.

Keep in mind that the Devils' season ended on April 28th. It took Brent over 40 days to consider his resignation, but only three to jump back in. His deliberation reached a relatively quick end when Mike Keenan was fired on May 23rd.

The dates just don't add up. He took a very long time to decide about his future (understandable, even though it put the Devils in a very difficult position right before the draft and free agency), then reconsidered only three days later. I know, Calgary is only 90 miles outside of Red Deer, and he's closer to his family. But he's still spending a tremendous amount of time away from them. Three days is awfully fast to make a decision.

Incidentally, as just mentioned, Calgary is 90 miles away from Red Deer. That's not exactly the same city. I know it's closer than New Jersey, but it's not as if he's going to have much time to spend with his family and his ranch. There are still 41 road games to be played, and he won't be making the 90-mile drive through the Canadian winter before and after every home game. And even if he would, that still doesn't leave so much time for his family, and certainly not his ranch. Being a hockey coach is a full time job. In fact, when Sutter resigned, he said he'd just had "he first decent night’s sleep... in seven weeks." How many "decent night's sleeps" does he think he'll have as coach of another NHL franchise? Are the beds that much more comfortable in Canada?

He also won't be able to micromanage his minor-league team (the Rebels) in Red Deer. This was supposedly a big factor in his resignation, as the team had missed the playoffs both years that he was in New Jersey. But, to re-hash, being an NHL coach is a full-time job. When, exactly, does Brent intend to run his team?

Here is an exact quote from the day Sutter stepped down:

"I'm getting back to my life here as far as being in the office on a daily basis here with the Rebels and working between there and the ranch and spending some time with my family. I'm getting back to my life here that I've neglected somewhat over the last couple of years."

It's too bad he gave up those luxuries just three days later. It's astonishing how quickly he was willing to give up this life he supposedly desired.

It's even more astonishing that he backed out of his contract to do this. It's understandable that he'd want to coach near his family so he could see them more often, and it's understandable that he'd want to play for his brother. But he was under contract with the Devils.

Had he done what he said he would, and gone back home full-time, that's one thing. He's still backing out of a contract, but at least it's for a legitimate reason. But instead, he's backing out of a contract simply to coach for another team. Sure, he can spend SOME more time with his family. But is it enough to warrant backing out of a contract?

Another Sutter quote:

"When it involves family and it involves personal things around your life that you thrown everything into and then ultimately you have to make a decision on something, it might not be the right decision for some people and that's fine, that's always out there. Yet, I don't at all look at it like I'm quitting on anything. I threw two years of my life (into it) and made a big commitment 3,000 miles away from where my life was and tried to do everything I possibly could to try to accomplish a goal there that we wanted to accomplish. But, by me doing that, my life has suffered in other areas and those areas to me are bigger than the game."

Sutter claimed he wasn't quitting because he put two years into his job. Unfortunately for him, he signed a three-year deal. So by backing out of the deal, he is, in fact, quitting. If the Devils play two periods of a hockey game, what exactly do you call it?

But more importantly, Sutter once again cites his family as the reason for his resignation. If he's so adamant about his family to the extent that he has to back out of a contract, he should be spending time with them on a daily basis. Not when he finds time for them during a homestand.

Stan Fischler cites Steve Mcfarlane as saying:

"Brent Sutter's character will be brought into question. Not just by New Jersey Devils fans, either. Rarely does someone who fails to honor the full length of a contract, then sign up for the same job with another employer, avoid a few stares of disgust. Even if that new employer happens to be your brother."

McFarlane's comments are dead-on. The man backed out of his contract, only to turn around and accept the same job elsewhere. Had he waited just one year to be a free agent, he would have been justified in joining his brother. Scott Niedermayer never demanded a trade to play alongside brother Rob, but waited until he was a free agent to sign with Anaheim. Couldn't Sutter have done the same?

The fact is, he backed out of a deal, and only three days later came out of his temporary retirement. Was there collusion? We can speculate to no end, but we'll never know for sure. However, we do know that Sutter said he was going home for family reasons, yet he's forfeiting most of his time with them to coach for another team. And we know that he began reconsidering just three days after his resignation. There is no excuse for that kind of behavior.

On the day he stepped down, Sutter said “There’s been all this talk about Calgary, for so long, but Darryl and I have had no discussion about that (the Flames’ coaching job). This decision I’m making now has zero to do with the Calgary Flames’ situation.” Yet merely three days later, he began negotiations for the very job he'd dismissed. we now know his words mirror his initials: BS.

For more articles on this topic, please see:

Scott Burnside (ESPN)
Stan Fischler (MaxHockey)
Tom Gulitti (Fire and Ice)

The Brent Sutter Saga: One Day Later

Yesterday, it was announced that Brent Sutter was close to a deal that would have him working for his brother, Darryl, as coach of the Calgary Flames.

This report has sparked a great deal of discussion among Devils fans, as many questions have been flying around.

On the one hand, there have been questions about how this may or may not affect the Devils: Sutter is still under contract with the Devils, so how could Calgary even talk to him? Did Lou Lamoriello grant them permission? Did he ask for compensation? Could we be dealing with a tampering situation?

On the other, there have been questions about what this means for Brent Sutter: Does this set a new precedent that coaches can just back out of contracts to join other teams? Did he flat-out lie when he said he wanted to go home to his family just a few weeks ago? Was he discussing the situation with his brother (despite denying it was ever an issue) while still under contract with the Devils?

Simply put, Sutter comes out of this looking like a complete jerk, and the major questions surround how he even legally got to Calgary in the first place.

Unfortunately, not many details have surface. All we have is the original report from TSN (which was followed up by every major sports outlet in the nation), which simply states that this is going down. So how did he wind up there? Well, the report says that they must have received permission from the Devils, or this wouldn't have even happened. But that does not mean they actually got it; it just seems that way.

I'm no conspiracy theorist, and I'm not about to accuse the Flames of collusion, but I do find it hard to believe that Lamoriello would just let Sutter go. It would be a tremendous slap in the face to the Devils, and Lou would not let that happen. And regardless of the situation, Lou is known for finagling every penny and getting what he can from every asset. He wouldn't give the man up for free.

But one day later, there have been no details. We don't know what the Flames gave up to speak to Sutter, and we don't know if they spoke to him illegally before receiving permission. The only wrinkle in the story is that the official announcement has been pushed off until Tuesday, when it was originally thought to come as early as Sunday. Could there have been a hang-up involving the coach's former team?

Interestingly, there has been no comment from the Flames to this point, and Lamoriello only recently broke his silence, saying a very loud "no comment." With such a tricky situation, you'd think the teams would be more vocal. We have no news from either side, just the original report that lacked any actual quotes.

But Lou's no-comment is a big deal. Had he just given the Flames permission, he would have just said that outright. Instead, Lou is waiting to comment until after the deal is made official. What does this mean? Did the Devils work out a compensation package? Lou is known to be tight-lipped on potential deals. Or perhaps he's waiting until after the announcement to file tampering charges.

This is all speculation, and we won't know anything until after tomorrow's press conference. But no matter the case, Sutter looks like a hypocrite. He backed out of his contract, saying "I'm not a quitter," and ran home to his family and minor-league hockey team... only to return to the NHL moments later. This is a very fast turnaround that SCREAMS collusion, and at the very least shows where Sutter's intention truly lie. He's not going to be able to micromanage his minor-league team, and he won't be spending much time with his family, despite Calgary's relative proximity to his home in Red Deer. The turnaround was extremely fast, too, faster than it took him to decide to resign in the first place. Sutter's initials (BS) seem to contain a double entendre.

(Tom Gulitti is on vacation, and has yet to report on this, saying he'd just be regurgitating TSN's original report. But there are plenty of comments about the sitch on his blog, and you can follow that discussion here.)

Brent Sutter Is A Complete And Utter Dickhead

Well, here's your big news of the day.

For those too lazy to click on the link, Brent Sutter is close to signing a deal to coach the Calgary Flames.

To many, this comes as no surprise. The Calgary job opened, Sutter stepped down, and that cleared the way for him to coach for his brother, Flames GM Darryl Sutter.

But this is a surprise to me. I mean, I wouldn't put anything past Brent Sutter. He backed out of a contract, so how much can he be trusted? But I'm surprised that they've managed to legally put a deal together.

Brent remains under contract with the Devils for next season. The only way the Flames could talk to him would be if the Devils gave them permission. And I'd be stunned if Lou Lamoriello would let them do that.

This is a guy who backed down from the team because he was homesick. I don't think Lamoriello would be stupid enough to just let him walk away to coach someone else. If he can't coach the Devils because he can't coach, he can't coach the Flames for the same reason.

Details will surely ensue over the coming days. I fully expect the Devils to get generous compensation. This is a coach who led the team to the playoffs the past two years, and this year won the division despite losing Martin Brodeur for 50 games. He's not getting away cheaply.

And the next time the Flames come to Jersey, I expect Sutter to be booed out of the building.

I REALLY Don't Want Tyler Hansbrough

I may be a Nets fan, but admittedly, I'm far from a die-hard. I mean, they're certainly the one and only team I care about in the NBA. I just don't care about basketball all that much. I mean, there's hockey to be watched!

But there are a few times during the year when I pay attention to the Nets. If they're good, I'll care when they make the playoffs or when they fire Byron Scott. If they're bad, I'll care when the "Fire Lawrence Frank" rumors heat up (please!) and by the NBA draft.

Well, the Nets are bad, and the draft is almost here. I've been following potential picks, and I've come to the following conclusion:

I have no interest whatsoever in Tyler Hansbrough.

He's a sluggish stiff. Big Country. We don't need that. Our center is Brook Lopez, and we need an athletic, fast forward to run up the court. Hansbrough isn't that man. In fact, at number 11, I don't think he'd be right for anyone. Except maybe the Knicks. He's a nice player, a first round talent, but ishe really a lottery pick? There have to be 15 players better than him.

Apparently, the Nets are no longer interested in DuJuan Blair, and that sits well with me, because he has knee issues. The Nets have been scared off by knee issues in the past-- Shareef Abdur Raheem-- and that worked out well for them, as they avoided disaster.

The Nets are also looking at the likes of Terrence Williams, Earl Clark, and James Johnson. But the guy I like the most (and maybe I'm a little biased) is Omri Casspi of Maccabi Tel Aviv. He's got the tools the Nets want, and I think he's cool.

The Nets are also exploring trade possibilities. They may deal the 11th pick if they feel they can grab Hansbrough later on (not as bad as taking him at 11, but still, please no), and another rumor has them dealing Vince Carter to the Wizards for the number 5 pick and a few players.

Rod Thorn and Kiki Vanderwoodson keep insisting they're going to take the "best player available," which is a fine strategy, because it means they won't be taking Hansbrough at number 11.