What will Childress and Blatche bring to the #Nets

The Brooklyn Nets roster looks to be about complete right now with the signing of Andray Blatche and Josh Childress this past week to sure up the last spots on the bench.  The question on everyone’s mind is “Where do these two guys fit an and what can they do to help and not distract this team?”  The main thing that everyone should take from these non-guaranteed signings is that they are on “make good” contracts and are not a lock to make the team although Childress has a much better shot to stick with the Nets.

Looking forward to the opportunity in Brooklyn. #GodisGood

— Josh Childress (@JChillin) September 11, 2012

Josh Childress

The 6-foot-8 forward was amnestied by Phoenix, only two years into a five-year, $33.5 million contract that he signed with the Phoenix Suns after spending two long years playing overseas for Greek club Olympiacos.  Childress is a long and athletic forward who can help the Nets up front and eat up some minutes at PF and C when needed.  Childress was a quality player when he first came out and played four years with the Atlanta Hawks in which he averaged 11.8 points and grabbed around 6 rebounds a game in only 30-34 minutes per game.  His game seemed to be going up and he thought he was worth more than anyone in the NBA was willing to pay so he took his game to Greece and played there for two years.  When Childress came back to the NBA the Phoenix Suns decided to give him a HUGE contract (no idea why) and Childress never seemed to fit in with the Suns and his playing time dwindled as well as his stats.  The first year he was with Phoenix he averaged a lowly 5 points and 2.9 rebounds in limited minutes and his second year was even worse as he fell out of favor with the organization which led to him being amnestied this summer.  Lets all hope Childress gets his desire and feel for the game back so he can be a contributor to the new Brooklyn Nets roster which will be contending for a top seed in the East this year.  If the new lease on life in Brooklyn doesn’t spark a revival of his game then this may be his last stop on the NBA train. His contract is non guaranteed for $1.7 million so if he doesn’t pan out it wont really hurt the Nets as they are already well into the luxury tax.

Andray Blatche

The 6-foot-11 forward who selected with the 49th pick in the 2005 draft. Blatche jumped straight to the pros from South Kent High School in Connecticut and is a “different dude” as most would say who have watched him play in Washington for the past few years.  I consider Blatche and ‘enigma” as he has a ton of talent but a two-cent head that was in full view in Washington this past year as he and the entire Wizards team was a nightly embarrassment for their lack of professionalism.  Blatche made the highlights more than he wanted this past year but for all the wrong reasons as he played selfish and seemed to have little respect for the game itself or most of all his teammates.  Blatche was amnestied by the Wizards in July with 3 years and #23 million left on his deal so the Nets signed him to a non-guaranteed contract that will pay him a little bit more than $1.1 million if he makes the team and stays all year.  Dray, as he calls himself, needs to get his life in order and then his NBA game will come after and this past summer he has consulted John Lucas to help him get in shape physically and especially mentally. With the help of Lucas the Nets felt he was worth a shot as he does have an NBA body that can be put to good use to the Nets backing up Humphries and Lopez at times.  Blatche was a legitimate scorer as he showed in 2010/2011 when he averaged over 16 points per game and grabbed a little over 8 rebounds a game with a horrid Washington team.  I do recall Blatche having a few good breakout games during his tenure inWashington although he just couldn’t seem to be consistent with all the madness that the Wizards team routinely had to deal with. As the Washington team crumbled under the lack of coaching and professionalism, Blatche seemed to get mired into the “me over the team” concept as the team was a complete joke and he just wanted to get his stats.  This will NOT be the case in Brooklyn as the veteran heavy team will have none of the shenanigans and selfish play that he exhibited the past 2 years in Washington.

#hellobrooklyn pic.twitter.com/nYg4VmTK

— andray blatche (@drayblatche) September 12, 2012

All in all I feel the Nets are in a low risk high reward situation with both of these new additions as both will be fighting to change their perception around the league and also be playing for a contract past this year.  The two of these bigs can be a huge help to a Nets team that is looking for front court depth and maybe they will surprise us all as they should both make the team and contribute as the year moves on.