Brooklyn Nets: 3 Backups Crucial to the Team’s Success

With a strong offseason, the Brooklyn Nets have lined themselves up to be contenders in the Eastern Conference next season.

Deepest team in the league? They may earn that reputation as well.

The starting lineup was revamped with the acquisitions of Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce via trade and the franchise was able to add even more talent to the bench. One of the team’s strengths will definitely be its size on the interior. Role players are going to be counted on heavily during the regular season with many veterans on the team and minutes will have to be adjusted accordingly to avoid overplaying the veterans, as we saw what happened with a 34-year-old Kobe Bryant at the end of last year just before the playoffs.

Andray Blatche  was re-signed during free agency. Andrei Kirilenko was signed to back up Pierce after spending last season with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Finally, Jason Terry was acquired from the Boston Celtics in the Garnett and Pierce trade and is seen as an afterthought.

Let’s take a glance at these three players, as they will be crucial to the Nets’ success next season.

Andrei Kirilenko

(Image courtesy of Flickr: Christopher Johnson).

Kirilenko made a return to the NBA last season with the Minnesota Timberwolves after one year with his former Russian team, CSKA Moscow, during the lockout-shortened season. For Minnesota, he averaged 12.4 points and 5.7 rebounds a game. He is a versatile forward who can play inside or outside and at age 32 gives the team a lengthy perimeter defender, even though he may have lost a little bounce to his game. The Russian was looked at seriously by the San Antonio Spurs, but he opted out of the final year of his contract with Minnesota and left $10 million on the table to sign a two-year deal worth approximately $6 million.

Jason Terry

It seems that Terry was just a throw-in the Celtics trade, but he’s more than that.  He will have a large role, primarily to knock down open jumpers, as he is the best shooter on the team. With Deron Williams, Joe Johnson and Pierce creating most of the offense, Terry should be freed up for plenty of shots off the bench. Terry averaged 10.1 points a game last season and shot 37 percent from 3.

Andray Blatche

Photo Credit: Mark Runyan, Basketball Schedule

Blatche has been an underachiever for most of his career, but next season could be a huge step in the right direction. He has the ability to play alongside Brook Lopez, but also as his backup. His scoring has dropped quite a bit from 16. 8 points a game two seasons ago, but playing with Garnett is going to be a boost to his game. Blatche is one of the many beneficiaries on the roster who should look forward to playing alongside KG. Another key thing to note–maybe a player’s coach in Jason Kidd may be able to get Blatche back his playing form of two years ago. He averaged 10.3 points a game and 5.1 rebounds a game last season.