Glad to see the Brooklyn Nets bringing back one of their New Jersey veterans. The fact that Collins has come out as homosexual means nothing to me, though I have no problem with other writers making a big deal out of it.
What matters to me is whether the Nets will run a play for him.
Why?
Because back during Collins’ first stint with the Nets, they decided to run a play for him in his final game for the team in the 2007-08 season before he was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies for Stromile Swift.
The news of the Swift-Collins trade had already been out for two days, and the deal was held up for reasons that I cannot recall. It eventually went down, but not before Collins played one final game for New Jersey and scored the first bucket of the game. Coach Lawrence Frank drew up the play, and later noted that is was the first time in his coaching career with the Nets (he as a longtime assistant before he took over the top job) that the team had drawn up a play for Collins, whose job was to rebound, play defense and provide toughness for some pretty good Nets teams.
Collins should be in uniform tonight when the Nets play in Los Angeles against the Lakers.
Watch and see what happens the first time the Nets have the ball on the offensive end after Collins checks in. And if Jason Kidd calls a play for the 7-footer, just remember that it wasn’t the first time. Kidd, in fact, was New Jersey’s point guard the last time Collins wore a Nets uniform.
The signing, by the way, brought a rare official statement from NBA headquarters: “”Jason told us that his goal was to earn another contract with an NBA team,” commissioner Adam Silver said. “Today, I want to commend him on achieving his goal. I know everyone in the NBA family is excited for him and proud that our league fosters an inclusive and respectful environment.”
The thing I remember clearly is nearly every Nets fan was happy to see Collins traded 6 years ago (although everyone liked him as a person). He was the worst offensive NBA player back then, but at least unlike Reggie Evans, he knew his limitations. Collins had some knee issues, which hurt his jumping. He was never a good rebounder, but was big and tough enough to guard most NBA Bigs, set picks, and was the best at taking charges.
Still most Nets fans are now skeptical about this move and don’t want to see Jason remaining for rest of season unless he really proves himself.
Not being mentioned is King’s refusal to give anything back to LAL for Jordan Hill earlier this week. Nets have rights to Bojan Bogdanovic (Bogs), but he may never play in the NBA as he just fired his NBA agent. The word that Big Baby might be available may have caused Billy King to hesitate on Hill (King was demanding pic from Lakers!!) Now Nets lost both Hill and Baby, and Bogs’ value may now be worthless. Bad week for Billy King except he did get rid of an injured Jason Terry for a younger version, in Marcus Thornton, who has a history of playing great, after the trade deadline.
Also, the word from RealGM and other source is that Nets are interested in Ivan Johnson, now back from China. Likely Johnson wouldn’t accept a 10 d contract, so Nets had to sign Collins first. Johnson, however, is Exactly what Nets need at PF- he’s a younger upgrade on Reggie Evans. Ivan dominated Reggie last season, and is a much more reliable offensive player. Since Nets still have a $5+ million DPE, they can pay Ivan more than any other team (x4 with luxury taxes). Nets still have a roster spot opening, so its possible to sign Ivan with Jason. Jason is playing tonight because KG doesn’t play on the back end of a back to back.
Although the signing of Collins was the initial idea of former teammate JKidd, it is interesting to not the role that Russian owner Prokhorov has played. Proky just won 4 medals for his Biathlon team (a reason Russia beat the USA in total medals), which should please Putin, and now has a chance to thumb his nose at Putin, by hiring a gay athlete. Proky also hopes to benefit from Dolan and Knicks being demoralized, by getting all this World publicity, for a measly 10 d contract that may allow Collins to play 20 minutes in the NBA.