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Injured French guard can't make trip for Nets tryout

May 17, 2012 , ι By FRED KERBER

Well, they scouted him in the past at least.Evan Fournier, the 19-year-old French combo guard who has caught the eye of the Nets' European scouts, will not be at the pre-draft group workout in East... Read on

Well, they scouted him in the past at least.
	 
Evan Fournier, the 19-year-old French combo guard who has caught the eye of the Nets' European scouts, will not be at the pre-draft group workout in East Rutherford this weekend.
	 
Fournier, 6-7, suffered a right ankle injury (likely a sprain) Wednesday night in his final French League game and left the arena on crutches. That whole scenario would have made him a perfect fit for the Nets, who lost 250 manpower games to injury, illness and personal reasons this season.
	 
Another name player, small forward Kris Joseph of Syracuse, has withdrawn from the combine.
	 
Fournier was scheduled to leave for the United States on Thursday but will bypass the combine which the Nets are conducting in conjunction with the Rockets. This is the fourth time the Nets are providing the facility for the group workout, but the first year when representatives from all 30 NBA teams are expected.
	 
Fournier held particular appeal for the Nets, who have scouted him at least three times in the past.
	 
Among other roster changes for the combine, which originally had 44 draft-eligible hopefuls, is the addition of Murray State guard Donte Poole.

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Nets season in review: Dennis Horner

May 16, 2012 , ι By TIM BONTEMPS

Dennis Horner entered training camp as an afterthought.He left it as a member of the Nets.Horner’s surprise addition to the Nets’ roster out of training camp – as well as a second stint with the Nets... Read on

Dennis Horner entered training camp as an afterthought.
	 
He left it as a member of the Nets.
	 
Horner’s surprise addition to the Nets’ roster out of training camp – as well as a second stint with the Nets later in the season – was both a heart-warming story about a local kid making it, as well as an affirmation of the Nets’ new partnership with the D-League’s Springfield Armor.
	 
After Horner made it through camp and onto the roster, he stuck with the Nets through the first three weeks of the season, getting spot duty in five of the team’s first 14 games of the season, with his biggest opportunity coming in the Nets’ 106-70 loss to the Hawks in the home opener on Dec. 27, when he finished with four points and two rebounds in 7:51 – all season-highs.
	 
But Horner’s time with the Nets came to an end when he was waived after the Nets lost in Los Angeles against the Clippers on Jan. 16. Horner was waived in order to make room for small forward Larry Owens.
	 
Horner then returned to the Armor, where he played 25 games this season, and averaged 17 points, 8.5 rebounds and 37.3 percent from 3-point range. That performance allowed him to get a second shot with the Nets late in the season, when Horner was re-signed by the Nets when they sent Horner’s former teammate with the Armor, Jerry Smith, back to Springfield.
	 
The Linwood, NJ native then spent an additional six games with the team, getting spot duty in three of them, before being let go once again in order to make room for Armon Johnson.
	 
After Horner’s impressive D-League season and brief cameos with the Nets, he’ll be hoping to get a more permanent shot with an NBA team next season. He’s got the size to be a “stretch four” in the NBA, the en vogue thing teams are looking for. When Horner was initially sent back to the Armor in January, he told me that the Nets had told him to work on his 3-point shooting.
	 
If he can replicate his 37 percent D-League showing in the NBA (though he’d be better off getting it up to 40 percent or more), he’s definitely got a chance to carve out a role for himself somewhere – either in Brooklyn or with another team.
	 
Dennis Horner 2011-12 stats (per game averages)
	 
Games: 8
	 
Minutes: 2:47
	 
Points: 0.6
	 
Rebounds: 0.6
	 
Assists: 0.0
	 
Steals: 0.0
	 
Blocks: 0.0
	 
Field Goal Percentage: 25.0
	 
3-Point Field Goal Percentage: 0.0
	 
Free Throw Percentage: 75.0
	 
tbontemps@nypost.com

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Nets season in review: Gerald Green

May 15, 2012 , ι By TIM BONTEMPS

After the way Gerald Green played for the Nets over the season’s final two months, the most amazing part of his incredible comeback story is that no one decided to pick him up during the first half of the season.
	 
Green was a forgotten former Celtics first-round pick when the 2011-12 season began, a lost basketball soul who after going straight from high school to the NBA thanks to his near limitless athleticism, bounced around the league for a few years before being forced to leave the NBA and play overseas.
	 
But Green decided to give it another shot here this season and, after the Lakers cut him during training camp, he signed on with the NBA Development League’s Los Angeles D-Fenders. And then, after 19.1 points on 48 percent shooting – including 45.8 percent from 3-point range – in 22 games there, as well as claiming most valuable player honors in the D-League’s All-Star Game, the Nets offered Green a tryout.
	 
Green matched up against swingman Alan Anderson in tryout, and the Nets chose to give Green the 10-day contract the team had available after letting Andre Emmett go. It was one of the best decisions that the Nets made all season long, as Green quickly grew into a fan favorite, as well as easily becoming one of the biggest league-wide surprises of the season.
	 
Green’s fan-favorite label, in large part, came from his ridiculous trademark athleticism. He was on the receiving end of several spectacular alley-oop passes, including one particularly amazing windmill dunk off a pass from MarShon Brooks.
	 
But Green showed that his game has grown far beyond simply being a terrific leaper. He proved he’s developed as a shooter, making 39.1 percent of his 3-point attempts, and also added nearly a steal per game.
	 
“I think Avery, the first practice, in front of the whole team, said, ‘Look, if you’ve got an opportunity, be aggressive … if you’ve got a three, take your open three. Play basketball. If you’re going to be tentative and aggressive, you’re not going to be here long,’” Nets general manager Billy King said.
	 
Now it will be up to King to try and find a way to bring Green back next season, so fans can see his high-wire act in the Nets’ new uniforms and in their new home, Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
	 
To King’s credit, after Green had been excellent through his first two 10-day contracts, he attempted to sign the 6-foot-7 small forward for not only the rest of this season, but next year, as well. But Green and his agent, Kenton Edelin, decided against that, thinking they’ll be able to get a bigger payday in free agency this summer.
	 
After the way that Green performed this season, it looks like they were right. The question now won’t be whether or not Green will get more than the veteran’s minimum – he most certainly will – but instead how much he will get.
	 
Given his age (26), athleticism and possible room for continued improvement, Green could be in for a pretty good payday this summer. Could the Nets manage to bring him to Brooklyn for three years and, say, $10 million? That would be a pretty fair contract for both sides.
	 
But could it take less? Green told The Post’s Fred Kerber last month that he’d be willing to give the Nets a hometown discount to stay.
	 
“Most definitely I would,” Green said. “I’m about loyalty, and this team was the first team to pick me up for the year. They gave me an opportunity. They gave me a shot.
	 
“Look what they’re doing,” he continued. “Our record doesn’t speak for itself. We’re a lot better team than our record says. I strongly feel that and everybody on this team does, too. I think this season was a season where we can kind of see where we’re at, and I would love to be a part of what’s going on in the future.”
	 
Now, it’s up to King to try and make Green part of the foundation for the team’s move to Brooklyn.
	 
Gerald Green 2011-12 stats (all per game averages)
	 
Games: 31
	 
Minutes: 25:12
	 
Points: 12.9
	 
Rebounds: 3.5
	 
Assists: 2.3
	 
Steals: 0.9
	 
Blocks: 0.5
	 
Field Goal Percentage: 48.1
	 
3-Point Field Goal Percentage: 39.1
	 
Free Throw Percentage: 75.4
	 
Player Efficiency Rating: 15.88
	 
tbontemps@nypost.com

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Nets holding pre-draft workout for NBA hopefuls

May 15, 2012 , ι By FRED KERBER

The Nets again are holding a mass pre-draft workout this weekend with 44 NBA hopefuls scheduled to attend.The Nets, who are holding the workout in conjunction with the Rockets, staged a similar... Read on

The Nets again are holding a mass pre-draft workout this weekend with 44 NBA hopefuls scheduled to attend.
	 
The Nets, who are holding the workout in conjunction with the Rockets, staged a similar combine last year. All 30 NBA teams are expected to have representatives on hand to watch skill tests and 5-on-5 competition for the mostly second rounders. Nope, no one from Kentucky.
	 
There will be a lot of local talent including Big East Player of the Year Jae Crowder of Marquette, a 6-6 235-pound forward. Other familiar faces are 6-7 Syracuse forward Kris Joseph, 6-1 Iona guard Scott Machado and 6-0 Xavier guard by way of Long Island Tu Holloway.
	 
One guy the Nets figure to watch closely is 19-year-old combo guard Evan Fournier of France, projected by some as a late first rounder. The Nets traded their first round selection to Portland in the Gerald Wallace deal – but it is protected one through three. GM Billy King, however, is a well-known trader, frequently acquiring picks right around past drafts.
	 
Some other players of note expected at the four sessions scheduled for Saturday and Sunday are LSU 7-0 center Justin Hamilton, 6-3 guard Marcus Denmon of Missouri and 6-1 guard J’Covan Brown of Texas.
	 
*
	 
MarShon Brooks received a second and a third place vote and finished 10th in the Rookie of the Year voting announced Tuesday. Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving was the landslide winner.

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Nets season in review: Sundiata Gaines

May 14, 2012 , ι By TIM BONTEMPS

After impressing the Nets with his play after signing a pair of 10-day contracts late in the 2010-11 season, Sundiata Gaines returned for the 2011-12 season. In his first full season with any NBA team, he saw his role fluctuate repeatedly as the season wore on.
	 
Gaines began the season as the primary backup option to Deron Williams, and actually moved into the starting lineup alongside him for several games early in the year. But he then spent much of the Nets’ congested January schedule behind both Williams and Jordan Farmar at point guard, before Farmar’s ongoing injury issues giving him a lifeline back into the lineup.
	 
As the season wore on, and as the injuries mounted – including Farmar’s season coming to a premature end with a groin injury – Gaines continued to see his playing time increase. He started the final five games of the season with Williams sidelined with a calf injury, and had his best game of the year against the Knicks at Prudential Center on April 18, when he finished with 18 points, six rebounds and six assists in 28:30 in a 104-95 loss.
	 
Gaines, who went to Archbishop Molloy in Queens, is a tough, gritty defender who is a very competent third point guard who can more than help out when necessary. With his contract expiring, it remains to be seen whether he’ll be back with the Nets next season. That decision could depend on whether the Nets would rather keep Gaines or see what Armon Johnson could develop into in that spot.
	 
Sundiata Gaines 2011-12 stats (all per game averages)
	 
Games: 57
	 
Minutes: 13:54
	 
Points: 5.1
	 
Rebounds: 1.9
	 
Assists: 2.2
	 
Steals: 1.0
	 
Blocks: 0.0
	 
Field Goal Percentage: 37.6
	 
3-Point Field Goal Percentage: 34.1
	 
Free Throw Percentage: 61.5
	 
Player Efficiency Rating: 15.07
	 
tbontemps@nypost.com

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Nets season in review: Jordan Farmar

May 11, 2012 , ι By TIM BONTEMPS

Like many of his teammates, Jordan Farmar’s season was cut short by various injuries. But when he was on the court, Farmar proved he’s a more than capable option at the point. After spending the... Read on

Like many of his teammates, Jordan Farmar’s season was cut short by various injuries. But when he was on the court, Farmar proved he’s a more than capable option at the point.

After spending the first several years of his NBA career playing in the triangle, Farmar signed a three-year deal with the Nets in July of 2010, and struggled adjusting to the freedom that he found himself possessing outside of the rigid triangle system.

It was an adjustment process that Nets coach Avery Johnson saw Farmar growing comfortable with as his second season with the Nets wore on.

“He’d been in the triangle system for a long time,” Johnson said after the Nets beat Charlotte, 97-87, at home on Jan. 22. “He’s getting much more comfortable.

“He’s really doing a good job of quarterbacking the team, especially when he subs for Deron.”

Farmar spent much of the season bothered by groin injuries, which limited him to 39 games. But when he did play, he was effective, as Johnson alluded to. Farmar finished with averages of 10.4 points and 3.3 assists per game, and also knocked down 44 percent of his 3-pointers while making over a 3-pointer per game.

His biggest moment of the season came on March 7 at Prudential Center, when he caught a bounce pass from Deron Williams and buried a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to give the Nets one of the season’s best wins, a 101-100 victory over the Clippers – a shot that Avery Johnson called, at the time, the biggest shot of the year.

“They were always cheating over towards Deron, taking his space away,” Farmar said at the time. “He just bounced it to me in the perfect spot. … I was a little deep, but I just wanted to see the rim and follow through.”

But after missing the final month of the season with the nagging groin injury, Farmar has a decision to make this offseason, as he has until June 30 to decide whether or not he is going to pick up his $4.25 million player option for next season.

It’s likely to be a difficult decision for Farmar on multiple levels. For starters, he could receive a similar contract on the open market, but it’s no sure thing. At worst, Farmar is a very good backup, and could easily start for at least several teams across the league. For instance, he would have been the best point guard in the Knicks-Heat series, and it wouldn’t be that close.

That said, it’s not entirely clear how much he could command on the open market, especially given his injury issues this past season.

There also is the matter of a bigger role. If Deron Williams re-signs with the Nets, Farmar will be nothing more than backup point guard, and with MarShon Brooks, Anthony Morrow and likely Gerald Green back next season, there won’t be many minutes for him at shooting guard, either.

The other side of the coin is simple: Farmar locks himself in for a nice $4.25 million this season and hopes for one of two things to happen. Either the Nets make a deep playoff run (assuming they bring back Williams, add some more talent and stay healthy) or Williams leaves, Farmar assumes the starting point guard spot and gets a chance to prove he’s deserving of the role, either with the Nets or elsewhere.

From the Nets perspective, Farmar’s decision will present them with different options. If Farmar opts-in, which is the prevailing thought at the moment, it will provide the Nets with two valuable things: a proven, capable backup point guard and a decent-sized expiring contract to move in a trade either this summer or next season.

If he opts out, that will give Nets general manager Billy King an addition four million to go out and supplement the roster. As for the backup point spot, the Nets will likely bring back one of their two minimum salary point guards on the roster – Sundiata Gaines or Armon Johnson – and then use a combination of one of them, Gerald Wallace and MarShon Brooks, who is expected to spend a lot of time at the point during summer league, behind Williams.

Jordan Farmar 2011-12 stats (all per game averages)

Games: 39
	 
Minutes: 21:18
	 
Points: 10.4
	 
Rebounds: 1.6
	 
Assists: 3.3
	 
Steals: 0.6
	 
Blocks: 0.06
	 
Field Goal Percentage: 46.7
	 
3-Point Field Goal Percentage: 44.0
	 
Free Throw Percentage: 90.5
	 
Player Efficiency Rating: 17.46

tbontemps@nypost.com

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Williams meeting with Nets owner, GM in Turkey

May 11, 2012 , ι By TIM BONTEMPS

Nets general manager Billy King tweeted an idyllic photo from Istanbul on Thursday afternoon, where he said he would be this week for the Euroleague Final Four, which begins Friday.
	 
About an hour later, however, Nets fans got a surprise when star point guard Deron Williams, who played for Turkish league power Besiktas in Istanbul during the lockout, tweeted a photo of what looked to be the nearly the same view captioned “Back in Istanbul.”
	 
But the surprises don’t end there. The Post has learned that Mikhail Prokhorov will be with King and Williams for CSKA Moscow’s semifinal Friday against Panathinaikos. With Williams famously set to explore free agency this summer -- and with his hometown Mavericks, fresh off their four-game sweep at the hands of the Thunder, expected to be the primary challengers for his signature -- the fact that he’s spending time during the offseason with King and Prokhorov can only be seen as a good sign for the team’s chances of keeping him.
	 
King had said during his end-of-season press conference that the purpose of his trip was to meet with Bojan Bogdanovic, Brooklyn’s second-round pick last June who averaged a team-high 13.6 points for another Turkish powerhouse based in Istanbul, Fenerbache Ulker.
	 
But King, Williams and Prokhorov also will be getting a close look at CSKA star Andrei Kirilenko, a name very familiar to NBA fans after playing 10 years for the Jazz, including together with Williams from the day the point guard was drafted until he was dealt to the Nets.
	 
Though multiple sources flatly denied a report last week that said a verbal agreement between Kirilenko and the Nets was imminent, The Post did confirm the team has monitored the versatile 6-foor-10 forward’s play this season for CSKA.
	 
In addition to Kirilenko’s obvious connection with Williams, and that Kirilenko’s wife, Masha,
	 wrote in a blog that Williams and his wife, Amy, had met with the Kirilenko’s in Istanbul, Kirilenko has ties to Prokhorov.
	 
Kirilenko first played with CSKA, a team Prokhorov previously financially supported and has been run by associates of his, from 1998-2001. In fact, in the blog Misha Kirilenko wrote that was linked to earlier, she mentions Sergei Kushchenko, who used to run CSKA and was named to Nets board of directors by Prokhorov last May.
	 
In addition to playing for CSKA Moscow both before his time with the Jazz and now, Kirilenko also supported Prokhorov’s failed bid to win the Russian presidency earlier this year.
	 
tbontemps@nypost.com

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Nets season in review: Andre Emmett

May 10, 2012 , ι By TIM BONTEMPS

Seven years after he made his NBA debut, the Nets gave Andre Emmett another shot at playing basketball at the highest level.Emmett signed a 10-day contract with the Nets to replace Keith Bogans on... Read on

Seven years after he made his NBA debut, the Nets gave Andre Emmett another shot at playing basketball at the highest level.
	 
Emmett signed a 10-day contract with the Nets to replace Keith Bogans on the roster on Feb. 14 after Bogans tore the deltoid ligament and broke a bone in his left ankle against the Pistons on Feb. 8.
	 
The 6-foot-5 shooting guard made his debut the following night, playing 15:11 in a 105-100 home loss to Memphis and finished four points, one rebound and a block. He finished with double-digit minutes in three of the six games that he played, including playing 12:37 and finishing with six points, two rebounds, an assist and a steal in a 108-91 loss to Orlando on Feb. 22.
	 
Emmett, who was originally a second-round pick by Seattle in 2004 out of Texas Tech, didn’t have his 10-day contract renewed by the Nets after it expired as the team entered the All-Star break. That turned out to be Emmett’s biggest contribution to the team this season, as the Nets went on to replace him with Gerald Green, a move which turned out to be one of the team’s best of the season.
	 
Andre Emmett 2011-12 stats (all per game averages)
	 
Games: 6
	 
Minutes: 7:30
	 
Points: 2.2
	 
Rebounds: 1.0
	 
Assists: 0.2
	 
Steals: 0.3
	 
Blocks: 0.2
	 
Field Goal Percentage: 57.1
	 
3-Point Field Goal Percentage: 0.0
	 
Free Throw Percentage: 62.5
	 
Player Efficiency Rating: 13.28
	 
tbontemps@nypost.com

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Nets-Magic trade rumors over Howard to resume soon

May 09, 2012 , ι By TIM BONTEMPS

The Nets spent the first half of the season dealing with rumors and conjecture on a daily basis surrounding Dwight Howard’s status, and whether or not he’d soon be joining the team.
	 
Now that the Magic have been eliminated from the playoffs thanks to Tuesday’s 105-87 loss to the Pacers, it’s only a matter of time before that talk will begin again.
	 
Magic CEO Alex Martins began the chatter himself Tuesday, speaking to a reporter from a television station in Orlando.
	 In a series of tweets, News 13 reporter David Bauman gave some insight into the Magic’s thinking now that their season has come to an end.
	 
There were two key takeaways from what Martins said. The first was him saying Howard needs to sign a long-term extension or “necessary decisions will be made.” The other, along the same lines, was Martins saying he wants Howard to sign an extension “so we don’t go through a season like we went through this year.”
	 
The inherent problem with Martins’ statements, though, is that it’s not really possible for Howard to commit to signing a long-term extension with the Magic. In fact, because of the rules in the new collective bargaining agreement, he can only tack two more years onto the end of his current deal if he signs an extension before July 1, and three years after that. Though that is a lengthy commitment, it’s not the kind a team would get under the previous CBA – and, more importantly, Howard would make more money going into free agency.
	 
So, with the incentive for Howard to sign a long-term extension not being there, it seems unlikely that Orlando will be willing to enter next season with the specter of Howard’s future hanging over the franchise. With that being the case, it seems likely that the trade talks between the Magic and other teams, including the Nets -- who were considered by many the front-runners to get Howard in the days leading up to the trade deadline – to intensify as the summer wears on.
	 
The possibility exists, particularly if the Nets wind up with one of the top three picks in the draft, that New Jersey could swing a deal for Howard on draft night. But it’s more likely that such a deal wouldn’t happen until closer to the start of the season, in order to allow for Howard to prove he’s healthy and fully recovered from surgery on a herniated disk in his back that he underwent a few weeks ago in Los Angeles.
	 
The injury kept him out of the end of the regular season and the Magic's brief playoff run.
	 
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tbontemps@nypost.com

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Nets season in review: MarShon Brooks

May 09, 2012 , ι By TIM BONTEMPS

In the lead up to the 2011 draft, here is how DraftExpress’ Joseph Treutlein summed up his profile of MarShon Brooks:“Surely one of the more enigmatic prospects in this year’s draft, MarShon Brooks... Read on

In the lead up to the 2011 draft, here is how DraftExpress’ Joseph Treutlein summed up his profile of MarShon Brooks:
	 
“Surely one of the more enigmatic prospects in this year’s draft, MarShon Brooks likely has the most varied projections by NBA scouts of any player in the class. He clearly has a ton of natural scoring ability, strong physical tools, and a ton of skills, but how he can adapt that package into playing winning basketball is yet to be seen.”
	 
After his rookie season, the final sentence of that scouting report still applies.
	 
When the Nets traded up with the Celtics to snag Brooks, who Boston had taken with the 25th overall pick, they acquired a player that had exploded onto the NBA draft radar as a senior at Providence after finishing second in the nation in scoring, but did it as a volume shooter on a team that finished at the bottom of the Big East.
	 
The biggest question mark surrounding Brooks, outside of his suspect defense, was how he would handle trying to fit into a supporting role, as opposed to being the focal point of the offense like he was in college. But thanks to the many injuries that the Nets suffered, Brooks rarely had to do that.
	 
Instead, he proved that, like in his senior season in college, he was capable of scoring on just about anyone, and in many different ways. Brooks finished the season averaging 12.6 points, third among rookies, in 29.4 minutes per game, which was fourth among rookies, and he finished the season 40th in the entire league in isolation situations, according to mysynergysports.com, a very impressive mark for such a young player.
	 
He also garnered recognition from across the league, as he ranked ninth in NBA.com’s season-ending rookie-rankings and 16th in ESPN’s – both far ahead of his draft slot, and those rankings included players like Ricky Rubio that had been drafted in previous years, but did not debut in the league until this season.
	 
But after a very strong start to his rookie year, Brooks faded down the stretch, with Nets coach Avery Johnson admitting that Brooks likely ran headlong into a rookie wall. That fact is additionally relevant given the way this compressed post-lockout schedule played out, with the lack of a training camp and playing more games each week wearing down even hardened NBA veterans, let alone rookies.
	 
“MarShon started out scoring great, but I think he realized that people are scouting him and learned how to guard him,” Nets general manager Billy King said. “They were a little more physical with him.”
	 
The biggest contributor to Brooks’ second-half slide from a performance standpoint was a significant drop in his 3-point shooting percentage, making 35.6 percent of his 3-point attempts before the All-Star Break then dropping to 25 percent after it. While most of his stats dipped after the break, that was the biggest one.
	 
It also is impossible to address Brooks’ second-half struggles without mentioning the fact that his name was prominently mentioned in the incessant trade rumors involving the potential acquisition of Dwight Howard, though Brooks himself said that wasn’t an issue.
	 
“It’s been kind of tough,” Brooks said of his second-half malaise after the Nets beat Charlotte 102-89 on March 24. “I just can’t really make my shots I usually make. It’s kind of frustrating. I’d like to get a good game under my belt. I just want to play better, and finish strong.
	 
“I had a great start to my rookie season … I don’t want to be remembered for struggling down the stretch.”
	 
And, to his credit, Brooks did just that. April turned out to be one of his best months of the season, as he posted averages of 13.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.1 steals across 12 games in the season’s final month. That included arguably his best performance as a pro on April 16 against the Heat, when he finished with 24 points, seven rebounds, six assists and two steals in a 101-98 Nets loss at Prudential Center.
	 
In addition to working on his defense, which everyone around the Nets agrees needs significant improvement, Brooks has also been tasked with working on his ball handling this summer. He spent time towards the end of the season playing some point guard, a position he has spent most of his life playing, and is expected to play a lot of point during summer league in Orlando in July. The more Brooks improves in terms of distributing the ball, the more Deron Williams (assuming he’s back with the Nets next season) will be able to play off the ball, where his dynamic scoring ability can be fully taken advantage of.
	 
Overall, though, Brooks’ rookie season has to be considered a success. He more than proved that he’s a capable NBA player, and showed flashes of having a ceiling a good deal higher than that.
	 
In the Nets’ ideal world, Brooks will be a complementary piece next season, playing alongside Williams, Brook Lopez, Gerald Wallace and others. But if Williams does end up leaving as a free agent, the Nets may end up moving forward with Brooks as the team’s primary outside complement to Lopez in the post. Either way, Brooks looks like a tremendous bargain with the 25th overall pick now, and could become an even bigger one if he continues to improve as time moves on.
	 
MarShon Brooks 2011-12 stats (all per game averages):
	 
Games: 56 (47 starts)
	 
Minutes: 29:23
	 
Points: 12.9
	 
Rebounds: 3.6
	 
Assists: 2.3
	 
Steals: 0.9
	 
Blocks: 0.3
	 
Field Goal Percentage: 42.8
	 
3-point Field Goal Percentage: 31.3
	 
Free Throw Percentage: 76.4
	 
Player Efficiency Rating: 13.00
	 
tbontemps@nypost.com

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FRED KERBER Fred Kerber joined the Post in 1990 and has been Nets beat writer since 1995. He covered the Knicks from 1990-95 and was NBA columnist as well as president of the Pro Basketball Writers Association. Fred, a 1974 graduate of St. Peter’s College, also has covered baseball, college sports, police headquarters, and federal and county courts.