[外電原文] Thorn looking for power forward now that draft is ov

看板Nets (布魯克林籃網)作者netsfan (該低調了)時間20年前 (2005/06/30 23:40)推噓1(1推 0噓 0→)

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http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/12008571.htm 版主人力不夠，所以有些外電我直接貼到版上，有心力有機會再翻譯 EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Minutes after introducing draft choices Antoine Wright and Mile Ilic on Tuesday night, New Jersey Nets President Rod Thorn was already concentrating on the future and free agency. The Nets didn't draft a big man who can play immediately, so Thorn will try to sign one when free agency opens at the end of the week. It's more than likely going to be a power forward, with Stromile Swift, Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Donyell Marshall being the best available. Swift averaged 10.1 points and 4.6 rebounds in 60 games with the Memphis Grizzlies. Abdur-Rahim averaged 16.8 points and 7.3 with the Portland Trail Blazers. Marshall averaged 11.5 points and 6.6 rebounds with the Raptors. "We certainly need another big player," Thorn said. "We're still a small team right now." Taking Wright with 15th pick overall gave the Nets depth at both the shooting guard and small forward. Ilic, a Bosnian-born Serb, will spend another season in the Adriatic League, Thorn said, adding that the 7-foot-1 center needs to bulk up before playing in the NBA. Despite playing only three years in college, Wright is ready for the NBA. He averaged 17.8 points last season and led the Big 12 Conference in 3-point shooting percentage (.447). The 6-foot-7, 210-pounder also led the Aggies in steals (36) and ranked second in blocked shots (22). "The thing that impressed me as a coach is you are always looking for defensive-minded guys," Lawrence Frank said. "It's hard to find college players with that approach to the game." Wright, who rebounded from a sub-par sophomore year, credited new Aggies coach Billy Gillispie with getting him to play defense. "He said he was a winner and he knows how to make guys winners," Wright said. The only regret that Wright had was not having his brother, Tony, there to share in the moment. He is serving a prison sentence in California and is scheduled to get out next year. Wright was projected to be picked higher than 15th and said he was nervous waiting to be selected. "I know if he (Tony) was there, I know he would have been telling me to be calm," said Antoine Wright, who speaks with his brother a couple of times a week. "I just tried to think what he would be saying." Ilic, who averaged 7.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and just under one block last season with BC Reflex in Serbia, said his best weapon is a sky hook. He said he made himself eligible for the draft this year because he wanted to get it out of his mind. "I was 95 percent sure I was going to be a late first-round pick and I wanted to go," Ilic said through an interpreter. The Nets also announced that they had exercised their option on guard Jacque Vaughn for next season. "We were very pleased with Jacque's performance last season," Thorn said. "He adds needed depth to our point guard position." Vaughn averaged 5.3 points and 1.9 assists in 71 games. He averaged 7.9 points in 2.5 assists in 34 starts. Vaughn missed the final eight games of the regular season and the playoffs with a foot injury. -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 140.135.255.3 ※ 編輯: netsfan 來自: 140.135.255.3 (06/30 23:40)