I think so. I never thoguht he was a pro player. Hope he proves me wrong. Has he even playedthis year?

If he doesn't get to a new team, it will look that way.

Stuck behind Richard Jefferson and some guy named Vince Carter is kind of tough.

Yes it is, but geez, he never even sees the game. Is he even activated?

The Nets plan for him will not determine if he is a bust this year.

If freaking Royal Ivey can play in the NBA so can wright. Your telling me Ivey is better yea right.

and the QB who can't take a hit will be an NFL WR right?

It was kind of a strange pick for the Nets. But you never know, Vince could get hurt any given moment and maybe he would get his chance. There were people here in Dallas talking about Devin Harris being a bust last year, and now those same people are saving him a place in the NBA Hall of Fame.

AW should be playing in maroon and white right now.

I am sure he wishes he could give back his millions of dollars for another year of going to school. That's how I felt after I graduated.

Wright doesn't have the head for the pro game, IMO. He is easily rattled, and his skills were still very raw coming out of college. He had a very good year last year, but his sophomore year should have been an indication that he is very streaky, and needs some development.
Great players perform no matter the circumstance. Guys like 'Toine need some time to develop. I think he'll learn a few things from Jefferson and Carter and maybe become a decent role player some time down the line. He won't ever be a franchise guy though.

I've been saying this for 3 years.

With that being said, like everyone else I hope he proves me wrong.

[This message has been edited by MassAggie97 (edited 1/3/2006 11:27a).]

his body is built for the pros...... but if he's got the mental toughness remains to be seen.

Mass,
So, you are saying that he was a better player at 21 years old than 20?

Jermaine O'Neal did nothing in his first four years in the league. I wouldn't call him a "bust."

Jermaine O'Neal was 18 when he entered the league. But I agree, I think it is way too early to call 'Toine a "bust".
Gap, his junior year was obviously superior to his sophomore year. I think a 4th year would have made a world of difference. But I don't blame him for taking the $.
Truth be told, I think he was better at 19 than I did 20. That sophomore year was just bad all around.

Jefferson and Carter are averaging 76 minutes per game out of the possible 96 minutes per game. That leaves 20 minutes per game for a back up wing player in New Jersey. Apparently the Nets don't think Wright can play right now.

One year does not make you a bust.

AW is NOT a bust.

The problem (or perhaps good question) is why did his team draft him? It was clear from the get go that his playing time was going to be nil.

Maybe they are viewing him as a project type player.

There are several NBA teams that would be glad to let him have some minutes.

He's is just stuck behind a horrible logjam on the depth chart. That said, the Nets brass have refused to send him down to the developmental league because they see too much talent and want him to work against Carter/Jefferson in practice.

I wish he was getting more minutes too, but the Nets are playing better than most would have expected and as long as they continue to hover around the top of the East (or at least the East minus Detroit) you're not going to see much of him. Rookies are going to take their lumps and when you're in a battle with Philly for the Atlantic, that's a real bad time to let a Rook take his lumps.

(In my own sick mind I hope that the Nets take a huge dump and fall out of the race because if they were to do that I think you'd see him play quite a bit, but I don't see it happening.)

How was it clear from the get go that his playing time would be nil? New Jersey uses a backup wing player 20 minutes per game. The fact of the matter is Antoine Wright doesn't get these minutes because his coach doesn't feel like he's a good enough player even to suit up. He's dressed for only one game this season.

Who is this Vince Carter yall speak of?

quote:

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He's is just stuck behind a horrible logjam on the depth chart. That said, the Nets brass have refused to send him down to the developmental league because they see too much talent and want him to work against Carter/Jefferson in practice.

---

That is an interesting take. Do you have a link or are you just speculating?
I've never seen anything out of Antoine that leads me to believe he's any more talented than any other NBA rookie, but who am I?

He just needs to keep working on his game.

Get Stronger.

Play Great Defense.

Work on His Spot Up 3.

Spend the Summer's with Bruce Bowen.

Then come to the Spurs as a free agent when he is done taken all of the free money for riding the bench with the Nets.

It made no sense for the NJ Nets to take Antoine Wright, who they did NOT work out, to sit on the bench. They could have done that with that HS kid last name Green from Texas.

I will say this again, I hope he gets traded because he will not play in NJ and by the time he does that team with be horrible and that little red headed supposed "great coach" will be fired. Whenever Jason Kidd leaves that team they will be horrible. Carter is a great athletic player and Jefferson wouldn't score as many points if Kidd wasn't there.

I really hope he gets traded.

I don't think you can judge a player when he's the 5th Wing player on a team full of veteran wing players. Carter/Jefferson/Murray/Planinic/JohnsonIII and then Antoine Wright.

Those first three are good enough to start anywhere.

Here's to hoping he gets traded to a good team. Yeah like NJ will do anything this season, yeah right...

A.K.A. agzz

MassAggie97:

I read that in a NJ newspaper article several weeks ago. It was a quote from their GM and their coach kinda gave it a 'ditto' if you will. I would have no idea where to find that link now.

...but it's not speculation. I don't even like basketball, so I wouldn't begin to speculate about decisions NBA teams make. The only reason I even read the article was because it was about 'Toine.

A case could be made that he is in much the same situation as Steve Nash before going to Dallas. He was stuck behind KJ and Kidd, and didn't really get to shine until he moved on.

And the future MVP was booed his first year in Dallas, so even the best players may need time to grow.

[This message has been edited by wxguy95 (edited 1/3/2006 3:15p).]

Here is the article:

http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkxMjYmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY4NDY0NjAmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2

quote:

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Antoine Wright smiles often, but it hides his frustration.

The rookie swingman was expected to be a lottery pick. When he fell to the Nets at 15, he thought it was a perfect spot for him. The Nets needed help defensively and they wanted shooters. Wright was touted as someone good at both, so the fit seemed as natural as a hand in a glove.

But the Nets stocked up on shooters and scorers during the summer to complement Jason Kidd, Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson. Wright went from thinking he would be in coach Lawrence Frank's rotation to deciding whether to wear a suit or blazer on game nights.

"What I've been struggling with is just the not being able to suit up and play and get out there," Wright said. "But it's a job. In a job you have to get work done every day."

Wright works daily with Nets assistant Pat Sullivan on anything and everything, hoping his chance will come soon. But Wright is the 14th man on a 14-man team that is deep at his position. So deep that Jeff McInnis and Zoran Planinic haven't been playing lately.

You can't question Frank for sitting Wright, or anyone else for that matter. Frank is doing everything right lately. The Atlantic Division-leading Nets take a five-game winning streak into tonight's game against the Knicks. Frank urges Wright to keep working.

"He's making great strides," Frank said. "He's really put a lot of smiles on peoples' faces with his approach.

"But he's got some decent players in front of him."

The Nets won't send Wright down to the NBDL for experience because they feel he can learn more and improve quicker by playing against Carter and Jefferson and other veterans in practice every day.

So Wright continues to work. His situation is much different than other rookies in that good teams often don't rely on their first-year players as bad teams do.

---

There is more if you want to go read it. It makes it sound as if the Nets are very happy to have him. I think the last sentence in the quote sums it up. They are a very good, deep, veteran team and no matter how well he was playing it would be difficult for him to get any PT. I think he will be very good in the near future.

It isn't AW's fault he got drafted by a deep, solid team (when healthy). Think of how much he would be playing if Vince/Jefferson got hurt like in recent years. Hell, it still may happen. I think he'll learn stuff from them and get traded and produce numbers there. It is obvious he is NBA ready...He just got put on a team not needing immediate help.

Steveo how is it obvious?

Well that article makes me look like a dope. Obviously if the professionals are still high on him, he is progressing like they had hoped. Here's hoping to see AW getting some serious minutes in the future!
I honestly never saw what the pros did in AW while he was in Aggieland. I thought he was one of the more athletically gifted kids in the country, but he never seemed to have the basketball "smarts" that the sure-thing types do. I honestly thought Bernard King had a better chance of playing NBA ball than did AW.

Goes to show you what I know about anything.

I know the Net's people would have told that paper he was a total bust if that's what they thought. Right?