The Nets may not have a full team yet, but MarShon Brooks is working hard on improving his game this offseason.
While both Deron Williams and Gerald Wallace are expected to test the free-agent market this summer, Brooks is prepping for his second season with the Nets whether or not Williams and Wallace make the move to Brooklyn.
“We don’t really have a team right now,” Brooks told The Post. “I’m just working as hard as I possibly can to be ready for whatever role they give me. I’ve been doing a lot of lifting, trying to get stronger. I think that will help me with my defense, my long range shot.”
Brooks admitted he doesn’t have any inkling what the two All-Star free agents will do when the free-agent signing period begins July 1.
“I haven’t talked to Gerald in a while, but [Deron Williams] he’s still around lifting and things like that at the practice facility,” Brooks said at a Sprint NBA Nation event at South Street Seaport. “[Deron] is a tough guy to read. I really can’t control [whether or not they come back], that’s between them, their family and their agent.”
NETS' FREE-AGENT TRACKER
In his rookie season, Brooks averaged 12.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.3 steals in 56 games and was named to the league’s All-Rookie second team. He credited the veteran leadership of Williams and Wallace as part of the reason he has experienced success early on in his NBA career.
“Of course I would like to see them come back,” Brooks said. “[They mean] everything. They taught me how to handle myself. Deron, at the beginning of training camp, always looked at me as a talented scorer but I didn’t always make the right play. I had the opportunity to watch him, see him make the right play every time, learn defenses, see where the help is coming from.”
Playing in his first season in the NBA was not a simple task for Brooks, who was unable to maintain his workout schedule as nagging injuries built up throughout the lockout-shortened season. Brooks plans to change that and hopes to benefit from a more traditional training camp.
“I think last year one of the things that happened to me, during such a tight schedule, I wasn’t really able to lift and maintain my body mass like I wanted to and you know the little nagging injuries that you have they had a real big influence on the game,” he said. “I’m looking to come into training camp in the best shape possible and lead the team.”
The on-court improvement is not the only thing Brooks is looking forward to next season. The former first-round pick is excited to move into New York and about the support fans are showing the fans are showing for the team.
“It’s really surprising to see so many Brooklyn Nets hats already,” he said. “There’s a great fan base and it’s New York. You can’t do much better than New York. It’s exciting.”
Brooks also expects the Knicks-Nets rivalry to be at an all-time high next season.
“It’s going to be crazy,” Brooks said. “It was already crazy right across the river, but I feel like it’s territorial at this point. They’ve been in New York, we’re coming to New York. We’re the newcomers.”
asulla-heffinger@nypost.com
Deron Williams, Williams, Gerald Wallace, MarShon Brooks, The Nets, Nets, NBA, New York, Brooklyn Nets
ไม่มีความคิดเห็น:
แสดงความคิดเห็น