NET NOTES
There is a 12th spot open and John Calipari has indicated his desire to fill it with a swing man, a small forward/shooting guard guy who preferably can defend. One went off the market yesterday when Tyrone Corbin re-signed with Atlanta but another is still available, Scott Burrell.
And Burrell is the guy the Nets are looking at with more than passing interest although the 6-7 UConn product is said to be looking at the Nets’ money availability with less than enthusiasm. The best the Nets could do for the sixth-season vet – the only man ever drafted in the first round in two pro sports (Hornets, Mariners) – is the $1 million exception. Burrell, injury-plagued in his career, earned $1.4 mil with the Bulls last season. *Chris Gatling on his buddy Latrell Sprewell for tonight’s game: “Of course, he’ll be a little nervous. He’s been challenged so much in his career before the incident. He’s a good defensive player and when you’re good defensively, as quick and explosive as he is, it makes offense for him. He’ll take a deep breath, he’ll calm down, he’ll probably miss a couple shots but after he gets going he should be all right.
“I’m not worried about Latrell because he’s a competitor and he plays so hard defensively and he plays so hard offensively.” Calipari breathed a huge sigh of relief about his backup point guard yesterday. Eric Murdock, he said, had a “break through” effort.
“I feel a lot better about Eric. This was kind of a break through day for him where he ran the club and understood what we were trying to do. He’s still used to walking it up. He’s used to passing and being in a spot. It’s been new to him.”
Calipari after watching Jim McIlvaine hoist a 17-footer: “If he shoots that, it’s not his fault. It’s because someone didn’t come and get the ball from him.” … After Rony Seikaly explained to Jayson Williams the medical contraption he wanted for treatment was something used by scuba divers, Williams feigned enlightenment. “I said, ‘Yeah, that happened to me two weeks ago when I went scuba diving in the East River.'”
Sam Cassell limped a bit due to some pain in his right big toe. “Turf toe. I jammed it but I’ll be all right,” Cassell said … Earl Boykins, striving to stick with team, is cleaning up as a free throw shooter. Yesterday, he took $80 from Kendall Gill. “He’s making more in one week here than in a year in the CBA,” Gill said.