Mercer for Kittles rumor

[Alex Wang <awang@mit.edu>]

Someone posted a rumor about a Mercer for Kittles trade rumor before the
deadline. That's interesting because Kittles is having such a terrible
season (along with the rest of the Nets). I wonder if the rumor came from
the Nets side or not. 

The reason I can see that Mercer might be traded would be if Pitino (or 
Gaston, probably) is not willing to pay the guy the maximum, which is 
probably what Mercer is looking for (and Kittles evidently settled for 
significantly less). And really, Mercer is probably only the third best 
player on the team behind Walker and Pierce, assuming that the early-season
Pierce was the "real" Pierce.

The advantages of Kittles: He's older, having been drafted after his senior
year and having another year of NBA experience. He has very long arms and
a reputation as a good defender (I haven't seen enough of the Nets to really
say anything about this). Statistically he seems to be a better rebounder
than Mercer. And in his first two seasons, he showed good three-point shooting
ability.

Disadvantages: He's having a terrible year, shooting 35% from the field.
Also, he's just a really skinny guy. In fact Reggie Miller says he reminds him
of a young version of himself. I think he meant it as a compliment though.

Another thing about Mercer: his two-point FG% is actually now lower than
Walker's. I know, a guard's shooting percentage is typically lower than
a power forward's. But I don't think Mercer's shot selection has been 
impeccable either. He's really been forcing more contested shots this year.

A positive sign that I've been seeing is that he's been dishing off more 
during his drives. I think teams were collapsing on him when he drove to 
the basket knowing that he'd always try to put up a shot. He is now taking 
advantage of it.

Alex