Dan Werner

[...] However, a discussion of Hondae-Jefferson here is incomplete without a discussion of the trade that sent him to Brooklyn. On draft night, the Nets acquired his rights along with Steve Blake from Portland in exchange for Mason Plumlee and the rights to Pat Connaughton (41st pick). Disregarding Blake, who is irrelevant to the talent part of the trade and was included purely to match salary, the trade is Plumlee and Connaughton for RHJ. And no matter what anyone may think of RHJ, it's an extremely valid question to ask why Plumlee's value was deemed so low. Plumlee is athletic, rebounds very well in traffic and has potential (if not yet all that much effectiveness) as a paint protector. It is duly noted that he was somewhat stuck behind Brook Lopez, a man with whom he pairs very badly, and that although the aim would be to have both Plumlee AND Hollis-Jefferson, the Nets hadn't the assets elsewhere to make that possible. Yet Plumlee has been an effective NBA centre for two years, in an ugly yet sustainable way, and is both cheap and capable. Very capable, in fact. So why is his value considered to be that of a #23 pick? And why on Earth was Connaughton added?

Nonetheless, RHJ is here now. He is, sans the spacing issue, what the Nets need, and a player with a lot of potential. If he lives up to some of it, Connaughton's bizarre inclusion won't matter.