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The Green Bay Packers have hired former Seattle Seahawks fullback Derrick Coleman as an assistant to player engagement.
#Packers hire Derrick Coleman as an assistant to player engagement đź“° https://t.co/tDOFpROPZz
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) April 18, 2023
Here’s a fun story to get your Wednesday started! The Green Bay Packers have hired former Seattle Seahawks fullback Derrick Coleman as an assistant to player engagement.
Coleman will work under Executive Vice President/Director of Football Operations, Russ Ball.
Coleman is best known for becoming the NFL’s first legally deaf offensive player.
Here is a list of the sidekicks the Philadelphia 76ers employed next to superstar Allen Iverson during his era.
When one remembers Philadelphia 76ers legend Allen Iverson, one will remember two things: his elite scoring ability and his willingness to put his body on the line every night and play through injury in order to help his team win.
Iverson averaged 27.6 points and 6.1 assists in his career for Philadelphia and he ended up winning four scoring titles. He won an MVP award in 2001 and he led the team to the NBA Finals in 2001.
What was even more impressive about Iverson’s run in 2001 was that he did so without a bonafide sidekick next to him. Philadelphia struggled to find the right Robin to Iverson’s Batman all throughout his career as they made moves that were expected to help The Answer get the Sixers to the top and Sixers Wire is going to list the sidekicks Iverson had in Philadelphia.
With the 2022 NBA Draft nearing, we look into the Brooklyn Nets top five draft picks in franchise history.
As we get closer to this year’s NBA Draft, Brooklyn Nets fans may be reminded of some great draft moments, which Nets Wire will be ranking in this edition.
The Nets have picked many talented athletes over the years with a wide variety of accolades, but today we’ll be looking at the top five draft picks in the franchise’s history.
The Nets joined the NBA following the ABA-NBA Merger back in 1976, before this year the team had not drafted a single player only twice(1998 & 2014) in their 40-plus seasons. The organization doesn’t have any picks in the upcoming 2022 NBA Draft, making the team’s pursuit of a rookie more challenging.
In the 2021-22 season, the Nets ranked ninth in the NBA in points per contest with 112, meaning a talented young scorer could elevate the team’s expectations. The Nets don’t necessarily need to upgrade their offense though, it’s their defense that needs work.
The Nets ranked 18th and 19th in the league in defensive rating and points allowed, respectively, proving that the organization has one major flaw.
As the organization goes into the 2022 draft, one can assume they’ll look into available trade picks via trade, but if not there’s a possibility their problems can be solved in free agency.
Legendary Nets big man Derrick Coleman has a high opinion of Brooklyn’s center off the bench, Jarrett Allen.
Jarrett Allen may not be the Brooklyn Nets’ starting center, but he’s still getting plenty of playing time. In fact, Allen is averaging more minutes per game than the big man who has the starting job ahead of him, DeAndre Jordan. Still, that’s not good enough for former New Jersey Nets big man Derrick Coleman.
“What I’ve seen is: I think we have two talented guys over there. Who’s the kid with the big afro? I love his energy. I love what he brings to the table,” Coleman said on Monday, per NetsDaily. “I don’t know why he’s not starting. And again, I think everybody’s trying to play small ball. Everybody can’t do that. Golden State showed they were really capable of doing that because they had shooters. They had guys that could pick and pop and shoot the ball. I think you need a big guy in there just to be that presence on the defensive end of the floor and to be able to communicate.”
Steve Nash has been asked about the matter of sticking with Jordan as the starting center over Allen before — specifically, is the veteran’s relationship with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving a factor in it all.
“A bit of everything. He definitely has that relationship with Ky and Kevin. He has that experience as the older player. Caris [LeVert] and JA also have good chemistry. So, it’s a bit of everything,” Nash said on a recent Zoom call. “It’s just not something I’m belaboring. Jarrett’s going to play a lot. I love him on the floor. I want to be very careful not to make it like a mini-drama because it’s not.
“They both play. JA has been outstanding and will play plenty, if not the bulk of the minutes, but for right now, he’s just playing those minutes from the second unit. He closed the game against Atlanta [on Wednesday].… I just don’t want it to become some sort of thing where we’re pitting our own guys against each other because I think the group has got a pretty good vibe right now.”
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Jarrett Allen didn’t do much in the scoring department, but he had one heck of a performance on the glass.
Jarrett Allen had an odd line at the end of Brooklyn’s 117-92 Game 3 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Friday. The Nets big man ripped down a whopping 17 boards, five on the offensive glass, but somehow only managed to score four points.
What’s more stunning is Allen didn’t register a field goal attempt. He scored all of his Game 3 points at the free-throw line (4-for-4).
“We were definitely trying to keep him involved,” interim Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn told reporters over a Zoom call on Friday. “We didn’t get him the ball in the half [court]. Gasol’s minutes matching up with his was probably an emphasis of that. But, overall, not part of our game plan to not get the ball to him.”
While Allen’s lack of offense was head-scratching, his work on the boards was as good as it gets.
Game 3 marked the second time in as many nights that Allen finished with 15-plus rebounds. (He had 15 in Game 2.)
By reaching the mark again on Friday, Allen became the fourth Nets player to ever grab 15 or more boards in back-to-back games. Derrick Coleman (1994) and Kenyon Martin (2004) each grabbed 15-plus in consecutive games, and Buck Williams grabbed 15-plus in five games in a row in 1984.
With the New Jersey Nets facing elimination down 2-1 in the first round of the 1993 NBA Playoffs, Derrick Coleman came up big in Game 4.
With the NBA on hiatus and New York continuing its battle against the novel coronavirus outbreak, Brooklyn Nets games will not be played for the foreseeable future.
For the Nets, as much as any team, this comes at an odd time — Brooklyn was battling the Orlando Magic for the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference standings. At the stoppage of play, the Nets had a half-game advantage over the Magic.
Since there aren’t any games, each day Nets Wire will highlight impressive individual performances and major moments throughout Nets history:
A year after losing in the first round of the playoffs to the Cleveland Cavaliers 3-1, the New Jersey Nets were facing a similar outcome on May, 7 1993. Down 2-1 in the series, the Nets needed a jolt after losing by nine at home in Game 3.
Derrick Coleman provided just that, finishing with 21 points, 14 rebounds, nine blocked shots, eight assists and two steals. Coleman’s nine blocks set a career-high, a mark he would tie in the 1993-94 regular season.
Chris Morris also had a big game, helping the Nets win 96-79 to force a Game 5 (full box score). On top of his team-high 22 points, Morris finished with 10 rebounds, four steals and four assists.
Drazen Petrovic scored 19 points for New Jersey and both Mo Cheeks and Dwayne Schintzius chipped in 10 apiece off the bench.
Drazen Petrovic and Derrick Coleman made sure the Nets weren’t swept by the Cavaliers in the first round of the 1992 NBA Playoffs.
With the NBA on hiatus and New York continuing its battle against the novel coronavirus outbreak, Brooklyn Nets games will not be played for the foreseeable future.
For the Nets, as much as any team, this comes at an odd time — Brooklyn was battling the Orlando Magic for the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference standings. At the stoppage of play, the Nets had a half-game advantage over the Magic.
Since there aren’t any games, each day Nets Wire will highlight impressive individual performances and major moments throughout Nets history:
After losing in the first round of the 1986 NBA Playoffs to the Milwaukee Bucks, the New Jersey Nets didn’t make the postseason again until 1992. But there was still another streak the ’92 group needed to snap.
The Nets didn’t win a game in the 1986 NBA Playoffs. Same thing happened in 1985.
Going into Game 3 of the first round on the 1992 NBA Playoffs, the Nets franchise had not won a playoff game in almost exactly eight years — the last win coming against the Bucks on May 5, 1984.
The skid came to an end on April 28, 1992, as the Nets fought off another sweep, defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers 109-104 to force a Game 4 (full box score).
Chris Morris led the Nets with 28 points. Derrick Coleman (22 points and 11 rebounds) and Mookie Blaylock (10 points and 12 assists) both posted double-doubles.
Drazen Petrovic had a strong showing, as well. He scored 20 points on 8-for-16 shooting (3-for-5 from deep).
RELATED: Ranking the top five power forwards in Nets history
Both times the Nets had the first overall pick in the NBA Draft, the team has taken a power forward. Was either the best in Nets history?
The Nets have had the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft twice since the franchise first took part in the event in 1977 after joining the league in 1976. In both cases, the Nets took power forwards, selecting Derrick Coleman in 1990 and Kenyon Martin in 2000.
Coleman spent five years in a Nets uniform, Martin logged four. Both helped New Jersey make the postseason multiple times, as well.
But which ranks higher on the list of the Nets’ best power forward of all-time? Does either get top billing?
Nets Wire examined the list of power forwards who’ve worn a Nets uniform over the years — having already gone through the Nets’ point guards, shooting guards and small forwards — and determined the best five in franchise history.
There are quite a few power forwards who had an abbreviated, impactful run with the Nets before quickly leaving town. Kenon, who changed his first name to Muhsin after his playing days, was the best of this batch.
He made the 1974 ABA All-Star Game as a rookie and helped the Nets win the it’s first of two ABA championships. Kenon wasn’t part of New Jersey’s second title run in 1975-76, but he was named an All-Star in his final run with the Nets in 1974-75.
Ranking the top five point guards in Nets history
