PHILADELPHIA – When the Nets went to post-lockout training camp, there were three positions of which they felt fairly certain: point guard with Deron Williams, center with Brook Lopez and small forward with second year man Damion James.
Well, at least they have Williams.
Lopez broke his foot before the season and now Damion James, who played in just seven games this season after an injury-riddled rookie campaign, is out until next month after undergoing foot surgery today in Indianapolis to correct an aggravation to a previous fracture of his right fifth metatarsal. The Nets announced that the surgery, performed by Dr. David Porter at Indiana University Health Hospital, involved replacing the original screw which was inserted in December, 2010, after he first was injured.
James has had nothing but bad luck since joining the Nets after he was acquired in a 2010 draft night trade. With a hard-nosed defensive-minded, rebounding-able approach, James, a No. 24 pick, earned coach Avery Johnson’s endorsement to start last season. In his very first start, he broke his foot. He returned and suffered a mild concussion. He returned and the foot flared.
This season, he was penciled in to start at small forward. So he has played in just 32 games for the Nets in last year’s full season and the 18 games so far this season.
Before the Nets announced James was lost, there were indications that they were leaning toward not picking up his third year option which would knock $1.329 million off the Nets cap for next season. With the specter of Dwight Howard looming over every move, the Nets seek to save money wherever they can. The Nets can always resign James who will be an unrestricted free agent.