1/11/2005 02:55:56 PM|||Shep|||

Yahoo! Sports: "New Jersey Nets leading scorer Richard Jefferson will miss the rest of the season with a ruptured ligament in his left wrist.

Jefferson is expected to have surgery soon and he will be sidelined until at least late May, Nets president Rod Thorn said Tuesday."

How has this story not blown up all over the place? Perhaps it's because I'm practically scooping it? Or is it because RJ24 was only averaging 16.6 (22.2 on the season), 5.8 (7.3), 3.6 (4.0), on 35 (42) and 82 (84)% over the last 5 games? I mean, sure, maybe having Jason Kidd and Vince Carter join your team a quarter of the way through the season will hurt the averages... but did everyone just give up on RJ?

If you hadn't... now you can!

Fantasy Impact

Hurry and try to trade him to someone who doesn't know before it's too late!!!!

What it really means: Mo money, mo money, mo money for VC15 and JK6! Everyone on the Nets stands to benefit from this. The Nets don't have someone listed as an SF on their roster, so finding RJ24's immediate replacement is a bit of a head scratcher... My guess is VC15 moves to SF, Rodney Buford steps in as the SG. That's great news for all those people who'd been hanging onto Buford, waiting for his moment in the spotlight.

But really, Vince getting even more shots is something that Vince owners can certainly be happy about. Unless, somehow, even with Vince on your team, FG% is not a category you've decided to scrap. Cause that'll go down, but it should mean more points and 3's for Vince.

Perhaps NJ will get Ron Mercer back to take over at SG. I'm not holding my breath or anything, but it's a thought.

I suppose the Nets will revert to some form of the team that had won them all of 7 games before VC15 arrived... Good thing they waived Kaniel Dickens on the 5th only to sign him again yesterday to a 10-day contract. He's only 6-8, so maybe he can be their SF allowing VC15 to continue playing SG. Not likely, but I really have no idea what they're going to do. They don't even have someone on the (Yahoo) depth chart at SF beyond Jefferson...

Drop him and pick up the best FA available.

|||110547695626672196|||Nets' Jefferson out for season