Blatche can do it all, says brother

BROOKLYN – Don’t worry, Dray will get the job done. That’s what Brooklyn Nets forward/center Andray Blatche’s younger brother Tre told The Star when asked if the upcoming naturalized player has the tools to make things happen for the Philippines at the FIBA World Cup in Spain on Aug. 30-Sept. 14.

“There’s no seven-footer who can do the things that Dray does,” said Tre in the Nets family lounge at Barclays Center here last Tuesday. “He can post up, shoot the three. Heck, he can even bring up the ball like a point guard if he has to. Can he average 30 points a game in Spain? Of course. I’ve seen him dump 40, even 50 points in a game. That’s no problem for Dray.”

Tre said he and his brother go back a long way. Their mother Angela Oliver is a big influence on how they grew up. “Dray and I, we’re close,” said Tre. “We hang out, we fight, we play, we do everything together.” Tre and Blatche’s best friend Bryan Extra will be in Spain for the FIBA World Cup cheering for Gilas.

Tre, 21, averaged 3.2 points and 1.2 rebounds with the Highland Community College varsity in Illinois as a freshman forward this past season. “I’ll probably transfer next year,” he said. “Where will depend on which NBA team Dray plays for.” Blatche, 27, will exercise his player option on June 30 and become a free agent. Now in his ninth NBA season, Blatche has been advised to stay in the US while his agent negotiates a new contract. Blatche lives in Miami during the offseason and coach Chot Reyes will set up training camp in the city in late July to hook up with him.

Tre said his brother is single and unattached. “Dray’s really looking forward to going to the Philippines,” he said. “I’m hoping to go, too.”

Blatche ended the regular season with a bang, compiling 20 points, 12 rebounds and three assists in 39:16 minutes as the starting power forward in a 114-85 Nets road loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers last Wednesday. He finished his second year with the Nets averaging 11.2 points and 5.3 rebounds, shooting 47.6% from the floor and 74.2% from the line, in 73 games, including seven starts. Last campaign, Blatche averaged 10.3 points and 5.1 rebounds, shooting 51.2% from the field and 68.5% from the stripe, in 82 outings, including eight starts.

Blatche will likely come off the bench as the Nets play the Toronto Raptors in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference playoffs at the Air Canada Centre this morning (Manila time). The Nets wound up the regular season with a 44-38 record, second place in the Atlantic Division. Toronto took first place in the same division with a 48-34 mark.

Brooklyn lost its last two games, 109-98 to New York and 114-85 to Cleveland, raising speculation of tanking. Stars Deron Williams, Paul Pierce, Joe Johnson and Kevin Garnett didn’t play against Cleveland. With Washington sweeping its last four assignments, Brooklyn dropped to No. 6 in the East playoff standings and the Wizards advanced to No. 5. If the Nets were No. 5, they would face Chicago in the first round of the playoffs. Last season, Brooklyn met Chicago in the first round with the homecourt advantage but lost Game 7, 99-93, before a disappointed crowd at the Barclays Center. Maybe, coach Jason Kidd felt the Nets would find it easier to match up against Toronto than Chicago.

Blatche was the Washington Wizards’ second round pick straight out of high school in the 2005 NBA draft. In his Nets debut, Blatche hit the decisive basket to lift Brooklyn to a 108-105 preseason overtime win over Philadelphia in Atlantic City. He had 12 points and five rebounds in 21:36 minutes. Writer Jake Appleman, chronicling the Brooklyn squad’s first season, said, “When I asked him after the game if the beads around his neck were inspired by the ones (rapper) Jay-Z wore at the first-ever Barclays Center concert, Blatche responded by making the Roc-A-Fella sign, forming a triangle with his hands … for Blatche, it was a good start to a redemptive season after years of losing and misery in the nation’s capital.”

Blatche, who averaged 16.8 points for Washington in 2010-11, was waived by the Wizards via the amnesty clause before the Nets signed him up two years ago. The Wizards are still paying Blatche the rest of his five-year $35 Million contract which expires in 2015. The amount is not counted against the Wizards salary cap. Blatche’s $2.5 Million, two-year salary with the Nets is netted out of what the Wizards are paying. In all, Blatche has earned over $30 Million in his NBA career.