Brooklyn Nets offseason ReviewHartfordWhalers wrote:HartfordWhalers Review
Key Losses:
Thad Young
Nets got a better pick for Thad Young than the Sixers did, and in the same draft. However, the Sixers were a win an unfortunate break from getting a much better pick last year, and I'm more than not sold on how the Nets used the pick they got. But moving on from Thad was smart business, and done efficiently.
Losses:
Sergey Karasev
Willie Reed
Jarrett Jack
Wayne Ellington
Shane Larkin
Markel Brown
Thomas Robinson
Donald Sloan
Henry Sims
I kind of like some of these guys. No so much as legit contributors but as borderline guys who might give you legit production of other NBA players unexpectedly. Willie Reed, Jarrett Jack (post injury), Wayne Ellington, Shane Larkin, Henry Sims... they all are guys who could outperform and be rotation guys. That said, you should never have this many guys who qualify as that.
Draft:
#20 Caris LeVert (traded for)
#42 Isiah Whitehead (traded for)
#55 traded away
I hate the LeVert pick. In general if you draft an NBA senior I think you messed up. Especially if its in the first round. Especially if you are not a championship contender looking for a solid bench guy that won't be too raw, but rather a team that is bottom 5 in the league and needs upside desperately.
And especially if its a guy that DX mocked in the 50's. I hate this pick. Who would I have taken? Deyonta Davis. Murray. Skal. Someone raw that maybe has a worse career, but the upside is there for the chance at significance outperformance. I would have looked hard at Furkan Korkmaz under the theory that anyone that young that can shoot is intriguing at #20.
Whitehead seems fine as a pick, once you hit that area the guys left were a crap shoot and I cannot complain about the shot they took. Although I will say that guys listed as pg/sg tend to stay short sg's, so I would have probably just taken Demetrius Jackson if set on a pg, or stashed Isaiah Cordinier.
Trades:
Thaddeus Young to Indiana Pacers for #20 Caris LeVert and a 2017 2nd
#55th and $3.0 million to Utah Jazz for #42 (Isiah Whitehead)
I have no problem with eitehr trade. The Thad trade was smart. 3m and #55 for #42 feels a touch expensive, but the money was spendable for only that week, and at #55 I see next to nothing that needed to be taken. So, I would much rather see this deal done expensively than not done.
Free Agency:
Kenny Atkinson (Head Coach)
Jeremy Lin 3/$38.3m (PO last year)
Trevor Booker 2/$18.4m
Luis Scola 1/$5.5m ($500,000 in likely incentives)
Greivis Vasquez 1/$5.0m ($652,174 in unlikely incentives)
Justin Hamilton 2/$6m
Randy Foye 1/$2.5m
Caris LeVert rookie scale
Isaiah Whitehead 4/$4.6m (2 years gtd, last 2 ungtd, last year TO)
Anthony Bennett 2/$2.1m (2nd year ungtd)
Joe Harris 2/$2m (2nd year ungtd)
Yogi Ferrell, Egidijus Mockevicius and Beau Beech 1 year min gtd only for 100k/100k/45k
Matched by Portland Allen Crabbe 4/$74.8m (PO last year)
Matched by Miami Tyler Johnson 4/$50m (PO last year)
The matched contracts hurt. But they were smart. I would have liked to see one to Fournier, who took too little money and the Nets could have at least tied up more Magic money. Besides that, I cannot really begrudge the Nets for not beating out the Mavs on a max contract for Barnes, but he was the guy that young that there was a chance at (thanks to Durant), unfortunately the Nets couldn't/didn't get him.
After that, it is all about Lin. I'm fine with Lin. He will bring some excitement. It is only 3 years (would have liked much better a team option, even if that upped the total cost from 3/38 (PO) to 3/42 (TO) for instance. But Lin will caretake the franchise as they slowly start to get a whole new set of players -- which they desperately need.
Booker feels a little overpaid for 2 years (one would have been fine. Scola is a good 1 year flier, and maybe you dump him and Foye at the trade deadline for something better long term?
I'm fine with the Bennett and Harris fliers, although maybe there are better fliers out there at this point? And I was going to care about Justin Hamilton, and then I realized it wasn't worth it.
Yogi Ferrell, Egidijus Mockevicius and Beau Beech are all taking spots on the 20 man roster, and the Nets didn't buy out a single future year using this years cap space. It might be extremely unlikely that they make the roster, but the Nets should have been targeting the best possible undrafted rookies and offering 3+1(TO)'s with a full 1m guaranteed this year (if needed) to get them to pick the Nets and sign on for 3 cheap years after that unguaranteed. Just makes no sense.
Current Depth Chart: (taken from bbinsiders)
PG: Jeremy Lin, Greivis Vasquez, Isaiah Whitehead, Yogi Ferrell
SG: Bojan Bogdanovic, Sean Kilpatrick, Caris LeVert, Joe Harris
SF: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Randy Foye, Beau Beech
PF: Luis Scola, Trevor Booker, Anthony Bennett, Chris McCullough
C: Brook Lopez, Justin Hamilton, Egidijus Mockevicius
Needs:To start finding guys that can be complimentary building pieces so when they get a true building block the cabinet is not still empty.
Additional Thoughts:
Christian Wood. The fact that the Nets didn't give him a contract and beat out Charlotte doesn't make any sense to me.
Brook Lopez. He should be traded.
Projected Win/Loss: 19-63 Great news Celtic fans!
Off-Season Grade: D I expected this to be a B. I knew it wasa B before I went to do my review. They went after guys they should, and grading process thats what counts even if unsurprisingly they all were matched. But the guys were likely to be matched, so where was the backup plan? Where is the execution on anything else at all? They traded Thad smartly. But I hated their draft at #20, and they didn't come home with any other young talent. When the Sixers get 2 2nds for eating Tibor Pleiss and the Nets are sitting on their hands, I wonder why. When the Sixers get the cash to cover a Kaun buyout and inch towards the salary cap floor, I feel like that was too cheap and its okay the Nets skipped it. But when Evans comes with an absurd 3m+ cash from Dallas, I wonder why the Nets weren't in on that. Even 2 2nds with Calderon I wonder why the Nets weren't in on. Along with my rant about the min camp invite guys, I'm left wondering what was going on and why more cap wasn't deployed.
Or why Sullinger at 6m instead of Scola at 5m wasn't signed. Nets needed to be taking more fliers, even if they have some question marks (see also Terrence Jones, Motie, etc.) The blueprint is out there for how to maximize the small gains when you are utterly uncompetitive and have oodles of cap space. The Nets seemed to have intentionally avoided using any of it besides the two big rfa contracts, and are worse for that result.
bondom34 wrote:bondom34 Review
Key Losses:
Thad Young
Losses:
Sergey Karasev
Willie Reed
Jarrett Jack
Wayne Ellington
Shane Larkin
Markel Brown
Thomas Robinson
Donald Sloan
Henry Sims
Meh.
Draft:
#20 Caris LeVert (traded for)
#42 Isiah Whitehead (traded for)
#55 traded away
Trades:
Thaddeus Young to Indiana Pacers for #20 Caris LeVert and a 2017 2nd
#55th and $3.0 million to Utah Jazz for #42 (Isiah Whitehead)
I'm sort of torn on the Thad Young deal. I like the raw value a lot, and think it was a good deal, but LeVert was probably a reach at 20. That said if he's your guy take him, I liked him as a prospect for OKC if they bought a second. 20 seemed early. Whitehead was solid value in the second round.
Free Agency:
Kenny Atkinson (Head Coach)
Jeremy Lin 3/$38.3m (PO last year)
Trevor Booker 2/$18.4m
Luis Scola 1/$5.5m ($500,000 in likely incentives)
Greivis Vasquez 1/$5.0m ($652,174 in unlikely incentives)
Justin Hamilton 2/$6m
Randy Foye 1/$2.5m
Caris LeVert rookie scale
Isaiah Whitehead 4/$4.6m (2 years gtd, last 2 ungtd, last year TO)
Anthony Bennett 2/$2.1m (2nd year ungtd)
Joe Harris 2/$2m (2nd year ungtd)
Yogi Ferrell, Egidijus Mockevicius and Beau Beech 1 year min gtd only for 100k/100k/45k
Matched by Portland Allen Crabbe 4/$74.8m (PO last year)
Matched by Miami Tyler Johnson 4/$50m (PO last year)
Lin was a soild pickup. He'll be an improvement on the PG play from a year ago even if he's a low end starter. He is passable for a year or 2, and the contract is fine. If you're a contender he's not your starter but for this team he's good. I really like the Booker deal, an underrated PF who can shoot a little bit and not be a liability. Atkinson is a wait and see guy with a solid pedigree, so hopefully he works out as coach. The rest are mostly short/inconsequential deals or fliers on younger guys. Just the sort of thing this team should probably be doing, there isn't a bad long term deal given out.
RFAs got interesting. I actually didn't mind the Johnson deal, and they fixed it to try to nab him from Miami but Miami (smartly to me) matched. I am surprised Crabbe was matched because that really is too much money, but the Nets gave it a shot. I'd have had less an issue with his contract on the Nets than the Blazers but this is a Nets review, so I really have no issues here with either. They gave it a shot and I can't blame them for that.
Current Depth Chart: (taken from bbinsiders)
PG: Jeremy Lin, Greivis Vasquez, Yogi Ferrell
SG: Bojan Bogdanovic, Randy Foye, Caris LeVert, Isaiah Whitehead, Joe Harris
SF: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Sean Kilpatrick, Beau Beech
PF: Luis Scola, Trevor Booker, Anthony Bennett, Chris McCullough
C: Brook Lopez, Justin Hamilton, Egidijus Mockevicius
Needs:
Youth, talent, draft picks. Pretty much assets of some sort.
Additional Thoughts:
Marks took over a nearly impossible job and so far has done his best to try to rebuild this team from scratch. So far, he hasn't hit gold but with RHJ coming back and adding a little bit of youth, its a start. The path forward seems the same for now, try to overpay for young talent and hope someone breaks out.
Projected Win/Loss: 21-61
Off-Season Grade: B
dbrandon wrote:dbrandon Brooklyn Nets Offseason Review
Key Losses:
Thad Young
Losses:
Sergey Karasev
Willie Reed
Jarrett Jack
Wayne Ellington
Shane Larkin
Markel Brown
Thomas Robinson
Donald Sloan
Henry Sims
Draft:
#20 Caris LeVert (traded for)
#42 Isiah Whitehead (traded for)
#55 traded away
I LOVE the LeVert draft. If you're as far down as the Nets are right now, you have to go young and swing big, and they did both. Like Whitehead as well. If LeVert is healthy, he'll be a piece they can really build with in the future.
Trades:
Thaddeus Young to Indiana Pacers for #20 Caris LeVert and a 2017 2nd
#55th and $3.0 million to Utah Jazz for #42 (Isiah Whitehead)
I'm OK with the Young trade. It makes them worse for now, but the Nets picks to Boston are basically a sunk cost. Moving up in the draft for a crummy pick and some cash is solid too.
Free Agency:
Kenny Atkinson (Head Coach)
Jeremy Lin 3/$38.3m (PO last year)
Trevor Booker 2/$18.4m
Luis Scola 1/$5.5m ($500,000 in likely incentives)
Greivis Vasquez 1/$5.0m ($652,174 in unlikely incentives)
Justin Hamilton 2/$6m
Randy Foye 1/$2.5m
Caris LeVert rookie scale
Isaiah Whitehead 4/$4.6m (2 years gtd, last 2 ungtd, last year TO)
Anthony Bennett 2/$2.1m (2nd year ungtd)
Joe Harris 2/$2m (2nd year ungtd)
Yogi Ferrell, Egidijus Mockevicius and Beau Beech 1 year min gtd only for 100k/100k/45k
Matched by Portland Allen Crabbe 4/$74.8m (PO last year)
Matched by Miami Tyler Johnson 4/$50m (PO last year)
I really like them picking up Atkinson, especially considering his reputation around the league both as a really nice and competent guy and his reputation as a very good player development guy. Carroll gave him a ton of credit for last year.
Lin is a solid signing, though he does come with a legion of...enthusiastic...fans. He's probably a fringe starter, but as an upside move and a steady hand, I like him.
Booker and Scola are both solid vets with a little left in the tank. Greivis sucks, but he's on a short deal. Foye kind of sucks, but he's OK if you only play him at SG. Bennett as a wager for that little money is worth it. Most of the other guys I flat don't know their names TBH.
Signing Crabbe and Johnson to offer sheets is good too. If you succeed, even if it's a bit of an overpay you've added some youth back to your roster. If you fail, you've pinched another team's cap space.
Current Depth Chart: (taken from bbinsiders)
PG: Jeremy Lin, Greivis Vasquez, Yogi Ferrell
SG: Bojan Bogdanovic, Randy Foye, Caris LeVert, Isaiah Whitehead, Joe Harris
SF: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Sean Kilpatrick, Beau Beech
PF: Luis Scola, Trevor Booker, Anthony Bennett, Chris McCullough
C: Brook Lopez, Justin Hamilton, Egidijus Mockevicius
OK, the first and most obvious thing:
This team is going to suck.
A lot.
I like a bunch of these players, but Brolo being your main scorer with very little backup does not bode well for your overall chances. The roster's pretty paper-thin, and a decent proportion are reclamation projects or very raw low-drafted prospects.
Long-term, though, they're well set for cap space, and if even one of those prospects breaks through, they're going to be back on an upwards trend. The starting lineup as written here actually fits pretty decently, too, even if the overall talent level is low.
Needs:
LeVert needs to be good, RHJ needs to continue to develop, and it'd be nice if they got something from one of their other prospects too. If Lin can be as productive as a starter as he was as a reserve in Charlotte, that'd be great for them as well.
Biggest need is a time machine to go back and undo their Boston pick swaps, but ain't nobody can do that now. Kudos to Marks for cutting his losses and moving forward.
Additional Thoughts:
I'm actually optimistic about their direction. They made smart, realistic moves, didn't tie up their cap space unnecessarily, left space open to pull a Philly and absorb bad deals for picks, and dug through the scrap heap for guys who might have potential. Good for the longsuffering Nets fans.
Projected Win/Loss: 25 wins
Off-Season Grade: A
Slava wrote:Slava Review
Key Losses:
Thad Young
Not a bad loss at all considering they were able to coax a first rounder out of Indy for him.
Losses:
Sergey Karasev
Willie Reed
Jarrett Jack
Wayne Ellington
Shane Larkin
Markel Brown
Thomas Robinson
Donald Sloan
Henry Sims
These guys are so inconsequential that I'll just point out that Larkin is a 5'10 dude with a 5'10 wingspan. That's funny because I have a more impressive physical profile for pro sports than him and his dad was a professional hall of fame athlete while mine was a desk jockey.
In a season when Pat Riley just went a bit senile, Ellington somehow translated a sub .500% TS season into a $6M a year deal with the Heat to form a shooting guard rotation with another sub .500 TS guy, Dion Waiters.
Draft:
#20 Caris LeVert (traded for)
#42 Isiah Whitehead (traded for)
#55 traded away
I like the LeVert pick even if he was projected in the 2nd round owing to not being able to do any workouts as a result of a fractured foot. He has impressive size and the tools to be a solid set shooter as well as a shot creator and playmaker off the dribble if he can translate his college game to the NBA. Ofcourse there's also a reason why he fell out of the lottery, that being his chronic injury issues which forced him to sit out the end of his senior season.
The Whitehead pick isn't particularly noteworthy as he's been an inefficient scorer at college level albeit with the confidence of an alpha player. His instincts and skills are mostly the kind of stuff coaches like to eliminate at pro level for players with his physical capabilities, which makes finding his niche at the next level quite questionable.
Trades:
Thaddeus Young to Indiana Pacers for #20 Caris LeVert and a 2017 2nd
#55th and $3.0 million to Utah Jazz for #42 (Isiah Whitehead)
Love the first trade, not sure why they paid so much for a pick in the 40s. If this was any other team, they could have shopped at Danny Ainge's fire sale next door and saved some moolah but alas they have a pick commitment to Boston and Ainge would do his best to not let them acquire a sliver of talent.
Free Agency:
Kenny Atkinson (Head Coach)
Jeremy Lin 3/$38.3m (PO last year)
Trevor Booker 2/$18.4m
Luis Scola 1/$5.5m ($500,000 in likely incentives)
Greivis Vasquez 1/$5.0m ($652,174 in unlikely incentives)
Justin Hamilton 2/$6m
Randy Foye 1/$2.5m
Caris LeVert rookie scale
Isaiah Whitehead 4/$4.6m (2 years gtd, last 2 ungtd, last year TO)
Anthony Bennett 2/$2.1m (2nd year ungtd)
Joe Harris 2/$2m (2nd year ungtd)
Yogi Ferrell, Egidijus Mockevicius and Beau Beech 1 year min gtd only for 100k/100k/45k
Considering that this is a franchise still reeling from the devastation left by Hurricane Billy and will continue to feel the after effects for a few more years, getting any executive to sign up for this job is a massive win. Ofcourse they could have made a Sixer fans' year by hiring Colangelo but not everyone gets to be happy.
Lin is a very good signing to add some excitement and fill some seats courtesy of his legion of fans, get some marketing going and push a few jerseys. It also helps that he is a heady guard who plays the right way and happened to be interested in signing for Brooklyn. The last part is going to be vital for most of their moves for a few years.
Booker is a decent signing and adds some tenacity/toughness which you won't get from Brook Lopez. I'm not even sure what Scola is doing here. He neither fits the roster nor does much to alter their record.
The rest are the kind of menagerie you'd expect if you announced an open try out for qualified former NBA players.
Matched by Portland Allen Crabbe 4/$74.8m (PO last year)
Matched by Miami Tyler Johnson 4/$50m (PO last year)
Portland had no business matching Crabbe considering their luxury tax situation so that totally killed any optimism for the Nets and it sucks because even at that price, he would have been a welcome addition on a team that needs shot makers. Miami matching Johnson was a little less unexpected but I liked Brooklyn going for them.
Current Depth Chart: (taken from bbinsiders)
PG: Jeremy Lin, Greivis Vasquez, Yogi Ferrell
SG: Bojan Bogdanovic, Randy Foye, Caris LeVert, Isaiah Whitehead, Joe Harris
SF: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Sean Kilpatrick, Beau Beech
PF: Luis Scola, Trevor Booker, Anthony Bennett, Chris McCullough
C: Brook Lopez, Justin Hamilton, Egidijus Mockevicius
The starting line up minus Lopez would be a terrific bench unit for a good NBA team.
Needs:
1. Some offensive improvement from RHJ
2. A Lopez trade that nets them some optimistic pieces to build on
Additional Thoughts:
I don't see the urgency in looking out for salary dumps to accumulate some picks. They were supposed to be on the receiving end of Calderon from Chicago with a couple of seconds but dithered long enough for Mitch Kupchak to pounce. This is strange, considering they just paid $3M to buy a pick in the 40s this season, you'd think they have an idea of the value on offer.
They should still offer D-Mo a contract with everything they have left and test Houston's resolve. There's a very good chance Houston won't match it and he is a far better investment at 25 with an all star's potential than any lottery you are playing by hoping Bennett will show you something or running Scola in a mismatched line up.
Since tanking is not an option, it might be alright to even open a channel of communication with JR Smith and make the on-court product a bit more entertaining while pissing off the Cavs in the process.
Could have been more active chasing commitments from undrafted players such as GP2 or Wiltjer to fill their roster and I could go on. Overall a pretty lethargic offseason for a team that could use any infusion of young talent.
Thad Young trade is the only positive saving this from a dreaded F.
Projected Win/Loss: 21-61
Off-Season Grade: D
Trader_Joe wrote:Trader_Joe Review
Crippling Losses:
#3 overall pick
The trade that keeps giving and giving, just gave Boston the #3 overall pick and will give them another top 5 pick this summer. No, it wasn’t exactly part of their off-season, but it still defines where the team is and will be.
Key Losses:
Thad Young
Nets lost a ton of players, but only one quality one in Thad. A great guy on and off the court, he was proud to be a Net for his short tenure and embraced Brooklyn by living there. He wasn’t going to make a huge difference in wins and losses, but he was/would be the only decent PF on the roster.
Losses:
Sergey Karasev
Willie Reed
Jarrett Jack
Wayne Ellington
Shane Larkin
Markel Brown
Thomas Robinson
Donald Sloan,
Henry Sims
As usual the Nets have major turnover of their 2nd/3rd string players (most teams 3rd string/camp invites), but that is fine as most of their bench tends to find a way out of the league in no time. There is not a single player on the list that I will miss.
Draft:
#20 Caris LeVert (traded for)
#42 Isiah Whitehead (traded for)
#55 traded away
As usual, the Nets made some moves on draft night. The LeVert pick was a reach. He has talent, but he also has foot injuries and I did not see him above 40 in any mock drafts. Still the Nets had him #11 IIRC on their draft board and love his versatility and size. They see him as a possible PG going forward, able to play PG/SG/SF and he was actually a very good three point shooter in the college.
Whitehead was high on their mock list as well, and I’m sure his Brooklyn connection was a motivating factor for the Nets. A combo guard, but the Nets played him mainly at PG in Summer League and love his defense and intensity.
Trades:
Thaddeus Young to Indiana Pacers for #20 Caris LeVert and a 2017 2nd
#55th and $3.0 million to Utah Jazz for #42 (Isiah Whitehead)
As for the trades that landed those picks…I did not like and still don’t like the Thad trade. In a vacuum the value seems fair but it did not seem like there was a real plan in place after the trade. Unless Trevor Booker was the plan all along they created a giant hole at PF while reaching on a guy who might have been able to be had in the 2nd round for cash. They cleared significant cap with this move, and as we know did nothing with it.
As for getting #42 for cash and their pick, I like this deal. I like the fact the Nets continue to spend money on draft night and I like the fact they knew who they wanted here and traded to get him. I think Whitehead has a future in this league so this was a solid value.
Free Agency:
Kenny Atkinson (Head Coach)
Jeremy Lin 3/$38.3m (PO last year)
Trevor Booker 2/$18.4m
Luis Scola 1/$5.5m ($500,000 in likely incentives)
Greivis Vasquez 1/$5.0m ($652,174 in unlikely incentives)
Justin Hamilton 2/$6m
Randy Foye 1/$2.5m
Caris LeVert rookie scale
Isaiah Whitehead 4/$4.6m (2 years gtd, last 2 ungtd, last year TO)
Anthony Bennett 2/$2.1m (2nd year ungtd)
Joe Harris 2/$2m (2nd year ungtd)
Yogi Ferrell, Egidijus Mockevicius and Beau Beech 1 year min gtd only for 100k/100k/45k
Matched by Portland Allen Crabbe 4/$74.8m (PO last year)
Matched by Miami Tyler Johnson 4/$50m (PO last year)
As expected (except by the most delusional of Net fans) no tier 1 or tier 2 FA wanted to come to Brooklyn. Market and branding be damned. This team flat out stinks right now and has the worst future in the league. The best they could do was use the appeal of Atkinson to land Jeremy Lin who is probably a Tier 3 FA. As for Atkinson, I loved the hire. He comes from good stock, he’s known for player development, he’s a tireless worker, fairly young and he’s got a good reputation with players.
As for Lin, I loved the signing as well. I am not a huge Lin fan, but the contract was great value and he is going to bring fans and recognition to the team. (I know, careful what I wish for, but the team needs some sort of injection of relevancy desperately)
Beyond that, Free Agency was rather embarrassing.
Their plan to scare off the teams of restricted free agents failed miserably, but even it succeeded, it might not have been a good thing. The offer to Crabbe was insane, while the Tyler Johnson one was also questionable (though I wanted him more than Crabbe). But these are the risks the team is forced to take with the limited options they have.
After being ignored by all the quality Free Agents (sorry Kenny, but even your former Hawks Horford and Bazemore paid you no mind) and then rebuffed by Miami and Portland with UFAs the Nets went to plan C (D?) and signed washed up vets to 1 year deals (Foye, Scola, Vasquez) to keep flexibility for next summer and to hopefully flip the vets at the deadline for 2nd rounders.
Their second best signing after Lin was probably Trevor Booker, a guy short on talent but high on effort. I’m actually a fan of his and rumor is he’s shooting 3 pointers non-stop. He is the expected starter at PF, but could be pushed by Scola whose new found 3 point stroke will be needed.
Justin Hamilton is an interesting signing. He’s been in the NBA before, but was irrelevant. In Europe he seemed to hone his game on both sides of the ball (all defense team one year) and is known as a stretch 7 footer. Nets targeted him early and got him on a cheap enough deal where I can mildly get excited about this signings.
Bennett and Harris are simply guys to take fliers on while the non-guaranteed guys likely play for the L.I. Nets.
Current Depth Chart:
PG: Jeremy Lin, Greivis Vasquez, Isaiah Whitehead
SG: Bojan Bogdanovic, Sean Killpatrick, Randy Foye
SF: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Caris LeVert, Joe Harris
PF: Trevor Booker, Chris McCullough, Anthony Bennett
C: Brook Lopez, Justin Hamilton, Luis Scola
L.I. Nets: Yogi Ferrell, Beau Beach, Egidijus Mockevicius
I changed the depth chart based upon summer league and what I expect to see. I don’t know if Vasquez will be ready to start the year (he skipped the Olympics) and if he’s not, expect Foye to get more minutes at PG. PF is the most debatable position right now. Booker is a nice compliment with his rebounding and D, but Scola can stretch the floor and was a token starter last year. Back-up C will also be a battle. Hamilton and Scola will be the favorites, but KA has referenced playing Bennett there with his long wingspan in small ball line-ups.
Needs:
Time machine/Genie/Black-mail material on Danny Ainge – some way to get their picks back.
Otherwise, no real point talking about what they need on the court. This isn’t a good team. This is a bad team looking to develop a culture and develop their youth. They tried to bring in high quality vets to help in that regard and tried to find young guys that they think have untapped potential.
But…If I do have to identify on the court needs, shooting is a need. There is only one true threat from deep in the starting 5 assuming Booker starts…Bogdanovic. The defense of the starting 5 (again with Booker) actually could be decent (even with Bogs), but the defense of the bench is just embarrassing when you look at who is on there. It might be the worst collection of defenders I have seen on one team.
Really this team needs development. They need the players to buy into KA’s system, they need KA to work his player development magic and they could use good health. There are a lot of injury prone players on this team, and if they plan to get any sort of value for their players in trade they need them healthy.
Additional Thoughts:
I hate being a Nets fan.
Projected Win/Loss: 23-59
I think the story line for this season will be whether they can exceed last season’s win total and can they avoid 60 losses. They will be battling with Philly for worst team in the East and probably the league, along with LAL and whatever team(s) are ravaged by injury. If injuries hit and the team sells off their vets early, I could see 15 wins. If the team stays healthy, plays hard and young guys step up, maybe they hit 30.
Off-Season Grade: D+ While there were some quality moves (Atkinson, Lin), there was too much bad (matched offer sheets, Thad trade, settling on washed up vets) that reminded us this is still the Nets.
+ 
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