Nets Going Forward: Planning for Next Season

[Hello Brooklyn]

I understand this, and I honestly believe our players that they are close and want to stay together.

Interpersonal relationships are important for rosters, but it's not the end-all, be-all. A team needs clearly defined roles, and a balance of strengths and weaknesses. We saw with Philadelphia the problem with an uber-talented team that just doesn't fit well together. They play almost as well without a member of their core as when they're whole, because a player's absence meant less redundancy on the court at once. That's great for weathering injuries and still being able to beat bad teams, but it hamstrings your efforts to beat good teams in the postseason, even at 100%.

We just don't have enough defenders or "dogs", like all of the other teams you see still alive in the playoffs.

We can add defenders/dogs through Free Agency, the draft or minor trades.

I just don't see the need to trade our core group of players.

You can't just assume we won't fit well together before these guys have even had a chance to play together.

My thing is I feel like,"core group", is being overused and overstated in conversation about this team. It's our core cause it's all Marks had to work with. This isn't like when KD joined GSW. This is LeBron joining LAL. Or LeBron and Bosh joining Miami. If you can keep some good young guys like Chalmers, Beasley and Haslem in Miami, or Kuzma in LAL(and what should have been Zubac) and add a superstar, or keep even one more young guy and still add a star like Jrue, you do it.

Kyrie and KD definitely have good relationships with Caris/Spencer and it probably played a role in them coming here.

Lets not act like that doesn't matter. We need good chemistry.

[DarkXaero]

We can add defenders/dogs through Free Agency, the draft or minor trades.

I just don't see the need to trade our core group of players.

You can't just assume we won't fit well together before these guys have even had a chance to play together.

My thing is I feel like,"core group", is being overused and overstated in conversation about this team. It's our core cause it's all Marks had to work with. This isn't like when KD joined GSW. This is LeBron joining LAL. Or LeBron and Bosh joining Miami. If you can keep some good young guys like Chalmers, Beasley and Haslem in Miami, or Kuzma in LAL(and what should have been Zubac) and add a superstar, or keep even one more young guy and still add a star like Jrue, you do it.

Kyrie and KD definitely have good relationships with Caris/Spencer and it probably played a role in them coming here.

Lets not act like that doesn't matter. We need good chemistry.

KD also had a good prior relationship with Taurean Prince, but you wouldn't keep Prince around just for that reason when he's useless on the court, while making $12 mill/yr. They understand its a business, and don't let sentimentality rule over what they want on the court. CP3 and Melo are BFFs, yet it didn't amount to anything in Houston.

[MrDollarBills]

I still contend that the Taurean Prince hate is overblown on here. He will be solid next season with less usage and more catch and shoot opportunities.

[DarkXaero]

I still contend that the Taurean Prince hate is overblown on here. He will be solid next season with less usage and more catch and shoot opportunities.

Perhaps, but he still had a huge decline in catch & shoot numbers from the prior year. I also don't see him as starting material on a really good team regardless.

[MrDollarBills]

I still contend that the Taurean Prince hate is overblown on here. He will be solid next season with less usage and more catch and shoot opportunities.

Perhaps, but he still had a huge decline in catch & shoot numbers from the prior year. I also don't see him as starting material on a really good team regardless.

Could this season be an outlier? I really do think that the guy can play better overall than what we saw. He definitely can shoot, has good size and length as a one on one defender and is decent on the glass. That kind of role player will prove to be valuable next season when we have our superstars

[vincecarter4pres]

We can add defenders/dogs through Free Agency, the draft or minor trades.

I just don't see the need to trade our core group of players.

You can't just assume we won't fit well together before these guys have even had a chance to play together.

My thing is I feel like,"core group", is being overused and overstated in conversation about this team. It's our core cause it's all Marks had to work with. This isn't like when KD joined GSW. This is LeBron joining LAL. Or LeBron and Bosh joining Miami. If you can keep some good young guys like Chalmers, Beasley and Haslem in Miami, or Kuzma in LAL(and what should have been Zubac) and add a superstar, or keep even one more young guy and still add a star like Jrue, you do it.

Kyrie and KD definitely have good relationships with Caris/Spencer and it probably played a role in them coming here.

Lets not act like that doesn't matter. We need good chemistry.

True, but Kyrie has a great relationship with Tatum and that didn’t keep him in Boston.

[DarkXaero]

I still contend that the Taurean Prince hate is overblown on here. He will be solid next season with less usage and more catch and shoot opportunities.

Perhaps, but he still had a huge decline in catch & shoot numbers from the prior year. I also don't see him as starting material on a really good team regardless.

Could this season be an outlier? I really do think that the guy can play better overall than what we saw. He definitely can shoot, has good size and length as a one on one defender and is decent on the glass. That kind of role player will prove to be valuable next season when we have our superstars

It could be an outlier, but the thing is that Prince has never really been an overall positive impact player in his NBA career. His rookie year, he was a really good defensive player but bad offensively. Years 2 & 3, he was okay offensively but awful defensively. Year 4, he was awful offensively, and meh defensively.

[DarkXaero]

My thing is I feel like,"core group", is being overused and overstated in conversation about this team. It's our core cause it's all Marks had to work with. This isn't like when KD joined GSW. This is LeBron joining LAL. Or LeBron and Bosh joining Miami. If you can keep some good young guys like Chalmers, Beasley and Haslem in Miami, or Kuzma in LAL(and what should have been Zubac) and add a superstar, or keep even one more young guy and still add a star like Jrue, you do it.

Kyrie and KD definitely have good relationships with Caris/Spencer and it probably played a role in them coming here.

Lets not act like that doesn't matter. We need good chemistry.

True, but Kyrie has a great relationship with Tatum and that didn’t keep him in Boston.

Also, we shouldn't be assuming that someone like Caris or Dinwiddie is going to be traded for a guy that KD & Kyrie will hate. If its for Jrue or JJ for example, those are beloved guys in NBA locker rooms.

[ecuhus1981]

We can add defenders/dogs through Free Agency, the draft or minor trades.

I just don't see the need to trade our core group of players.

You can't just assume we won't fit well together before these guys have even had a chance to play together.

I see your point, and here's my counterpoint.

We have 12 guys under contract currently, before you count Joe Harris, Tyler Johnson, or the rumored free agent signings of Allonzo Trier and Jamal Crawford. None of those guys are plus defenders.

We also haven't accounted for our first and second round picks so we're already way over the roster limit of 15. We could decline the team options for TLC and Temple, but those are already two of our four best defenders.

So IF you solve the roster crunch, you can bring in hustle guys at the end of our bench. The problem then is, unless we trade out some of the redundant players, the new FA signings will not have chance to make an impact. The 10th and 11th men in our rotation aren't going to drastically improve our defense, and Steve Nash is not going to have DeAndre and Spencer in suits all season long so we can improve our D with a couple of guys we picked up off the waiver wire. All signs point to trades, and our front office and new coach sound like they are ready to pull the trigger to shape this very talented team into a true contender.

Make no mistake, even the teams you see playing now are going to retool and improve themselves before next season. It would be foolish to think that we can rest on our laurels. We haven't seen this entire roster play together, so if we make a trade we'll never know if we could have clicked and all of a sudden Prince becomes the next Scottie Pippen. But I think the opportunity cost of waiting is too large when we have finite window in which to contend. It doesn't take a whole day to recognize sunshine.

[ProspectPark]

Draft Patrick Williams, sign Avery Bradley with the MLE, and call it a day.

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[Papi_swav]

^^ @7Foot definitely we should draft Patrick Williams but I think we can do alot better than Avery Bradley for our MLE. Bradley is almost cooked and he can't get minutes in the playoffs. He's a vet minimum guy at this point.

[vincecarter4pres]

We can add defenders/dogs through Free Agency, the draft or minor trades.

I just don't see the need to trade our core group of players.

You can't just assume we won't fit well together before these guys have even had a chance to play together.

I see your point, and here's my counterpoint.

We have 12 guys under contract currently, before you count Joe Harris, Tyler Johnson, or the rumored free agent signings of Allonzo Trier and Jamal Crawford. None of those guys are plus defenders.

We also haven't accounted for our first and second round picks so we're already way over the roster limit of 15. We could decline the team options for TLC and Temple, but those are already two of our four best defenders.

So IF you solve the roster crunch, you can bring in hustle guys at the end of our bench. The problem then is, unless we trade out some of the redundant players, the new FA signings will not have chance to make an impact. The 10th and 11th men in our rotation aren't going to drastically improve our defense, and Steve Nash is not going to have DeAndre and Spencer in suits all season long so we can improve our D with a couple of guys we picked up off the waiver wire. All signs point to trades, and our front office and new coach sound like they are ready to pull the trigger to shape this very talented team into a true contender.

Make no mistake, even the teams you see playing now are going to retool and improve themselves before next season. It would be foolish to think that we can rest on our laurels. We haven't seen this entire roster play together, so if we make a trade we'll never know if we could have clicked and all of a sudden Prince becomes the next Scottie Pippen. But I think the opportunity cost of waiting is too large when we have finite window in which to contend. It doesn't take a whole day to recognize sunshine.

Couldn’t have said it better myself.

And unless the trade is for a star or a superstar, chances are we retain 1 or maybe even 2 of LeVert, Dinwiddie and Allen.

Also, we’re almost certain to land someone with the MLE this off-season whose a bigger minute impact player, so need to clear the way for them.

I still think Ibaka is a pipedream, but someone like Derrick Favors or Marcus Morris, Harkless or even Gallo, etc. is surely attainable

[vincecarter4pres]

^^ @7Foot definitely we should draft Patrick Williams but I think we can do alot better than Avery Bradley for our MLE. Bradley is almost cooked and he can't get minutes in the playoffs. He's a vet minimum guy at this point.

And my guess is Williams goes top 15, possibly top 10, meaning have to trade up.

[Papi_swav]

^^ @7Foot definitely we should draft Patrick Williams but I think we can do alot better than Avery Bradley for our MLE. Bradley is almost cooked and he can't get minutes in the playoffs. He's a vet minimum guy at this point.

And my guess is Williams goes top 15, possibly top 10, meaning have to trade up.

Dinwiddie, Prince, Temple, #19 for Jrue, Darius Miller and #13 ? I don't know why Pelicans would do it but just a proposal . I don't see how we break into the top 10.

[DarkXaero]

With Houston getting gentleman swept by the Lakers, you gotta wonder what's next for this team with their payroll.

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?s=20

If there are big changes in Houston this offseason (Morey + MDA leaving), I wonder if they become sellers. If they do, it can be great for us, they have a bunch of players we can use (along the rest of the NBA lol).

[DarkXaero]

^^ @7Foot definitely we should draft Patrick Williams but I think we can do alot better than Avery Bradley for our MLE. Bradley is almost cooked and he can't get minutes in the playoffs. He's a vet minimum guy at this point.

Bradley didn't go to the bubble, he stayed with his family. I agree though that he's not a reliable player.

[ProspectPark]

^^ @7Foot definitely we should draft Patrick Williams but I think we can do alot better than Avery Bradley for our MLE. Bradley is almost cooked and he can't get minutes in the playoffs. He's a vet minimum guy at this point.

He can’t get minutes in the playoffs because he opted out.

[Papi_swav]

^^ @7Foot definitely we should draft Patrick Williams but I think we can do alot better than Avery Bradley for our MLE. Bradley is almost cooked and he can't get minutes in the playoffs. He's a vet minimum guy at this point.

He can’t get minutes in the playoffs because he opted out.

lmaooo no wonder I didn't know, just always see he gets no minutes on the box score. But even still, he's over the hill at this point. I'll do it on vet min but I think we can get some1 better for the MLE

[Papi_swav]

With Houston getting gentleman swept by the Lakers, you gotta wonder what's next for this team with their payroll.

Read on Twitter

?s=20

If there are big changes in Houston this offseason (Morey + MDA leaving), I wonder if they become sellers. If they do, it can be great for us, they have a bunch of players we can use (along the rest of the NBA lol).

Covington is #1 on my list, he's been #1 for me ever since we got KD/Kyrie. House is another one. PJ Tucker also, idk if he's a free agent though.

[vincecarter4pres]

With Houston getting gentleman swept by the Lakers, you gotta wonder what's next for this team with their payroll.

Read on Twitter

?s=20

If there are big changes in Houston this offseason (Morey + MDA leaving), I wonder if they become sellers. If they do, it can be great for us, they have a bunch of players we can use (along the rest of the NBA lol).

I've been keeping this one in my head for awhile, but who's to say they don't totally blow it up and deal Harden?

I hate him as a #1 in the playoffs, he just fades into oblivion too often, but as a #2, or better yet, #3? LOVE him.

And he's an underrated defender. He's not a stopper or anything like that, but he is a solid, slightly above average defender and he has a game that is and will continue to age well, he's still going to be a stud for 2+ seasons and probably will have a gradual multi-season wind down, not a sudden drop off a cliff.