Nets Going Forward: Planning for Next Season

[DarkXaero]

Let’s say if we didn’t make any blockbuster moves and went into next season with our current roster:

Playmakers: Kyrie, Dinwiddie, LeVert

Forwards: KD, Harris, Prince, TLC

Bigs: Allen, DJ, Claxton

11-15: Temple, Rodi, Musa, Chiozza, Martin

19th pick + MLE

Our strengths are:
-shooting
-play making
-half court/ISO scoring
-rim protection/rebounding
-great size and length at every position
-overall depth where we can blow teams out of the water with our bench and we can withstand short-term injuries to 1-2 players at a time

If we had to face the Heat, Celtics, Lakers, or Clippers in a playoff series, what do you guys think is the most important thing we need to improve or upgrade in order to win?

That team is really weak defensively, especially come playoffs time. It's inferior defensively to all contenders out there, perimeter defense to be specific. All those teams mentioned have strong perimeter players, and they also have strong perimeter defenders. You need two good options who can defend 1-3 and 3-4. Temple would be our best perimeter defender there, but he's 34 years old, and a negative offensively. KD has been a good, plus defender but you don't want him to be in a situation where he has great defensive responsibilities. Rim protection is above average with Allen, DJ, Claxton, but perimeter defense needs a huge upgrade.

[DarkXaero]

If you have a top 5 player locked up, why trade him?

I'd bring in a real center with Covington and just tweak the team.

That's why I think we could work out a package with Allen for Covington (if they're open to idea of moving Covington). Allen is extremely similar to what Rockets had before in Capela, except Allen is much younger, cheaper, and imo has a higher upside than Capela.

[Trader_Joe]

If you have a top 5 player locked up, why trade him?

I'd bring in a real center with Covington and just tweak the team.

That's why I think we could work out a package with Allen for Covington (if they're open to idea of moving Covington). Allen is extremely similar to what Rockets had before in Capela, except Allen is much younger, cheaper, and imo has a higher upside than Capela.

Prince, Allen, #19?
Covington would be our go to defender we need.

[DarkXaero]

If you have a top 5 player locked up, why trade him?

I'd bring in a real center with Covington and just tweak the team.

That's why I think we could work out a package with Allen for Covington (if they're open to idea of moving Covington). Allen is extremely similar to what Rockets had before in Capela, except Allen is much younger, cheaper, and imo has a higher upside than Capela.

Prince, Allen, #19?
Covington would be our go to defender we need.

Yeah, I think that is a trade that makes sense for Rockets if they move Covington.

[MrDollarBills]

If you have a top 5 player locked up, why trade him?

I'd bring in a real center with Covington and just tweak the team.

That's why I think we could work out a package with Allen for Covington (if they're open to idea of moving Covington). Allen is extremely similar to what Rockets had before in Capela, except Allen is much younger, cheaper, and imo has a higher upside than Capela.

Prince, Allen, #19?
Covington would be our go to defender we need.

That's a lot for Covington in my opinion. I would leave the pick out of the offer.

[MrDollarBills]

Irving/Harris/Covington/Durant/Jordan could get it done. I would do the deal but I leave #19 off. We will need to draft another big in the event of trading Allen since Jordan is not a reliable option long term

[ProspectPark]

Let’s say if we didn’t make any blockbuster moves and went into next season with our current roster:

Playmakers: Kyrie, Dinwiddie, LeVert

Forwards: KD, Harris, Prince, TLC

Bigs: Allen, DJ, Claxton

11-15: Temple, Rodi, Musa, Chiozza, Martin

19th pick + MLE

Our strengths are:
-shooting
-play making
-half court/ISO scoring
-rim protection/rebounding
-great size and length at every position
-overall depth where we can blow teams out of the water with our bench and we can withstand short-term injuries to 1-2 players at a time

If we had to face the Heat, Celtics, Lakers, or Clippers in a playoff series, what do you guys think is the most important thing we need to improve or upgrade in order to win?

That team is really weak defensively, especially come playoffs time. It's inferior defensively to all contenders out there, perimeter defense to be specific. All those teams mentioned have strong perimeter players, and they also have strong perimeter defenders. You need two good options who can defend 1-3 and 3-4. Temple would be our best perimeter defender there, but he's 34 years old, and a negative offensively. KD has been a good, plus defender but you don't want him to be in a situation where he has great defensive responsibilities. Rim protection is above average with Allen, DJ, Claxton, but perimeter defense needs a huge upgrade.

Agree. Right now Taurean Prince is our best wing defender. He’s physically capable of being really good but I don’t trust him yet in the last 5 minutes of a Game 7.

[ProspectPark]

Let’s say if we didn’t make any blockbuster moves and went into next season with our current roster:

Playmakers: Kyrie, Dinwiddie, LeVert

Forwards: KD, Harris, Prince, TLC

Bigs: Allen, DJ, Claxton

11-15: Temple, Rodi, Musa, Chiozza, Martin

19th pick + MLE

Our strengths are:
-shooting
-play making
-half court/ISO scoring
-rim protection/rebounding
-great size and length at every position
-overall depth where we can blow teams out of the water with our bench and we can withstand short-term injuries to 1-2 players at a time

If we had to face the Heat, Celtics, Lakers, or Clippers in a playoff series, what do you guys think is the most important thing we need to improve or upgrade in order to win?

Who's guarding LeBron, Kawhi, PG, Butler, Tatum?
We need a stud defender and we don't.
I don't wanna count on KD to be that guy.

Right now Taurean Prince is our best option. I defend him all the time, but even I don’t trust him in a Game 7 against the elite wings in the NBA. We might have to go all offense and hope we can just out score everyone with KD, Kyrie, Harris, LeVert and Dinwiddie.

[TheNetsFan]

Well, MDA is out of Houston, so that could be the first domino.

Darryl Morey should be fired. Look at their roster, cap situation, and picks situation. They are dead in the water.

I would put Harden on the trading block and try to dig out of that mess as fast as possible.

One thing Morey has going for him is that there will be takers for Harden & Westbrook, and he can pull off an expedited rebuild if they choose to. As I always say, more often than not, the better you are when you rebuild, the faster you'll rebound.

[TheNetsFan]

If D'Antoni wants to take a year "off," I hope we bring him in as a consultant.

[MrDollarBills]

Well, MDA is out of Houston, so that could be the first domino.

Darryl Morey should be fired. Look at their roster, cap situation, and picks situation. They are dead in the water.

I would put Harden on the trading block and try to dig out of that mess as fast as possible.

One thing Morey has going for him is that there will be takers for Harden & Westbrook, and he can pull off an expedited rebuild if they choose to. As I always say, more often than not, the better you are when you rebuild, the faster you'll rebound.

I'm pretty sure there will be several teams lining up with picks and prospects to get their hands on James Harden and Westbrook. The team as constructed is not championship caliber and there is little room to improve now that all the draft picks belong to OKC and you just have the tax payer MLE. Time to cut bait, get what you can for them and begin to rebuild.

If I'm Morey (or whoever takes his place, because Morey should be fired), I'm calling up Leon Rose in NY and asking him what's his soul worth. the Knicks probably give up several picks and both RJ and Mitch for Harden or Westbrook.

[MGrand15]

Let’s say if we didn’t make any blockbuster moves and went into next season with our current roster:

Playmakers: Kyrie, Dinwiddie, LeVert

Forwards: KD, Harris, Prince, TLC

Bigs: Allen, DJ, Claxton

11-15: Temple, Rodi, Musa, Chiozza, Martin

19th pick + MLE

Our strengths are:
-shooting
-play making
-half court/ISO scoring
-rim protection/rebounding
-great size and length at every position
-overall depth where we can blow teams out of the water with our bench and we can withstand short-term injuries to 1-2 players at a time

If we had to face the Heat, Celtics, Lakers, or Clippers in a playoff series, what do you guys think is the most important thing we need to improve or upgrade in order to win?

This roster is so good. We could easily fill out our weaknesses with the MLE - 19th pick - and some minimum guys. If our chemistry is right, I don't think the league is ready for us at all.

We just need some big wing defenders that can keep up with Tatum, Simmons, Jimmy, Lebron, Kawhi, etc. They don't even have to be that great at it. Just be respectable 1v1.

Anything else (stretch 5 or backup forward who's better than Prince/Rodi when Durant doesn't play) is just a luxury.

[Claud]

The roster is very talented but the glaring weakness is perimeter defense.

We have tons of guys that can score but few that can play both ways consistently.

Targeting a Marcus Smart/Pat Bev type player in the draft + FA would be smart.

[ecuhus1981]

^
I feel you guys on building, signing and drafting our needs. However, I don't think that any of those options are sufficient.

There aren't many elite defenders in this crop of free agents. Besides, we are already essentially full on roster spots, unless we trade end of the roster guys.

Drafting can yield the best long-term bang for your buck, but it's so rare to find a guy that's ready to be your defensive stopper right away. Matias Thybulle comes along once every 5 years, and even then he couldn't break the rotation immediately.

As for developing our current supporting cast into world- class defender, I'm pessimistic. Joe has worked very not to be terrible, but just below average is the best we're gonna get from him. Spencer is a sieve, DeAndre is not much better. Caris and Taurean have the tools, but have been below average defenders their entire careers.

[MGrand15]

^
I feel you guys on building, signing and drafting our needs. However, I don't think that any of those options are sufficient.

There aren't many elite defenders in this crop of free agents. Besides, we are already essentially full on roster spots, unless we trade end of the roster guys.

Drafting can yield the best long-term bang for your buck, but it's so rare to find a guy that's ready to be your defensive stopper right away. Matias Thybulle comes along once every 5 years, and even then he couldn't break the rotation immediately.

As for developing our current supporting cast into world- class defender, I'm pessimistic. Joe has worked very not to be terrible, but just below average is the best we're gonna get from him. Spencer is a sieve, DeAndre is not much better. Caris and Taurean have the tools, but have been below average defenders their entire careers.

I feel you on that - although DJ was pretty good last year - we have some things to figure out.

I think if Marks wants to ride with the current core and go the draft + FA route - here's a possibility:

Obviously we get rid of end of roster guys like Rodi, Musa, Chiozza, Martin to make room. That should be easy.

Sign Mo Harkless to the MLE. Proven strong defender with playoff experience. Sign MKG to the minimum. Draft a strong wing defender at 19. Not ideal of course but not the worst scenario. If we hit on that rookie, we're in good shape. If we don't, we have some vets that can step in and slow guys down a bit. No one's turning into a world-class defender here but I don't think our personnel is THAT bad.

The roster is a little different but without KD + Kyrie - we were a top 10 defense.

[DarkXaero]

^
I feel you guys on building, signing and drafting our needs. However, I don't think that any of those options are sufficient.

There aren't many elite defenders in this crop of free agents. Besides, we are already essentially full on roster spots, unless we trade end of the roster guys.

Drafting can yield the best long-term bang for your buck, but it's so rare to find a guy that's ready to be your defensive stopper right away. Matias Thybulle comes along once every 5 years, and even then he couldn't break the rotation immediately.

As for developing our current supporting cast into world- class defender, I'm pessimistic. Joe has worked very not to be terrible, but just below average is the best we're gonna get from him. Spencer is a sieve, DeAndre is not much better. Caris and Taurean have the tools, but have been below average defenders their entire careers.

I feel you on that - although DJ was pretty good last year - we have some things to figure out.

I think if Marks wants to ride with the current core and go the draft + FA route - here's a possibility:

Obviously we get rid of end of roster guys like Rodi, Musa, Chiozza, Martin to make room. That should be easy.

Sign Mo Harkless to the MLE. Proven strong defender with playoff experience. Sign MKG to the minimum. Draft a strong wing defender at 19. Not ideal of course but not the worst scenario. If we hit on that rookie, we're in good shape. If we don't, we have some vets that can step in and slow guys down a bit. No one's turning into a world-class defender here but I don't think our personnel is THAT bad.

The roster is a little different but without KD + Kyrie - we were a top 10 defense.

That top 10 defense is a fallacy (Defensive rating is not a great stat). We had a gimmicky defense (heavily based on analytics) which can produce results in reg season, but in the playoffs, it would get exposed. Also Toronto absolutely destroyed our defense in the playoffs, and you can point out to the team missing key players, but those players were missed on the offensive end, not necessarily defensive end. Martin and Chiozza weren't even taking roster spaces, they were on two way contracts. Rodi is actually statistically one of our few plus defenders.

MKG is no longer rotation material, just look up his numbers this year. You can sign him as third string, but don't expect him to be a rotation piece. Harkless can work, but you still need more. Also if you're going for cheap options, you're compromising your offense a bit, as those guys won't be good offensively.

[MGrand15]

^
I feel you guys on building, signing and drafting our needs. However, I don't think that any of those options are sufficient.

There aren't many elite defenders in this crop of free agents. Besides, we are already essentially full on roster spots, unless we trade end of the roster guys.

Drafting can yield the best long-term bang for your buck, but it's so rare to find a guy that's ready to be your defensive stopper right away. Matias Thybulle comes along once every 5 years, and even then he couldn't break the rotation immediately.

As for developing our current supporting cast into world- class defender, I'm pessimistic. Joe has worked very not to be terrible, but just below average is the best we're gonna get from him. Spencer is a sieve, DeAndre is not much better. Caris and Taurean have the tools, but have been below average defenders their entire careers.

I feel you on that - although DJ was pretty good last year - we have some things to figure out.

I think if Marks wants to ride with the current core and go the draft + FA route - here's a possibility:

Obviously we get rid of end of roster guys like Rodi, Musa, Chiozza, Martin to make room. That should be easy.

Sign Mo Harkless to the MLE. Proven strong defender with playoff experience. Sign MKG to the minimum. Draft a strong wing defender at 19. Not ideal of course but not the worst scenario. If we hit on that rookie, we're in good shape. If we don't, we have some vets that can step in and slow guys down a bit. No one's turning into a world-class defender here but I don't think our personnel is THAT bad.

The roster is a little different but without KD + Kyrie - we were a top 10 defense.

That top 10 defense is a fallacy (Defensive rating is not a great stat). We had a gimmicky defense (heavily based on analytics) which can produce results in reg season, but in the playoffs, it would get exposed. Also Toronto absolutely destroyed our defense in the playoffs, and you can point out to the team missing key players, but those players were missed on the offensive end, not necessarily defensive end. Martin and Chiozza weren't even taking roster spaces, they were on two way contracts. Rodi is actually statistically one of our few plus defenders.

MKG is no longer rotation material, just look up his numbers this year. You can sign him as third string, but don't expect him to be a rotation piece. Harkless can work, but you still need more. Also if you're going for cheap options, you're compromising your offense a bit, as those guys won't be good offensively.

How is defensive rating not a great stat?

Bringing up Toronto is just ridiculous. I'd expect some BS like that from a Raptor fan. Your point makes no sense. We were playing G Leaguers and 4 guards at a time.

[DarkXaero]

I feel you on that - although DJ was pretty good last year - we have some things to figure out.

I think if Marks wants to ride with the current core and go the draft + FA route - here's a possibility:

Obviously we get rid of end of roster guys like Rodi, Musa, Chiozza, Martin to make room. That should be easy.

Sign Mo Harkless to the MLE. Proven strong defender with playoff experience. Sign MKG to the minimum. Draft a strong wing defender at 19. Not ideal of course but not the worst scenario. If we hit on that rookie, we're in good shape. If we don't, we have some vets that can step in and slow guys down a bit. No one's turning into a world-class defender here but I don't think our personnel is THAT bad.

The roster is a little different but without KD + Kyrie - we were a top 10 defense.

That top 10 defense is a fallacy (Defensive rating is not a great stat). We had a gimmicky defense (heavily based on analytics) which can produce results in reg season, but in the playoffs, it would get exposed. Also Toronto absolutely destroyed our defense in the playoffs, and you can point out to the team missing key players, but those players were missed on the offensive end, not necessarily defensive end. Martin and Chiozza weren't even taking roster spaces, they were on two way contracts. Rodi is actually statistically one of our few plus defenders.

MKG is no longer rotation material, just look up his numbers this year. You can sign him as third string, but don't expect him to be a rotation piece. Harkless can work, but you still need more. Also if you're going for cheap options, you're compromising your offense a bit, as those guys won't be good offensively.

How is defensive rating not a great stat?

Bringing up Toronto is just ridiculous. I'd expect some BS like that from a Raptor fan. Your point makes no sense. We were playing G Leaguers and 4 guards at a time.

Defensive rating is a crap, out of context stat in most cases. Just take a look at which teams we had a higher defensive rating than. Miami Heat were ranked 12th in defensive rating, the Jazz, Rockets, Nuggets, Mavs were all ranked well below us. A team like Chicago Bulls was ranked above us in defensive rating. Do you honestly see that being an accurate assessment of NBA team defenses?

How is bringing up Toronto ridiculous? Which players were we missing in the bubble again? Kyrie, KD, Dinwiddie, DJ, Taurean Prince, and Wilson Chandler. Out of those guys, who is helping out your defense improve from trash to okay? KD is probably the best pick in there, while Kyrie, Dinwiddie, Prince are below average to average at best. DJ wouldn't be good against Toronto defensively as Toronto utilized stretch bigs and use two active guards. Wilson Chandler was a decent defender, but if he is a heavy minutes player for you in the playoffs, you're screwed anyway. The point is that the roster simply lacks enough good defenders. Bringing up the 10th best defensive rating means very little in terms of actual defensive prowess. Playing G-leaguers hurt us more on the offensive end than it did on defense. We couldn't make open shots. If we had our full roster in the bubble, we would still struggle defensively against Toronto, because we simply lack good perimeter defenders. And since you're placing so much faith in defensive rating, maybe look into more useful, relevant advanced stats on our players' defense.

[Prokorov]

To really be a title favorite we need Jrue. levert,dinwiddie, allen, whatever it takes. but we need an elite defender. our smart/powell

[TheNetsFan]

Darryl Morey should be fired. Look at their roster, cap situation, and picks situation. They are dead in the water.

I would put Harden on the trading block and try to dig out of that mess as fast as possible.

One thing Morey has going for him is that there will be takers for Harden & Westbrook, and he can pull off an expedited rebuild if they choose to. As I always say, more often than not, the better you are when you rebuild, the faster you'll rebound.

I'm pretty sure there will be several teams lining up with picks and prospects to get their hands on James Harden and Westbrook. The team as constructed is not championship caliber and there is little room to improve now that all the draft picks belong to OKC and you just have the tax payer MLE. Time to cut bait, get what you can for them and begin to rebuild.

If I'm Morey (or whoever takes his place, because Morey should be fired), I'm calling up Leon Rose in NY and asking him what's his soul worth. the Knicks probably give up several picks and both RJ and Mitch for Harden or Westbrook.

Forget Leon Rose. If history has taught us anything, it's that Dolan can't help himself. You trade the one that will fetch the best return elsewhere, and then dangle the remaining one directly in front of Dolan (see trade that sent Melo to NY).