How would you fill out the roster?

[MrDollarBills]

We were granted the 5.7M player exception.

[ecuhus1981]

We were granted the 5.7M player exception.

Yes!

I'm interested to see how Marks uses this. Someone please correct me if I am mistaken, my understanding is that we can only use this exception to either sign a free agent, or acquire via trade a player who is in the last year of their contract. With that sad, I think we have some solid opportunities to not only add quality depth, but potentially add value to the roster. We could nab a useful big like Mike Scott from the Sixers, who are also deep into the luxury tax. We could juice them for a 2nd, and he could help our interior defense as well as stretch the floor.

[Gamezero05]

Unless he goes completely off the rails, the chances of Sean Marks trading Kyrie, nevermind pissing Kevin Durant off, are zero.

I guess he doesn’t care about winning, because that’s what needs to be done.

Nobody cares what you think. You've probably watched one or two Nets games this whole season and think you know everything.

Go back to the Rockets forum and worry about John Wall or Demarcus Cousins.

We are plenty happy with Kyrie.

Kyrie is a very good player, but he is redundant on offense when you have Harden and Durant, and he’s doing nothing for the defense. And you have to think about the opportunity cost.

You need a top 10 defense to even have a shot at winning a championship. As it is, this team’s defense is awful. Buyout signings and minor pickups are not going to vault this team’s defense into the top 10.

You need to spend something of value to get something even more valuable to you in return. And the price to get some truly impactful defensive players is Kyrie Irving.

You’re busy thinking about what you’d be losing and not considering what you’d be gaining.

[Prokorov]

Kyrie is a very good player, but he is redundant on offense when you have Harden and Durant

He isnt redundant. he doesnt have to start the offense. He is an elite catch and shoot player and an elite off-ball scorer. he has shown the last 2 nights he isnt redundant and the big 3 has shown no diminishing returns. its an elite offensive trio that will gaurantee a top 5 all-time offense. They can not be defended. unlike prior big 3's, all 3 guys can score at all 3 levels and shoot from deep

and he’s doing nothing for the defense. And you have to think about the opportunity cost.

Kyrie has been excellent defensively this year

You need a top 10 defense to even have a shot at winning a championship. As it is, this team’s defense is awful. Buyout signings and minor pickups are not going to vault this team’s defense into the top 10.

yes they will

You need to spend something of value to get something even more valuable to you in return. And the price to get some truly impactful defensive players is Kyrie Irving.

no one the nets trade for would impact winning even close to as much as kyrie

You’re busy thinking about what you’d be losing and not considering what you’d be gaining.

what we would get would be negligible. we can get defense through FA/buyouts. thats cheap. add RHJ and McGee and you've already solved the problem. shumpert could be had as well.

Nets are playing D-league reggie perry and jeff green major C minutes. and the team has no backup 4.

if the nets trade kyrie, they have 0 shot at a title

[Hello Brooklyn]

I guess he doesn’t care about winning, because that’s what needs to be done.

Nobody cares what you think. You've probably watched one or two Nets games this whole season and think you know everything.

Go back to the Rockets forum and worry about John Wall or Demarcus Cousins.

We are plenty happy with Kyrie.

Kyrie is a very good player, but he is redundant on offense when you have Harden and Durant, and he’s doing nothing for the defense. And you have to think about the opportunity cost.

You need a top 10 defense to even have a shot at winning a championship. As it is, this team’s defense is awful. Buyout signings and minor pickups are not going to vault this team’s defense into the top 10.

You need to spend something of value to get something even more valuable to you in return. And the price to get some truly impactful defensive players is Kyrie Irving.

You’re busy thinking about what you’d be losing and not considering what you’d be gaining.

Kyrie has been better than Harden all season including after he got traded. If I had to pick one right now, I would pick Kyrie.

Defensive issues can be solved in other ways than trading one of the best players in the league. Thats a stupid strategy.

Also 1 or 2 players coming back in a Kyrie trade will not transform this team into an elite defense. Youre delusional if you think that.

[ecuhus1981]

^
I agree that we should give this Big 3 more time as they figure out how to win together, and retrofit the defense around them. I'm not advocating to trade any of them, especially not for non-elite role players.

But, it doesn't take a whole day to recognize sunshine. If we're able to trade for a younger, cheaper elite player who plays C and defends, we would be foolhardy to dismiss it.

[mcscotty]

^
I agree that we should give this Big 3 more time as they figure out how to win together, and retrofit the defense around them. I'm not advocating to trade any of them, especially not for non-elite role players.

But, it doesn't take a whole day to recognize sunshine. If we're able to trade for a younger, cheaper elite player who plays C and defends, we would be foolhardy to dismiss it.

Nice to see someone on this forum who approaches this with a rational open mind and not resort to insults and character assassination. I agree with what your saying. Take a wait and see approach, but if things aren't working, nothing should be off the table. This team has a great opportunity with a small window to get it done. KD is a historically great player that's playing for legacy. He'll be out the door at the end of next season if things aren't working out and you guys will be terrible for another decade.

[Pelly24]

I think the filling out the last three roster slots and somehow getting rid of Shamet, etc. is extremely important. Trading Kyrie is an idea, but it's early for that and he's really peaking. In 29 nets games, he's averaging like 28/5/6 on 61 TS% and he appears to be trending upwards. His defense has been a bit shaky the last two games, but if the Nets can get a decent wing defender and two decent rim-protecting bigs, or any combo of that and a backup PG, etc, I think this team should still be the favorites out of the East. I don't think any team as currently constructed can beat the Lakers, but if you have three of the top 7 or so scorers in the league who are GOAT one-on-one players who can shoot from everywhere, you give yourself a chance to win a chip against the Lakers. If not this year, then the next year. I think trading Kyrie is risky because his value is low right now and you won't get back enough good pieces. And you also probably need at least three top 15 players to beat the Lakers, and losing one will just make you lose. Harden and KD simply are not as good as LeBron. AD isn't as good as either Harden or KD, but in his role he'll completely abuse the Nets and be like a top 5 player.


So like if there was a chance to get Rudy Gobert and then like a fringe all-star spark-plug scorer I'd probably do that, but I think the Nets have this year and next year to put together a good defense around a historically great offense and it can go far.

[Gamezero05]

Nobody cares what you think. You've probably watched one or two Nets games this whole season and think you know everything.

Go back to the Rockets forum and worry about John Wall or Demarcus Cousins.

We are plenty happy with Kyrie.

Kyrie is a very good player, but he is redundant on offense when you have Harden and Durant, and he’s doing nothing for the defense. And you have to think about the opportunity cost.

You need a top 10 defense to even have a shot at winning a championship. As it is, this team’s defense is awful. Buyout signings and minor pickups are not going to vault this team’s defense into the top 10.

You need to spend something of value to get something even more valuable to you in return. And the price to get some truly impactful defensive players is Kyrie Irving.

You’re busy thinking about what you’d be losing and not considering what you’d be gaining.

Kyrie has been better than Harden all season including after he got traded. If I had to pick one right now, I would pick Kyrie.

Defensive issues can be solved in other ways than trading one of the best players in the league. Thats a stupid strategy.

Also 1 or 2 players coming back in a Kyrie trade will not transform this team into an elite defense. Youre delusional if you think that.

Yet you somehow think buyout and vet minimum signings are going to transform the defense?

And yes, two players absolutely can transform your defense. Particularly if one of those defenders is a big man. It could allow your team to change the way they play defense. It could allow for more switching.

But anyway, I question whether the big 3 on this team can work together. Look at the 4 games since the trade. In the first two games, Harden and Durant seemed to fit together like a glove. Two wins, including a win over Milwaukee. In the two games after Kyrie came back, he put up big numbers but the team looked disjointed. And it resulted in two losses.

The best teams are those that have a max of 2 star high usage facilitators and 1 star big man. When you have 3 guard/wing players trying to get their touches, it becomes a situation of too many cooks in the kitchen. One of them will have to cut back. And at that point, you’re not getting the value out of the 3rd wheel that you are paying for. That value could be better served at a different position with a different role. It’s about maximizing the total team value.

[OneZilion]

Here is updated 2k21 ratings for all our roster and team

https://www.2kratings.com/teams/brooklyn-nets

[RoyceDa59]

Dimembe Mutumbo
Rasheed Wallace
Bruce Bowen

[Hello Brooklyn]

Kyrie is a very good player, but he is redundant on offense when you have Harden and Durant, and he’s doing nothing for the defense. And you have to think about the opportunity cost.

You need a top 10 defense to even have a shot at winning a championship. As it is, this team’s defense is awful. Buyout signings and minor pickups are not going to vault this team’s defense into the top 10.

You need to spend something of value to get something even more valuable to you in return. And the price to get some truly impactful defensive players is Kyrie Irving.

You’re busy thinking about what you’d be losing and not considering what you’d be gaining.

Kyrie has been better than Harden all season including after he got traded. If I had to pick one right now, I would pick Kyrie.

Defensive issues can be solved in other ways than trading one of the best players in the league. Thats a stupid strategy.

Also 1 or 2 players coming back in a Kyrie trade will not transform this team into an elite defense. Youre delusional if you think that.

Yet you somehow think buyout and vet minimum signings are going to transform the defense?

And yes, two players absolutely can transform your defense. Particularly if one of those defenders is a big man. It could allow your team to change the way they play defense. It could allow for more switching.

But anyway, I question whether the big 3 on this team can work together. Look at the 4 games since the trade. In the first two games, Harden and Durant seemed to fit together like a glove. Two wins, including a win over Milwaukee. In the two games after Kyrie came back, he put up big numbers but the team looked disjointed. And it resulted in two losses.

The best teams are those that have a max of 2 star high usage facilitators and 1 star big man. When you have 3 guard/wing players trying to get their touches, it becomes a situation of too many cooks in the kitchen. One of them will have to cut back. And at that point, you’re not getting the value out of the 3rd wheel that you are paying for. That value could be better served at a different position with a different role. It’s about maximizing the total team value.

No I don't need to "transform" the defense.

We just need a couple of guys who are not terrible. A backup Center specifically and a defensive wing player.

Once those needs are addressed the team won't be as bad.

That and better chemistry will fix a lot of these issues.

The first two games the offense was sloppy and we had a ton of turnovers. The Bucks game we won on a last minute game winner from KD and miss from Middleton.

The third game we lost on a game tying 3 from Sexton.

Both of those shots could have gone the other way.

And I don't take much from the terrible injured Magic team we beat.

Harden wouldn't shoot and was passive in the last 2. Thats not on Kyrie. Sorry.

[Hello Brooklyn]

The Wizards have signed Len AND Jordan Bell. Meanwhile we still have done nothing to address backup Center.

This is a disaster. Bam is about to eat us alive on the boards.

[Shark]

The Wizards have signed Len AND Jordan Bell. Meanwhile we still have done nothing to address backup Center.

This is a disaster. Bam is about to eat us alive on the boards.

Pelle was signed. Not sure he's available tonight though. But as I said in the Pelle thread, I'm not all that high on this signing. Would rather have signed a guy that has performed at the NBA level like Len or Dedmon. We've still got two spots but I'd hate to see us waste another by signing yet another center. But it might just come down to that.

[Gamezero05]

Kyrie has been better than Harden all season including after he got traded. If I had to pick one right now, I would pick Kyrie.

Defensive issues can be solved in other ways than trading one of the best players in the league. Thats a stupid strategy.

Also 1 or 2 players coming back in a Kyrie trade will not transform this team into an elite defense. Youre delusional if you think that.

Yet you somehow think buyout and vet minimum signings are going to transform the defense?

And yes, two players absolutely can transform your defense. Particularly if one of those defenders is a big man. It could allow your team to change the way they play defense. It could allow for more switching.

But anyway, I question whether the big 3 on this team can work together. Look at the 4 games since the trade. In the first two games, Harden and Durant seemed to fit together like a glove. Two wins, including a win over Milwaukee. In the two games after Kyrie came back, he put up big numbers but the team looked disjointed. And it resulted in two losses.

The best teams are those that have a max of 2 star high usage facilitators and 1 star big man. When you have 3 guard/wing players trying to get their touches, it becomes a situation of too many cooks in the kitchen. One of them will have to cut back. And at that point, you’re not getting the value out of the 3rd wheel that you are paying for. That value could be better served at a different position with a different role. It’s about maximizing the total team value.

No I don't need to "transform" the defense.

We just need a couple of guys who are not terrible. A backup Center specifically and a defensive wing player.

Once those needs are addressed the team won't be as bad.

That and better chemistry will fix a lot of these issues.

The first two games the offense was sloppy and we had a ton of turnovers. The Bucks game we won on a last minute game winner from KD and miss from Middleton.

The third game we lost on a game tying 3 from Sexton.

Both of those shots could have gone the other way.

And I don't take much from the terrible injured Magic team we beat.

Harden wouldn't shoot and was passive in the last 2. Thats not on Kyrie. Sorry.

Yes, the defense does need to be transformed. It’s putrid.

Over the last 4 games, the Nets’ offensive rating is 115.1. That would be 4th in the NBA if they maintained that for the season. And they could easily shoot up to #1 once they get settled in.

But their defensive rating is 119.4. That is HORRIFIC. Over a season, that would put them in dead last by almost a full point, and 5 full points behind the current 29th place defensive team, the Washington Wizards.

These little additions around the edges you are suggesting is what would be needed to take a middle of the pack defense into the top 10. There is no way anything but a major move is going to take this team from being horrific on the defensive side of the ball into the top 10. Even before the trade this team was ranked 24th in defense, and the defense has only gotten worse since then.

And to win a title, you need both a top 10 offense AND defense. That has been historically true every single year, and it’s usually even closer to top 5 on both sides of the ball. There is no shot of that without a major move.

[Hello Brooklyn]

Yet you somehow think buyout and vet minimum signings are going to transform the defense?

And yes, two players absolutely can transform your defense. Particularly if one of those defenders is a big man. It could allow your team to change the way they play defense. It could allow for more switching.

But anyway, I question whether the big 3 on this team can work together. Look at the 4 games since the trade. In the first two games, Harden and Durant seemed to fit together like a glove. Two wins, including a win over Milwaukee. In the two games after Kyrie came back, he put up big numbers but the team looked disjointed. And it resulted in two losses.

The best teams are those that have a max of 2 star high usage facilitators and 1 star big man. When you have 3 guard/wing players trying to get their touches, it becomes a situation of too many cooks in the kitchen. One of them will have to cut back. And at that point, you’re not getting the value out of the 3rd wheel that you are paying for. That value could be better served at a different position with a different role. It’s about maximizing the total team value.

No I don't need to "transform" the defense.

We just need a couple of guys who are not terrible. A backup Center specifically and a defensive wing player.

Once those needs are addressed the team won't be as bad.

That and better chemistry will fix a lot of these issues.

The first two games the offense was sloppy and we had a ton of turnovers. The Bucks game we won on a last minute game winner from KD and miss from Middleton.

The third game we lost on a game tying 3 from Sexton.

Both of those shots could have gone the other way.

And I don't take much from the terrible injured Magic team we beat.

Harden wouldn't shoot and was passive in the last 2. Thats not on Kyrie. Sorry.

Yes, the defense does need to be transformed. It’s putrid.

Over the last 4 games, the Nets’ offensive rating is 115.1. That would be 4th in the NBA if they maintained that for the season. And they could easily shoot up to #1 once they get settled in.

But their defensive rating is 119.4. That is HORRIFIC. Over a season, that would put them in dead last by almost a full point, and 5 full points behind the current 29th place defensive team, the Washington Wizards.

These little additions around the edges you are suggesting is what would be needed to take a middle of the pack defense into the top 10. There is no way anything but a major move is going to take this team from being horrific on the defensive side of the ball into the top 10. Even before the trade this team was ranked 24th in defense, and the defense has only gotten worse since then.

And to win a title, you need both a top 10 offense AND defense. That has been historically true every single year, and it’s usually even closer to top 5 on both sides of the ball. There is no shot of that without a major move.

I'm fine with being a middle of the pack defense and the #1 offense.

No team has ever had the offensive firepower we have. Thats our path.

Otherwise making the Harden trade was foolish.

[Gamezero05]

No I don't need to "transform" the defense.

We just need a couple of guys who are not terrible. A backup Center specifically and a defensive wing player.

Once those needs are addressed the team won't be as bad.

That and better chemistry will fix a lot of these issues.

The first two games the offense was sloppy and we had a ton of turnovers. The Bucks game we won on a last minute game winner from KD and miss from Middleton.

The third game we lost on a game tying 3 from Sexton.

Both of those shots could have gone the other way.

And I don't take much from the terrible injured Magic team we beat.

Harden wouldn't shoot and was passive in the last 2. Thats not on Kyrie. Sorry.

Yes, the defense does need to be transformed. It’s putrid.

Over the last 4 games, the Nets’ offensive rating is 115.1. That would be 4th in the NBA if they maintained that for the season. And they could easily shoot up to #1 once they get settled in.

But their defensive rating is 119.4. That is HORRIFIC. Over a season, that would put them in dead last by almost a full point, and 5 full points behind the current 29th place defensive team, the Washington Wizards.

These little additions around the edges you are suggesting is what would be needed to take a middle of the pack defense into the top 10. There is no way anything but a major move is going to take this team from being horrific on the defensive side of the ball into the top 10. Even before the trade this team was ranked 24th in defense, and the defense has only gotten worse since then.

And to win a title, you need both a top 10 offense AND defense. That has been historically true every single year, and it’s usually even closer to top 5 on both sides of the ball. There is no shot of that without a major move.

I'm fine with being a middle of the pack defense and the #1 offense.

No team has ever had the offensive firepower we have. Thats our path.

Otherwise making the Harden trade was foolish.

Many teams before have had the #1 offense and an average defense. That’s basically been the Houston Rockets for Harden’s entire tenure there. They makes for a good playoff team, but nothing more.

The one year they actually had a top 5 defense to go along with their top 5 offense, that was 2017 when they won 65 games and had the Warriors on the ropes in the WCF before Chris Paul went down with the hamstring injury.

A middle of the pack defense is not good enough.

[Hello Brooklyn]

Yes, the defense does need to be transformed. It’s putrid.

Over the last 4 games, the Nets’ offensive rating is 115.1. That would be 4th in the NBA if they maintained that for the season. And they could easily shoot up to #1 once they get settled in.

But their defensive rating is 119.4. That is HORRIFIC. Over a season, that would put them in dead last by almost a full point, and 5 full points behind the current 29th place defensive team, the Washington Wizards.

These little additions around the edges you are suggesting is what would be needed to take a middle of the pack defense into the top 10. There is no way anything but a major move is going to take this team from being horrific on the defensive side of the ball into the top 10. Even before the trade this team was ranked 24th in defense, and the defense has only gotten worse since then.

And to win a title, you need both a top 10 offense AND defense. That has been historically true every single year, and it’s usually even closer to top 5 on both sides of the ball. There is no shot of that without a major move.

I'm fine with being a middle of the pack defense and the #1 offense.

No team has ever had the offensive firepower we have. Thats our path.

Otherwise making the Harden trade was foolish.

Many teams before have had the #1 offense and an average defense. That’s basically been the Houston Rockets for Harden’s entire tenure there. They makes for a good playoff team, but nothing more.

The one year they actually had a top 5 defense to go along with their top 5 offense, that was 2017 when they won 65 games and had the Warriors on the ropes in the WCF before Chris Paul went down with the hamstring injury.

A middle of the pack defense is not good enough.

Again theres no precedent for a team as good as this offensively, so I don't think its relevant.

This is the move Marks made. If we wanted to focus more on defense the Harden trade should have never been made and picks should have been dealt for defensive pieces.

Reversing course a few games in and trading Kyrie would be an idiotic move. This is the team.

[ecuhus1981]

[Prokorov]

The Wizards have signed Len AND Jordan Bell. Meanwhile we still have done nothing to address backup Center.

This is a disaster. Bam is about to eat us alive on the boards.

im not worried about Bam. super overrated.

And there are plenty of bigs out there. Len wasnt a great fit. I like McGee or Dedmon alot better. RHJ as well