***BREAKING: Kevin Durant + Nets come to Agreement. WE RUN IT BACK****

[NetsJets]

I’d be open to bringing in Melo

[Riconet]

I think the starting lineup will be:

KD
Clax
Harris
Kyrie
Simmons

Bench, in order of minutes:

Curry
O'Neale
Warren
Thomas
Edwards
Mills
Sharpe

I agree that they don't have enough size. That lineup will score in bunches but KD and and Clax will get worn down over the course of the season and I doubt Sharpe is ready to play a big role. And their first 2 guys off the bench are small as well (Curry is 6'2" and O'Neale is 6'4"), although Warren is 6'8" and, if he stays healthy, could jump over O'Neale in the rotation.

Ideally they will find someone 6'9" or bigger who can be the 2nd guy off the bench.

Still, though, this is very good news for the Nets. They were smart and patient and they got the result they wanted -- KD back without having to commit to Kyrie. And I don't think either KD or Kyrie is going to be making any more roster decisions.

I won't be surprised if they are able to add a quality big, at which point they'll be serious title contenders and perhaps the favorites.

[3pt_chucker]

Royce O'Neale is not small. He's 6-6 (source: his mom )

Sharpe looked pretty decent when he started a few games last season and looked to be improved from Summer League. I think he can hold his own off the bench. KD won't be guarding a ton of bigs unless the Nets have trash injury luck. Ben is 6'11 and will guard bigger players too.

Nets will force most teams to play small anyway with their offensive firepower most nights. NBA isn't about post ups. KD was getting worn down having to guard the best wings and carry the offense, not guard bigs.

[Stone]

It was only 8 weeks ago that KD asked to be traded and that seemed like a long time ago. And now it is basically the same amount of time until the start of the season. So there is plenty of time to right the ship.

Happy to see him back. I wouldn’t bet the ranch that we win it all, but I don’t see any unstoppable teams out there so We have a chance and it should be a fun and entertaining season.

Hopefully KD got his message to Nash and Nash learns from his mistakes.

[MrDollarBills]

O'Neale has been a solid 3&D starter on a perennial playoff team the last few years and the team gave up a first round pick. I think he's going to start.

Simmons and O'Neale give you two good/elite defenders in the starting lineup to take on the best perimeter scorers and let KD just focus on scoring. For example, against the Celtics you can have O'Neale on Brown and Simmons on Tatum instead of KD needing to defend one. It's also been a while since Simmons has been out there so O'Neale might be the primary defender initially.

Yeah I don't mind that:

Claxton
KD
Royce
Kyrie
Ben

^^^^that's an excellent defensive line up.

[Tha King]

Royce O'Neale is not small. He's 6-6 (source: his mom )

Sharpe looked pretty decent when he started a few games last season and looked to be improved from Summer League. I think he can hold his own off the bench. KD won't be guarding a ton of bigs unless the Nets have trash injury luck. Ben is 6'11 and will guard bigger players too.

Nets will force most teams to play small anyway with their offensive firepower most nights. NBA isn't about post ups. KD was getting worn down having to guard the best wings and carry the offense, not guard bigs.

Edwards going into his second season could also be a contributor and is another highly switchable defender.

Depending on Simmons, this roster is probably the strongest it's been with KD when you consider defensive potential, depth, and overall fit. For the playoffs you could have a bench of: Mills, Curry, Harris, and Warren.

Still have two roster spots to add as well.

[Tha King]

O'Neale has been a solid 3&D starter on a perennial playoff team the last few years and the team gave up a first round pick. I think he's going to start.

Simmons and O'Neale give you two good/elite defenders in the starting lineup to take on the best perimeter scorers and let KD just focus on scoring. For example, against the Celtics you can have O'Neale on Brown and Simmons on Tatum instead of KD needing to defend one. It's also been a while since Simmons has been out there so O'Neale might be the primary defender initially.

Yeah I don't mind that:

Claxton
KD
Royce
Kyrie
Ben

^^^^that's an excellent defensive line up.

That's 4 good to elite defenders and Kyrie who can actually be solid defensively at times. You've got essentially three 7 footers in that lineup who can switch and defend any perimeter player.

[MrDollarBills]

Read on Twitter

a lot of ppl on Nets twitter owe Scoop an apology. He called this weeks ago.

[Tha King]

Eh, forget Center, we need another wing that can shoot efficiently, Melo fits that bill and if we can somehow get Cousins, he adds another mid range player that can help alleviate any loss with Aldridge/Griffin. Sure, Melo cannot defend but gives you size at 6'7.

Yeah I don't agree. Shooting wings don't grow on trees and there are certainly none left.

Melo is washed. Black hole on defense.

You want better wing than develop Kessler and Duke into contributing players. Kess in particular can be a 3 and D wing this year if he keeps improving.

Cousins is done. Give me Whiteside for some minutes off the bench. We could do worse.

Kessler Edwards taking a step forward this season is absolutely a necessity.

After the season finished, Marks mentioned player development being a refocus area. All the talk and discussion will be around KD/Kyrie/Simmons but steps forward from Claxton (offensively), Edwards, and Sharpe would be significant.

[MrDollarBills]

Yeah I don't agree. Shooting wings don't grow on trees and there are certainly none left.

Melo is washed. Black hole on defense.

You want better wing than develop Kessler and Duke into contributing players. Kess in particular can be a 3 and D wing this year if he keeps improving.

Cousins is done. Give me Whiteside for some minutes off the bench. We could do worse.

Kessler Edwards taking a step forward this season is absolutely a necessity.

After the season finished, Marks mentioned player development being a refocus area. All the talk and discussion will be around KD/Kyrie/Simmons but steps forward from Claxton (offensively), Edwards, and Sharpe would be significant.

I'm glad he refocused. For a luxury tax paying team like us, we need to get contributors that are on small contracts. Kessler could absolutely be a critical rotation piece if he makes the leap.

IMO Sharpe's ability to shoot the long ball will be what gets him into the rotation. Otherwise I would just stagger Claxton and Simmons at C

[NetsWorld]

OMG, a report just came out by NetsDaily on twitter that the Nets have interest in Donovan Mitchell. If we pull that off with our current squad, this squad will be liquid gold.

[3pt_chucker]

Read on Twitter

a lot of ppl on Nets twitter owe Scoop an apology. He called this weeks ago.

A broken clock is right twice a day.

[3pt_chucker]

OMG, a report just came out by NetsDaily on twitter that the Nets have interest in Donovan Mitchell. If we pull that off with our current squad, this squad will be liquid gold.

He can't be on the team with Ben Simmons, so it's not happening.

[Hello Brooklyn]

This is my ideal lineup

Simmons
Kyrie
Harris
KD
Claxton

If we need more shooting then insert O'Neal to the 4 and put KD at the 5 for small ball.

[NetsWorld]

OMG, a report just came out by NetsDaily on twitter that the Nets have interest in Donovan Mitchell. If we pull that off with our current squad, this squad will be liquid gold.

He can't be on the team with Ben Simmons, so it's not happening.

I figured that but imagine if the league allows us to stick it to the Knicks. After that whole fiasco and turmoil we had and the Knicks thinking the Nets house was on fire, this would be like the kiss of death move with all of us laughing at them. Would be sweet.

[CalamityX12]

Anyway we can bring back Levert? lol

[NetsJets]

My lineup would be

C- Ben Simmons (would be the PG on offense, center on defense who is switchable)
PF- Kevin Durant
SF- Joe Harris
SG- Royce O’Neal
PG- Kyrie Irving

C- Nic Claxton/Day’Ron Sharpe
PF- Melo???
SF- TJ Warren
SG- Seth Curry
PG- Patty Mills

[3pt_chucker]

My lineup would be

C- Ben Simmons (would be the PG on offense, center on defense who is switchable)
PF- Kevin Durant
SF- Joe Harris
SG- Royce O’Neal
PG- Kyrie Irving

C- Nic Claxton/Day’Ron Sharpe
PF- Melo???
SF- TJ Warren
SG- Seth Curry
PG- Patty Mills

I think that starting lineup could work some nights depending on the matchup. Probably see it a bunch in the playoffs.

I'd also put Kess over Melo. Also hope DDJ could get some mins here and there.

[TheNetsFan]

My lineup would be

C- Ben Simmons (would be the PG on offense, center on defense who is switchable)
PF- Kevin Durant
SF- Joe Harris
SG- Royce O’Neal
PG- Kyrie Irving

C- Nic Claxton/Day’Ron Sharpe
PF- Melo???
SF- TJ Warren
SG- Seth Curry
PG- Patty Mills

I think that starting lineup could work some nights depending on the matchup. Probably see it a bunch in the playoffs.

I'd also put Kess over Melo. Also hope DDJ could get some mins here and there.

I agree with this lineup, but I think we'll see some Ben+Claxton/Sharpe lineups where Ben is the nominal PF soaking up the 10-15 minutes per game KD sits. While we may see it at times, I don't think the KD-Simmons-Claxton/Sharpe lineups will get a ton of run.

[MGrand15]

Only thing the roster is truly missing is a stretch 5 but I think that's a bit of a luxury position and reallyyy hard to find one that get legit mins. We will be seeing A LOT of small ball.

Claxton, Ben, KD, Royce, Sharpe will all see mins at the 5. Plus the team will probably sign Boogie and/or another 4 that can be a small ball 5.

The NBA right now is about wings. Only about 3-4 teams have a legit center we have to care about: Phil, Den, Minn. Every other team would have to adjust to the Nets and play smaller.

Depending on how the season goes(injuries etc) I can see a trade be made but it's probably smart to see how the roster fits first.

IDK. I like small ball but a lot of the good teams are really big.

Milwaukee has Giannis and Portis/Lopez to punish smaller guys.
Boston has Williams and Horford. And size 1 through 5.
Philly has Embiid.

I think you can go small against A LOT of teams. But I'd argue the top 3 teams in the East have bigs that you need to at least kind of slow down. That's a big problem come playoff time. Clax and KD just don't have the bulk to deal with these guys.

I kind of disagree. The team has so much more size now compared to the team in the playoffs.

Team can run a lineup where KAI is the smallest player on the court surrounded by guys that are all 6-5 and above. ex:

Smart - KAI
JB - Royce/Harris
Tatum - Ben
Horford - KD
RWIII - Clax

Jrue - Royce/Harris
Mathews - KAI
Middleton - Ben
Giannis - Clax
Lopez - KD

Harden - Royce/Harris
Maxey - KAI
Harris - Ben
Melton - KD
Embiid - Clax

Team matches up sooo much better than last season. Plus now TJ and Kess are wings off the bench with size. No more lineups where Patty or Seth are stuck guarding Horford etc. unless Nash is truly brain dead...

Also we saw last season that Clax could hang with Embiid, Giannis and if he gets a bit stronger, he would be even better.

I think the lack of a center is a bit overblown. Would it be nice to get another big body? Obviously yes but I don't think it's an absolute necessity.

Only big I truly worry about anyway is Giannis but that's a problem for every team and it takes a team effort to defend him.

You're definitely right that the team is bigger as a whole. That might make it easier to deal with 1 potential size mismatch on the floor. Our other teams either had to deal with Harris + Harden + Kyrie on the floor or Seth + Patty on the floor. Simmons + Royce give us more size + really great defense. I just have nightmares about Horford and Williams or Bobby Portis grabbing offensive rebound