Phase 4 / The 2019 Free Agency Thread (Kyrie, KD, Kawhi, AD)

[MrDollarBills]

I think Minnesota will hold on to Butler and try to make a playoff run. If this is true, I hope Marks holds out on the hope to attract Butler as a free agent. If there's a deal to be had now I'd send Dlo, Carroll, and Dae to Minnesota for Butler.

Dlo, imma keep it real with u chief - this ain't working out. If Minnesota won't have him for Butler, send Dlo to Phoenix for Bender & a protected FRP that Marks can use to move up, if necessary.

I'm not high on Butler as the long term wing solution, but if we draft a SF with defensive potential, Butler could be a good role mode.

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Jimmy Butler is a locker room cancer. He is not a good role model for anyone.

[TheBrooklynKidd]

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This is really dumb.

I can say that Marks shouldn't have traded for Crabbe but its not like Crabbe is a cap crippling contract.

The D'Angelo trade did zero harm to this team

Nets trade Brook Lopez for Mozgov's albatross.

Nets then flip Mozgov to Charlotte for Dwight's expiring. Now we are primed to have cap space for two max contracts.

The only people who think that the Russell trade was a disaster are those weird Brook Lopez fanboys over at Windrem's blog who thinks that the Nets should have still held onto Brook. Brook is living his best life right now out in Milwaukee and is going to be a on a playoff team that has a legit chance of getting to the conference finals. Dealing Lopez worked out well for both sides. It was either going to work out with Russell or it wasn't. People act like we gave up a lottery pick for the kid...it's stupid, and short sighted.

The D'Angelo trade was really awful. He's most likely not going to be on the team next year.

It's not a huge loss but we could've had the 27th pick in 2017, 2 2nds and whatever we could've gotten for Lopez. That's much better than having nothing, which is what we have with Russell.

The Crabbe trade was absolutely terrible because of the opportunity cost alone.

[MrDollarBills]

We had two picks in that draft and one of them became Jarrett Allen. The Nets were not going to pick Kuzma. 2nd rd picks are a dime a dozen. The trade worked out in the end because we managed to flip Mozgov to CHA. It was worth a shot because he is clearly talented but not right for this system.

[TheBrooklynKidd]

We had two picks in that draft and one of them became Jarrett Allen. The Nets were not going to pick Kuzma. 2nd rd picks are a dime a dozen. The trade worked out in the end because we managed to flip Mozgov to CHA. It was worth a shot because he is clearly talented but not right for this system.

These are just things that us fans tell ourselves to make us feel better about losing the trade.

Nothing you said changes the fact that we gave up Brook Lopez, a 1st and 2 2nds for a guy who wont be on the team in a year and is more likely to play in Europe than an All-Star game.

[MrDollarBills]

We are sitting here with two first round picks, multiple 2nd rders, and nearly 60+ mil in cap space come July and you're hand wringing over losing Brook Lopez, the 27th pick in a draft gone by and 2nd rd picks? for real?

The Nets HAD to get something in return for Lopez, and they had no lottery pick, so they took a flier on Russell. That's nowhere near a bad decision especially at a time where we didn't have control of our pick. They tried, but it didn't work. Big whoop. I could care less about losing Lopez or worthless 2nd rd picks, and we already drafted a lottery level prospect in Jarrett Allen so I'm not fretting the loss of the 27th pick because Kuzma was not even on Marks' draft board.

Also, the idea that D'Angelo Russell is not an NBA player is beyond silly dude. Come on, we can agree that the guy isn't working out here and most likely can't be a reliable starter but you can look at every roster in the league and you'll find players that he's easily better than.

[TheBrooklynKidd]

We are sitting here with two first round picks, multiple 2nd rders, and nearly 60+ mil in cap space come July and you're hand wringing over losing Brook Lopez, the 27th pick in a draft gone by and 2nd rd picks? for real?

The Nets HAD to get something in return for Lopez, and they had no lottery pick, so they took a flier on Russell. That's nowhere near a bad decision especially at a time where we didn't have control of our pick. They tried, but it didn't work. Big whoop. I could care less about losing Lopez or worthless 2nd rd picks, and we already drafted a lottery level prospect in Jarrett Allen so I'm not fretting the loss of the 27th pick because Kuzma was not even on Marks' draft board.

Also, the idea that D'Angelo Russell is not an NBA player is beyond silly dude. Come on, we can agree that the guy isn't working out here and most likely can't be a reliable starter but you can look at every roster in the league and you'll find players that he's easily better than.

I'm not hand wringing or talking about what we have now, I'm just refuting your statement that the trade did zero harm. GNYR's tweet is very accurate no matter what you say. The Russell trade was a failure and Crabbe is still one of the worst contracts in the league.

If you offer up the equivalent of a starting Center, a 1st, 2 2nds and $37 mill you definitely want something better than 2 years of below average PG play. Hell, any halfway decent rookie at 27 is better than what we currently have.

When I said "not an NBA player", I mean he's the kind of guy who will kick around the league for a few more years, accomplish nothing and eventually faze out. But you're right, maybe he'll end up as the 3rd string PG somewhere for the rest of his career.

[MrDollarBills]

We are sitting here with two first round picks, multiple 2nd rders, and nearly 60+ mil in cap space come July and you're hand wringing over losing Brook Lopez, the 27th pick in a draft gone by and 2nd rd picks? for real?

The Nets HAD to get something in return for Lopez, and they had no lottery pick, so they took a flier on Russell. That's nowhere near a bad decision especially at a time where we didn't have control of our pick. They tried, but it didn't work. Big whoop. I could care less about losing Lopez or worthless 2nd rd picks, and we already drafted a lottery level prospect in Jarrett Allen so I'm not fretting the loss of the 27th pick because Kuzma was not even on Marks' draft board.

Also, the idea that D'Angelo Russell is not an NBA player is beyond silly dude. Come on, we can agree that the guy isn't working out here and most likely can't be a reliable starter but you can look at every roster in the league and you'll find players that he's easily better than.

I'm not hand wringing or talking about what we have now, I'm just refuting your statement that the trade did zero harm. GNYR's tweet is very accurate no matter what you say. The Russell trade was a failure and Crabbe is still one of the worst contracts in the league.

If you offer up the equivalent of a starting Center, a 1st, 2 2nds and $37 mill you definitely want something better than 2 years of below average PG play. Hell, any halfway decent rookie at 27 is better than what we currently have.

When I said "not an NBA player", I mean he's the kind of guy who will kick around the league for a few more years, accomplish nothing and eventually faze out. But you're right, maybe he'll end up as the 3rd string PG somewhere for the rest of his career.

But at the end of the day, the Russell trade it didn't set the team back. Not in the slightest. This is the point I'm trying to make. You and GNYR are caught up on it like its a big deal when it isn't in the grand scheme of things. It's pretty much like the Okafor trade. We tried, gave up expendable assets, came away no worse for wear.

I agree with the Crabbe trade. His contract actually prevents us from having even more cap space this summer than the projected number already. So that indeed, does hurt us right now because no way does he opt out if his play continues to be sub par.

Also, I don't care if you're the 15th man on a roster, that makes a player an NBA player. This idea that someone isn't an NBA player because they're not some star player or they are a journeyman type is a bit much. If you're good enough to make a 15 man roster that means you can play basketball at the highest level. D'Angelo Russell isn't perfect but you're going to have a hard time making the argument that he's not an NBA player.

Also...I'm not going to strawman you, but if the implication behind this is that the Russell/Crabbe trades are some sort of indictment against Marks, I will 150% disagree with that implication. Marks has done a fantastic job and has made a few gambles that haven't paid off but doesn't harm the team long term. Even Crabbe's contract can be used as a trade asset next season so its not all gloom and doom on that front either.

[Papi_swav]

I understand why the trade was done, we had to take a chance on a young promising prospect, I just wish we didn't give up a 1st because we was getting back a horrible contract, but then again people thought Russell was going to be at least close to an all star some day. I can't blame marks for making that trade, the only reason why it looks bad is because Kuzma is already better than DLo, but like MDB said we probably wouldn't have picked Kuzma anyway. I think most if not all GMs through the league would make that trade considering the position we were in where we had no prospects and nothing to look forward to.

The Crabbe trade was definitely a failure from the start. I hated that trade then, and hate it more even now. Marks just had such a man crush on that guy that he had to trade for him even after signing him to that ridiculous contract, I hope he never makes that same mistake again on a mediocre player. We could of just bought out Nicholson's little 7 or 8 million deal and we would have way more cap space next year.

But hindsight is 20/20 so I won't disown Marks for that. He's made a lot of great moves and found a lot of gems, he built this organization from the mud up, we was deep deep in the mud ! Other than those 2 moves, I don't see much else that was bad. Maybe that Otto Porter contract too but look at the Wizards now, he ruined the Wizards franchise with just that 1 signing. And the HEAT also in bad cap position with that Tyler Johnson contract.

He's a rookie GM and this was and still is all a learning process for him, no GM is perfect and every GM makes mistakes. Those 2 mistakes are not crippling us like the Billy King moves. I still have faith in the genius.

[bud29]

I agree with what's already been said about the DLo trade. When you're in a situation like ours, with no high draft picks for the forseeable future, you gotta swing for the fences on a talented player. You're lucky if you get a rotation player with pick 27, so that was not a bad price to pay. It's on the Lakers for knocking that pick out of the park - we wouldn't have done the same.

The Crabbe trade was not good. If Marks had waited another 6 months, he probably could've gotten a pick or two for taking on Crabbe's contract. Overall, however, that's been Marks' only *bad* move so far. He's landed two quality players outside the lottery and has found some diamonds in the rough with Harris & Dinwiddie. Can't wait to see what he does with a lotto pick, for once.

[MrDollarBills]

I understand why the trade was done, we had to take a chance on a young promising prospect, I just wish we didn't give up a 1st because we was getting back a horrible contract, but then again people thought Russell was going to be at least close to an all star some day. I can't blame marks for making that trade, the only reason why it looks bad is because Kuzma is already better than DLo, but like MDB said we probably wouldn't have picked Kuzma anyway. I think most if not all GMs through the league would make that trade considering the position we were in where we had no prospects and nothing to look forward to.

The Crabbe trade was definitely a failure from the start. I hated that trade then, and hate it more even now. Marks just had such a man crush on that guy that he had to trade for him even after signing him to that ridiculous contract, I hope he never makes that same mistake again on a mediocre player. We could of just bought out Nicholson's little 7 or 8 million deal and we would have way more cap space next year.

But hindsight is 20/20 so I won't disown Marks for that. He's made a lot of great moves and found a lot of gems, he built this organization from the mud up, we was deep deep in the mud ! Other than those 2 moves, I don't see much else that was bad. Maybe that Otto Porter contract too but look at the Wizards now, he ruined the Wizards franchise with just that 1 signing. And the HEAT also in bad cap position with that Tyler Johnson contract.

He's a rookie GM and this was and still is all a learning process for him, no GM is perfect and every GM makes mistakes. Those 2 mistakes are not crippling us like the Billy King moves. I still have faith in the genius.

Kuzma was not on the Nets draft board, this has been corroborated by Marks himself.

Marks has dodged multiple self inflicted bullet wounds in Restricted free agency. The Crabbe trade is really the only harmful move that went through.

Lets keep stock of the present. In the summer of 2018 Marks' main moves were to resign Joe Harris, bring in veteran role players on cheap deals, and managed to trade an albatross contract to clear 60 mil in space.

There were no crazy moves made otherwise.

The Russell trade has no negative impact on this franchise at this point in time. Period. The worst that happens? Russell walks away a free man. The best? we get something for him via pick compensation. i could care less

[kamaze]

I understand why the trade was done, we had to take a chance on a young promising prospect, I just wish we didn't give up a 1st because we was getting back a horrible contract, but then again people thought Russell was going to be at least close to an all star some day. I can't blame marks for making that trade, the only reason why it looks bad is because Kuzma is already better than DLo, but like MDB said we probably wouldn't have picked Kuzma anyway. I think most if not all GMs through the league would make that trade considering the position we were in where we had no prospects and nothing to look forward to.

The Crabbe trade was definitely a failure from the start. I hated that trade then, and hate it more even now. Marks just had such a man crush on that guy that he had to trade for him even after signing him to that ridiculous contract, I hope he never makes that same mistake again on a mediocre player. We could of just bought out Nicholson's little 7 or 8 million deal and we would have way more cap space next year.

But hindsight is 20/20 so I won't disown Marks for that. He's made a lot of great moves and found a lot of gems, he built this organization from the mud up, we was deep deep in the mud ! Other than those 2 moves, I don't see much else that was bad. Maybe that Otto Porter contract too but look at the Wizards now, he ruined the Wizards franchise with just that 1 signing. And the HEAT also in bad cap position with that Tyler Johnson contract.

He's a rookie GM and this was and still is all a learning process for him, no GM is perfect and every GM makes mistakes. Those 2 mistakes are not crippling us like the Billy King moves. I still have faith in the genius.

Kuzma was not on the Nets draft board, this has been corroborated by Marks himself.

Marks has dodged multiple self inflicted bullet wounds in Restricted free agency. The Crabbe trade is really the only harmful move that went through.

Lets keep stock of the present. In the summer of 2018 Marks' main moves were to resign Joe Harris, bring in veteran role players on cheap deals, and managed to trade an albatross contract to clear 60 mil in space.

There were no crazy moves made otherwise.

The Russell trade has no negative impact on this franchise at this point in time. Period. The worst that happens? Russell walks away a free man. The best? we get something for him via pick compensation. i could care less

Come on man that's just damage control to make the trade look better and you guys soak it up it was horrible reminds me of the KG Paul Pierce trade. Giving away your best player for a bad contract and Kuzma is better than Dlo. You guys act like Brook had to go and Marks had to make this deal he didn't he got took.

[Papi_swav]

I understand why the trade was done, we had to take a chance on a young promising prospect, I just wish we didn't give up a 1st because we was getting back a horrible contract, but then again people thought Russell was going to be at least close to an all star some day. I can't blame marks for making that trade, the only reason why it looks bad is because Kuzma is already better than DLo, but like MDB said we probably wouldn't have picked Kuzma anyway. I think most if not all GMs through the league would make that trade considering the position we were in where we had no prospects and nothing to look forward to.

The Crabbe trade was definitely a failure from the start. I hated that trade then, and hate it more even now. Marks just had such a man crush on that guy that he had to trade for him even after signing him to that ridiculous contract, I hope he never makes that same mistake again on a mediocre player. We could of just bought out Nicholson's little 7 or 8 million deal and we would have way more cap space next year.

But hindsight is 20/20 so I won't disown Marks for that. He's made a lot of great moves and found a lot of gems, he built this organization from the mud up, we was deep deep in the mud ! Other than those 2 moves, I don't see much else that was bad. Maybe that Otto Porter contract too but look at the Wizards now, he ruined the Wizards franchise with just that 1 signing. And the HEAT also in bad cap position with that Tyler Johnson contract.

He's a rookie GM and this was and still is all a learning process for him, no GM is perfect and every GM makes mistakes. Those 2 mistakes are not crippling us like the Billy King moves. I still have faith in the genius.

Kuzma was not on the Nets draft board, this has been corroborated by Marks himself.

Marks has dodged multiple self inflicted bullet wounds in Restricted free agency. The Crabbe trade is really the only harmful move that went through.

Lets keep stock of the present. In the summer of 2018 Marks' main moves were to resign Joe Harris, bring in veteran role players on cheap deals, and managed to trade an albatross contract to clear 60 mil in space.

There were no crazy moves made otherwise.

The Russell trade has no negative impact on this franchise at this point in time. Period. The worst that happens? Russell walks away a free man. The best? we get something for him via pick compensation. i could care less

Come on man that's just damage control to make the trade look better and you guys soak it up it was horrible reminds me of the KG Paul Pierce trade. Giving away your best player for a bad contract and Kuzma is better than Dlo. You guys act like Brook had to go and Marks had to make this deal he didn't he got took.

You're saying that now, at the time we was banking on Russell's potential. He was still like 19-20 years old and he was just drafted #2 a couple years ago. We all thought he would of been better than what he's showing now. Brook was already about 30 years old and he wasn't going to get any better, we also wanted a center that can keep up on defense (Jarret Allen). Brook might put up 20 points but he will give up 20 points and 6 offensive rebound plus alot of guards blowing by him on switches.

Bottom line, we can't win with Lopez, especially with him being our best player. We had to get something in return for Lopez, he would of walked in free agency anyways. It was the right move at the time. The only reason why you and others are saying it's a bad trade is because Kuzma is a legit player but we were not going to draft him anyway. We made that trade on the potential of Russell being good or at least an average starter. Brook won't win u any games by himself.

[kamaze]

Kuzma was not on the Nets draft board, this has been corroborated by Marks himself.

Marks has dodged multiple self inflicted bullet wounds in Restricted free agency. The Crabbe trade is really the only harmful move that went through.

Lets keep stock of the present. In the summer of 2018 Marks' main moves were to resign Joe Harris, bring in veteran role players on cheap deals, and managed to trade an albatross contract to clear 60 mil in space.

There were no crazy moves made otherwise.

The Russell trade has no negative impact on this franchise at this point in time. Period. The worst that happens? Russell walks away a free man. The best? we get something for him via pick compensation. i could care less

Come on man that's just damage control to make the trade look better and you guys soak it up it was horrible reminds me of the KG Paul Pierce trade. Giving away your best player for a bad contract and Kuzma is better than Dlo. You guys act like Brook had to go and Marks had to make this deal he didn't he got took.

You're saying that now, at the time we was banking on Russell's potential. He was still like 19-20 years old and he was just drafted #2 a couple years ago. We all thought he would of been better than what he's showing now. Brook was already about 30 years old and he wasn't going to get any better, we also wanted a center that can keep up on defense (Jarret Allen). Brook might put up 20 points but he will give up 20 points and 6 offensive rebound plus alot of guards blowing by him on switches.

Bottom line, we can't win with Lopez, especially with him being our best player. We had to get something in return for Lopez, he would of walked in free agency anyways. It was the right move at the time. The only reason why you and others are saying it's a bad trade is because Kuzma is a legit player but we were not going to draft him anyway. We made that trade on the potential of Russell being good or at least an average starter. Brook won't win u any games by himself.

They can't win without Lopez either lol.
It was a bad trade from every way you look at it. They took back a bad contract, traded away their best player and traded away a 1st round pick that they desperately needed.

People said they needed to take a swing at some talent but look at what he's found later in the draft. This is why I don't see the need to draft up.

[Papi_swav]

Come on man that's just damage control to make the trade look better and you guys soak it up it was horrible reminds me of the KG Paul Pierce trade. Giving away your best player for a bad contract and Kuzma is better than Dlo. You guys act like Brook had to go and Marks had to make this deal he didn't he got took.

You're saying that now, at the time we was banking on Russell's potential. He was still like 19-20 years old and he was just drafted #2 a couple years ago. We all thought he would of been better than what he's showing now. Brook was already about 30 years old and he wasn't going to get any better, we also wanted a center that can keep up on defense (Jarret Allen). Brook might put up 20 points but he will give up 20 points and 6 offensive rebound plus alot of guards blowing by him on switches.

Bottom line, we can't win with Lopez, especially with him being our best player. We had to get something in return for Lopez, he would of walked in free agency anyways. It was the right move at the time. The only reason why you and others are saying it's a bad trade is because Kuzma is a legit player but we were not going to draft him anyway. We made that trade on the potential of Russell being good or at least an average starter. Brook won't win u any games by himself.

They can't win without Lopez either lol.
It was a bad trade from every way you look at it. They took back a bad contract, traded away their best player and traded away a 1st round pick that they desperately needed.

People said they needed to take a swing at some talent but look at what he's found later in the draft. This is why I don't see the need to draft up.

I think your looking at it the wrong way. Where would we be with Lopez here for last season and now? Do you think we will be a playoff team? Did you think it was a bad trade when it first happened or are you just saying that right now because of what we now know?? It would of totally sucked if we still had Mozgov on the books but he's no longer here in a great trade that Marks made.

The need to draft up is because the stars and great players are mostly at the top 10 of the draft. We all know the greatest players are drafted within that range. This is why I'm not sour on Marks because he's been so great at finding good players at the end of the draft. It is very rare to find a star late in the 20s. We might find good players, which we have done , but we need STAR players. We are in great position now and we have a a lot of cap space. This is why I want us to tank so we can land one of these potential franchise changing players. Stars wins championships in this league.

[kamaze]

You're saying that now, at the time we was banking on Russell's potential. He was still like 19-20 years old and he was just drafted #2 a couple years ago. We all thought he would of been better than what he's showing now. Brook was already about 30 years old and he wasn't going to get any better, we also wanted a center that can keep up on defense (Jarret Allen). Brook might put up 20 points but he will give up 20 points and 6 offensive rebound plus alot of guards blowing by him on switches.

Bottom line, we can't win with Lopez, especially with him being our best player. We had to get something in return for Lopez, he would of walked in free agency anyways. It was the right move at the time. The only reason why you and others are saying it's a bad trade is because Kuzma is a legit player but we were not going to draft him anyway. We made that trade on the potential of Russell being good or at least an average starter. Brook won't win u any games by himself.

They can't win without Lopez either lol.
It was a bad trade from every way you look at it. They took back a bad contract, traded away their best player and traded away a 1st round pick that they desperately needed.

People said they needed to take a swing at some talent but look at what he's found later in the draft. This is why I don't see the need to draft up.

I think your looking at it the wrong way. Where would we be with Lopez here for last season and now? Do you think we will be a playoff team? Did you think it was a bad trade when it first happened or are you just saying that right now because of what we now know?? It would of totally sucked if we still had Mozgov on the books but he's no longer here in a great trade that Marks made.

The need to draft up is because the stars and great players are mostly at the top 10 of the draft. We all know the greatest players are drafted within that range. This is why I'm not sour on Marks because he's been so great at finding good players at the end of the draft. It is very rare to find a star late in the 20s. We might find good players, which we have done , but we need STAR players. We are in great position now and we have a a lot of cap space. This is why I want us to tank so we can land one of these potential franchise changing players. Stars wins championships in this league.

I hear what you're saying the top athletes go higher it doesn't mean they'll be the stars though a star could be drafted 27th or in the second round even. The Duke players are stars out of high school we'll see if they'll be good pros in a few years.

[Paradise]

I understand why the trade was done, we had to take a chance on a young promising prospect, I just wish we didn't give up a 1st because we was getting back a horrible contract, but then again people thought Russell was going to be at least close to an all star some day. I can't blame marks for making that trade, the only reason why it looks bad is because Kuzma is already better than DLo, but like MDB said we probably wouldn't have picked Kuzma anyway. I think most if not all GMs through the league would make that trade considering the position we were in where we had no prospects and nothing to look forward to.

The Crabbe trade was definitely a failure from the start. I hated that trade then, and hate it more even now. Marks just had such a man crush on that guy that he had to trade for him even after signing him to that ridiculous contract, I hope he never makes that same mistake again on a mediocre player. We could of just bought out Nicholson's little 7 or 8 million deal and we would have way more cap space next year.

But hindsight is 20/20 so I won't disown Marks for that. He's made a lot of great moves and found a lot of gems, he built this organization from the mud up, we was deep deep in the mud ! Other than those 2 moves, I don't see much else that was bad. Maybe that Otto Porter contract too but look at the Wizards now, he ruined the Wizards franchise with just that 1 signing. And the HEAT also in bad cap position with that Tyler Johnson contract.

He's a rookie GM and this was and still is all a learning process for him, no GM is perfect and every GM makes mistakes. Those 2 mistakes are not crippling us like the Billy King moves. I still have faith in the genius.

Kuzma was not on the Nets draft board, this has been corroborated by Marks himself.

Marks has dodged multiple self inflicted bullet wounds in Restricted free agency. The Crabbe trade is really the only harmful move that went through.

Lets keep stock of the present. In the summer of 2018 Marks' main moves were to resign Joe Harris, bring in veteran role players on cheap deals, and managed to trade an albatross contract to clear 60 mil in space.

There were no crazy moves made otherwise.

The Russell trade has no negative impact on this franchise at this point in time. Period. The worst that happens? Russell walks away a free man. The best? we get something for him via pick compensation. i could care less

Come on man that's just damage control to make the trade look better and you guys soak it up it was horrible reminds me of the KG Paul Pierce trade. Giving away your best player for a bad contract and Kuzma is better than Dlo. You guys act like Brook had to go and Marks had to make this deal he didn't he got took.

He was an unrestricted free agent the following summer and there was nothing of better value out there. Please don’t try to act like Lopez was some hot item and we could’ve waited to deal him.

Our other offers were Al Jefferson for Lopez + fillers or Lopez for Galloway, Frazier, Solomon Hill. We all knew we had to eat a bad contract dealing Lopez due to his foot speed and we did. We also managed to deal that bad contract off a lot sooner than thought (Mozgov).

Everyone knew we pulled off a heist especially after acquiring Howard. Kuzma was not even on anybody’s radar except for the Lakers because they worked him out and nobody else did. Kuzma was never a serious option and we worked out 77 prospects and he didn’t show none of that.


The same way we fell into luck with Jarrett Allen and Rodions Kurucs is the same way the Lakers fell into Kyle Kuzma.

What’s wrong with that? Why does it have to always compare to a terrible GM like Billy King? It’s not remotely comparable.

[MrDollarBills]

The dishonesty surrounding the trade of Brook from some posters on here is stunning. Lopez was not apart of this team's plans going forward, was an UFA and he didn't fit the mold of what the team needed at center. The Nets were never going to draft Kuzma. Mozgov was turned into CAP SPACE. Why the hell are we even discussing this?

Its as if people just want to have something to bitch and complain about. This all got started because a tweet from one of the nutjobs on NetsDaily with an agenda against Marks was posted on here and folks wanted to run right towards the ignorance.

Bitching about losing Lopez is ridiculous. Lopez had no place on a rebuilding team. End of story. Complain and whine about Allen Crabbe all you want, but I'm sure next season that 18 mil in expiring salary will be a godsend.

Sean Marks has done a fantastic job. Our current situation is the best we've been in since god knows how long. Picks, cap room, young players who actually have some promise. But cry harder, I guess.

[Papi_swav]

They can't win without Lopez either lol.
It was a bad trade from every way you look at it. They took back a bad contract, traded away their best player and traded away a 1st round pick that they desperately needed.

People said they needed to take a swing at some talent but look at what he's found later in the draft. This is why I don't see the need to draft up.

I think your looking at it the wrong way. Where would we be with Lopez here for last season and now? Do you think we will be a playoff team? Did you think it was a bad trade when it first happened or are you just saying that right now because of what we now know?? It would of totally sucked if we still had Mozgov on the books but he's no longer here in a great trade that Marks made.

The need to draft up is because the stars and great players are mostly at the top 10 of the draft. We all know the greatest players are drafted within that range. This is why I'm not sour on Marks because he's been so great at finding good players at the end of the draft. It is very rare to find a star late in the 20s. We might find good players, which we have done , but we need STAR players. We are in great position now and we have a a lot of cap space. This is why I want us to tank so we can land one of these potential franchise changing players. Stars wins championships in this league.

I hear what you're saying the top athletes go higher it doesn't mean they'll be the stars though a star could be drafted 27th or in the second round even. The Duke players are stars out of high school we'll see if they'll be good pros in a few years.

lol bro how many times have legit stars get drafted 27 or later? It doesn't happen every draft and that is very rare, you're putting Marks in a tough position or any GM if you think they are that smart or lucky enough to draft a star in the 20s every year. If that's the case we would of drafted one these past couple years. Now we hit on Levert and Allen but that's putting too much pressure on our GM to think he can do that every year. Look at the top players of today, only Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green were drafted that late, everybody else were drafted in the top 10 which is where we need to be. Not to mention the worst our record is, the more ping pong balls we get to be in the top 3 of the draft. The higher, the better. I can't see how you can argue that. We finally have our own pick.

[TheNetsFan]

Lopez was a salary dump in the deal. We had the cap space to make the deal without Lopez. The Lakers didn't care about him. What including him did was create the cap space for Carroll and Crabbe.

[Paradise]

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