Ec's Offseason Blueprint

[ecuhus1981]

As much as losing in the 2nd round stings, it is exciting to see our potential for next season. IF the Big 3 can get and remain 100% healthy, we could roll into training camp as the prohibitive favorite to win it all. However, with roster turnover inevitable and a large luxury tax bill looming, we'll need to choose our next steps wisely.

I had previously promoted fiscal conservatism in previous discussions of this offseason. However, after realizing that repeater tax woes won't affect us until at least 2023, I say we spend to win. Many fans are saying that Spencer is a luxury we can't afford. I say, let's offer an earnest contract of 2 years, $31mil, with the 2nd year another player option. If the market truly bears what he's worth (3yrs, $60mil or better), you attempt to work a S&T and wish him well. If nothing in that range materializes, KEEP HIM! I believe that we can close games with all 3 of Harden, Irving and Dinwiddie on the floor, similar to OKC's Paul/ Schröder/Alexander trident last season.

Similarly, with Brown, I say keep him as well. There's always a chance that a rival offers him something too rich for us to match, just to poach him from us. But I think that a deal similar to Monte Morris (3yrs, $21mil) would get it done.

Now, it's time to release the flotsam. DJ needs to go, and we will need some sweetener to entice a team to absorb his salary. At first, I thought about handcuffing him to Joe, since Harris has the 4th largest contract on the team. After examining the market, I think we would be wise to keep him. I'm not going to sell low on the man based on some choke-ish playoff performances. He's meant so much to the organization, and I think he'll appreciate the opportunity to redeem himself. Soooo, if Harris is staying, who helps us offload DeAndre? I think it's Landry. He's in the last year of his rookie deal before restricted free agency, and hasn't put it all together the way Steve had envisioned. He cannot initiate offense at the pro level, despite years of experience in HS and college running point. He cannot break down a defender off the dribble consistently, nor finish over any sort of length. He cannot guard either the 1 or 2 at an above average level. The only thing keeping the "bad tweener" label off of Shamet is his 3-point shot, and that % had dropped each year in the league. He could turn into another team's awesome pickup under the right circumstances, but I feel his time here is over. We cannot afford to lose Claxton just to get off of Jordan's salary, and we don't have too many other non-superstar assets to leverage. My proposal is Jordan, Shamet and our 2021 1st for Isaiah Roby and 3 future 2nds. OKC has the capspace to absorb those salaries, and their guard rotation is thin enough that Landry could secure a big role. Isaiah ain't much, but he's young, cheap, has a bit of range and can defend the 3 thru 5 decently. The deal would also give us a $17mil TPE, in case we wanted to use it later.

Part 2 coming later this morning...

[Prokorov]

Paying to get rid of Jordan to me seems really silly. It is even more silly to trade him prior to the deadline, where you are asking teams to absorb 2Y/19M instead of 2Y/15M. The most silly is attaching a major contributor, rotation player, and our *only* backup shooting threat to Harris on the wing.

It is also wildly inaccurate to say his 3 point shooting decreased every year.

year 1: 42%
Year 2: 37%
Year 3: 39%

It dipped once, his sophomore season, with more volume and in a COVID shutdown/restart/bubble season where he actually ended up getting COVID. It then Increase year 2 to year 3, again with more volume. Look you can hate on Shamet if you want, but a 23 year old player who shoots 40% from three on high volume and is still on his rookie deal is not something you throw away to dump Jordan.

Buying out Jordan makes a ton more sense then attaching shamet AND a 1st rounder to move on from him. Teams have required alot less to take on worse contracts. to me, this entire scenario is a non starter and the entire thing is built on some really flawed logic.

[Prokorov]

As far as Dinwiddie goes, it is hard to speculate. Sign & Trades sound nice, but If Dinwiddie wants to sign without gutting his new team, he likely just signs. He seems like a take the highest price guy, so he may not care about that, but he also probably doesnt care about helping marks either. A Sign & Trade would really only come into play if the team can't outright sign Dinwiddie, or else, again... he just signs there. I look at the Gordon Heyward situation in Boston, they could have got a nice return, but he took the money instead of waiting around for a S&T. I think the same happens with Dinwiddie unless we pay him what he wants, which i think is unlikely.

I'm all for giving Bruce Brown a raise and 7-8 million. Not that I care much about keeping the player, but a hard working defender on a reasonable contract helps alot for a midseason trade at the deadline.

I'm keeping a close eye on Spencer and Blake, but as Marks said, those are probably out of our control and the players have the decision to make stay or go.

[MrDollarBills]

I would offer Jordan a buyout to see if he can land with another team. All things considered, DeAndre did not complain or cause a disruption when it was clear that he was out of the rotation. Do the guy a solid and see if he can still get some run elsewhere.

I keep Bruce Brown. After that Milwaukee series it is clear that we need more guys with the dog in them on this roster. I keep Brown for backcourt defense and try to get a wing defender.

[therealbig3]

Not sure why you keep harping on Shamet being some sort of disappointment (you did it in another thread too) but you’re just inaccurate in what you’re saying. His 3pt shooting was better this year compared to last, and he had his best playoffs in terms of his 3pt shooting. He’s a young player on a rookie deal who is an excellent shooter, you don’t throw those players away. Also, in terms of his off the dribble game...uh, he’s actually ok. He’s not Kyrie, but he’s made plenty of plays off the dribble this year in big moments, most memorably in game 5 against Milwaukee late in the game.

I would like to unload DJ, but if it means giving up an asset to do it, I’d rather not. He can be a spot rotation player if we have injuries. If he would rather be somewhere else where he can get minutes, then we can discuss a buyout.

[ecuhus1981]

My apologies for the long pause. Here is the 2nd half of my prescription for our Brooklyn Nets this summer:

3a) with the 44th pick, draft and stash Neemias Queta. He attended university here, but he's Portuguese and could use some more seasoning in a professional league overseas or the G League. However, he's an athletic C with great interior defense and above average shooting and passing ability for the position.

3b) with the 49th pick, draft Miles McBride and sign him to a 2-way contract. He's a buy low PG who brings tough on-ball defense and spot-up shooting.

3c) with the 59th pick, draft Joe Weiskamp and sign him to a 2-way contract. The Robin to Luka Garza's Batman is a long range sniper with impressive physical tools.

4) After the draft dust settles, our first free agent move should be to bring over Isaia Cordinier. He's a combo guard with solid defense, elite run/jump athleticism and a jumper that finally, *hopefully* looks reliable. I would compare him to Hamadou Diallo, with a touch of Anfernee Simons and Zach Lavine.

5) on the first day of free agency, sign Daniel Theis and Raul Neto each to 50% of the MLE (2yrs, $6mil apiece). They can bookend our rotation with versatile defense and efficient offense. Other considerations are Danny Green, Patty Mills, Nic Batum, Otto Porter, Rudy Gay and Paul Millsap.

6) sign Blake Griffin and Jeff Green to 10+yr veterans minimum deals (1yr, $2.6mil). They could probably garner more on the open market, so I'm hoping they agree to continue with us. The burden on them will be lessened with better quality depth, and they have a chance to win a ring with their friends.

7) sign Chris Chiozza to a standard minimum ($1.7mil). Yes, he's my keeper preference over Mike James. Younger, better distributor, and the clear favoritein advanced statistics. Mike is the type to sign off the street and win you a game, but over the course of a season, Chris is the steadier contributor.

So that's it. 15 standard contracts, 2 2-ways, a full and talented roster with improved defensive acumen. The payroll would sit around $185mil according to my numbers, almost $50mil above the luxury tax line. For a contender hungry to exorcize the demons of an unlucky 20-21 season, I think spending big for the right role players is the statement of intent that we need.

Irving - Neto - Chiozza - (McBride)

Harden - Dinwiddie - Cordinier

Harris - Brown - A. Johnson - (Weiskamp)

Durant - Green - Roby

Theis - Griffin - Claxton

[Openheimer]

I actually thought Deandre would thrive with Harden. A lot like Capela did but Deandre just refuses to play hard on defense and attack the glass .

[HardenGoat]

As far as Dinwiddie goes, it is hard to speculate. Sign & Trades sound nice, but If Dinwiddie wants to sign without gutting his new team, he likely just signs. He seems like a take the highest price guy, so he may not care about that, but he also probably doesnt care about helping marks either. A Sign & Trade would really only come into play if the team can't outright sign Dinwiddie, or else, again... he just signs there. I look at the Gordon Heyward situation in Boston, they could have got a nice return, but he took the money instead of waiting around for a S&T. I think the same happens with Dinwiddie unless we pay him what he wants, which i think is unlikely.

I'm all for giving Bruce Brown a raise and 7-8 million. Not that I care much about keeping the player, but a hard working defender on a reasonable contract helps alot for a midseason trade at the deadline.

I'm keeping a close eye on Spencer and Blake, but as Marks said, those are probably out of our control and the players have the decision to make stay or go.

Sign and trading Dinwiddie is not going to gut anyone, he's a one piece trade. I don't see Lakers pulling a trade and hard capping themselves with the roster spots they need to fill. They should though move on from Schroeder simply for chemistry reasons and Dinwiddie would be an immediate fix to that so it might still happen .Clippers need a point guard. Maybe they will use Beverly or Morris but most likely a third team is involved if he goes there so we can fill our center/wing need.

[Prokorov]

My apologies for the long pause. Here is the 2nd half of my prescription for our Brooklyn Nets this summer:

3a) with the 44th pick, draft and stash Neemias Queta. He attended university here, but he's Portuguese and could use some more seasoning in a professional league overseas or the G League. However, he's an athletic C with great interior defense and above average shooting and passing ability for the position.

3b) with the 49th pick, draft Miles McBride and sign him to a 2-way contract. He's a buy low PG who brings tough on-ball defense and spot-up shooting.

3c) with the 59th pick, draft Joe Weiskamp and sign him to a 2-way contract. The Robin to Luka Garza's Batman is a long range sniper with impressive physical tools.

4) After the draft dust settles, our first free agent move should be to bring over Isaia Cordinier. He's a combo guard with solid defense, elite run/jump athleticism and a jumper that finally, *hopefully* looks reliable. I would compare him to Hamadou Diallo, with a touch of Anfernee Simons and Zach Lavine.

5) on the first day of free agency, sign Daniel Theis and Raul Neto each to 50% of the MLE (2yrs, $6mil apiece). They can bookend our rotation with versatile defense and efficient offense. Other considerations are Danny Green, Patty Mills, Nic Batum, Otto Porter, Rudy Gay and Paul Millsap.

6) sign Blake Griffin and Jeff Green to 10+yr veterans minimum deals (1yr, $2.6mil). They could probably garner more on the open market, so I'm hoping they agree to continue with us. The burden on them will be lessened with better quality depth, and they have a chance to win a ring with their friends.

7) sign Chris Chiozza to a standard minimum ($1.7mil). Yes, he's my keeper preference over Mike James. Younger, better distributor, and the clear favoritein advanced statistics. Mike is the type to sign off the street and win you a game, but over the course of a season, Chris is the steadier contributor.

So that's it. 15 standard contracts, 2 2-ways, a full and talented roster with improved defensive acumen. The payroll would sit around $185mil according to my numbers, almost $50mil above the luxury tax line. For a contender hungry to exorcize the demons of an unlucky 20-21 season, I think spending big for the right role players is the statement of intent that we need.

Irving - Neto - Chiozza - (McBride)

Harden - Dinwiddie - Cordinier

Harris - Brown - A. Johnson - (Weiskamp)

Durant - Green - Roby

Theis - Griffin - Claxton

We should not use any of those second rounders... trade them forward, they are worth more as an asset then they are g-league/stash. and the next years we will be losing picks from trades, so having those will give us flexibility when we dont own our own pick.

Looking at your roster, after Harris there is no shooter off the bench on the wing. that simply cant happen. Trading Shamet AND our first to dump DJ is a billy king level trade that leaves us with just Joe as a role floor spacer. If you want to move shamet, you need a sniper in his place.

Neto i can see, but not for a portion of the MLE. if he wont take the minimum, give it to jeff teague. we can use the MLE on a guy who is going to maybe play 8-10 minutes.

Basically, this roster is a slight downgrade from what we have now, and gives away our 1st rounder to dump DJ while not actuallty lowering our cap/getting us closer to the tax line.

Things id change:

1) If you are going to move shamet, a 38%+ shooter on 4+ attempts needs to be brought in. Joe has been an ironman, but you need a plan B at shooter if he did get hurt or for the 3-4 weeks every shooter slumps a year.

2) Dont use the first to dump DJ. If you can use the seconds do that. or take back a lesser bad salary and then buy that guy out. wit no control over our 1st for 6 years, we cant be throwing away a first just to shed 19 million in a move that doesnt get us under the tax.

3) Get Teague or a minimum instead of Neto, or use the full MLE on someone better then Neto.

[MrDollarBills]

We have no reason to move Shamet. I kick the tires again on him and allow Joe a redemption season.

[gigantes]

I actually thought Deandre would thrive with Harden. A lot like Capela did but Deandre just refuses to play hard on defense and attack the glass .

I'm not in the guy's head or anything, but from what I've seen, DeJordan's stamina has dropped in recent years, and his personal adjustment is seemingly to try to conserve energy where he can.

Plus, maybe he's not one of those athletes (like LeBron, etc) who are in to the whole 'fitness thing,' and maybe he's got a bit of pride / ego preventing him from changing and/or embracing a more effective role.

We have no reason to move Shamet. I kick the tires again on him and allow Joe a redemption season.

r/UnpopularOpinion:
Harris has nothing to "redeem" himself for IMO. He was beyond-awesome not just all season long, but right up until game three of the Bucks' series.

It was already known that Joe tended to tire beyond 30-31mpg, so what does Steve Nash do? Play him 36mpg all playoffs, naturally... meanwhile taking minutes away from Shamet and other wings.

The guy has also proven to be a tireless offseason worker, gradually transforming his defense in particular from a near-dreadful level to a slight-plus by most metrics I've seen. That's not something you often see, and gives me relative confidence that he'll be even better next season.

Seriously, the pitchfork mob really needs to move on from taking out their anger on Joe Harris. IMO the blame is much more appropriately spent on Adam Silver's condensed season, Marks' bizarre decision to hire Steve Nash, Kyrie's regular team-busting selfish moves, and Giannis' known pattern of sneakily injuring other players.

[Prokorov]

I actually thought Deandre would thrive with Harden. A lot like Capela did but Deandre just refuses to play hard on defense and attack the glass .

I'm not in the guy's head or anything, but from what I've seen, DeJordan's stamina has dropped in recent years, and his personal adjustment is seemingly to try to conserve energy where he can.

Plus, maybe he's not one of those athletes (like LeBron, etc) who are in to the whole 'fitness thing,' and maybe he's got a bit of pride / ego preventing him from changing and/or embracing a more effective role.

We have no reason to move Shamet. I kick the tires again on him and allow Joe a redemption season.

r/UnpopularOpinion:
Harris has nothing to "redeem" himself for IMO. He was beyond-awesome not just all season long, but right up until game three of the Bucks' series.

It was already known that Joe tended to tire beyond 30-31mpg, so what does Steve Nash do? Play him 36mpg all playoffs, naturally... meanwhile taking minutes away from Shamet and other wings.

The guy has also proven to be a tireless offseason worker, gradually transforming his defense in particular from a near-dreadful level to a slight-plus by most metrics I've seen. That's not something you often see, and gives me relative confidence that he'll be even better next season.

Seriously, the pitchfork mob really needs to move on from taking out their anger on Joe Harris. IMO the blame is much more appropriately spent on Adam Silver's condensed season, Marks' bizarre decision to hire Steve Nash, Kyrie's regular team-busting selfish moves, and Giannis' known pattern of sneakily injuring other players.

what team busting move did kyrie make? he has been the glue for this team all year

[gigantes]

what team busting move did kyrie make?

Oh, I don't know... maybe going AWOL about three times this season, only informing the team after the fact, each time forcing the Nets to puzzle out the situation? Also, at least one of those times he disregarded mask and distancing protocols, further extending his absence.

Marks seemed to make himself clear months ago that he was less than thrilled with that stuff, and news came out this past week based on team leaks that the Nets aren't quite shopping him, but are nevertheless willing to entertain offers. Choose your favorite source, duderino:
https://www.google.com/search?q=nets+willing+to+trade+kyrie+irving

So maybe that's all BS and maybe it isn't, but if true, would be exactly how you'd expect a team to respond. If anything, it's probably an underreaction in this case due to Irving obviously having the Nets over a barrel.

[DarkXaero]

what team busting move did kyrie make?

Oh, I don't know... maybe going AWOL about three times this season, only informing the team after the fact, each time forcing the Nets to puzzle out the situation? Also, at least one of those times he disregarded mask and distancing protocols, further extending his absence.

Marks seemed to make himself clear months ago that he was less than thrilled with that stuff, and news came out this past week based on team leaks that the Nets aren't quite shopping him, but are nevertheless willing to entertain offers. Choose your favorite source, duderino:
https://www.google.com/search?q=nets+willing+to+trade+kyrie+irving

So maybe that's all BS and maybe it isn't, but if true, would be exactly how you'd expect a team to respond. If anything, it's probably an underreaction in this case due to Irving obviously having the Nets over a barrel.

Maybe you ought to do your research. Only in the first instance, Kyrie didn't inform the team prior to taking the absence. The other absences were paternity related and discussed with the team. Yeah, so "selfish" of him to take a leave of absence to be there with his pregnant wife about to deliver their baby.

[DarkXaero]

Also the amount of head twisting it takes to get to the "Joe Harris played too many minutes" point is hilarious. There were plays drawn up for this guy to start the game, in the 1st quarter, and he was still missing his looks badly. I guess when you want to believe something so desperately, logic goes out the window.

[gigantes]

Maybe you ought to do your research. Only in the first instance, Kyrie didn't inform the team prior to taking the absence. The other absences were paternity related and discussed with the team. Yeah, so "selfish" of him to take a leave of absence to be there with his pregnant wife about to deliver their baby.

And maybe you ought to appreciate context. I never said the absences weren't discussed with the team, but from what I gathered, it was generally a case of Kyrie doing whatever the hell he wanted first and foremost, then letting the team know afterwards. Sometimes promptly, sometimes moreso "we have no idea what's up with Kyrie at this time." Marks OF COURSE was always going to downplay that kind of thing and give the impression that everything was hunky-dory, but pretty clearly, behind the scenes he was fuming.

Sure, having a kid is a common excused player absence with star athletes. Are you really trying to twist my words in to saying Kyrie was "selfish" for that absence? Again, my point is the way in which Kyrie handled this stuff, the absurd number of times he did it, and again, disregarding pandemic protocols.

Really, how many other players do you see wandering off like that on a regular basis? How do you think his teammates felt after the second or third time? Can we just take time off whenever we want, too?

IIRC Harden also had to pick up the slack for some of the missed games, and that guy wound up averaging, what was it... 41mpg with the Nets? Did you know that sometimes even workhorse players injure themselves when forced to play heavy-heavy minutes? Particularly a guy who's at the back end of his prime by the usual standards? No, don't bother answering if you're going to reply with the same level of nonsense as above.

[gigantes]

Also the amount of head twisting it takes to get to the "Joe Harris played too many minutes" point is hilarious. There were plays drawn up for this guy to start the game, in the 1st quarter, and he was still missing his looks badly. I guess when you want to believe something so desperately, logic goes out the window.

Lol... you ever hear the concept 'cumulative overload?'

As if it was a single game that bizarrely wore down Harris, and not his body being tired from the previous games? Talk about "logic going out the window," plus someone evidently unfamiliar with how the body and senses tend to perform worse when overworked over time.

Anyway, feel free to babble away, and good luck with that. This will be my last reply to you.

[DarkXaero]

It's tough to have a discussion with someone who is making big claims while ignoring facts related to the situation, and then exaggerating the extent of said situation. And then when they get called out on it, they get overly sensitive and end with "this will be my last reply to you".

Nevermind the fact that Kyrie had a kid this season, participated in Ramadan for the first time in his life AND STILL played for us while fasting. Nevermind the fact that Kyrie seems beloved in the locker room by his teammates, contrary to the narratives constantly being spun by the media (which are sadly also being believed here).

Also Harden didn't average 41 MPG with us, he averaged 36.6 MPG with us. If you're gonna be a condescending dick, you can at least do the courtesy to fact check yourself before doing that. Joe Harris averaged 36 MPG in the first round series, shooting 58.3% from 3. But yeah suddenly, the minutes load got to him and his shooting performance suddenly tanked Clearly, it was the fatigue of the 30 minutes he played in game 2 blowout win that got to him in game 3, and that's why he shot 1/11 FG in game 3. So go ahead, keep doing your mental gymnastics, and I hope you stick by your word that the previous post will be your last reply to me.

[Hello Brooklyn]

I love how Kyrie is getting the blame when he played the most games of any of our stars this season and made All NBA.

If anyone deserves blame its Harden for showing up fat this season and dogging it. You can't convince me Harden's lack of conditioning isn't the reason he had all those hamstring injuries.

With that being said it would be idiotic to make any major moves. If the right trade comes around move Harris. Otherwise this is still the best team in the NBA by far. We will win if the Big 3 can stay healthy.

The biggest move we can make is to resign Dinwiddie by far. Even if it comes at the cost of losing Bruce Brown. And off loading DJ's contract for a pick.

[MrDollarBills]

Kyrie was the most durable out of the Big 3 and got injured on a dirty play. Why is he getting dumped on?