[2016-17 Season] End of Year Player Grades

[uballer]

Disregarding injuries that a player could not control, this is my grades:
Brook Lopez B+
Jeremy Lin B+
Caris LeVert B
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson B
Isaiah Whitehead B
Trevor Booker B
Spencer Dinwiddie B-
Sean Kilpatrick C+
Quincy Acy B
Joe Harris C
K.J. McDaniels C
Archie Goodwin B+
Justin Hamilton C-
Randy Foye C
Andrew Nicholson C-

No one in this team deserves an A. Lopez's can score but his defense and rebounding were not very encouraging. Lin indeed made great impact on many games but he was not consistent enough.
It seems everyone likes LeVert and RHJ, but I think Goodwin might have more room to grow. He was not hot-headed and could finish layups better. And, his defense effort was always great.

[FlipFlopShot]

Disregarding injuries that a player could not control, this is my grades:
Brook Lopez B+
Jeremy Lin B+
Caris LeVert B
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson B
Isaiah Whitehead B
Trevor Booker B
Spencer Dinwiddie B-
Sean Kilpatrick C+
Quincy Acy B
Joe Harris C
K.J. McDaniels C
Archie Goodwin B+
Justin Hamilton C-
Randy Foye C
Andrew Nicholson C-

No one in this team deserves an A. Lopez's can score but his defense and rebounding were not very encouraging. Lin indeed made great impact on many games but he was not consistent enough.
It seems everyone likes LeVert and RHJ, but I think Goodwin might have more room to grow. He was not hot-headed and could finish layups better. And, his defense effort was always great.

I see Nicholson with a C. Is this a three letter grade scale? Is B+ average?
lol, just giving you a hard time.

[DarkXaero]

Brook Lopez: B+. Managed to make a remarkable improvement as a legit 3pt threat, while continuing to display the same level of interior scoring that he did in his career previously. Overall, increased his scoring rate, with a career high PER 36 avg of 25 PPG. On top of that, he became the franchise leading scorer. Unfortunately, rebounding numbers dipped but he still does a good job boxing out. One of the most underrated players in the league.

Jeremy Lin: B-. Played really well for the most part but unfortunately, could not stay healthy all season. If you look at his PER 36 numbers, he had career highs everywhere, and all star caliber numbers. If he stayed healthy, if he even managed to avg 18/7/4 (which was realistic), it would have been a fantastic season, and the win total for the team would be at least in the high 20s. He also improved his 3pt efficiency (previously a weakness over his career) and increased his 3pt volume as well.

Caris LeVert: B. One of the few bright sparks this season and gave us all more optimism for the team's future which has looked grim for a long time. He has the potential to become a very good role player, and maybe even an all star caliber wing. Great size, decent athlete with ball handling ability, a good jumpshot mechanically (although inconsistent atm), and most importantly, good bball IQ. He wasn't consistent over the season but he showed enough to be optimistic. Also makes the Thad Young trade an easy win for Marks.

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson: C+. Absolutely awful for the early part of the season, but improved a lot as the season went on. He became more aggressive on offense, leading to a significantly higher scoring rate than his rookie season. Unfortunately, he didn't justify much of his higher usage as he's still very raw offensively. His play was often sloppy, and his bball IQ leaves a bit to be desired. However, he still played some very good basketball over the season, although inconsistently. Ended the season strongly as a tweener PF. Not sure if he'll be a starting caliber player in this league but there's at least a solid rotation player in there.

Isaiah Whitehead: C+. A 2nd round pick forced into the rotation once the team's starting PG & backup PG both went down. While its not his fault, he wasn't ready for it. Still though, he made significant improvements over the season and showed glimpses of a solid combo guard. He improved his decision making over the season too, and with a much improved 3pt shot, he can be a good rotation player. However, for now, his overall season stats are quite poor and it's not hard to think that a D-league signing could have done the same in his place, if not better. Although come to think of it, Dinwiddie was signed from D-league and had a better season.

Trevor Booker: B. Thad Young's replacement who started out the season really strong, and didn't make us miss Thad Young. His motor and high energy made him a personal favorite for a while. However, for whatever reason, he started playing some stupid basketball and regressed a bit over the season. Still though, he's a good veteran, a solid signing, and a fun player to watch when he's not playing out of control.

Spencer Dinwiddie: B-. Signed during the season, he was initially very meh, but developed into a solid rotation PG over the season. Nothing flashy but he can make some smart plays, including his ability to get to the line, and shot quite well from 3pt, especially given his lack of 3pt shot in his previous seasons. He's like a poor man's Shaun Livingston with a 3pt shot, if that makes any sense.

Sean Kilpatrick: C-. A disappointing season for one of Marks' first good signings. He started the season very well in his role but was forced into PG role when Lin & Vasquez went down. It's a role where he was clearly not comfortable, and struggled a lot with his efficiency & decision making. That still doesn't excuse much of his bad shot selection, inconsistency in jumpers, and overall decision making. Hopefully, he can bounce back next year in the 6th man role, if he's still on the team.

Quincy Acy: B. A good midseason pickup who delivered in the minutes he got in the rotation. For whatever reason, he didn't get as many minutes as he should have. His 3pt shot was surprisingly very efficient, which makes him more valuable than a typical D-league big who can't do much offensively.

Joe Harris: C+. Looked great in preseason but unfortunately, couldn't sustain that once the regular season started. Still, it was a mostly positive season for Joe Harris, who previously hadn't shown anything in the NBA. His defense is very subpar, despite the effort, but with gradual improvement in his 3pt shot, he can become a poor man's Korver.

K.J. McDaniels: B-. Late season pickup who didn't get much playing time but looked decent when he played. Excellent athlete who can be a very good wing defender. If he can develop his 3pt shot, his value increases a lot.

Archie Goodwin: B-. Another late season pickup who also looked decent in his small sample size. Scored very efficiently and at a good rate. Like McDaniels, if he can develop his 3pt shot, he becomes much more valuable. Alternatively, I can also see him being Kilpatrick's replacement (sixth man scorer off bench) if Kilpatrick is traded.

Justin Hamilton: D. Early in the season, he looked like the stretch big that Bargnani was supposed to be for us. Unfortunately, that didn't last long and he was crap for most of the season. Highly inconsistent with his 3pt shot, and awful for a big at scoring inside. I hope that Marks is able to move him this offseason, I don't want to see him on the team next season.

Randy Foye: C. A good vet/locker room presence who got far more playing time than he deserved, but I'm not too bothered by it. It's hard to critique him by performance, because not much was expected of him anyway. I'm grateful that he remained a professional vet throughout the season and a good influence for the young guys. Plus he hit a great, memorable gamewinner at Barclay's.

Andrew Nicholson: N/A. He didn't get much playing time so nothing really to evaluate here. He was traded in the Bogdanovic deal as a salary dump and I'm hoping we're able to move him in a trade but I highly doubt it.

[billyqueen]

Brook Lopez - A-/B+
Provided a steady presence and really showed out in terms of his 3 pt shooting. Sometimes was soft and faded in the latter half of games, but I was pretty satisfied with his play.

Jeremy Lin - B-/C+
Would probably be an A- based on his actual play, but sadly his injuries derailed the season big time. At least it allowed the younger guys to develop but it was a slog to watch without a competent PG.

Caris LeVert - B+
Looked great and showed a lot of potential, he passes up some really nice looks frequently but he has skills and quickness.

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson - B
Was looking like a C+ tbh until he was moved to PF. His erratic play and reckless drives, bricked Js, and turnovers handling the ball were really frustrating, but he finished the season strong. Was pleasantly surprised how effective he was at PF, thought he would get manhandled on bigger PFs.

Isaiah Whitehead - B
The cyclone definitely exceeded my expectations for him as a mid 2nd rounder rookie. He already draws a lot of fouls on his drives, though he got the rookie treatment on the other end unsurprisingly. His turnovers and botched passes were shockingly awful at times, but overall I was pleased.

Trevor Booker - B-
Honestly thought he could've been better, he really showed his limitations as a player. His turnovers handling the ball annoyed me though. Didn't see as many dunks from him as I would've liked either.

Spencer Dinwiddie - B
Looked like a D in his first month or so with the team and didn't look NBA-caliber, but he's made huge strides and he's a pretty serviceable backup now. Kinda think his 3 pt foul drawing is a bit cheesy though lol

Sean Kilpatrick - C/C-
Not a fan of how he plays, and it looked really ugly when Lin was out and he was chucking and giving the ball up like candy. I guess he had the game against the Clippers early on and a few other moments, but overall eh.

Quincy Acy - B
I gave him a higher grade than Booker because my expectations were lower. I've always thought he was a decent player though, not necessarily all that effective but puts in effort. Was expecting more monster dunks from him though.

Joe Harris - C+
He tries hard, but imo he's not very good or effective. Not the knockdown shooter you expect out of him. He slashes, but it's kinda whatever.

K.J. McDaniels - B
Sort of hard to rate him. He definitely exceeded the expectations which were basement level based on his play Rockets tenure. His 3 pt shot is still pretty iffy however.

Archie Goodwin - B/B-
Also hard to rate him cause I didn't watch him play that much either. He doesn't really shoot, but he can slash and defend, and hustled.

Justin Hamilton - D-
I think he's pretty bad and quite overmatched by NBA players. He gets destroyed on defense and is kind of weak inside in general. He made some 3 pointers though (and bricked a **** ton of them too) so I'll give him that I guess??

Randy Foye - D+/C-
He's washed up and basically done at this point. Not really serviceable and he bricks a lot and throws the ball away a lot for a vet. Boosted his score because he hit that GW though lol.

Andrew Nicholson - F
Geez this guy really isn't an NBA player, he was worse than Hamilton.

Others
Bennett - F I guess he gets this since he's not in league anymore. He was pretty incompetent though, he's so athletic but can't finish inside against NBA players.
Bojan - C/C- I was getting sick of watching him chuck and brick all over before he was traded. Telegraphed passes, getting stuffed on drives and crap defense

[MrDollarBills]

I was being cautious with handing out high grades because we have to remember, this was a 20 win team despite the high effort.

If someone is giving grades based on overall level of performance among the league [Like Westbrook = A+, Harden = A+, LBJ = A+], then nobody on this team deserves an A... Brook would probably top out the team at a B-, and that would explain why this team has the worst record in the league.

But I think that method of evaluating a team is probably not the best, especially when it comes to evaluating if a team performed up to their potential <and especially when most of the team is full of really young guys>.

The way I think is fair, is to just see if players played up to their potential.

For example, going into this season, I thought the team would MAX out their talent level, and win 27 games in a best case scenario. That's 27 wins IF most of the players played to their best ability, AND IF the coaching staff performed well. Factoring in the injuries this season, the team was about (or above?) that win rate when they were healthy, so I take that as a clear sign that the team pretty much maxed out their abilities when they had a chance. I think the eye-test aligns with that idea too, so with that criteria, it just makes sense that most guys deserve a rather high grade. They played the best they could--and I think that is definitely at least better than a C in most cases. It may seem like a lackadaisical way to grade to some, but there is A LOT of underwhelming player performances in the league from year to year, and the Nets actually didn't have that many. That's why it was easy to root for the entire team this year.

But anyway, at the end of the day, the grades are all based on how you want to define them. I like the way above, because it's more indicative of who is a keeper and who isn't. Even if a guy isn't the most talented in the world, as long as he has a role and can play it at a high level, you probably want to keep him. The Nets have a lot of guys who fit this mold, but they need a few players with higher ceilings. And the fact that the Nets have a lot of solid role players is what makes me optimistic about this team potentially vying for an 8th spot next year. If they can get a 2-3 more players with starter-caliber ceilings, I think they'd be on the cusp of an 8th seed.

very well said.

I think that overall, this team played to the best of their ability on most nights. I just don't think that we saw what I would regard A+ performances anywhere on an overall level. if you wanted me to grade these guys on effort, hell everyone on this team would damn near get an A or a B+. I think frankly the worst effort I saw overall was Kilpatrick's defense, and I am not sure whether that was just a lack of effort or the fact that he has a fairly low basketball IQ when it comes to defense. He just does some really dumb things at times on defense.

Either way, I am excited to see what additions can be added to this group because I really think that saying that they can add at least 12-15 more wins next season if healthy at bare minimum is not a stretch. These guys compete. that's half the battle.

[bws94]

Brook Lopez B+ ups are shooting the 3 and offensive production, downs are rebounding, PnR defense. Overall sometimes loses aggression, when engaged he's a force on offense, not so much on defense.

Jeremy Lin B ups are better shooting, leadership, organizing team, defense, clutch play, competitiveness. downs are offensive consistency, hamstring injuries. should work on his mid-range game, floater, and further improve his ball-handling.

Caris LeVert B+ ups are maturity and BBIQ, good court vision, excellent at reading the passing lanes on defense and getting steals. downs are just needing more time to develop offensive game/pacing and not falling for ball fakes so much on defense.

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson B+ ups are getting to good places on the court, drawing fouls, rebounding. downs are could be better defensively, gets out of control at times, footwork needs work. good competitor and developing nicely.

Isaiah Whitehead B+ ups are physicality and toughness, shot blocking, defense, occasional good passing. downs are turnovers, shooting. needs more experience but can be a valuable player. big upside.

Trevor Booker B- ups are rebounding, open floor ball handling, hustle. downs are limited post moves, some of his decision-making.

Spencer Dinwiddie B ups are length, defense, driving ability, scoring. downs are doesn't always play with confidence, consistency, court vision needs improvement.

Sean Kilpatrick C ups are dynamic scorer in stretches, driving ability. downs are defense, very TO prone ball handling, and consistency.

Quincy Acy B ups are 3-point shooting, rebounding, physicality, good defense. downs are a bit limited offensively. good guy to have on the team.

Joe Harris C ups are good scorer for the perimeter and has a driving game, strong body, good catch and shoot player. downs are defense seems average, inconsistent, was injured for many weeks near end of the season.

K.J. McDaniels C+ ups are a tough player with a lot of physicality, defense looks strong. downs are maybe a bit limited offensively. not really sure, need to see more of him.

Archie Goodwin B- ups are quick and dynamic driver to the basket and finisher, good-ball handling. downs are needs more experience and to learn more about distributing the ball. has big potential.

Justin Hamilton D ups are had a stretch of good shooting and scoring. downs are not a physical presence or rebounder, not a rim protector for his size, and he lost his shot but a lot of it was due to a bad contact lens prescription. He fizzled too much and overall a disappointment.

Randy Foye D ups are provided leadership, good in the locker room. downs are besides some occasional shooting and decent distributing, he didn't add very much and really faded towards the end of the season.

Andrew Nicholson (incomplete). Not too impressive from what I saw, but didn't see enough. Not sure how he fits the team.