Brooklyn Nets

2016-2017: 20-62, 15th in the East

Payroll: $94,786,023

NBA Draft:

#22- Jarrett Allen C

#57- Aleksander Vezenkov PF

Free Agency:

IN; DAngelo Russell, Timofey Mozgov, Allen Crabbe, DeMarre Carroll

OUT: Brook Lopez, Andrew Nicholson, KJ McDaniels, Randy Foye, Justin

Hamilton

Analysis:

Stuck in a post-apocalyptic landscape after mortgaging their future on KG

and Paul Pierce, the Nets went into a trading frenzy this offseason to try and make
their situation, well, less horrific.

First, the building block: Swallowing Mozgovs contract to land former #2 pick
DAngelo Russell. They gave up Brook Lopez, whose evolution into a 3-point
threat almost single-handedly kept the teams offense somewhat respectable last
year, and the #27 pick in the 2017 Draftwhich, if were being honest, didnt
necessarily need to be included, considering the Lakers were more worried about
unloading Mozgov or Deng than I believe many thought. (Whether Kyle Kuzma
will haunt Brooklyn remains to be seen.)
The delayed gratification: Swapping Andrew Nicholsons 3 remaining years for
Allen Crabbe, whom Brooklyn signed to a massive offer sheet in the summer of
2016.

The sweetener: Taking on DeMarre Carrolls contract to get a 1st round and a 2nd
round pick from the Raptors. Sent away backup Center Justin Hamilton to
complete the deal.

These three deals by GM Sean Marks give the Nets organization a glimmer
of hope. By using their cap space (which was largely irrelevant to them anyway) to
absorb other teams albatrosses, Brooklyn got a promising young player who many
believe still could be an all-star player, a good wing player they had tried to sign
anyway, and some draft picks to restock a bit. Whether they could have gotten
more from Toronto or Portland is up for debate, considering they saved both teams
oodles of luxury tax payments, but the takeaway is still positive.

Once it became clear how bleak the franchises future was after the Boston
trade, the Nets started getting funky with their picks in the late 20s. After having
some success with Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Caris LeVert, the Nets drafted
Texas Center Jarrett Allen, who has the biggest upside of the three. Despite his
69 height, Allen is a great athlete with good instincts who should become a
formidable rim protector. He wasnt much of a scoring threat at Texasfew
college bigs arebut with patience, Allen has the hands to become a good Pick-&-
Roll player.

Even with Allens promise, the frontcourt is one of the worst in the league,
by far. Timofey Mozgovs rotting corpse figures to get a scary amount of playing
time if he stays healthy, and the rest of the time the team will either try to get by
with Trevor Booker at the 4 or going smalla fair solution to playing their glut of
wing players.

The Nets essentially have 7 or 8 players 1-3 capable of playing in the NBA:
Jeremy Lin, DAngelo Russell, Sean Kilpatrick, Spencer Dinwiddle, DeMarre
Carroll, Allen Crabbe, LeVert, and Hollis-Jefferson. None of them are established
all-stars and most of them havent even established themselves as long-term
keepers just yet, but they all are rotational pieces who deserve playing time. Carroll
and Hollis-Jefferson will see some time as small-ball 4s, and Kilpatrick and
Dinwiddle will likely sacrifice some playing time before injuries create an
opening; the roster balance isnt ideal, but the team will play it out to find out
exactly what it has.

Regardless of any imbalance, Jeremy Lin led the Nets to a few months of
near .500 basketball during the middle of last season, and he looks healthy and
ready to go. Unleashing him with Crabbe, a good 3-point shooter, Carroll, only 2
years removed from a terrific shooting season, and Russell, a savvy, young
playmaker, could make the Nets a lot friskier and more inconvenient to play
against than many teams expect.

Some of that potential rests on Carroll, now 31, overcoming 2 injury-

plagued years in Toronto to reclaim some of the grit and versatility he showed in
Atlanta that earned him a 4-year, $60 million deal. It seems unlikely at this point,
and with his injury history I doubt hell be able to play either 65 games or 28
minutes a night, but hes reportedly a great locker room presence and he knows
how to play.

The rest of that potential sits on DAngelo Russells and Caris LeVerts
shoulders. Not to lump the two in together, but both are good passers who can
scoretantamount to todays modern ballhandlersbut dont yet have the 3-point
shot or surefire playmaking skills to round out their offensive games. LeVert will
likely never be a primary ballhandler, so his spot-up shooting needs to improve;
doing so will further unlock his fantastic midrange game as he gets the
opportunities to take closeouts off the dribble.

For Russell, his immense potential now has an atmosphere suitable to

harnessing it. It was immediately clear in LA, even after his rookie season, that he
was both miscast and disliked by the organization. Under Head Coach Kenny
Atkinson and with no expectations of winning this year (or next for that matter),
Russell will have the room to play to his strengths as he tries to become to
playmaking savant pundits billed him as during his time at Ohio State.

Looking at Atkinsons reputation for developing players and the steps

LeVert, Sean Kilpatrick, and Spencer Dinwiddle took last year, Id bet on Russell
heading in the right direction this season.
 The Nets will certainly still be a bottom-dweller this year, but they may yet
rise into merely being a bad team, bound to fall between 5-9 in next years lottery
(which the Cavs own). Their young players will undoubtedly botch plenty of
rotations, leave the wrong guys open, and miscommunicate, so the defense wont
be pretty, but I think they improve on last years 23rd ranked Defensive Rating of
110.7.

Players to Watch: DAngelo Russell

I wont do a deep dive into his game, but as a Laker he often seemed
unfocused or sulked when things went south. There were flashes of the scoring and
passing that made so many scouts fall in love with him, but they were too
inconsistent. Now he has a fresh start and hes responded well so far, but the real
test of things wont be interviews and public image, but basketball. If he cant use
his 65 frame and basketball IQ to turn himself into a better playmaker and
defender on a team with no expectations and a good coaching staff, it will never
happen.

Imaginary Prop Bet: O/U 50% Chance Mikhail Prokhorov sells at least part of the
team in the next 9 months

Prediction: 28-54, 12th in the East