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The Brooklyn Nets Are A Mess, But Can Still Be Hopeful
From 2014-16, the Brooklyn Nets accrued 59 wins. They’ve been a losing team for a few years, so how do they win for a change?
The Brooklyn Nets’ first mistake was following in the Knicks’ footsteps and trading away all of their first-round picks. Acquiring Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce was good at the time, but that era is over.
Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Pierce and Garnett are gone. The last remaining piece, Brook Lopez, who has proved time and time again he’s a quality player for this franchise. For his second-straight season, he’s averaging over 20 points per game and he’s elevated his game to the point he’s become a three-point threat.
Lopez broke the barrier. He brought a whole new skill into his arsenal, and that’s made him lethal. But outside of Lopez’ evolution, the Nets haven’t changed much. They lack depth and ferocity.
The Nets took a chance with Thaddeus Young, who wound up being a decent acquisition for both his rebounding, scoring and defense. He was a big body at 6-foot-8, and he wasn’t afraid to put the ball on the floor to make a move to the basket.
Mirza Teletovic offered sharpshooting off the bench, and the Nets are surely missing that now despite Lopez’ attempts from beyond the arc.
Jarrett Jack, who no longer plays for Brooklyn, had a shot at being a decent starting guard for the Nets, but his ACL injury took that chance away.
Now, the Nets did make some effort to reshape the team ahead of the 2016-17 season. Trevor Booker and Jeremy Lin, the two main assets obtained over the summer, aren’t stellar but they act as a nudge in the right direction for Brooklyn.
Lin’s scoring is something the Nets can’t be mad about, however, his lingering hamstring injury is hurting the team’s ability to fight through games. Though Sean Kilpatrick had his moment to shine, he’s fallen off the radar, and the Nets are resorting to the likes of Isaiah Whitehead to lead off the team’s backcourt.
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The guard rotation has simply run too thin.
Booker is having his best year yet, though it’s a fruitless effort. With averages of 10 points and nine rebounds per game, he’s at least looking like a worthy investment for future seasons.
Another interesting highlight of his season comes from his career-best 2.4 assists per game. Booker has been given free range to distribute the ball on plays, and that’s allowed him to be less one-dimensional. In today’s NBA, though, one has to wonder if his inability to stretch the floor limits the Nets’ success.
Booker is also providing some defense as indicated by his 1.5 steals per game.
The Brooklyn Nets are weak at pretty much every position, and with a losing record they won’t be suitors for quality trades any time soon. However, Christian Milcos of Nothin’ But Nets brought up an interesting case for Otto Porter joining the Nets.
Porter is in a contract year, and this happens to his best season so far. The Nets don’t have much to give up, but Porter would actually be a quality solution for the small forward position, which happens to be one of Brooklyn’s weakest positions. If Brooklyn can somehow convince Washington to part ways with their budding small-forward, the Nets get a lucky break.
Since Washington is 19-19 and they can use all the help they can get, however, acquiring Porter seems like a stretch.
In the short-term, Brooklyn doesn’t have any hopes of coming close to a playoff berth, let alone a championship. If they truly hope to contend, a major roster shakeup would have to occur. A trade for Porter would be a solid step in the process, but the Nets’ lack of depth also needs to be accounted for.
Ideally, Whitehead, Joe Harris and the other young players will develop fast enough to become effective contributors for Kenny Atkinson. This leaves Brooklyn with a malleable financial situation, and the ability to garner trade assets for seasons to come.
Realistically, this team busts open at the seams and digs themselves deeper into a restructuring era.
There’s going to be a long age of sadness for Brooklyn Nets fan either way.
