National Basketball Association

Brooklyn Nets: Best Move They Did And Didn't Make

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Brooklyn Nets have limited options as a rebuilding team thanks to the mistakes of the past. Did they make the right moves to brighten their future? Or did they miss out on opportunities to move the needle?

Rebuilding in the NBA follows a certain path that ideally leads down to the bottom and then up to the top. Teams offload expensive contracts, trade veterans for draft picks, and lose as many games as possible.

Once at the bottom they amass talent through high draft picks, develop those picks into good players, and then begin adding veterans again as the team grows back into a playoff contender.

The Brooklyn Nets are the rare rebuilding team without any incentive to lose games. With the Boston Celtics holding the right to their draft slot over the next two seasons, the Nets get little value from losing games.

But with a severe lack of talent they cannot expect to win many games either.

Faced with a grim short-term future, how did the Brooklyn Nets approach the offseason? What was the best move they made? And what is the best move they didn’t make?

Mar 24, 2016; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Sean Marks general manager of the Brooklyn Nets talks at a press conference announcing the Long Island Nets D League team before the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

Best Move They Made: Hiring Sean Marks

When Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov bought the Brooklyn Nets, he instructed the front office to spend any amount of money and assets to assemble a good team.

As the franchise moved to Brooklyn, they signed checks and traded draft picks to assemble a team of big-name players.

On the surface it seemed like it would work. Brooklyn’s roster in 2014 had a combined 37 All-Star appearances, and the starting lineup would have destroyed the league in 2010.

But age, injuries, and subpar coaching derailed the would-be super team and in the process destroyed Brooklyn’s ability to recover.

Only one of those All-Star appearances remains on the roster in center Brook Lopez; the rest have been cut or traded to allow the franchise to move on.

The final move came in January when head coach Lionel Hollins was fired and general manager Billy King was “reassigned” from his duties. The time had come for a new regime in Brooklyn.

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Recognizing the flash-over-substance issues of the last decade, the Nets went the opposite direction in hiring a new general manager. They hired Sean Marks, former assistant general manager for the San Antonio Spurs.

Marks brought the cache of the Spurs’ organization, where he served as an assistant coach under Gregg Popovich and assistant GM under R.C. Buford.

He is also an outspoken proponent of analytics, and the ability to look past the big name and see the true value of players and transactions is needed in Brooklyn.

Already he has put his imprint on the organization, trading Thaddeus Young for a first-round pick and letting a number of veterans walk in free agency.

Marks went for value over immediate impact with the pick, taking Caris LeVert out of Michigan. LeVert was a one-time lottery prospect who fell due to injury.

In free agency the team added high-character veterans on good contracts and signed offer sheets for young players with room to grow. None of their moves hampered the organization down the road or limited their ability to add big-name talent in two or three years.

Marks may not have been the most established name on the market, but his training and mindset were much needed in Brooklyn. The Nets need to weather the storm of the next few seasons and construct a frame so in 2019 they can begin to build a foundation for the future.

This summer was a step in the right direction.

Nov 10, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors forward Anthony Bennett (15) with the ball against the New York Knicks at Air Canada Centre. The Knicks beat the Raptors 111-109. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

Best Move They Didn’t Make: Using Cap Space to Swing for the Fences

While the Nets’ situation hindered them from taking real steps for the future, it also kept them from making any major mistakes. Overall, Brooklyn’s series of small moves are hard to critique.

The one area where Brooklyn missed out was adding high-ceiling players in free agency. Armed with significant cap space, the Nets could offer free agents only money and the opportunity to live in New York. For Jeremy Lin, that was enough, and he reunited with his old coach Kenny Atkinson.

After Lin, the players signed were of two basic molds. The first were proven bench players, guys such as Trevor Booker or Randy Foye who have proven themselves worthy of an NBA rotation but not of starting.

None of these players were given exorbitant money or long contracts, so there is no risk to Brooklyn. But none of them are going to take the leap into being stars either.

The other group of players added marginally more upside. Brooklyn also added a number of young players who have washed out in the league, giving them a sort of “second chance” to stick.

While these players once had elite pedigrees, their inability to even stay on a roster makes the chance of a true diamond in the rough slim.

Anthony Bennett is the largest name of that second group, the former first overall pick of the Cleveland Cavaliers. After failing to crack the rotation in either Cleveland or Minnesota, he ended up on the Toronto Raptors.

Last season he made it onto the court for 84 minutes and scored 28 total points before being cut. This season could be his last chance at an NBA career.

Justin Hamilton is returning to the NBA after a term overseas, where he performed well enough to earn a second chance. The 15th pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, Hamilton bounced around a few teams seeing spot minutes before heading out of the country.

While he could develop into a solid rotation player, he first has to prove he even belongs in the league.

The Nets made some attempts at high upside players, signing offer sheets for Tyler Johnson and Allen Crabbe. But the market was littered with a variety of low-cost, high-upside players and the Nets instead spent money on Joe Harris and Randy Foye.

There is no guarantee Seth Curry becomes a starting-caliber player, but there are reasons to think he could. Tim Frazier impressed in spot duty for the New Orleans Pelicans last season and earned himself a contract. Langston Galloway could be a solid swing guard off the bench for a team.

These players signed small contracts but bring real upside.

In the end the Nets had an offseason without major mistakes. But unless one of their draft picks hit, they also ensured they didn’t have an offseason with major returns.

Ultimately their story is waiting to begin a few seasons down the road, and the Brooklyn Nets must be content with plenty of losses and plenty of waiting this season.

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