National Basketball Association

Jeremy Lin and turning the corner in Brooklyn

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

foxsports

Jeremy Lin took a three year, $36 million deal to join the blank slate that is the Brooklyn Nets, returning very close to the site of his Linsanity breakout. He did so even with the daunting challenges the team would face. In 2013, the Nets sold their soul to the devil — just kidding, Danny Ainge — for a brief shot at contending. The brief shot passed, meanwhile, Ainge (or the devil) is still collecting his pounds of flesh.

To guide the franchise back into winning ways, the team brought in Lin in addition to a new GM and head coach in Sean Marks and Kenny Atkinson. Despite a cupboard nearly bare of future assets, they will attempt to rebuild on the fly by developing their young players, hunting for trade opportunities and hoping they strike gold with at least one of their long-shot fringe players.

David Vertsberger (@_Verts) from Locked On Nets thinks this a prudent plan and that the Nets are headed in the right direction. He joins Fastbreak Breakfast to discuss their outlook this season and moving into the future. Will any of Brooklyn’s young prospects pan out? Which current players might still be traded away? Is the hope associated with a future 2nd round draft pick more valuable than winning games this year? Is a season “lost” for an NBA franchise if their odds of making the playoffs are incredibly remote? Would Boston winning the lottery next year with the Nets’ pick be the nadir of the rebuild? And just how much of a load can Lin handle?

If you have missed them, there are previous Fastbreak Breakfast off-season podcasts focusing on the Lakers, Nuggets, Timberwolves, Grizzlies, Pacers, Bucks, Hawks, Heat, Jazz, Knicks, Kings, Pelicans, Magic, plus player interviews with Wade Baldwin IV and Brandan Wright. Also, gambling. Fastbreak Breakfast episodes are also available on iTunes, Stitcher and Soundcloud.