Back when the Nets won 20 games during the forgettable 2016-17 season that marked the beginning of the Sean Marks/Kenny Atkinson rebuilding era, the five-man lineup that participated in the most games together and posted the second-most total minutes was:
Brook Lopez
Bojan Bogdanovic
Trevor Booker
Sean Kilpatrick
Isaiah Whitehead
And that was a non-tanking season, as Boston owned the rights to the Nets’ ensuing first-round pick. Still, all but the first two names—who are still around today (!!!)—were out of the league three seasons later.
Now that General Manager Marks, through his offseason moves, has embraced Rebuild Part II, The Tank, I want Nets fans who are praying for the under-19.5 Las Vegas line to think hard about that. How many of the current core has that short of a remaining NBA shelf life?
Sure, the league evolves and the overall athletic/basketball levels improve over time, but you have to wonder if Brooklyn’s squad eight years later has too much talent—and motivation—to execute the complete bottoming out the pro-tank crowd desires.
At least until Marks starts unloading some veterans like Dorian-Finney Smith and Cam Johnson, the Nets roster consists of a healthy contingent of players who could potentially step in and create some value to playoff contenders. That includes younger guys like Nic Claxton and Cam Thomas too. You couldn’t say that of the earlier iteration. Marks’ only trade at his first deadline was the Bogdanovic-to-Washington multi-player deal that returned a first-round pick that became Jarrett Allen.
Yet the disrespect, in terms of both the over/under line and how this team is viewed by analysts, seems a bit overboard. Just look at what some writer for “The Athletic” posted last week when rating every team’s position depth.
Of the five positions, only Thomas at shooting guard (with Shake Milton named as the backup) rated as high as No. 16 among the 30 teams. Even then, he was put behind Devin Vassell/Stephen Castle (Spurs), Austin Reeves/Cam Reddish (Lakers), and Collin Sexton/Jordan Clarkson (Jazz). Reeves, really? No Lakers bias there, right?
Finney-Smith and Dennis Schroder were both ranked 29th, though neither has secured their respective starting jobs, with listed backups Noah Clowney and Ben Simmons looking to have a say in the matter. Simmons in particular could upset the tank on his own should his twice surgically repaired back hold up for more than the 15 games he played last season and he starts putting up triple doubles again. I know, that’s a monstrous “if.”
In any event, power forward and point guard weren’t the most egregious examples of disrespect in the analysis. That would go to centers Claxton/Day’Ron Sharpe, who turned up at No. 21, below Jalen Duren/Paul Reed (Pistons), among others. Boy, that would seem to make Marks—and anyone else who allegedly eyed Claxton in free agency this offseason—a fool for offering a bottom-10 guy a $100 million contract.
Finney-Smith mentioned on Wednesday the general disrespect he can feel around the league and how it can fuel the Nets in a post-practice interview as reported by The New York Post’s Brian Lewis. That could just be standard player-speak or it could lead to the real effort that often decides close NBA games in crunch time.
Look, I don’t want to get all Joe Johnson here—his “It’s not that bad here” quote at Brooklyn’s 2015 Media Day was an all-timer—because this season is looking to be very bad. But there are so many variables that haven’t even started playing out. Not just Simmons, but what, for example, can new Head Coach Jordi Fernandez bring in terms of strategy and friskiness buy-ins? What happens if the pieces, though certainly not elite, fit a little better than the consensus models?
I know there are plenty of Nets fans who wish they won’t. Their minds have been on Duke’s Cooper Flagg and other top 2025 Draft prospects since Marks traded Mikal Bridges (the No. 4 shooting guard with Miles McBride, by the way) to the Knicks and recouped the Nets’ own first-round pick in a separate deal with Houston in July. Winning even five more games than expected can affect the lottery odds, though not as much as it used to, since the bottom-three finishers each have a mere 14% chance at getting the lucky No. 1 ping pong ball.
However, players and coaches don’t tank. Marks can accelerate it through trades, but unless he’s suddenly overwhelmed in an offer, he appears willing to wait until the February 6 trade deadline before making any rash moves. That could mean that the pre-All-Star break Nets should fare better than what you might see when they play out the string over their final 30 games or so.
How much better? I’m not ready to project a season-long win total here. Apparently, though, Brooklyn’s 19.5 over/under is the lowest the league has seen since the Process Sixers. It’s even lower than the 20.5 number at the Nets 2016-17 season opener. That’s so disrespectful given the players on this team that I’d recommend hitting the over.
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100% agree. I can't figure out why this team is so much worse than last year's. Mikals is definitely a loss, but let's be honest, he wasn't that great for us.
On the other side, I like another year of development for: CamT, Clax, Clowney, Wilson, Watford, Sharpe.
I like Dennis running the point here better than Spencer.
I know CamJ was unhealthy entering the season and never really seemed comfortable.
And Ben......well the experience could only get a little worse than last year, so who knows?
And I don't hate the additions of Zaire & Keon for this squad.
So I'm with you, Steve.