A Curve-Free Grading Of The 2023-24 Nets

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The Nets wrapped up a miserable season with a 107-86 loss at Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon. The 50^th defeat left this team with more questions than when this campaign started.

The most pressing is who will be the Head Coach. Kevin Ollie, hired on an interim basis after replacing Jacque Vaughn at the All-Star break, confirmed at Sunday’s postgame press conference that he was among those interviewed as per The Athletic’s Shams Charania’s report on Saturday. However, his 11-17 record in relief put him at virtually the same winning percentage as Vaughn. That’s not exactly a piece of evidence that bolsters his case. My guess is that we won’t find out the solution until a certain team is eliminated from the playoffs.

Whoever gets the job will be inheriting a team that was worse than the sum of its parts—maybe because only a handful of those parts performed at least up to expectations. The Nets started the season with some intriguing pieces, including a glut of 3-and-D wings. Nic Claxton was the prototypical lobs-and-blocks center and Cam Thomas was a walking bucket. And whatever perpetually-injured Ben Simmons could give would be gravy.

Yet the inconsistency was disturbing. Ok, perhaps we should have anticipated the poor shooting (28^th in the league in field goal percentage) given the club’s dearth of shot creators, but to be that underwhelming defensively? Guarding the perimeter, closing out on three-point shooters, getting back in transition, finishing possessions with rebounds…there wasn’t any aspect of defense that was bankable.

Individually, there were some flashes, but even Thomas had holes in his game that you just have to hope can be fixed with more experience. Since I’m an old-school, pre-grade inflation evaluator, some of the marks below might come across as harsh. Just like I won’t judge a second grader on a high school curriculum, I won’t ding a player because he can’t measure up to LeBron James. But these grades are based on their performances for the roles they were assigned:

Cam Thomas: He came close (2.5 points) to the 25 ppg he claimed before the season he would average if given the ball. He dad 14 games over 30 points and four that eclipsed 40. There were still way too many games, including five of the last seven, with two or fewer assists, and opponents targeted him unmercifully through the Nets switching scheme because of his poor fundamentals in stopping ball penetration. Fortunately, at 22, growth is possible. Grade: B-plus

Mikal Bridges: It just seems like he ran out of gas by the All-Star break from playing so much basketball. The FIBA World Cup limited his summer break, and he never misses a game. Even after load managing fourth quarters in the last few games, he finished fourth in the NBA in total minutes. Still, the fact remains that his game suffered. On both ends. There was so much optimism about Bridges developing into a Kawhi Leonard-like two-way star after his trade last season to Brooklyn. He’s not THAT guy, even if he’s a winning player alongside a true alpha. Grade: B

Dennis Schroder: There were many times over the last 29 games since he was dealt to Brooklyn at the trade deadline that made you wonder why he’s been on seven different teams over the last seven years. And others where you went, “Oh, now I see.” Schroder exhibited strong leadership and organizational skills—and was one of Brooklyn’s best players in crunch time this season—but seemed to take an inordinate number of plays off. He’d dribble around with no purpose or commit a lazy turnover. He’d be strong in a backup point guard role; unfortunately, on this team, he was starting. Grade: B

Noah Clowney: Count me among those who thought he needed at least this season to develop in the G League. At 19, that isn’t an unusual track. However, he was placed in Brooklyn’s rotation for the last 11 games and responded well, particularly in the 92 minutes where he was teamed with Claxton. He hit on 10-of-24 three-point attempts (41.7%) and took to the Nets’ switching scheme as if he had been playing it since his AAU days, which wasn’t that long ago. Looking forward to what a summer of weight training and agility drills bring. Grade: B      

Nic Claxton: Forget the numbers (11.8 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.1 blocks), Claxton basically plateaued this season. Oh, there were some improvements in his ballhandling and variety of finishes, but I was hoping for more of a leap in terms of his impact on both ends. Instead, he struggled in drop defense and chased blocks, leaving the backboards unattended by anyone with size. He misfired on 19 of his last 27 free throws to finish the season at 55% from the line, in line with his career average. His free agency will be Brooklyn’s biggest summer priority after hiring the Head Coach. Grade: B-minus

Dorian Finney-Smith: A true pro, Finney-Smith was, in my opinion, Brooklyn’s best defensive player this season. He had a terrific year in one-on-one battles and in help defense. Unfortunately, suffered through a terrible regression to the mean with his three-point shooting, later exacerbated by a January ankle injury that eventually required an injection. He was shut down for the final four games with a knee injury. He shot 37.8% from deep before, and 28.9% after. He’ll be on the books for just under $15 million next season, his last before a 2025-26 player option. He’s too valuable to give away this offseason. Grade: B-minus

Cam Johnson: It’s too bad he’s going to be graded by fans on his contract, which was extended for four years at $100 million last summer. That’s the NBA business, folks. As such, more was expected than 13.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game on 39.1% three-point shooting. Some fans also used the injuries that caused him to miss 24 games this season against him. I appreciated his basketball IQ, particularly on defense where his knowledge of opposing players’ tendencies from scouting reports came in handy. However, he too often lacked physicality, and on this team which played a ton of small ball that forced him to match up against bigger 4s, that was a killer. Grade: C-plus

Jalen Wilson: I know, how can I be so down on a player who rose up from a 2-way contract in his rookie season after being a low second-round pick? Again, this is just about how he fared when used in a regular rotation role, because he was usually great in garbage times. I should also mention how he improved his one-on-one defense tremendously by season’s end to the point where Ollie wasn’t afraid to put him on Jalen Brunson and Tyrese Maxey in the final two games. Of course, that growth didn’t offset the slide in his offensive efficiency. He shot 12-for-50 on three-pointers over his last 24 games after starting the season 12-for-24. His hustle and ability to make things happen off broken plays makes him a fine bottom-of-the-bench guy, but I question if he’s athletic enough to be much more. Grade: C-plus

Trendon Watford: He went back-and-forth from “Why isn’t he playing?” to “Why is he playing so much?” throughout the season. Is it his fault that he, the third-heaviest player on the team, was often tasked with point guard duties, something he likely never did during his first two pro seasons in Portland? It doesn’t matter. He played and I grade. And, like so many of his teammates, he had an up-and-down year. You loved the hustle plays and strong finishes around the basket; you cringed at the ghastly live-ball turnovers and wild shot selection. Defensively, he was picked on by bigs and smalls alike. Only 23, he could come back as a restricted free agent, hopefully with better fundamental skills. Grade: C  

Lonnie Walker IV: Another tale of pre-injury, post-injury. Walker saved several games early in the season with his bucket-getting off the bench. He was dazzling from three-point range and around the cup alike. Then he got hurt, came back, got hurt…etc. By mid-March, he was mostly useless, posting a 31.6/20/75 shooting split over his last 15 games. His struggles carried over to his defense, a sticking point with Ollie. An unrestricted free agent this summer, he might feel like he needs to find a fourth NBA address in as many years. Grade: C

Dennis Smith Jr. I will say that if he had the ability to knock down three-pointers at the league average rate, he’d be an eight-figure per year player. Only he was again a sub-30% three-point shooter this season, which means he’ll likely be on someone else’s team next season on a league minimum deal. It’s a shame, because he is well-liked by teammates and a pain in the ass for opponents with his physical on-ball defense. When he had that short stretch of decent shooting in January, I thought he warranted starting minutes over Spencer Dinwiddie, who by then had one foot figuratively out the door (he was traded on February 8 for Schroder). Those good feelings were short-lived, and Smith soon reverted back to the player who could be safely left open on the perimeter. Grade: C-minus

Day’Ron Sharpe: I’m not sure which came first, Clowney’s ascendance or Sharpe’s decline. In any event, Sharpe was rendering himself unplayable even before knee and wrist injuries sidelined him. His individual numbers, including per possession data, don’t look so bad, but trust me, he was. He had over 11% of his shots from five feet and in blocked, per NBA.com, and was turnover prone. A bunch of his offensive rebounds were Moses Malone types off his own misses. And so much for expanding his range to three-point lands—he went 4-for-15 (26.7%) from there this season. To be a little fair, he had the odd good game, registering six double-doubles. I just think he’s too small and unathletic to be the long-term solution at backup center. Grade: C-minus

Keita Bates-Diop: I can’t believe the Nets might have to waste a roster spot on him next season, as he has a player option for a guaranteed $2.654 million. He played all of 68 minutes over 14 games for Brooklyn after coming over from Phoenix in the Royce O’Neale trade at the deadline, virtually all of it in garbage time. He wasn’t any good, but is that enough to give him a grade? I’ll be kind. Grade: Incomplete

Dariq Whitehead: The glass half-full Nets fan looks at his injury-riddled rookie season as a mulligan so that he’ll be the equivalent of Brooklyn’s 2024 first-round Draft pick at age 20 instead of 19. Of course, Whitehead, who had foot issues at Duke University and then developed shin splints while playing for Long Island this season, now has to prove he can come back and be worthy of that lofty stature, which is never a guarantee. Grade: Incomplete      

Ben Simmons: The Big Tease. All we heard all preseason was how Simmons was almost back to his Philadelphia All-Star level. He lasted 15 games. His many fans will point to the Nets’ 7-8 record with him in the lineup. I’ll retort that none of the wins were against top-six playoff seeds and that the Nets posted a minus-3.4 net rating when he was on the court, per NBA.com. I’ll just conclude by saying I hope this second back surgery allows him to come back to the NBA next season. And it’s so he can play for another team. Grade: Incomplete