Additions: Andrea Bargnani, Wayne Ellington, Dahntay Jones, Shane Larkin, Thomas Robinson, Donald Sloan, Quincy Miller
In my opinion, the most interesting addition to the Brooklyn roster is undoubtedly Andrea Bargnani. He is commonly referred to as bust mainly because he was the #1 overall draft pick in the 2006 NBA draft; but make no mistake, Bargnani isn’t Michael Olawakandi or Anthony Bennett. Over his 9-year career, he’s averaged 15 PPG, even averaging 17.2 and 21.4 PPG in 2009/10 and 2010/11 respectively. Bargnani even helped the Raptors get to the playoffs in his first two seasons, but once Chris Bosh bolted for Miami, his Raptors never saw the postseason again. Once Andrea landed with the Knicks, not only did he stop playing well, he stopped playing in general, appearing in just 71 games in his two years with the team. Over this summer, he ended up signing a 2-year deal for the veteran’s minimum with the Nets. But does he have anything left in the tank? Well let’s look at some of the positives. For the first time in his NBA career, very little is expected of Bargnani. He was a #1 draft pick in Toronto and he was making over $22 million while he was in New York. No one expects him to be the man; in fact, no one expects him to start. Bargnani will be backing up Brooklyn’s franchise player Brook Lopez. But it’s still not all good. Brooklyn brought in Andrea to help space the floor when Lopez is on the bench; however, Bargnani’s no longer the “poor man’s Dirk.” Over his least two seasons, he’s taking dramatically less three point tries, attempting just 1.4 threes per game last year. For a seven-footer, he’s also a less-than-stellar rebounder (4.8 RPG career average) and almost a non-existent shot blocker. If Bargnani is going to reinvent his game successfully, he may have to enter the paint this season.
Losses: Alan Anderson, Earl Clark, Jerome Jordan, Darius Morris, Mason Plumlee, Mirza Teletovic, Deron Williams
Ever since the Nets reigned in the Brooklyn era, they’ve been searching for an identity. They’ve had four coaches and numerous superstars come and go. When the then New Jersey Nets traded for Deron Williams in 2010, he appeared to be the cornerstone of the franchise. It looks like the cornerstone is going to have to be Brooke Lopez moving forward because Deron Williams’ lack of leadership, humongous contract, and generally shitty play became such an albatross that the Nets agreed to a $25 million buyout just to rid themselves of Williams. As for what D-Will still has in the tank, we’ll have to address that in the Mavericks preview, but looking back on his tenure with the Nets, it’s hard to view it as anything other than a colossal failure. The basketball world was shocked when the Jazz traded Williams, then an elite player often cited along with Chris Paul as one of the best PGs in the league, to New Jersey after he and Jerry Sloan failed to see eye-to-eye. Soon after, it was apparent why the Jazz traded him—he’s an uncoachable player with bad ankles and weight issues. Furthermore, future Hall of Famer Paul Pierce has since noted that upon arriving in Brooklyn, he assumed Williams would be an MVP candidate but soon conceded that Williams “just didn’t want it.”
When the Nets traded Mason Plumlee to Portland last June, the team more or less committed to re-signing Brook Lopez when his contract expires in the summer of 2016. It’s not like they gave Plumlee away, they received a veteran point guard and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson in return. But given Plumlee’s occasional flashes of brilliance, his departure was somewhat surprising. Let’s be honest: Brooke Lopez doesn’t play every minute in an NBA game, nor does he play in every game in any NBA season. Are the Nets ready to move forward with Andrea Bargnani as the sole insurance policy to Lopez? It appears they are. In a season that will most likely be the Nets’ worst since moving to Brooklyn, the team will certainly be extremely light on the boards. Beyond Lopez, the team will rely upon rookie Chris McCullough, the often-waived Thomas Robinson, and undersized tweener Thaddeus Young to clean the glass! Yikes! Plumlee also established himself as one of the more athletic bigs in the league and a solid finisher around the rim. Despite Plumlee landing on the wrong side of Lionel Hollins’ rotation throughout the second half of the year, I believe the Nets are cutting ties with Mason too early. He’s making $1.4 million this year and has a $2.3 million team option in 2016/17. I love Hollis-Jefferson but he’s not prepared to make the impact Plumlee will next season. Unfortunately for him, however, he got shipped to a team that might actually be worse than Brooklyn. Good luck, Mason!
Rookies: Ryan Boatright, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Chris McCullough, Willie Reed
At 20 years old, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson already has NBA size—he’s 6’7”, 212 pounds with a 7’2” wingspan. It’s quite possible that he adds even more size to his frame throughout his NBA career. Not only is he athletic and strong, he’s also quick and explosive. Hollis-Jefferson also has an excellent motor and a nose for the ball. He has the potential to be a superb role player and teammate as he can be quite effective without the ball. He’s also a superior defender with ability to guard a variety of positions (most likely 2-4 in the NBA). Unfortunately, he’s not much of a shooter and his form is not very consistent. Due to his shaky jumper and subpar handle, he’s quite limited offensively, but he’s always around the rim and has the potential to become an excellent garbage man. Nonetheless, with his size, energy, and defensive prowess, I believe Hollis-Jefferson is primed to have a lengthy career in the NBA.
Guards: Following Williams’ departure, the Nets backcourt is a little on the thin side. Despite playing on every team in the league, Jarrett Jack is a very solid player. His game isn’t overly exciting, but over his ten-year career, Jack has averaged 11 PPG and 4.4 APG, both marks he achieved last season in Brooklyn. While not a particularly great shooter, Jack’s greatest attribute may be his ability to lead, which on a team that will most likely hit several skids is quite important. Beyond Jack, the Nets will rely on Shane Larkin (on his third team in three years) and journeyman Donald Sloan. In short, Larkin hasn’t been a very good NBA player up to this point. He didn’t really play in Dallas, but with New York last season, Larkin appeared in 76 games (starting 22), where he averaged 6.2 PPG off 43.3% shooting from the field in 24.5 minutes per game. Although he ranked 14th in assist-to-turnover ratio last season, (2.72), more tellingly, he ranked 59th in assists per 48 minutes (5.8). Larkin also posted a PER of just 10.9 last season. If Larkin is going to help the Nets, he’s going to need better. Donald Sloan had a solid season last year and will most likely sit behind Larkin in the rotation despite posting superior numbers last season (7.4 PPG, 3.6 APG, and 13.1 PER). Bojan Bogdanovic returns at the two spot after having a solid season last season. Foremost, Bojan is an excellent shooter and will be relied upon to fill that role. Wayne Ellington, a serviceable guard who’s shown flashes of brilliance but has never done enough to stick with any one team longer than a season after his time in Minnesota, will back him up. On a team with little more than three good players, Brooklyn’s backcourt exemplifies why the Nets won’t be very good.
Forwards: Joe Johnson’s 14.4 PPG last season was his lowest mark since 2002/03 and his 35.9 3PT% is his second-lowest mark since 2005/06… And he makes $25 million this season, second only to Kobe Bryant. Wow! Think he’ll take a pay cut in 2016/17? The Nets are saps and acquiring Joe Johnson proved it. For now, they just need to give him the ball, lose games, and wait for the season to end. Best-case scenario: maybe they can move him somewhere before the deadline. Worst-case scenario: I think the Nets are living it. I’ve already stated that I think Rondae Hollis-Jefferson will be a solid pro, but he’s not much of an offensive player and most likely won’t help the Nets much this season. Sergey Karasev is a good passer and an allegedly good shooter. With increased playing time last season, he stepped his game up from his rookie campaign. However, if Karasev is gonna make a name for himself in this league as a shooter, he’s going to have to increase his shooting numbers (he’s averaged 39.1 from the field and 27.4 from three in his two seasons).
Centers: This team has one piece… Brook Lopez. He’s arguably the best center in the East. Although he seems to be frequently injured, it should be noted that Lopez has played in over 72 games in five of his seven seasons. If Lopez can get over his foot issues for good, he has a chance to have a really good season and return to All-Star form. Lopez is one of the few remaining centers that still opt to play big. He’s essentially un-guardable in the post, he finishes around the rim, and has a reliable shot in and around the paint. Realistically, who in the East can stop him on a nightly basis? Nobody? If he’s healthy, there’s no reason to think Lopez can’t go for 20 and 8 per game off 52% shooting. The only thing holding Brook back is his feet. Then we have the aforementioned Bargnani. If he’s logging 30+ minutes, things are going badly for the Nets. He used to be able to shoot—over the least two seasons, not so much. Again, I think the Nets will miss Plumlee.
Final thoughts: This team is gonna be bad… Like Sixers, Magic, Knicks bad. In fact the Magic and the Knicks might be better. Similar to the Knicks, the Nets have a star player, but have nothing around them… Joe Johnson is still good enough to score but he’s not gonna help the team with much more…. Thaddeus Young is the third best player on this roster… Lopez and Johnson are off the books after this season; the Ghost of Deron Williams and Jack are off the books in the summer of 2017. Although the Brooklyn Nets have become more or less synonymous with the luxury tax, they can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel. Moving forward, they’ll most likely re-sign Lopez and still have Thaddeus Young, who many would be shocked to learn is still just 27 years old… If Rondae Hollis-Jefferson is a bust, you can tell me I was wrong in three years… If Thomas Robinson is every any good, you can also tell me I was wrong in three years… Much like the Sixers, the Nets are just fielding players to complete a roster at this point. At least they’re getting their payroll down…
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