The Brooklyn Nets believe they can contend for a playoff spot in the weak Eastern Conference, but someone must emerge to lead them there.
The Brooklyn Nets are in year three of head coach Kenny Atkinson and general manager Sean Marks’ tenure. Atkinson and Marks took the job knowing they had a huge hill to climb. The team was devoid of draft picks due to Danny Ainge of the Celtics slaughtering Billy King in a trade for Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Jason Terry. King, the general manager of the Nets from 2010 to 2016, pulled the trigger on the deal and set the franchise back years.
Atkinson and Marks came in to pick up the pieces. Any quick fixes would have led to further setbacks and a pattern of mediocrity in Brooklyn. But rather than trying to perform a miracle, the Nets leadership committed to the slow and steady approach. The Nets struggled to 20 wins in the regime’s first season. Last season, Atkinson and Marks’ second in command, saw the Nets improve their win total by eight games. This was the second largest leap in the NBA — trailing only the Philadelphia 76ers.
A similar jump in wins would put the Nets firmly in playoff contention. Another eight-win jump would put the Nets at 36-46 on the season. Hardly a banner year, but it would be another step in the right direction and the Eastern Conference is so weak this year, 36 wins may be enough to sneak in as the eight seed.
But if the Nets are going to take another step forward, a leader must emerge. The one thing that every great team has is a star to build around. That’s the most important piece on any team. The Nets have done an excellent job at acquiring role players and the types of players to fill out a rotation, but there’s a missing piece. It doesn’t appear that the Nets are going to trade for a star during the season unless the Jimmy Butler situation changes dramatically — and it’s impossible to rule anything out at this point.
D’Angelo Russell is the guy who must step up if Brooklyn wants to see another year of improvement and a playoff berth for the first time since 2015. The former second overall pick has all the physical tools and skills to develop into a star, but he hasn’t quite figured it out yet. To make room for Lonzo Ball, the Los Angeles Lakers dealt Russell to the Nets in 2017 in order to dump Timofey Mozgov’s salary. The hope was that the change of scenery would allow Russell to blossom into the superstar that many believed he could become.
That didn’t happen in year one, but Russell dealt with a string of injury problems and only suited up in 48 games. He never got into a rhythm and he never had the time to develop chemistry in his teammates. Luckily for the Nets, Spencer Dinwiddie emerged as a revelation and he picked up the slack in Russell’s absence.
But despite Dinwiddie’s breakout season, this team still belongs to Russell. The Nets have an opportunity to surprise people this season and if they do, D’Angelo Russell will be a big part of it. It’s imperative that the Nets showcase their potential this year with the intriguing crop of potential free agents in 2019.
NEXT: Roster & Superlatives
Roster
# — Player — Position — Age — Height — Weight
00 — Rodions Kurucs — F — 20 — 6’9” — 210 lbs
1 — D’Angelo Russell — G — 22 — 6’5” — 198 lbs
6 — Jared Dudley — F — 33 — 6’7” — 237 lbs
8 — Spencer Dinwiddie — G — 25 — 6’6” — 210 lbs
9 — DeMarre Carroll — F — 32 — 6’8” — 215 lbs
10 — Theo Pinson — G/F — 22 — 6’6” — 218 lbs (two-way contract)
12 — Joe Harris — G/F — 27 — 6’6” — 218 lbs
13 — Shabazz Napier — G — 27 — 6’1” — 180 lbs
15 — Alan Williams — F/C — 25 — 6’8” — 265 lbs (two-way contract)
17 — Ed Davis — C — 26 — 6’10” — 225 lbs
21 — Treveon Graham — F — 24 — 6’5” — 225 lbs
22 — Caris LeVert — G — 24 — 6’7” — 204 lbs
24 — Rondae Hollis-Jefferson — F — 23 — 6’7” — 217 lbs
30 — Dzanan Musa — G/F — 19 — 6’9” — 208 lbs
31 — Jarrett Allen — C — 20 — 6’11” — 237 lbs
33 — Allen Crabbe — G — 26 — 6’6” — 212 lbs
35 — Kenneth Faried — F/C — 28 — 6’8” — 220 lbs
Superlatives
Most Likely To Brighten Your Day — Spencer Dinwiddie
Dinwiddie is the type of guy who plays with a chip on his shoulder every night. The former second-round pick has always felt like he had something to prove. Even after finishing third in the Most Improved Player voting last season, Dinwiddie wasn’t satisfied.
He’s the gritty, no-frills type of player that Nets fans should absolutely embrace. Madison Square Garden’s shadow looms large over the Barclays Center and even when the Nets are the better team (they are), the Knicks dominate the city and make all the headlines. Dinwiddie challenged the orange and blue’s supremacy over the summer and there’s a rivalry brewing in Gotham.
From his attitude to his hard-nosed play, Dinwiddie is a player that Nets fans shouldn’t take for granted.
Most Likely To End Up On Sportscenter — Jarrett Allen
This one could go both ways for Allen unfortunately. Let’s start with the bad. Allen is a high-flying rim protector and the occasional posterization comes with the territory. When you’re job is to protect the rim, sometimes you’re going to get dunked on.
But fortunately for Allen, he’s capable of doing the posterizing from time to time. Allen is a rim-running big man who can soar above the rim for a lob at any time. This year, he and Russell should see a lot of pick and roll action together, setting Allen up for a few posters in the process.
Allen could have won the category for Best Hair as well, but Most Likely To End Up On Sportscenter seems more fitting for a basketball preview.
Most Valuable Role Player — Joe Harris
This is a tough one to choose. The Nets have a slew of guys that fill valuable roles, but look for Harris to take the next step from solid role player to an invaluable three-point assassin. Harris is coming off the best year of his career. He averaged double figures for the first time ever and he shot an impressive 41.4 percent from deep.
Harris returned to Brooklyn on a relatively team-friendly deal because he feels so comfortable in Brooklyn and playing in Kenny Atkinson’s system. Harris should see an uptick in his three-point attempts this season and if he keeps his three-point shooting above 40 percent, he’ll be a dangerous threat whenever he steps on the court.
Questions?
Will D’Angelo Russell and Spencer Dinwiddie play well together?
Russell and Dinwiddie are two of the better players on the roster. If the Nets want to reach their full potential, these two will need to mesh better than they did last year. When Russell was sidelined, Dinwiddie stepped up in his absence and played the best basketball of his career. But when both were healthy, they didn’t quite have the chemistry you’d like to see from two of the better players on the team.
The talented guards rarely shared the floor and when they did, there was little cohesion between the two. Both Russell and Dinwiddie are at their best when they have the ball in their hands. We can double check the rule changes taking effect this year, but I believe they are still using one ball this season. That means both players will have to learn how to operate without the rock.
Atkinson began using these two together a decent amount in the preseason. There is enough talent there to make things work. Atkinson may have to get creative with his scheme, but you can expect these two to fare much better in year two together than they did in year one. More time on the court together should help fix their chemistry issues.
Can they play well enough to attract a major free agent signing in 2019?
This seems to be the million dollar question around the NBA and more specifically, in the five boroughs. Much like their crosstown rivals, the Nets are angling to be a major player in free agency next summer. The Nets may have the most enviable salary cap situation in the league. They should have enough flexibility to sign two max-level free agents, but can they pull off signing one major free agent?
It’s clear that the Nets need a star to coalesce around if they want to roll with the big boys like the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, and Toronto Raptors in the East. There are a lot of reasons for free agents to find Brooklyn desireable. They have a coach who employs a fast-paced, high-scoring offense with a group of role players readymade to surround a star. The Nets also play in the biggest media market in the country which won’t be the deciding factor for any player, but it’s a factor nonetheless.
But if the Nets truly want to attract a major free agent next summer, they need the answer to the next question to be yes. If not, they may have to settle for less than a true star.
Will they make the playoffs?
The playoffs are the goal for this team. Plain and simple. The season won’t be a complete failure if they fail to qualify, but it will certainly feel like a letdown. Their bid for a major free agent (or two!) could be heavily influenced by whether or not Brooklyn makes the playoffs. If the Nets make the playoffs without a bonafide star, imagine what they could do with someone like Klay Thompson or Kawhi Leonard leading the charge?
It all depends on whether or not D’Angelo Russell finally lives up to the hype. If he has a standout season, the Nets will sneak into the playoff picture as the seven or eight seed with somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 wins. If Russell has another year where he fails to put it all together, the Nets will miss the playoffs and should finish the year with around 30-35 wins and miss the playoffs by a handful of games.
My gut tells me that Russell takes that next step this year. A full year with Jarrett Allen running pick and rolls should do wonders for Russell’s game. Look for him to cement himself as an All-Star and finally live up to his potential.
NEXT: Predictions
Predictions
Danny Small — Editor-in-Chief
Final Record: 39-43
Eastern Conference Finish: 8
Team MVP: D’Angelo Russell
NBA Awards, (if any): None
Perhaps I’m too high on Brooklyn this year, but they are my sleeper pick to make the playoffs this year. Let’s be honest, the East is so weak this year, the Nets don’t even need to reach .500 to qualify for a likely four-game sweep at the hands of the Celtics or the Raptors. The Nets will shoot a lot of threes this year and if guys like Joe Harris, Caris LeVert, and Spencer Dinwiddie shoot well, the Nets will have enough offensive firepower to survive.
Furthermore, the pick and roll combination of D’Angelo Russell and Jarrett Allen could become a deadly matchup for opposing teams. Russell’s ability to score in a variety of ways combined with Allen’s rim-running athleticism should make for some exciting basketball this season.
Matt Brooks — Contributor
Final Record: 26-56
Eastern Conference Finish: 12
Team MVP: D’Angelo Russell
NBA Awards, (if any): None
The Brooklyn Nets prove to be one of the most surprising teams of the 2018-2019 season, as they spend the first month playing .500 basketball. After finishing second in the 2017-2018 NBA season in terms of team three-point frequency, the Nets continue to toss up threes at an astounding rate. The off-season additions of Shabazz Napier, Treveon Graham, and Jared Dudley are the difference makers between this year’s team and last season’s bottom-feeder. All three players are excellent long-range shooters, and they bolster an already capable roster of three-point marksmen in Joe Harris, Allen Crabbe, DeMarre Carrol, and Caris LeVert. The team is so successful from three-point land that they even gain some early season buzz as a sleeper pick for the eight-seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Unfortunately, their lack of off-the-dribble playmaking and non-existent fourth-quarter spark catches up to them and they regress to the mean. By April, the Nets are in full tank mode given that they have the prospect of a lottery pick for the first time since 2013. The Nets finish with a bottom-six record in the entire league and a land a draft pick in the six-to-eight range. Kenny Atkinson continues to be one of the brightest young minds in the league, and thanks to the Nets’ early-season success, he gets his first taste of mainstream media recognition. The Nets enter the off-season holding a great draft pick as well as a boatload of cap space to spend on a strong free agent class.
Louis Sklenarik — Contributor
Final Record: 35-47
Eastern Conference Finish: 10
Team MVP: D’Angelo Russell
NBA Awards, (if any): None
Zach Cronin — Contributor
Final Record: 29-53
Eastern Conference Finish: 11
Team MVP: D’Angelo Russell
NBA Awards, (if any): None
Will the Brooklyn Nets make the postseason? No. Will they be fun to watch? Yes. For teams that are near the cellar of their respective conference, being entertaining helps numb the impending pain. The storylines are going to revolve around the development of the core, namely D’Angelo Russell, Caris LeVert and Jarrett Allen. Russell and LeVert and also Spencer Dinwiddie will be responsible for creating a sizeable amount of offense, whether it’s from scoring themselves or setting up others. Joe Harris, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Treveon Graham are just three guys who will benefit, and offseason addition Jared Dudley will help keep the Nets’ three-point barrage respectable.
I was a bit hesitant to predict 29 wins for Brooklyn. It’d be a massive improvement over last year, but the team still does have some cavernous holes. The defense is putrid. The inability to close out games will linger. It’s going to be a struggle watching the young guys throw the ball around like it’s covered in butter. What’s paramount, however, are the strides that everyone makes. And it’s not far-fetched to believe that one of the NBA’s most undervalued cores will create their share of highlights.