The Brooklyn Nets are within the midst of a rebuild however have undoubtedly made some questionable strikes so far.
First within the draft, they chose three guards: Egor Demin, Nolan Traroe, and Ben Saraf. All three are robust passers, however none of them can shoot or create constant scoring alternatives. It felt like basic supervisor Sean Marks threw a bunch of darts on the board and is hoping one sticks.
Moreover, Brooklyn was in a stalemate with their prime free agent, Cam Thomas, for many of the summer time. Thomas is returning on a one-year qualifying supply, and now with three different guards within the fold that must develop, his long-term match comes into query.
Essentially the most questionable transfer the Nets made this offseason got here by way of the commerce market and will impression their rebuild.
Brooklyn made an enormous mistake buying and selling for Michael Porter Jr.
First off, the Nets waited far too lengthy to commerce away Cam Johnson. They have been reportedly getting provides of a number of first-round picks for the ahead during the last yr, together with in the course of the commerce deadline final season. Due to that, they have been pressured to accept the Nuggets’ supply of Porter and a 2032 first-round decide.
That 2032 first-rounder may maintain some worth, particularly if Nikola Jokic is retired by then. Nevertheless, Brooklyn may have gotten much more, and now they’re caught with Porter.
Porter Jr. flashed indicators of potential earlier in his profession, however he has been a combined bag the final couple of seasons. His stats on the floor look good: 18 factors per recreation, 51 p.c capturing, and nearly 40 p.c from three. Nevertheless, he has benefitted drastically from enjoying alongside Jokic, and Porter has probably not grown his recreation over time.
He’s largely a standstill ahead who can shoot very properly however provides little off-ball motion. He isn’t a very good slasher, and his deal with has not progressed since he entered the league. His protection is mind-bogglingly underwhelming for a man that measurement and with the athletic profile he has.
All of these deficiencies, and the cherry on prime is making $78 million over the following two seasons. So the Nets can say goodbye to being actual gamers in free company subsequent summer time, with a stacked class on the horizon.
The Nets have nobody else in charge however for the Johnson mishap
Brooklyn does have lots of draft capital over the following few seasons, but when they handled the Johnson state of affairs appropriately, they may have gotten much more. It may have been a state of affairs the place the wealthy get richer, as they may have had cap flexibility for subsequent summer time and extra draft picks.
Now, the Nets are caught with Porter for the following two seasons. Except he by some means rebuilds his commerce worth, that $78 million shouldn’t be going anyplace for the foreseeable future. Brooklyn is for positive punting on profitable subsequent season, however in another future strikes they make, they need to attempt to acquire flexibility as a substitute of pigeonholing themselves.
