Brooklyn is going to be terrible- We really could get a top 5 pick this year...

[Eja117]

I don't think the Nets will play B Lopez or Joe Johnson lots of minutes in a year they have no chance of competing.

they don't own their pick and Johnson is old.  They have no incentive to be bad at all, they have no incentive to shut down, etc.

They also have no incentive to drive their guys into the ground and risk injury in Lopez case, or to make any "win now" moves that will make them marginally better in the short term including not trading Johnson if they get a decent differ for him.

All the moves they made this off season say their biggest interest right now is re-establishing flexibility and acquiring assets that can make them better in the future. If trading Johnson can get them a 1st round pick in return, it seems like they'll do that. If someone makes a pretty good offer for Lopez involving young prospects and/or picks, they'll probably take that too. What they won't do is sacrifice what little flexibility and assets they have left, or turn down the chance to get more, just to give us the worst pick possible out of spite.

Besides, that team is so thin outside the starting 5 (which itself is pretty poor) I really don't see any way they land any higher than the top 10. With Miami healthy, Paul George back, Jefferson healthy in Charlotte, Melo back in NY, plus Orlando and Detroit looking a lot better I'd be surprised if they're even in the conversation for the 8th seed.

They don't need flexibility though with the cap increasing and not owning their next 3 first round picks.  Brooklyn has no incentive to be bad.  None at all.  Even if they aren't going to make the playoffs, they have no incentive to give Boston a better pick.  They will try to win every single game for the next 3 years.

But what's their incentive to be good? Just to tick Boston off?  I think they'll make decisions for the long term

[indeedproceed]

Brooklyn is in a bit of a quagmire. They're going to try to make the playoffs. NYO for all their bluster has no chance of making the playoffs. Being the only team invited to the dance in New York matters, just like Boston's playoff run last season, futile though it was, galvanized the fan base for a while. Similarly, BKN will want to be relevant enough to at least be talked about.

If you want a top 5 pick, pray Brook Lopez's legs disintegrate.

[get_banners]

Nets have no incentive to be bad, but they also have every incentive to do what's best for the franchise, long-term. This means unloading Johnson for any partially guaranteed deals to avoid paying more in salary for what almost certainly isn't close to a playoff team with Johnson. Oh, and lower payroll = better chance for a sale, which is what Prohkov is rumored to want to do, sell the team. That also means not pushing Lopez if there are any injury concerns (and there may not be, but I think they have to be extra cautious with him since he's got a long-term deal with them). Again, since its not like they have a shot at really competing in the East, risking long-term injures for Lopez seems crazy, so if he has any issues at all this year physically, I fully expect the Nets to play it extra safe and sit him some.

[Tr1boy]

If Lopez is injured 40 percent of the year and Johnson is traded, then yes we got a shot at a good pick for next season

[Moranis]

I don't think the Nets will play B Lopez or Joe Johnson lots of minutes in a year they have no chance of competing.

they don't own their pick and Johnson is old.  They have no incentive to be bad at all, they have no incentive to shut down, etc.

They also have no incentive to drive their guys into the ground and risk injury in Lopez case, or to make any "win now" moves that will make them marginally better in the short term including not trading Johnson if they get a decent differ for him.

All the moves they made this off season say their biggest interest right now is re-establishing flexibility and acquiring assets that can make them better in the future. If trading Johnson can get them a 1st round pick in return, it seems like they'll do that. If someone makes a pretty good offer for Lopez involving young prospects and/or picks, they'll probably take that too. What they won't do is sacrifice what little flexibility and assets they have left, or turn down the chance to get more, just to give us the worst pick possible out of spite.

Besides, that team is so thin outside the starting 5 (which itself is pretty poor) I really don't see any way they land any higher than the top 10. With Miami healthy, Paul George back, Jefferson healthy in Charlotte, Melo back in NY, plus Orlando and Detroit looking a lot better I'd be surprised if they're even in the conversation for the 8th seed.

They don't need flexibility though with the cap increasing and not owning their next 3 first round picks.  Brooklyn has no incentive to be bad.  None at all.  Even if they aren't going to make the playoffs, they have no incentive to give Boston a better pick.  They will try to win every single game for the next 3 years.

But what's their incentive to be good? Just to tick Boston off?  I think they'll make decisions for the long term

when you don't own your next 3 picks, long term is 4 years, they aren't going to make decisions for 4 years down the road that negatively affect the win column now.  The incentive to be good is to make the playoffs, get extra money, and either entice a free agent or build enough trade value up that they can actually rebuild through the draft without actually owning their own pick. 

[Neurotic Guy]

They are building for the future regardless. They have no chance of making themselves into contenders in the next three years. So why not do everything they possibly can to set themselves up down the road? The Nets should be trading for future assets and future cap flexibility. What they do to keep themselves mildly competitive in the short-term is irrelevant.  Their fans will not be inspired by an 8th seed.

[Smitty77]

If Lopez is injured 40 percent of the year and Johnson is traded, then yes we got a shot at a good pick for next season

I disagree.  According to ESPN's real plus/minus, Brook was ranked 32 out of 66 centers overall and defensively, he was ranked 47 out of 66.  I don't know that he is that much of a difference maker at this point in his career.

http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/rpm/_/page/2/sort/DRPM/position/9

And the chances of him playing in over 73 games are very slim.  I would bet on 52.

Smitty77

[Moranis]

They are building for the future regardless. They have no chance of making themselves into contenders in the next three years. So why not do everything they possibly can to set themselves up down the road? The Nets should be trading for future assets and future cap flexibility. What they do to keep themselves mildly competitive in the short-term is irrelevant.  Their fans will not be inspired by an 8th seed.

Of course they have a chance if they land a free agent.  They have Lopez, Young, and Johnson so it isn't like there isn't a base.  Granted Johnson is old, but Lopez and Young are not.  A couple of mid-tier free agents and they could easily be an Atlanta type team.  People also seem to forget Johnson expires next summer (it was Williams that did not), leaving just Young and Lopez as long term contracts of any size.  They could easily sign 2 max free agents next summer.  All of that is helped if they make the playoffs.  I mean that is what we keep saying about the Celtics, right?  It works for other teams as well. 

[Eja117]

I think it's the kind of year where if Lopez wakes up feeling a little funny they'll sit him unless they are in a playoff push. The playoffs would give them some extra cash and experience.

[PhoSita]

They are building for the future regardless. They have no chance of making themselves into contenders in the next three years. So why not do everything they possibly can to set themselves up down the road? The Nets should be trading for future assets and future cap flexibility. What they do to keep themselves mildly competitive in the short-term is irrelevant.  Their fans will not be inspired by an 8th seed.

Of course they have a chance if they land a free agent.  They have Lopez, Young, and Johnson so it isn't like there isn't a base.  Granted Johnson is old, but Lopez and Young are not.  A couple of mid-tier free agents and they could easily be an Atlanta type team.  People also seem to forget Johnson expires next summer (it was Williams that did not), leaving just Young and Lopez as long term contracts of any size.  They could easily sign 2 max free agents next summer.  All of that is helped if they make the playoffs.  I mean that is what we keep saying about the Celtics, right?  It works for other teams as well.

You forgot the Cardinal Rule of Celticsblog.   Optimism that applies to the Celts doesn't apply to other teams, while pessimism that applies to other teams doesn't apply to the Celts.

[Moranis]

They are building for the future regardless. They have no chance of making themselves into contenders in the next three years. So why not do everything they possibly can to set themselves up down the road? The Nets should be trading for future assets and future cap flexibility. What they do to keep themselves mildly competitive in the short-term is irrelevant.  Their fans will not be inspired by an 8th seed.

Of course they have a chance if they land a free agent.  They have Lopez, Young, and Johnson so it isn't like there isn't a base.  Granted Johnson is old, but Lopez and Young are not.  A couple of mid-tier free agents and they could easily be an Atlanta type team.  People also seem to forget Johnson expires next summer (it was Williams that did not), leaving just Young and Lopez as long term contracts of any size.  They could easily sign 2 max free agents next summer.  All of that is helped if they make the playoffs.  I mean that is what we keep saying about the Celtics, right?  It works for other teams as well.

You forgot the Cardinal Rule of Celticsblog.   Optimism that applies to the Celts doesn't apply to other teams, while pessimism that applies to other teams doesn't apply to the Celts.

ah. of course.

[Celtics18]

They are building for the future regardless. They have no chance of making themselves into contenders in the next three years. So why not do everything they possibly can to set themselves up down the road? The Nets should be trading for future assets and future cap flexibility. What they do to keep themselves mildly competitive in the short-term is irrelevant.  Their fans will not be inspired by an 8th seed.

Of course they have a chance if they land a free agent.  They have Lopez, Young, and Johnson so it isn't like there isn't a base.  Granted Johnson is old, but Lopez and Young are not.  A couple of mid-tier free agents and they could easily be an Atlanta type team.  People also seem to forget Johnson expires next summer (it was Williams that did not), leaving just Young and Lopez as long term contracts of any size.  They could easily sign 2 max free agents next summer.  All of that is helped if they make the playoffs.  I mean that is what we keep saying about the Celtics, right?  It works for other teams as well.

You forgot the Cardinal Rule of Celticsblog.   Optimism that applies to the Celts doesn't apply to other teams, while pessimism that applies to other teams doesn't apply to the Celts.

HaHa.

In some cases, it's the exact opposite. 

[KGs Knee]

They are building for the future regardless. They have no chance of making themselves into contenders in the next three years. So why not do everything they possibly can to set themselves up down the road? The Nets should be trading for future assets and future cap flexibility. What they do to keep themselves mildly competitive in the short-term is irrelevant.  Their fans will not be inspired by an 8th seed.

Of course they have a chance if they land a free agent.  They have Lopez, Young, and Johnson so it isn't like there isn't a base.  Granted Johnson is old, but Lopez and Young are not.  A couple of mid-tier free agents and they could easily be an Atlanta type team.  People also seem to forget Johnson expires next summer (it was Williams that did not), leaving just Young and Lopez as long term contracts of any size.  They could easily sign 2 max free agents next summer.  All of that is helped if they make the playoffs.  I mean that is what we keep saying about the Celtics, right?  It works for other teams as well.

You forgot the Cardinal Rule of Celticsblog.   Optimism that applies to the Celts doesn't apply to other teams, while pessimism that applies to other teams doesn't apply to the Celts.

HaHa.

In some cases, it's the exact opposite. 

I was about to say the same thing.  Except, I'd argue it should be "most cases".

[fairweatherfan]

They are building for the future regardless. They have no chance of making themselves into contenders in the next three years. So why not do everything they possibly can to set themselves up down the road? The Nets should be trading for future assets and future cap flexibility. What they do to keep themselves mildly competitive in the short-term is irrelevant.  Their fans will not be inspired by an 8th seed.

Of course they have a chance if they land a free agent.  They have Lopez, Young, and Johnson so it isn't like there isn't a base.  Granted Johnson is old, but Lopez and Young are not.  A couple of mid-tier free agents and they could easily be an Atlanta type team.  People also seem to forget Johnson expires next summer (it was Williams that did not), leaving just Young and Lopez as long term contracts of any size.  They could easily sign 2 max free agents next summer.  All of that is helped if they make the playoffs.  I mean that is what we keep saying about the Celtics, right?  It works for other teams as well.

With the salary cap blowing up and contracts getting shorter and shorter, I think it's fair to say literally any team could be 3 years or less from contention if things break their way.  Cleveland was pretty terrible until LeBron came back, now poof! contenders.  Of course that's not going to happen for most teams, but it's always a possibility, and Brooklyn is a desirable enough market with deep enough pockets that I'd say their odds are a bit better than average.

[KeepRondo]

I just don't get all the respect that Lopez gets. At best, he's a complimentary piece. He's not a player that can push a team into the playoffs.