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

[hwangjini_1]

Just don't see it. Think people are underestimating how good the Thaddeus Young Brook Lopez front court is and they're playing for a coach who built his success on a dominant 4/5 combo.

Ok Joe Johnson is another year older but he's a work horse who's game isn't predicated on athleticism. He's played in at least 70 games in 8 of the last 10 years and averaged 16, 7 and 5 in the playoffs last year. Hardly sounds like a player that's slowing down.

IMO losing Deron will be addition by subtraction since handing the keys to Jarret Jack will at least provide stability and knock the Bargnani signing all you like but he will most likely outperform his contract (Bargain-nani?). They have All rookie second team Bojan Bogdanovic and at least 1 of Rondae Hollis Jefferson, Thomas Robinson, Shane Larkin, Sergei Karasev, Chris McCullough or Quincy Miller should turn into a viable rotation player. Finally they have very solid role players in Wayne Ellington, Jerome Jordan, Willie Reed and Corey Jefferson.

This team has no incentive to tank, is backed by the owner with some of the deepest pockets in the league, and have a roster that's not built too lose. I see the pick falling in the 11-14 range and 7-10 if Lopez misses significant time. IMO should be pretty similar to the Mavs pick when all is said and done.

i am not sure the stats bear out this conclusion on johnson. his scoring for the past 4 seasons have declined each and every year:
18.8 p/g
16.3
15.8
14.4 this being his lowest scoring average in the last 12 years.

this screams declining talent.

also, on the playoff stats you give, he played 41.5 minutes a game to achieve those. he cant do that for a season.

it would be nice if the nets did not need a LOT of production from johnson and had other players who could score, rebound, etc. then his game would compliment other players and he could pick spots to "turn it on" in limited minutes. but the point is that the nets do NOT have such talent and johnson will need to play a lot of minutes for his age.

johnson may be able to hold back the clock for another season, but i am not sure this is the most likely outcome given his decline and age and bad team.

[MJohnnyboy]

I really hope you're right...specifically, Danny Ainge really hopes you're right because I think he's put ALOT of his eggs in the Brooklyn being bad basket.  Unfortunately, I'm not quite as optimistic they'll be as bad as people think.  Count me in the group that thinks that losing Deron Williams might actually be addition by subtraction, with Joe Johnson maybe finally breaking out a little bit...because I think it's clear now that the Williams/Johnson backcourt experiment didn't really live up to the expectations.   And let's not forget about the coach either, Lionel Hollins isn't half bad.

And given that Brooklyn knows it'll be a little light on picks over the next few years, they know that the only chance they have at being good is by continuing to sign free agents and make trades, which they will do and probably hover around .500 in a bad eastern conference...which doesn't equal a top 5 pick :/

And I'm going to repeat what he said. There is NOTHING that backs up the D-Will is "addition by subtraction" theory. NONE. The Nets played much worse last year with Jack as their PG than with Williams. They waived Williams strictly to save money. And JJ is 34 and his numbers are dipping. That's not going to magically start rising again at 34.

So tell me, who in their right mind is going to sign in Brooklyn after all that's happened? They're not well-run, they have no future, and they're at best a mediocre team. Remember, the Knicks and the Lakers struck out on the guys they wanted. The Nets will not do any better.

[mahonedog88]

First of all, calm down

Second of all, I don't need anything to back up that theory, it's just my opinion and gut feeling given all the negative attention around Deron Williams in the final couple of years he was there.

Third, your assumption that no one will sign there is asinine.  You put enough money on the table and the right player willing to take it, they can ABSOLUTELY sign someone.  And I'm not even talking any kind of a world-beater, just someone solid who will get extremely overpaid, which happens all the time on many teams.  It won't make them good team, but it certainly won't make them a bottom 5 team.

I like how you also completely discount the coach.  Lionel Hollins is a good coach.  He's not one of the best coaches in the league, but he's no scrub coach either.  Don't get me wrong, I hope you're right...but for you to just completely discount any possibility whatsoever that they could be a 35-40 win team I think is way too premature.

[ahonui06]

I personally feel Brooklyn will be a bad team this year just not sure Top 5 bad. I'm hopeful though.

[PhoSita]

I said it before and I will say it again, I think Brooklyn is a 35-40 win team this year, which might just back door them back into the playoffs with a couple of bounces going their way.

Agreed, with the understanding that in order for this to happen they'll have to lean pretty heavily on Jack, Johnson, Young, and Lopez.

[MJohnnyboy]

First of all, calm down

Second of all, I don't need anything to back up that theory, it's just my opinion and gut feeling given all the negative attention around Deron Williams in the final couple of years he was there.

Third, your assumption that no one will sign there is asinine.  You put enough money on the table and the right player willing to take it, they can ABSOLUTELY sign someone.  And I'm not even talking any kind of a world-beater, just someone solid who will get extremely overpaid, which happens all the time on many teams.  It won't make them good team, but it certainly won't make them a bottom 5 team.

I like how you also completely discount the coach.  Lionel Hollins is a good coach.  He's not one of the best coaches in the league, but he's no scrub coach either.  Don't get me wrong, I hope you're right...but for you to just completely discount any possibility whatsoever that they could be a 35-40 win team I think is way too premature.

Well, my assumption on them not signing anyone is not just based off the fact that they don't have the cushiest situation right now but more along the lines of the fact that everyone is going to have cap space next summer. Everyone will have money to spend with the cap boom. Even the good teams will. More importantly, next years free agent class doesn't exactly have too much to get excited for besides Durant and Horford. And you still haven't answered my question. Who is going to sign with the Nets this next summer? I'm sorry about my "asinine" words. It's just a "gut feeling" and "my opinion" too.

And I'm not discounting Lionel Hollins as a coach. Not once did I say that he's bad. Nope. He is a good coach, but doesn't have a nearly impressive enough roster in my eyes to lead this team to much of anything. CBS is a great coach, but even he couldn't stop the Celtics from being one of the worst teams in the league his first year in the league. Was that his fault? Nope. He was counting on Jordan Crawford and Vitor Faverani to give him good minutes. Just like it's not Hollins' fault he doesn't have much to work with outside of Lopez (who's injury-prone), JJ (who's deteriorating), Jack (who's in a role he shouldn't be in), Thad Young (who is passable but not special), Bagdonovic (whos decent), and possibly RHJ.

Also, you called what I said "asinine" after you said the Nets will be better without Williams because of a "gut feeling" as opposed to the facts that they weren't last year?  Sorry, but that is asinine to me, but we'll have to see.

[ahonui06]

First of all, calm down

Second of all, I don't need anything to back up that theory, it's just my opinion and gut feeling given all the negative attention around Deron Williams in the final couple of years he was there.

Third, your assumption that no one will sign there is asinine.  You put enough money on the table and the right player willing to take it, they can ABSOLUTELY sign someone.  And I'm not even talking any kind of a world-beater, just someone solid who will get extremely overpaid, which happens all the time on many teams.  It won't make them good team, but it certainly won't make them a bottom 5 team.

I like how you also completely discount the coach.  Lionel Hollins is a good coach.  He's not one of the best coaches in the league, but he's no scrub coach either.  Don't get me wrong, I hope you're right...but for you to just completely discount any possibility whatsoever that they could be a 35-40 win team I think is way too premature.

Well, my assumption on them not signing anyone is not just based off the fact that they don't have the cushiest situation right now but more along the lines of the fact that everyone is going to have cap space next summer. Everyone will have money to spend with the cap boom. Even the good teams will. More importantly, next years free agent class doesn't exactly have too much to get excited for besides Durant and Horford. And you still haven't answered my question. Who is going to sign with the Nets this next summer? I'm sorry about my "asinine" words. It's just a "gut feeling" and "my opinion" too.

Really doesn't matter about their FA situation moving forward because the Celtics just care how the Nets fare this season. The worse they are the better it is for Boston.

[cooz14]

First of all, calm down

Second of all, I don't need anything to back up that theory, it's just my opinion and gut feeling given all the negative attention around Deron Williams in the final couple of years he was there.

Third, your assumption that no one will sign there is asinine.  You put enough money on the table and the right player willing to take it, they can ABSOLUTELY sign someone.  And I'm not even talking any kind of a world-beater, just someone solid who will get extremely overpaid, which happens all the time on many teams.  It won't make them good team, but it certainly won't make them a bottom 5 team.

I like how you also completely discount the coach.  Lionel Hollins is a good coach.  He's not one of the best coaches in the league, but he's no scrub coach either.  Don't get me wrong, I hope you're right...but for you to just completely discount any possibility whatsoever that they could be a 35-40 win team I think is way too premature.

Well, my assumption on them not signing anyone is not just based off the fact that they don't have the cushiest situation right now but more along the lines of the fact that everyone is going to have cap space next summer. Everyone will have money to spend with the cap boom. Even the good teams will. More importantly, next years free agent class doesn't exactly have too much to get excited for besides Durant and Horford. And you still haven't answered my question. Who is going to sign with the Nets this next summer? I'm sorry about my "asinine" words. It's just a "gut feeling" and "my opinion" too.

Really doesn't matter about their FA situation moving forward because the Celtics just care how the Nets fare this season. The worse they are the better it is for Boston.

It matters because the Celtics can swap for the Brooklyn pick in 2017 and have it outright in 2018. Having three shots at a high pick is better than one.

[MJohnnyboy]

First of all, calm down

Second of all, I don't need anything to back up that theory, it's just my opinion and gut feeling given all the negative attention around Deron Williams in the final couple of years he was there.

Third, your assumption that no one will sign there is asinine.  You put enough money on the table and the right player willing to take it, they can ABSOLUTELY sign someone.  And I'm not even talking any kind of a world-beater, just someone solid who will get extremely overpaid, which happens all the time on many teams.  It won't make them good team, but it certainly won't make them a bottom 5 team.

I like how you also completely discount the coach.  Lionel Hollins is a good coach.  He's not one of the best coaches in the league, but he's no scrub coach either.  Don't get me wrong, I hope you're right...but for you to just completely discount any possibility whatsoever that they could be a 35-40 win team I think is way too premature.

Well, my assumption on them not signing anyone is not just based off the fact that they don't have the cushiest situation right now but more along the lines of the fact that everyone is going to have cap space next summer. Everyone will have money to spend with the cap boom. Even the good teams will. More importantly, next years free agent class doesn't exactly have too much to get excited for besides Durant and Horford. And you still haven't answered my question. Who is going to sign with the Nets this next summer? I'm sorry about my "asinine" words. It's just a "gut feeling" and "my opinion" too.

Really doesn't matter about their FA situation moving forward because the Celtics just care how the Nets fare this season. The worse they are the better it is for Boston.

It matters because the Celtics can swap for the Brooklyn pick in 2017 and have it outright in 2018. Having three shots at a high pick is better than one.

Darn it Cooz you beat me to it. TP. Nonetheless, my point is the Nets really don't have much going for them at this point that even if they have the money next year, that doesn't mean they are going to sign someone valuable. Is it possible? Yes. Is it likely? Nope. Sacramento offered richer deals to some of the players they pursued this summer (Wes Matthews and Monta Ellis) and the players still took lesser deals to go elsewhere and why? Because the Kings are incompetent. The Nets are on the same level of incompetence that the Kings are. Heck if you switch the two teams around, Sacramento would be in the playoff run for sure in the east and the Nets would be a bottom dweller in the bloodbath west.

I'm telling you. Players don't want to play for franchises who have shown that they don't know what they are doing especially if other franchises can offer the same amount of money and actually have some stability.

[mef730]

It certainly would be funny of Boston ended up with 4 such picks (Brooklyn, Dallas, Minnesota, and their own). Wonder if Ainge would be able, or willing, to package them in order to move up in the draft.

That would be great, but been there, done that. I thought this past draft would have seen us trade up and nobody wanted what we had.

Mike

[Celtics18]

I'm not greedy.  I'll take a top ten pick from the Nets; it doesn't have to be top five. 

[hwangjini_1]

It certainly would be funny of Boston ended up with 4 such picks (Brooklyn, Dallas, Minnesota, and their own). Wonder if Ainge would be able, or willing, to package them in order to move up in the draft.

That would be great, but been there, done that. I thought this past draft would have seen us trade up and nobody wanted what we had.


Mike

michael jordan =/= everybody.

[chambers]

I said it before and I will say it again, I think Brooklyn is a 35-40 win team this year, which might just back door them back into the playoffs with a couple of bounces going their way.

Agreed, with the understanding that in order for this to happen they'll have to lean pretty heavily on Jack, Johnson, Young, and Lopez.

on the surface this makes sense.
When delving into their roster though, the leaks really start to show. Their main back up for Lopez is Andrea Bargani and their 3rd string is Willie Reed. Their interior defense is going to be one of the worst in the league and arguably the worst when Lopez is off.

Their back ups for Johnson and Jack are Hollis Jefferson,  Karasev, Markel Brown, Larkin and Bogdanovic (who will likely start at SF.).
Starting 5:
Jack
Johnson
Bogdanovic
Young
Lopez

Bench:
Bargani
Karasev
Brown
Hollison Jefferson.

That is a brutally thin team and even if Lopez is healthy the entire season, both he and Johnson are going to need to play 33 mins+ per night.

They have almost no chance of making the playoffs in my opinion.
No D Will, no Plumlee, no KG.
They'll be bottom 5 in the East and a contender for bottom 3.
We are pretty much guaranteed a top 10 pick on my opinion.

[trickybilly]

I'm a little surprised not to see a little more love for Minny.

Dieng, Pek, KG, Towns (and throw in an improving Bennet) is a pretty tough front court.

LaVine and Wiggins could both explode.

Andre Miller is going to be very handy until he's 50 or so, and Kmart will be the same guy again..

It's just their PG depth that hurts them.. To hell with it - I say they sneak into the playoffs!

[Moranis]

I said it before and I will say it again, I think Brooklyn is a 35-40 win team this year, which might just back door them back into the playoffs with a couple of bounces going their way.

a

I've said it before and I will say it again, this is a prediction not grounded on any statistics, history, or in line with any statistical predictive models. They lose their starting point guard and multiple rotation players and replace them with nobody that was above replacement level play last season, but don't regress. This is on top of the fact that one of their top two players is 35 and has been declining for years.

Except there are no statistical models that say they will be a 25 win team either.  They were a much better team down the stretch with Young and Lopez.  Now sure losing Plumlee is a loss, but I don't see it with Williams other than it weakens the bench by taking Jack off it.

Oh and for the record, Vegas generally has the Nets in the 7 to 11 spot, which would historically put them in the mid 30 win range.