You guys DO realise that the Nets have space to sign a max free agent next year, right?
Yup. So do the Warriors. The Celtics and Blazers can both sign two next summer. They're playoff teams that might be a dude away. Much more desirable situations. Houston will have room. Almost the entire NBA will. Nearly impossible a max dude is going to Brooklyn when they can get the same amount of money from highly competitive teams with all star caliber players.
That might seem true on paper, but lets not forget that Carmelo forced his way to New York at a time when the franchise was a laughing stock.
Deron Williams and Chris Paul signed with the New Jersey Nets (now Brooklyn Nets) and LA Clippers, respectively, when both teams were considered a borderline laughing stock.
Dwight Howard signed with Houston at a time when they looked like nothing close to a contender.
Al Jefferson signed with the Charlotte Bobcats.
Brook Lopez and Thad Young both signed with the Nets, even when it seemed pretty obvious the team had no hope of contending.
For many players, especially older vets, winning is the biggest lure of all. But a lot of younger players are drawn to things like money, bright lights, and an opportunity to be the face of a franchise. Brooklyn has a star (Lopez), a fringe star (Young), a position in the spotlight, and an owner who has no fear of spending money. It's the type of location that could very easily surprise people and draw in a big name player.
I don't think Portland is any more appealing a destination then Brooklyn. Lillard is clearly the #1 guy there, and anybody who joins that team (short of Durant) will instantly become second fiddle.
Signing with the Warriors is a bad move if you are a young player who wants to build up your individual portfolio and make a name for yourself - anybody who wins a ring there will be seen as an afterthought and a 4th "tag along" guy.
Boston is a legitimately appealing place for young guys who want to make their mark in the league, but beyond that I could honestly see Brooklyn competing with a lot of destinations out there. They aren't the ultimate spot for EVERY free agent, but I think they definitely have enough appeal to swing one or two key ones.
They don't really need to pull a huge name in order to screw up our draft pick either. Lets say they sign Jeremy Lin, Evan Fournier and Jared Sullinger, for argument's sake. Neither of those is a max contract guy, so they could probably sign all three pretty easily. Fournier is exactly the type of guy who I feel would sign in Brooklyn - guy who has shown lots of promise, buried in a deep roster in Orlando, begging for the opportunity to get a consistent role and make a name for himself. Likewise I could see Lin signing there too - looking at the team's he's played for recently, he doesn't seem to have a problem signing for mediocre teams. Sully might love the opportunity to get a stating role where he's not competing with 2 or 3 other bigs for playing time. That gives them a starting 5 of:
Lin
Fournier
Young
Sully
Lopez
That roster would fight hard for a playoff spot in the East...and it's not at all out of the realm of possibility that the Nets could get guys like that.
Lets say the Nets offer Sully $12M - $15M a year for 4 years. Would Ainge match that? I'm not sure, but it would be a pretty tough call. I like Sully, but that's a LOT of money to pay for a guy who is that inconsistent and who has been questioned for years about his work ethic / health. Nets don't seem like they'd have a problem with it, considering that they were happy to spend a fortune to tie up Lopez.
Of course this might not happen and the Nets might get nobody significant, and they might still fall bottom 6 next year. But fact is that they definitely have the means to make a big turnaround next year if things fall their way.
Topic: Official 2015-16 Brooklyn Nets Season Watch Thread (21-59, 3rd slot as of 4/12) (Read 700497 times)