Is this possible for the Nets?

[ScoobyDoo]

Their record after their first 20 games is something like 3-17 or 5-15?

I looked at their first 20 games and think it's fairly probable. And if Brook Lopez goes down at some point for a significant stretch I think they potentially amass the worst record in the NBA - basically a dogfight with Philly for the #1 spot.

[Jarrin John]

You might be right. Maybe it comes down to which team continues to compete more often than not throughout the year?

[ScoobyDoo]

Yep, that's what I'm thinking and with the older vets on Jersey looking for the exit door I'm wondering how long it is before they start mailing it in every night, especially if the losses start piling up...

[Big333223]

I hope so. I'm hoping they stumble hard enough out of the gate that everyone kind of gives up or starts playing for stats.

[Hemingway]

Wed.   28-Oct-15       Chicago   7:30 PM
Fri.   30-Oct-15   at   San Antonio   7:30 PM
Sat.   31-Oct-15   at   Memphis   7:00 PM
Mon.   2-Nov-15       Milwaukee   7:30 PM
Wed.   4-Nov-15   at   Atlanta   8:00 PM
Fri.   6-Nov-15       L.A. Lakers   7:30 PM
Sat.   7-Nov-15   at   Milwaukee   7:30 PM
Wed.   11-Nov-15   at   Houston   7:00 PM
Fri.   13-Nov-15   at   Sacramento   7:00 PM
Sat.   14-Nov-15   at   Golden State   7:30 PM
Tue.   17-Nov-15       Atlanta   7:30 PM
Wed.   18-Nov-15   at   Charlotte   7:00 PM
Fri.   20-Nov-15   at   Boston   7:30 PM
Sun.   22-Nov-15       Boston   6:00 PM
Wed.   25-Nov-15   at   Oklahoma City   7:00 PM
Sat.   28-Nov-15   at   Cleveland   7:30 PM
Sun.   29-Nov-15       Detroit   6:00 PM
Tue.   1-Dec-15       Phoenix   7:30 PM
Fri.   4-Dec-15   at   New York   7:00 PM
Sun.   6-Dec-15       Golden State   6:00 PM

I think you may be right. Whom are the beating on that list? If they don't beat Mil they could be 0-11 going into the Charlotte game. I guess some decent or good team is bound to have an off night and the Nets are bound to have a few nights where everything goes right for them, but I see this falling apart very soon.

[saltlover]

Wed.   28-Oct-15       Chicago   7:30 PM
Fri.   30-Oct-15   at   San Antonio   7:30 PM
Sat.   31-Oct-15   at   Memphis   7:00 PM
Mon.   2-Nov-15       Milwaukee   7:30 PM
Wed.   4-Nov-15   at   Atlanta   8:00 PM
Fri.   6-Nov-15       L.A. Lakers   7:30 PM
Sat.   7-Nov-15   at   Milwaukee   7:30 PM
Wed.   11-Nov-15   at   Houston   7:00 PM
Fri.   13-Nov-15   at   Sacramento   7:00 PM
Sat.   14-Nov-15   at   Golden State   7:30 PM
Tue.   17-Nov-15       Atlanta   7:30 PM
Wed.   18-Nov-15   at   Charlotte   7:00 PM
Fri.   20-Nov-15   at   Boston   7:30 PM
Sun.   22-Nov-15       Boston   6:00 PM
Wed.   25-Nov-15   at   Oklahoma City   7:00 PM
Sat.   28-Nov-15   at   Cleveland   7:30 PM
Sun.   29-Nov-15       Detroit   6:00 PM
Tue.   1-Dec-15       Phoenix   7:30 PM
Fri.   4-Dec-15   at   New York   7:00 PM
Sun.   6-Dec-15       Golden State   6:00 PM

I think you may be right. Whom are the beating on that list? If they don't beat Mil they could be 0-11 going into the Charlotte game. I guess some decent or good team is bound to have an off night and the Nets are bound to have a few nights where everything goes right for them, but I see this falling apart very soon.

It's a tough schedule, but they're at least beating the Lakers at home in game 6.  But 0-5 is a real possibility.

[jpotter33]

What's more, Brooklyn getting off to a horrible start will only greatly increase that pick's value, especially if we're wanting to use it midseason for a trade for a star, i.e. Melo, DMC. If they start out 5-15, which in my honest opinion is probably their best-case scenario given their schedule, then that boosts the in-season value of that pick.

[trickybilly]

What's more, Brooklyn getting off to a horrible start will only greatly increase that pick's value, especially if we're wanting to use it midseason for a trade for a star, i.e. Melo, DMC. If they start out 5-15, which in my honest opinion is probably their best-case scenario given their schedule, then that boosts the in-season value of that pick.

Well spotted.TP

Look for the awful start in Sactown and start dreaming.

[knuckleballer]

I'm going to be rooting for Nets losses as much, maybe more so, as Celtics wins this season.  The Celtics need to catch a break with a top pick.  Simmons, Skal, Brown, Ingram... one of those guys would be very nice.

[Csfan1984]

I'm going to be rooting for Nets losses as much, maybe more so, as Celtics wins this season.  The Celtics need to catch a break with a top pick.  Simmons, Skal, Brown, Ingram... one of those guys would be very nice.

Bender might join that group. We can really use the top 3 pick though. Team needs a franchise leading star. Not just a star. A committed, and elite talented leader.

[snively]

Wed.   28-Oct-15       Chicago   7:30 PM
Fri.   30-Oct-15   at   San Antonio   7:30 PM
Sat.   31-Oct-15   at   Memphis   7:00 PM
Mon.   2-Nov-15       Milwaukee   7:30 PM
Wed.   4-Nov-15   at   Atlanta   8:00 PM
Fri.   6-Nov-15       L.A. Lakers   7:30 PM
Sat.   7-Nov-15   at   Milwaukee   7:30 PM
Wed.   11-Nov-15   at   Houston   7:00 PM
Fri.   13-Nov-15   at   Sacramento   7:00 PM
Sat.   14-Nov-15   at   Golden State   7:30 PM
Tue.   17-Nov-15       Atlanta   7:30 PM
Wed.   18-Nov-15   at   Charlotte   7:00 PM
Fri.   20-Nov-15   at   Boston   7:30 PM
Sun.   22-Nov-15       Boston   6:00 PM
Wed.   25-Nov-15   at   Oklahoma City   7:00 PM
Sat.   28-Nov-15   at   Cleveland   7:30 PM
Sun.   29-Nov-15       Detroit   6:00 PM
Tue.   1-Dec-15       Phoenix   7:30 PM
Fri.   4-Dec-15   at   New York   7:00 PM
Sun.   6-Dec-15       Golden State   6:00 PM

I think you may be right. Whom are the beating on that list? If they don't beat Mil they could be 0-11 going into the Charlotte game. I guess some decent or good team is bound to have an off night and the Nets are bound to have a few nights where everything goes right for them, but I see this falling apart very soon.

It's a tough schedule, but they're at least beating the Lakers at home in game 6.  But 0-5 is a real possibility.

I think the Lakers will actually be very difficult for the Nets. Hibbert is tough for them - the strength of their offense is in the paint and they have nobody who can pull him out of it. The Lakers also have a lot of slashing guards, which will put a strain on Brooklyn's defensive perimeter.

I think they have a decent chance at upsetting that Chicago team on opening night. That big slow Chicago team can get stuck in ugly slog matches where Joe Johnson and Lopez can play decisive roles in crunch time.

[droopdog7]

The nets will not be as bad as people think for one simple reason.  To be bottom 5 bad, you almost have to try to be bad.  The nets have no motivation to try to be bad.

[positivitize]

The nets will not be as bad as people think for one simple reason.  To be bottom 5 bad, you almost have to try to be bad.  The nets have no motivation to try to be bad.

I don't know where this sentiment comes from. Owners of teams might try to put out a bad product or sabotage their teams by trading away talent for picks and expiring contracts, but no one playing the game, not the coaches, players, or supporting staff actually ever tries to be bad.

Players don't get paid if they play poorly. For the player, it makes 0 financial sense to play poorly on purpose. Sure their performances can suffer if there are problems in the locker room or if they're buried on the depth chart, but those situations happen all the time on teams that are not trying to tank. These guys are uber competitive and have worked their entire lives for the chance to win games in the nba. Players do not tank.

Coaches are also payed by performance and are always trying to win in order to secure their position/ make a play for a better one. The coach's position is admittedly more complicated than the players' position because the coach is in direct contact with management, but no coach is ever trying to lose the game. These people are uber competitive and payed for their ability to win basketball games. Sure, the GM can hire a bad coach or a coach who isn't ready to coach in the nba (as Ainge attempted to do with Stevens), but even bad or unready coaches try to win their games-their livelyhood depends on it.

All this is not to say that "tanking" isn't real or isn't a concern. It is. The GM can control a lot of variables to help his/her team lose games. However, every one of those variables can also occur naturally. And a lot of those variables have naturally manifested on the current Nets team. Lack of depth? Check. A roster of players that lack the required quickness to play defense combined with a defense first minded coach? Check. Demotivated players due to consistent losing and everyone out for themselves to re-establish their value? Probably. Locker room problems? None yet after trading Williams, but who knows? They haven't played a game together yet. Injury prone big men? Check Check.

Whether it is intentional or not, the Brooklynn Nets are tanking this year. Thanks Billy King!

[Rondo9]

The nets will not be as bad as people think for one simple reason.  To be bottom 5 bad, you almost have to try to be bad.  The nets have no motivation to try to be bad.

I think you'll surprised on how many plain bad teams there are and the Nets schedule doesn't look promising for them.

[ScoobyDoo]

I think it's "possible" the Nets picks are Top 5 the next three seasons.

Here are the main reasons why:
1. Lopez is their best player and he's made of glass
2. Joe Johnson is 35
3. Joe Johnson leaves next year

The obvious argument is "yeah, but they will have a lot of cap space"...

They do have cap and it is Brooklyn / New York - I get that. But seriously, if you're an up and coming star or an older veteran star, are you seriously going to go to the Nets and hang your hopes on building around yourself and Lopez who is just as likely to play as not, rather than join a teams like:

A) Boston, Lakers, Dallas

Even Portland with Liliard, McCallum and the rest of their young core looks more promising. I Brooklyn will over pay for second tier talent, but if anything happens to Lopez I still think you're loking at Top 5, at least Top 10.

The key is this year though - if we can pull a Top 3 pick out of this and land a true blue chipper - Gold. The rest is gravy, wherever the picks land.