We all know how valuable the BOS/BKN pick swap could end up being in 2017. The Nets team payroll is at 57 million next year (Still paying Deron Williams 14 mill!). Prokhorov isn't afraid to sepnd to put a competitive team out on the floor. How big of a splash do you expect them to make on the free agent market?
i would be shocked if they ended up with a top tier free agent like Durant or Conley, but they could pick up some solid players. Ryan Anderson, Jordan Clarkson, Evan Turner, Kent Bazemore, Evan Fournier, Jared Sullinger, Brandon Jennings are some guys i expect them to pursue.
Fast forward a year - do you think we are looking at another top 5 pick, or do you expect Brooklyn to be competitive?
They very likely will not be competitive.
(1) They're a bad team already that actually had good health with their best players last year. They can't use injuries as an excuse for their performance.
(2) Almost all of their key players are at peak or already on the statistical downside of their careers. They can't anticipate any great leaps taking place from a youth movement (like Minny is trying to do).
(3) While they have money in FA, so do many other teams. This FA period will be like nothing that anyone has seen. There's more money than players and thus everyone will be getting overpaid. Brooklyn is going to find it very difficult to "buy" players to come there.
(4) With money being roughly equal, the Nets are going to find it difficult to create a compelling narrative that would convince FAs to come there. The only real lure is that it's NY and there's plenty of playing time to be had. There's no franchise history of success, no great weather, no tax breaks and most importantly there's really no possibility of success until 2019. FAs know this and thus they're most likely to get guys who either want some limelight or are more interested in minutes than winning.
(5) They have very few tradeable assets. The only one that can buy them even a late lottery pick is Lopez and that's the core of their team. As an aside I would not be surprised to see Danny trade the Nets 2018 pick back to them for Lopez (and perhaps the right to swap in 2019 or 2020). That would almost certainly lock the 2017 pick into the top 3 for Boston and gets a key asset while the Nets can get started rebuilding a year earlier.
(6) They've been somewhat fortunate to play in the same division as the 76ers who remained in full tank mode. With new management and a different focus, perennial horrid teams like Philly are poised to at least be respectable. The Nets may find it hard sledding against a rapidly-improving East.
(7) Finally there's the recurring rumors about the team being sold. If that's the case then I would not be surprised to see Prokorov suck as much money out of it before selling it - aka Donald Sterling style.
One indication on how bad the Nets' prospects are is to look at the Vegas oddsmakers. To win the NBA Championship next year the Nets are 500-1. The Suns are 300-1. Every other team is 125-1 or better. Vegas isn't often wrong on such things and it's a good indication on how an impartial group of professional sports experts view how poor the Nets' situation really is.
Topic: How big a threat are the Nets to make a splash in free agency? (Read 2422 times)