Nets mid-season report
The aftermath of arrogance is the scene in Brooklyn after 41 games of the 2016-17 NBA season. The Nets are 8-33, the worst team in the NBA. The Nets foolishly put all their chips in the pot for the 2012 NBA championship. Not until 2019 will Brooklyn begin to have hope.
Is it possible for the Nets to be better NOW? Are they in touch with reality? Who are the five most efficient at each position? And, which players have defensive ratings better than the team defrtg? These are the questions we will answer in our Hoop Obsession mid-season report.
Lopez makes $21.1 million this year.
The Nets loss total in the first half of the season was certainly aided by a an injury to Jeremy Lin. He appeared in just 12 of the 41 games.
The Nets starting lineup when Lin is healthy is not as awful as the team's .195 winning percentage. Lin, Trevor Booker, and Lopez are all efficient players. But the Nets bench is crowded with inefficient players (by NBA standards). Randy Foye, and Isaiah Whitehead have really struggled. Joe Harris and Spencer Dinwiddie should be deep, deep, bench players but with Brooklyn they play often.
Basketball karma is full effect with the Nets, who tried to buy an NBA championship in 2012. Mikhail Prokhorov, owner of the team, said, recently of the old NBA saying 'you can't buy a championship,' "truer words have never been spoken."
Prokhorov now knows, through experience, that what the Nets tried to do in 2011-12 was catastrophic for their future. How about this trade to get Deron Williams? The Nets sent Derrick Favors, Devin Harris, a 2011 first round pick (that became Enes Kanter!), and a 2013 first round pick (became Gorgui Dieng) to the Jazz. All for Deron Williams.
If that were not bad enough, the Nets traded Mehmet Okur, Shawne Williams, and a, top-three only, protected first round pick in 2012 to the Blazers for Gerald Wallace. That pick wound up being sixth and the Blazers drafted Damian Lillard. Ouch.
The Nets presently have the worst record in the league but due to the Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett deal from their past, Brooklyn will surrender their likely first overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft to the Boston Celtics. The C's have the right to swap first round picks with the Nets.
And in 2018? The Celtics own that Brooklyn first round selection outright.
Are the Nets in touch with their reality?
No. The Nets are a disaster. They are the worst team in the NBA and they have little to nothing set up for the future. They might get Indiana's second round pick in the 2017 NBA Draft if it falls between pick 31 to 44.
Without a first round pick until 2019, the Nets should be swinging for the fences with prospects. They should try to trade Brook Lopez. He is 28 years-old and by time the Nets can get competitive Lopez would likely be on the downside of his career. Plus, the days of a dominant center seem to have passed in the NBA.
That said, perhaps a team would bite and give up a draft pick or a young prospect for the services of Lopez. He is a BIG that can score and he even makes his free throws (84% FT). Lopez is in the middle year of a three-year $63 million deal.
Some may be surprised to learn that Sean Kilpatrick is 27 years-old. Trevor Booker is 29. Lin is 28. The point is, all of these guys are likely long gone by the time the Nets are NBA relevant again.
We like Caris LeVert, and we love the defense that Rondae Hollis-Jefferson plays but as far as the Nets future goes, those two prospects are about as bright as it gets.
Five most efficient by position
PG - Jeremy Lin .620, SG - Sean Kilpatrick .449, SF - Bojan Bogdanovic .431, *PF - Trevor Booker .621, C - Brook Lopez .642
* Booker does not shoot the three-ball well enough (31% 3-pt. fg) to stretch defenses with consistency. He is really more of a small-ball center.
Which players have defensive ratings better than the team defrtg? (players w/ 300 minutes played minimum)
The Nets TEAM defensive rating is 112.2 (27th of 30). The players with defensive ratings better than the team average: Trevor Booker 107, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson 109, Justin Hamilton 111, Jeremy Lin 111.
Conclusions
- The Nets need to get into the NBA Draft in 2017 and 2018.
- The Nets should be combing the earth for prospects.
NBA related. Trade targets.
- Caris LeVert was the 20th overall selection in the 2016 NBA Draft. He is signed with the Nets through 2020. If he can improve his deep shooting just a bit we think he is a future NBA starting point guard.
