Via SB Nation
Key Players: D'Angelo Russell, Jeremy Lin, Allen Crabbe
One participation ribbon goes to the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets gave this offseason all they had. Will that translate into wins? No, but that's what the participation ribbon was for. Your efforts have been noted and appreciated Brooklyn, congrats.
The Brooklyn Nets' offseason started July 12, 2013. The Brooklyn Nets burned their future on July 12, 2013. On this tragic date in Nets' history, Brooklyn traded their 2014, 2016, and 2018 first-round draft picks for what turned out to be an early playoff exit. Brooklyn seemed destined for a decade long rebuild. Then they stole a piece of Spurs' magic-- general manager Sean Marks.
Sean Marks has been the Nets' general manager for 17 months, and the Nets are becoming less and less of a punchline each passing day. Lack of big name free agent attraction has allowed the Nets to take on terrible contracts for young prospects-- acquiring Timofey Mozgov for D'Angelo Russell--while also offering max money to young prospects some teams may not be willing to match. The latter has proved unsuccessful- -think attempts at Otto Porter, Tyler Johnson, Donatas Motiejunas, and Allen Crabbe--but the attempts prove Marks is finding ways to acquire young talent without draft picks. The Nets were able to eventually snag Crabbe by giving up Andrew Nicholson.
Best Case Scenario
Via AP Images
The Nets have no first-round draft picks until 2019, so tanking would serve no purpose--other than further stacking the Cavs' roster. Brooklyn's best case scenario is finding a franchise face that is already on the roster. Prime candidate to fill that face is D'Angelo Russell.
If potential was trading draft picks, D'Angelo Russell would be the Brooklyn Nets. Get it?Russell has a lot of potential. The Nets trade a lot of draft picks. Get it? Russell averaged 15/5/4 last season, and when played off-the-ball those averages skyrocketed to 21 points and 5 assists per-36. Playing alongside Lin, Russell should thrive in off-ball situations, and be able to display his natural scoring ability.
Worst Case Scenario
Via Nicole Sweet-USA TODAY Sports
Losing 50+ games would be bad. D'Angelo Russell not living up to his potential would be worse. Jeremy Lin keeping his dreads would be painful; but the worst possible scenario for the Nets would be injuries derailing player development and evaluation.
Last season, Jeremy Lin played in only 36 games--his lowest amount of games played since 2011-2012. Lin stated,"it felt like I wasted a year of my prime." A year of injuries to players like Russell and Lin would feel like the Nets wasted a year of their rebuild. Brooklyn doesn't have much talent(that's being nice), so losing key players for any amount of time could prove detrimental to an already forgettable season.
Prediction: 19-63; flashes of D'Angelo Russell brilliance makes the season a little more bearable.