Welcome to theScore's preview of the 2016-17 NBA season.
Brooklyn Nets
2015-16
| Record | Atlantic | East | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21-61 | 4th | 14th | N/A |
Offseason Roundup
| Additions | Departures |
|---|---|
| Kenny Atkinson (Coach) | Thaddeus Young (traded to IND) |
| Jeremy Lin (3/$36M) | Jarrett Jack (waived) |
| Trevor Booker (2/$18M) | Andrea Bargnani (Europe) |
| Luis Scola (1/$5M) | Wayne Ellington (MIA) |
| Greivis Vasquez (1/$4M) | Willie Reed (MIA) |
| Anthony Bennett (2/$2.1M) | Shane Larkin (Europe) |
| Randy Foye (1/$2.5M) | Sergey Karasev (Europe) |
| Justin Hamilton (2/$6M) | |
| Joe Harris (2/$2M) | |
| Caris LaVert (trade with IND) | |
| Isaiah Whitehead (trade with UTA) | |
| Beau Beech (1/$543K) | |
| Egidijus Mockevicius (1/$543K) |
Projected Starting 5
- PG: Jeremy Lin
- SG: Bojan Bogdanovic
- SF: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson
- PF: Trevor Booker
- C: Brook Lopez
Player to watch
With all due respect to a young talent like Rondae Hollis-Jefferson or the storyline surrounding Jeremy Lin's return to New York City, the player to watch is the Nets' current franchise cornerstone, Brook Lopez.
While logic says the rebuilding Nets should package up Lopez and trade him, there isn't exactly a ton of urgency in doing so. The reason being, that bottoming out - or "tanking" in former Philadelphia 76ers administrative parlance - does nothing for Brooklyn this season. The Boston Celtics own the right to swap first-round picks with the Nets, the latest incarnation of the bed the team made for itself when it acquired Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett in 2013.
If the right deal comes along and Lopez can fetch them young talent and/or draft picks that could help offset the franchise-crippling moves from three years ago, the Nets would have to pull the trigger.
In the meantime, the 28-year-old center is still more than serviceable, particularly on the offensive end. The team's leading scorer can play the traditional five back-to-the-basket style or faced up, shooting in the neighborhood of 63 percent in 2015-16 on both post and paint touches. Lopez has led the team in win shares the past two years, and the Nets lost all nine games that he didn't play in last season.
Lin is a smart, economical signing for the Nets, and Trevor Booker could prove to be a great value deal at the power forward spot as well. Hollis-Jefferson, who missed 53 games of his rookie season due to a broken ankle, is a brilliant defender but will need to show development with a non-existent outside shooting stroke to be considered a legitimate 3-and-D guy.
Season Expectations
Let's face it, it's not going to be pretty. Not only will the Nets finish behind the Knicks for Gotham bragging rights, they could conceivably challenge the Sixers for dead last in the Atlantic Division, as well as the Eastern Conference as a whole. And for their trouble, they will almost assuredly lose the lottery pick that ineptitude produces.
At least they have cool alternate unis lined up this season.
