It's Just Getting Started

The NBA season is over L and the Warriors are the champs but it occurred to me during the finals that the Cavs and Warriors may have created a rivalry and that we may see these two teams match up in the finals again. The Cavs are a lock to be in the finals over the next couple of years since they have the best player in the world and they play in the worst conference in the world. For the Warriors it will be tougher since they play in the west but they will get better as a unit, remember this is only year one under Kerr they should only get better over time. But both of these team face challenges over the offseason, first let’s look at the Cavs.

The Cavs offseason plan is pretty simple bring everyone back. A full season of Kyrie, Shumpert, JR, Lebron, Delly, Love, Mozgov and Thompson is a great top 8 and if you add some pieces around that it’s a championship team. The Cavs have a first round pick and I would use that pick on a big man and try to move Anderson Varejao. He makes a lot of money over the next two years, he can’t stay healthy and the Cavs have too many big men. Love, Lebron and Thompson all are power forwards and Mozgov is your center. With Thompson he is on the verge of getting a HUGE contract the Cavs can’t have Varejao, Mozgov, James, Love and Thompson it’s too much money and the Cavs aren’t a big market team so they can’t pay the tax bill that the Nets pay. Moving Varejao would be very tough but it should be something they look to do.  The Cavs have the mini mid-level exception and Lebron James so they should be able to get a good player to sacrifice on money to play with Lebron for a title. For the mini the Cavs need to find another wing off the bench who can shoot. Matt Barnes just got traded and is expected to get waived, he would be a great fit In Cleveland. If Lebron is healthy next year they should cruise to the NBA Finals once again.  Also Lebron should play like 66 games next year and not play over 32 minutes a game. He has played so many minutes it would be wise for Cleveland to keep him fresh and put more of a load on Kyrie and Love during the regular season.

For the Warriors the road back will be a lot tougher than the Cavs but with one of the best front offices in the game they should be okay. All of their core is coming back their top 9 is loaded Curry, Klay, Iggy, Barnes, Livingston, Draymond, Bogut, Ezeli and Mo Speights. The Warriors have a pick and also the Mini mid-level exception, I’d like the Warriors to pick up a shooter off the bench this has been a glaring weakness for them in my opinion and it showed itself during the finals. If they can find a shooter off the bench they might be unstoppable. Now the Warriors have David Lee a guy who doesn’t fit in Steve Kerrs system but is still a good NBA player as we saw in the NBA finals. The Warriors should trade him but, the problem is he has a huge salary and the Warriors might not want to trade him. It might be wise to let his contract run out so the Warriors have cap room for the summer of Durant. If they can swap Lee for another expiring I think GS should do it, having 16 million be a bench warmer isn’t what you want.  There aren’t many trades out there that would make sense which means the Warriors might be the same team next year with a few minor tweaks. Matt Barnes would be a great fit in Golden State as well. (Matt Barnes and Draymond on the same team! Please and thank you)

Regardless both of these teams should be good for a while and we could see a Warriors vs Cavs finals for a while.

Off Season Plan

The 2014-2015 Net season is thankfully over and all things considered they did what we expected, make the playoffs and lose in round one. Maybe there was some hope early in the year that they could be a second round team but injuries early on and bad play changed the expectations for this team. The Nets head into the first off season of doom they don’t have their own first round draft pick until 2019!! And they have two very bad contracts. So how do the Nets succeed next year and into the future? They follow these steps.

                The main goal GET DRAFT PICKS. The Nets keep saying they will compete in 2 years when they have a lot of cap room and they are wrong! They will have cap room but they won’t compete, in order to compete you need a foundation and you build that foundation through the draft and the Nets don’t have enough of a foundation to compete. Why would a big free agent after next year want to come to Brooklyn? They can get the money elsewhere and compete which isn't something that is happening in Brooklyn. Also is Lionel Hollins attractive? The Nets are an unattractive destination for free agents at the moment because they aren't good. If the Nets want free agents they need a foundation and the only way to get that foundation leads me to my first off season step…

1.       Sign and Trade Brook Lopez

This may not make sense but let me explain Brook Lopez’s stock is at an all-time high he’s a 7 foot center that is lethal on the offensive end and he is also a good rim protector. He’s also 27 he’s going to opt out of his contract and he would like to return to Brooklyn and it would make sense for the Nets to resign him but he’s their only major assist and their only chance to start a new foundation.  Also if you’re the Nets do you want to give a center with two major foot surgeries a big contract? You let another team do it and if Lopez turns out great you deal with it because if you resign him what does he do for you? WOO another year at 40 wins! No free agent in the future is lining up to play with Brook Lopez. The Nets can give Lopez the most money of any team so a sign and trade would make sense the question is who would sign and trade for him and what would it cost? The Nets would have to take back a big contract to match up with Lopez but most importantly the Nets would have to receive a draft pick and/or young players. For example the Pacers want to get rid of Roy Hibbert who has one year left on his contract and would love to replace him with a center of Lopez’s caliber. Let’s say the trade is Lopez for Hibbert 2016 first round pick and 2019 first round pick? Maybe the Nets can only get one pick out of the deal but it’s a deal you consider.  Would Charlotte do a similar deal including Big Al? (Last year of contract) Denver is a team that likes Lopez maybe the Nets trade Lopez for JJ Hickson, Wilson Chandler, young player and Pick? Again this idea isn’t about next year it’s about the long term. Signing Lopez long term just doesn’t make the Nets better in 2 or 3 years which should be the goal.

2.       What to do with Thad Young

This is a tricky situation because if you sign and trade Lopez what is the point of resigning Thad Young? He’s a very good role player so if you sign and trade Lopez you should probably do the same for Thad Young although that would be a lot harder to pull off (probably impossible to pull off). If I am the Nets I sign Young to a contract that is no longer than 3 years and if he wants more he can walk he doesn't fit into the plan. Thad Young is a good player and if the Nets decide to resign Lopez they should resign Thad Young but according to my plan they should sign and trade him or be very careful with his contract. (Random thought I don’t like the way he runs… he had a couple of scares with his knees and ankle with the Nets this year, I would be careful because of that)

3.       Brooklyn Back Court

What to do with Joe Johnson and Deron Williams… Both looked finished this past season and they make sooooo much money next year. Joe Johnson 24 million Deron Williams 21 million next year and 22 million the year after. Best case might be to have those contracts run out and be happy with the cap space but Brooklyn should explore the market, Joe Johnson might be expendable if the right team comes around the Nets would probably have to take a contract that runs past next year but if they get some picks out of the trade it’s something to consider. Most likely they will be on the Nets next year and if Joe Johnson can rebound next year he could become a good trade chip at the deadline for Brooklyn.

4.       Role players

Alan Anderson and Mirza are both free agents Mirza will be offered a qualifying offer which would allow the Nets to match any offer. Now I love me some Mirza but the same thing applies to him as Thad Young, accept a 3 year deal and if not you let him walk. As for Alan Anderson… thanks for your services but you’re no longer need. Anderson was one of Brooklyn’s best players the last two months of the year and he earned himself a nice free agency he is a good role player on a contender, but the Nets have Markel Brown and he needs to play more and Anderson is blocking his growth.

5.       Draft

The Nets have the 29^th and 41^st pick in the draft. The Nets should use both picks unless they have the opportunity to move up, if they have that chance they should do it. But you do NOT trade a pick to move Joe Johnson, Deron Williams or Jarrett Jack. A positive for the Nets heading into the draft is that they have Billy King… Yeah you read that right since the move to Brooklyn Billy King’s draft resume has been pretty good (trades with these picks no) but when he actually uses the picks he’s been pretty good. He got Mason Plumlee with the 22^nd pick which was a good pick and he also got Markel Brown in the second round, Brown was one of two rookies who started in the playoffs this year. At the moment Draft Express have the Nets taking George Lucas point guard in the first round.

6.       Mini mid-level

The Nets do have their mini mid-level exception to sign a free agent, the Nets will be over the cap so this is their only chance to sign a free agent. (Outside of players taking the league minimum)  The most they can offer a player is 3 years at 10.5 million the focus should be on a young player so who can they sign?

KJ McDaniels wing player- he’s young but restricted if the Nets offer the full 3 years 10.5 maybe the Rockets pass but I think they match but it’s worth a shot.

Cory Joseph point guard - he is also young and also restricted but the Spurs might let him go if he is offered the full 3 years because they are rumored to be in play for a big free agent and they need cap room.

Matthew Dellavedova point guard- he is also restricted and Cleveland will most likely match any offer but I am one of the leaders of the Dellavedova fan club and if he became a Net I would throw my own parade down Flatbush. Again unlikely this happens but try it!

Justin Holiday guard-  giving Holiday the full mini might be too much but he is an undrafted free agent who crack the Warriors rotation at times during the year he might be a player you take a chance on, it’s a high risk type of deal because you don’t know what is potential is.

Some overseas guy- The Nets used the mini to bring over Mirza and Bojan (Even though Bojan was drafted I never got that) but there are talented free agents overseas which the Nets could use the mini on I don’t know any of them but I’m sure the Nets do (I think, okay probably not) but still an overseas guy is worth the mini contract.

7.       Markel Brown

The Nets need to take Brown hostage take him to an island lock him in a gym with two basketballs and a shotgun (not an actually gun the shooting machine thing) and make him shoot 500 threes a day. If Brown can hit three consistently he can become a good NBA player.

8.       Jarrett Jack

Now we all aren't fans of Jarrett Jack but he is on an expiring deal so there’s a chance he can be traded and if the Nets can swap an expiring contract for an expiring contract that’s fine but if they trade Jarrett Jack you don’t send a pick or a young player with him. If the Nets keep Jack until the deadline they might be able to trade him for something decent.

Once again the goal is to get younger and get picks for the future who cares about next year? The focus should be getting better long term not in in 2015-2016.

But this is something the Nets probably won’t do, so what will they do? Resign Lopez and Young try to trade Johnson and Williams but they’ll fail at it and they’ll use the mini to sign someone they probably shouldn't. WOOOO Nets basketball!!!

For everything Nets and NBA follow @threwthenet on twitter.

2nd half rotations

The second half of the season is upon us and the Nets are 21-31 and one game out of the 8^th seed. The Nets are better than the Hornets and they should make the playoffs but the key to making it is Lionel Hollins rotations. This is something he has struggled with this season, but I’m here to fix that problem. The first thing is no more starting Jarrett Jack. The Nets have a -8.6 net rating with Jack on the floor!!! That is horrible! He shouldn’t be a starter on most teams. When Jack is on the bench the Nets have 5.6 net rating. All the numbers say the Nets are better when Jack doesn’t play; so stop starting him!!! Even though Deron Williams is having a down year the Nets have a net rating of -1.2 with him on the floor. Now that’s not good but it’s a lot better than Jarrett Jack. It’s time to start Deron and it’s not even a debate. When it comes to the 1^st wing position it’s a no brainer, Joe Johnson. The 2^nd wing is interesting Bojan Bogdanovic and Alan Anderson have basically the same net rating, Bojan is a better shooter than Anderson but Anderson is a better defender. I would go with Anderson (I can’t believe I’m writing this) because of the defense and he doesn’t hurt the spacing. Both players should certainly get a lot of minutes. It would be smart to sprinkle in another wing player like Karasev or Markel Brown. They would only play like 5 minutes, but they are needed. When it comes to power forward, Thaddeus Young needs to play a lot. He’ll be pushing 34-36 minutes a night. The Nets only backup is Cory Jefferson and he bare plays as it is. Mason Plumlee is the starting center and Lopez is off the bench when it comes to the center position.

Minute’s breakdown (warning, my math skills are 76ers bad)

PG Deron Williams (32-36 mins) Jarrett Jack (12-16 mins)

Wings Joe Johnson (34-36 mins) Alan Anderson (26-30 mins) Bojan Bogdanovic (18-22 mins) Markel Brown (5-7 mins)

Power forward Thaddeus Young (34-36 mins) Cory Jefferson (12-14 mins)

Center Mason Plumlee (28-32 mins) Brook Lopez (16-20 mins)

It’s important to note that these minutes wouldn’t allow Deron Williams and Jarrett Jack to play alongside each other, as well as Brook Lopez and Mason Plumlee. Those two combinations have not worked all year so let’s not try this in the second half. Okay?  

Nets Trade Deadline Roller Coaster

At 1pm I was sitting in my communication arts class (what does that even mean?) and I see that the Nets are on the verge of trading Brook Lopez, Kevin Garnett and Jarrett Jack. If you follow me on twitter or have read anything I have written you would know trading those guys would make me thrilled. So I was in class smiling pretending to pay attention but I was violently swiping my timeline looking for the confirmed tweet from Woj or Stein. So at around 2:30 I was working on a project with some people I looked back at my phone and I see Kevin Garnett has been traded for Thaddeus Young (good trade we’ll get into that later). I was happy with that the only thing left was Lopez and Jack. At this time I am wondering why this trade hasn’t been completed yet. So I go away from my phone I come back at 2:55ish and devastation, Reggie Jackson has been traded to the Pistons. WHY WOJ!!! Enes Kanter has been traded to the Thunder. All hope is dead.

At one point today the Nets looked like they were going to be HUGE winners. They were going to get a young point guard in Reggie Jackson but instead Sam Presti played Billy King. Brook Lopez is now in a really awkward stage, he’s playing for a team that has tried to trade him multiple times in the past month. By not trading Lopez Mason Plumlee is a trade deadline loser today. Without Lopez Plumlee would be able to play freely and not be worried about being pulled for making a mistake. But the Nets did get Thaddeus Young so let’s look at that.

Thaddeus Young was drafted by Billy King in 2007 in Philadelphia and Billy has always been a fan of Thaddeus and now he got him back. KG for Thaddeus is a good trade for Brooklyn I thought KG had no value but Flip Saunders really wanted him back and offered the Nets a good player but he’s having a down year he’s averaging 14 points on 13 shots! And shooting 29% from three but he’s Thaddeus isn’t having a bad year due to a decrease in talent or athleticism it’s because he’s being asked to do too much. Ricky Rubio, Kevin Martin and Nikola Pekovic have been hurt a majority of the year making Young the 1^st or 2^nd option. Young isn’t good enough to be the 1^st or 2^nd option on Brooklyn he will be the 3^rd or 4^th option which is a much better fit. In Brooklyn he will play off the ball more and he will be able to slash a lot more which is strength in his game. He also fits nicely in Brooklyn having him on the floor with Plumlee will allow the Nets to operate at a much faster pace. Young had good on/off #s in Minnesota their offensive rating was +2 with him on the floor. Young brings the Nets youth and athleticism which is something they needed, Young has a player option for next season, and The Nets need Young to opt-in because they have no cap room so they won’t be able to sign a power forward. Young should play a lot for Brooklyn since the Nets don’t have a backup power forward, they have Cory Jefferson but Hollins has been hesitant to use him. If Young can play good defense and help offensively he can boost the Nets to the eight seed. (GO CRAZY) It’s hard to predict future success, especially in this case with Young but I think he’ll be a good fit on this team is it enough to make them a playoff team? We will find out.

For everything Nets and NBA follow @threwthenet on twitter

What to do without Mirza?

      Even though Mirza was having a bad season his season ending injury is a big one for the Nets. No one on this team does what Mirza can do; he’s a big that spaces the floor and can hit the three. Mirza was the only big that could work with Lopez in 389 minutes. They are a +0.4 which isn’t that good, but Lopez only has three two man combinations that result in a positive. With Mirza out who should get his minutes? The answer should be Kevin Garnett, but the Nets won’t extend his minutes. So who else is there? The answer is not Jerome Jordan; in 52 minutes with Mason Plumlee they’re a -32. This will probably be Lionel Hollins first choice and it will fail. The guy who should get Mirza’s minutes is Cory Jefferson. He was the last pick of the draft and has done okay when called upon this season. He has the potential to become a stretch four. In college he shot 34% from three, granted it was 50 shots but it’s a start. The main reason why Jefferson deserves the minutes is when he and Mason Plumlee share the floor they are a +9.9 in 84 minutes.  Another reason why Jefferson should get Mirza’s minutes is because he’s a rookie on a one year contract this is the time to see if he’s an NBA player. The Nets should also sign another young power forward in case Jefferson doesn’t work out, but they need to sign a young guy from the D-league or Xavier Thames, who the Nets drafted right before Jefferson but Thames was playing overseas and was just bought out. The Nets still hold his rights; they could assign him to the D-league or sign him to the main roster. The Nets shouldn’t look to trade for a PF (No more giving away assets) but if they decide to trade Lopez, KG, Joe Johnson or Deron Williams they should probably look to include one in a trade.

All stats are from Basketball-reference.com

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TRADES!!!

                We are about one month away from the trade deadline and it’s time for the Billy King to pick up his phone and start making deals (Oh man that’s a scary thought). But the Nets are screwed for this season and until 2019. 2019 is the next time the Nets have their own first round pick!!!2019!!! That is crazy! How is this real?!?! The Nets can’t hit the restart button because they don’t have their own pick! So what can the Nets do? We’ll take a look at the plan for the rest of this season. The Nets current plan is to shed salary but contend. The Nets don’t want to add salary beyond next year because they want an empty cap for the free agency of 2016. The Nets should currently look to shed salary and contend because what else do they have going for them? But the problem I have with that plan is the empty cap for 2016. Look, the Nets are screwed so why would a big free agent want to come to Brooklyn? There’s no reason. Also the Nets shouldn’t even sign one because if they sign a big free agent they won’t win anything! The way you become a championship contender is by drafting 2 or 3 good to great players and then signing players. What the Nets should be doing this season is looking to trade everyone but Mason Plumlee for draft picks, young players and other teams’ horrible contracts. The only way the Nets can build towards the future is by taking horrible contracts and getting picks/assets in return. The Nets shouldn’t be looking to contend for the next 1-3 years; just add bad contracts endure the horrible seasons but get picks and assists with those horrible contracts. The Nets also have a couple of role players that they might be able to deal for a second round pick. TRADE MACHINE TIME!

           This is a trade that saves the Nets some money and it works for the Clippers; they NEED bench depth and Anderson provides it. Anderson is shooting 34% from three and is a good defender, and Anderson is cheap for the Clippers. The Nets could ask for a second round pick in return but I doubt they get a pick in return. Trading Anderson could open up a rotation spot for Markel Brown. The Nets need a young wing player to emerge and Karasev isn’t the answer (I still have hope for Bojan). By trading Anderson, Brown gets playing time. If the Nets get Chris Douglas Roberts they should waive him and sign a D-league guy and see what the D-Leaguer has.

               

         Okay I know Ray Felton isn’t someone you want and I don’t want Felton, but Mirza is probably gone after this season and the Nets should let him walk. He’s a fun player to watch, but he isn’t that good. The Mavs need another big right now. Charlie Villanueve is their back up four. They need to upgrade that position and Mirza is a good player for that role. Felton adds salary to Brooklyn and has a player option for next season (he’ll opt in for next year) but this is an example of adding salary but taking a pick back. The only way the Nets do this trade is if the Mavs send a pick the Nets way. I don’t even care if it’s a second round pick just get me some picks!

                I’ve been spending too much time on trade machine during my winter break. But the Clippers bench is bad and adding KG and Alan Anderson to it helps. KG and Doc have their relationship which is why it could happen. Spencer Hawes hasn’t been good this year and Doc Rivers isn’t a fan of him which means he might do something stupid. Hawes has 3 years left but in this deal the Nets add C.J. Wilcox, a young player under control for a while and should ask for a pick of any type; first or second Doc Rivers throws picks around almost worse than Billy King. The rest of the players in this trade are just old vets that take up roster spots. The Nets could waive some and add a D-leaguer or two.

 

                This is a trade I’m not a fan of because of Lance Stephenson, but the Nets need to do something. The Hornets might do it because Michael Jordan isn’t good at his job and the team really wants to make the playoffs; Joe Johnson would get this team in the playoffs. But the Nets get Williams and Henderson who are just taking up roster space. The Nets could take a chance on Lance because of the talent and hope they can figure his head out. The Nets could get a pick in this deal as well.

                This trade saves the Nets cash and that’s about it. The three players in the trade don’t help you win but you only do this trade if you receive a first round pick. The Pelicans need to get Anthony Davis in the playoffs and by adding Joe Johnson it might make the Pelicans the 8^th seed out west.

 

                Chris Mannnix suggested the Celtics take a shot on Brook Lopez which is why I made this deal. I highly doubt this trades happens, but hey why not! The Nets add salary  but they add salary with the Celtics who have so many draft picks and young assets that maybe the Nets can steal a few away in a deal like this. If the Nets did this they could trade Bass for a second round pick; he does have value. I doubt the Celtics do this because they’re in rebuilding mode and Zeller and Oylnk have been playing great of late.

           

 

                I wouldn’t rule out the Lakers pulling this trade off. They love big names and these are big names (kinda). The Nets get a good player in Lin and can buyout Steve Nash. Also, throw in a draft pick and it’s a win for the Nets!

                Those are all the trades for now there will be more in the coming weeks. Make sure to follow @threwthenet on Twitter for everything NBA and Brooklyn Nets. 

Nets Final play

It’s a new year but this new team isn’t going to change. This team is around 500 and will most likely be that way for the rest of the season; the team is stuck here and the Nets should make trades. The Nets have been talking to the Kings about Deron Williams and they talked to the Thunder about Brook Lopez. Every player outside of Mason Plumlee should be on the market. Plumlee has the potential to be a Tyson Chandler like player and he should be a building block player. As for everyone else, let them go!

Who should be starting?

            Deron Williams and Brook Lopez are now bench players for the Nets. Both have been playing better of late but only one should be back in the starting lineup. Deron Williams should be back in the starting lineup, he’s better than Jack and the only way to boost his trade value is by playing him more. He has been playing better since he has returned from injury, but he’s hurt again. DERON WILLIAMS!!! Not to mention when Jarrett Jack is on the floor the Nets are a -8.6, and when he’s off the floor the Nets are 5.8. Brook Lopez should remain on the bench and play about 20 minutes a game. Now last night vs the Mavs he scored 18 points in the first quarter, but a majority of those points were scored from 15-18 feet away from the basket and those are not reliable shots. Hollins should also not play Plumlee and Lopez together; they have played 88 minutes together this year and are a -12.5. They simply can’t play together, Lopez should be playing with Mirza Teletovic; they have played 296 minutes this year and are a +3. Mirza opens the floor for Brook and it’s just a better fit. (Stats are from basketball reference)

Lionel Hollins

            Its 34 games into the season and Lionel Hollins has been disappointing. He uses the wrong lineups and his final play of regulation vs the Mavericks was mind boggling.

The play is a simple ISO for Joe Johnson which is a good play in this situation, anytime you have Joe going one on one with someone I like my chances but there is one huge mistake with the play; Hollins drew up in the timeout. Look where Brook Lopez is standing. He’s in the strong side corner and Tyson Chandler is paying no attention to him and because of this Joe has no chance of attacking the rim. How can you have a 7 foot center with no three point shot standing where he’s standing??  Lopez should have been on the bench here and Karasev should be in his spot. If Karasev is there it forces Chandler away from the lane.

The Nets play the Celtics and 76ers this week at home. They must win both of those games. They will be without Deron Williams for the Celtics. Brandon Davies was also released today, it gives the Nets one free roster start.

For everything NBA and Brooklyn Nets follow @threwthenet on twitter.