Official 2015-16 Brooklyn Nets Season Watch Thread (21-59, 3rd slot as of 4/12)

[trickybilly]

There are two ways they can go this year:

1. Get some short contract bench help or some veteran help before the deadline and improve their depth. Not a great result for us. Their record will improve.

2. Trade core players for picks in an effort to get back into the draft in some way, shape or form. Best possible result for boston.

Without their own picks, the 2nd option doesn't make sense for them.  They are not going to get a good enough return from Lopez and Young to justify them going into a full rebuild.  They'll do option 1 this season and then try to acquire additional talent in free agency using the jump in cap space and Johnson's big contract coming off the books.

They're likely going to miss the playoffs with the team they have and are going to be hard-pressed to compete for a spot in this Eastern conference even if they add some bench help (what veteran is going to want to sign with that team?). Given that reality, they should start thinking about the future and that means considering bringing in draft picks, which means trading someone away. It's not definite that they'd do this but they're not going to be well positioned to bring anyone of value over in free agency so it would absolutely make sense to ditch some irrelevant talent now for the prospect of talent when it means something later.

Some sort of Lopez for young players and picks?  Sign some reclamation and rehabbing projects from the scrap heap, probably overpay for them?

Oh, it's going to take a miracle for the next 3 years not to suck in Brooklyn.

Lopez for a young prospect + picks package is really the only deal that makes sense. I get that option 2 doesn't make complete sense as you want to have the high value of your own pick when you sacrifice wins. Getting back into the draft with some form of first round pick at least helps speed up the process though surely?

Trading Lopez doesn't make much sense.  They just aren't going to get that much return for him.  You've got to salary match to make the trade work and Lopez makes 19.7mil.  Also the Nets are up against the luxury tax line so they are not going to take on more salary than they send out.  Which teams would actually need or want Lopez, be able to match his salary and give the Nets enough in return to justify the trade?   Given all that, I can't think who an't think of any realistic trade proposals for Lopez and I haven't seen anyone propose one either.

First of all, teams, who after taking on Lopez's salary, and who can send out a little bit of salary but still stay under the cap (Utah, Philly, Portland), don't need to "match" any salary at all. They just need to send back one of these things (from the excellent CBAFAQ website):

-A player under contract.
-A future draft pick. If a pick is protected (see question number 87), then no more than 55 picks in a single draft can be protected.
-The draft rights to an "NBA prospect" -- a player with a reasonable chance of becoming an NBA player during his career, or a contributing player in a reputable professional league (as determined by the league office).
-The right to swap unencumbered picks in a future draft.
-$75,000 or more

Even if you go over the cap, you can still qualify for a Trade Exception, although I don't really understand how they are approved, or if those teams who can stay under the Tax-line are even eligible. But suffice to say, it is a misnomer to say that all trades need to have "matching salaries"moving both ways; and this is ignoring three or four team trade provisions too.

Obviously the problem with Lopez is the horrible length of his monster deal. Finishes not next year but the one after that. I can't think of any situation where a GM takes on 2.5 years of Lopez, even for a protected second round pick in 2020, but if he continues his stellar play of late, and Portland are sitting 6th or 5th in the West at the deadline, they may jump - unlikely, but they might.

Next Philly might do it, because - Philly.

Utah would need a complete nightmare situation, but that might happen too.

The Nets don't need to "justify" taking back anything. They know they are screwed, they would be over the moon to be released from the burden of paying his salary. My last point is that, ironically, someone like Joe Johnson is unfortunately a better candidate for a deadline trade (although almost everyone - including Brooklyn - has Cap Space next year, so expiring deals are not as useful as usual), just because he is in his last year of a bad deal (as opposed to being an expiring deal..)

[trickybilly]

So Brooklyn can trade Lopez to Portland for Chris Kaman. If I'm Portland and I've somehow squeezed into the playoffs maybe I consider that. Probably not but eh..

If Portland refuse because they want a project as compensation like Markel Brown or Bogdanovic, Nets throw them in too no questions asked. The point for them now is just to clear his salary, so they can try again going after free agents next year.

[chambers]

So Brooklyn can trade Lopez to Portland for Chris Kaman. If I'm Portland and I've somehow squeezed into the playoffs maybe I consider that. Probably not but eh..

If Portland refuse because they want a project as compensation like Markel Brown or Bogdanovic, Nets throw them in too no questions asked. The point for them now is just to clear his salary, so they can try again going after free agents next year.

With Joe Johnson coming off the books at the end of this year they'll have plenty of room ($25 million lol) for one huge free agent to put next to Lopez, so I don't think they'd send out Lopez unless the free agent outlook was rreeeaaallllyy bad. His healthy self is their one All Star or close to All Star caliber player/piece.
They would perhaps consider sending out Lopez for a top 10 pick and a young prospect, but I can't see too many teams risking that much on Lopez' gimpy foot.

Now they may send out Joe Johnson to a contender if someone gets injured eg the Grizzlies and Bulls who'd ask for a late first round pick or expiring+prospect in return, which would be good for us obviously.
I could see a Noah+future pick for Joe Johnson swap as a very remote possibility.

The Nets are in basketball hell and I love it.

[trickybilly]

So weird.. my catholic guilt has me poring over the trade machine to see how I can get them out of this hellish mess.

[Granath]

I think many of the teams you mention aren't necessarily preferable to Brooklyn.  The Nets made the playoffs last year and there is no reason to think they'll be perpetual losers. 

What evidence is there that they won't be losers for the next 3 years? The fact that the squeaked into the playoffs last year with 38 wins isn't a selling point for next year. They're 3-12 right now with virtually zero chance of making the playoffs. (http://www.basketball-reference.com/friv/playoff_prob.cgi) Exactly how is this team not a perpetual loser?

They don't hold any of their 1st round picks. Their only valuable assets are those who are on the court right now playing 35 minutes a night and every single one of those guys are, statistically speaking, already starting on the downside of their careers (or are well into it). Seriously, is there any NBA franchise that has less hope than the Nets?

Their only shot to get better is Free Agency so let's move on to that...

Not all of the teams are necessarily going to have cap space because they have their own free agents to re-sign.  Miami's got Wade, Whiteside and Deng to re-sign.  Washington wants Durant but will they also be able to pay Beal?  LA has tried the last few years to get top free agents but have failed.  Maybe that changes with Kobe retiring but maybe it won't until their management changes.  As for us, I don't think Stevens and a bunch of middling players are going to be a big draw for free agents.  If I'm DeRozan, I'd probably prefer to team up with Lopez and Young.

Come on, man. Get into the real world. Here's something from SI talking about the 5 teams best positioned for Free Agency in 2016 and both Miami and Washington are listed (http://www.si.com/thecauldron/2015/10/21/nba-free-agency-2016-kevin-durant-al-horford-thunder-lakers-knicks-wizards) 

Seriously, your argument is so spurious it's fairly difficult to imagine that even you believe the crap you wrote. You call the Celtics "middling players" yet somehow think Lopez and Young are draws for a free agent? You ignored a huge list of other teams with cap space. You ignored the fact that Lopez and Young are not on the upside of their careers. You basically ignored all logic and reason. In short, you entirely failed to back up any of your assertions.

[tazzmaniac]

There are two ways they can go this year:

1. Get some short contract bench help or some veteran help before the deadline and improve their depth. Not a great result for us. Their record will improve.

2. Trade core players for picks in an effort to get back into the draft in some way, shape or form. Best possible result for boston.

Without their own picks, the 2nd option doesn't make sense for them.  They are not going to get a good enough return from Lopez and Young to justify them going into a full rebuild.  They'll do option 1 this season and then try to acquire additional talent in free agency using the jump in cap space and Johnson's big contract coming off the books.

They're likely going to miss the playoffs with the team they have and are going to be hard-pressed to compete for a spot in this Eastern conference even if they add some bench help (what veteran is going to want to sign with that team?). Given that reality, they should start thinking about the future and that means considering bringing in draft picks, which means trading someone away. It's not definite that they'd do this but they're not going to be well positioned to bring anyone of value over in free agency so it would absolutely make sense to ditch some irrelevant talent now for the prospect of talent when it means something later.

Some sort of Lopez for young players and picks?  Sign some reclamation and rehabbing projects from the scrap heap, probably overpay for them?

Oh, it's going to take a miracle for the next 3 years not to suck in Brooklyn.

Lopez for a young prospect + picks package is really the only deal that makes sense. I get that option 2 doesn't make complete sense as you want to have the high value of your own pick when you sacrifice wins. Getting back into the draft with some form of first round pick at least helps speed up the process though surely?

Trading Lopez doesn't make much sense.  They just aren't going to get that much return for him.  You've got to salary match to make the trade work and Lopez makes 19.7mil.  Also the Nets are up against the luxury tax line so they are not going to take on more salary than they send out.  Which teams would actually need or want Lopez, be able to match his salary and give the Nets enough in return to justify the trade?   Given all that, I can't think who an't think of any realistic trade proposals for Lopez and I haven't seen anyone propose one either.

First of all, teams, who after taking on Lopez's salary, and who can send out a little bit of salary but still stay under the cap (Utah, Philly, Portland), don't need to "match" any salary at all. They just need to send back one of these things (from the excellent CBAFAQ website):

-A player under contract.
-A future draft pick. If a pick is protected (see question number 87), then no more than 55 picks in a single draft can be protected.
-The draft rights to an "NBA prospect" -- a player with a reasonable chance of becoming an NBA player during his career, or a contributing player in a reputable professional league (as determined by the league office).
-The right to swap unencumbered picks in a future draft.
-$75,000 or more

Even if you go over the cap, you can still qualify for a Trade Exception, although I don't really understand how they are approved, or if those teams who can stay under the Tax-line are even eligible. But suffice to say, it is a misnomer to say that all trades need to have "matching salaries"moving both ways; and this is ignoring three or four team trade provisions too.

Obviously the problem with Lopez is the horrible length of his monster deal. Finishes not next year but the one after that. I can't think of any situation where a GM takes on 2.5 years of Lopez, even for a protected second round pick in 2020, but if he continues his stellar play of late, and Portland are sitting 6th or 5th in the West at the deadline, they may jump - unlikely, but they might.

Next Philly might do it, because - Philly.

Utah would need a complete nightmare situation, but that might happen too.

The Nets don't need to "justify" taking back anything. They know they are screwed, they would be over the moon to be released from the burden of paying his salary. My last point is that, ironically, someone like Joe Johnson is unfortunately a better candidate for a deadline trade (although almost everyone - including Brooklyn - has Cap Space next year, so expiring deals are not as useful as usual), just because he is in his last year of a bad deal (as opposed to being an expiring deal..)

Philly??? That's a joke right?  There is no way they trade for Lopez and you know it.  Utah has Gobert so they won't need or want Lopez.   

Regarding then Nets trying to dump Lopez just to get out of his horrible contract, that is nonsense.  Lopez opted out of the last year of his previous contract last offseason so the Nets could have just let him go.  Instead, they re-signed him to his current 3yr/20mil contract.  http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/25229902/report-nets-are-re-signing-brook-lopez-thad-young-to-long-term-deals

[trickybilly]

There are two ways they can go this year:

1. Get some short contract bench help or some veteran help before the deadline and improve their depth. Not a great result for us. Their record will improve.

2. Trade core players for picks in an effort to get back into the draft in some way, shape or form. Best possible result for boston.

Without their own picks, the 2nd option doesn't make sense for them.  They are not going to get a good enough return from Lopez and Young to justify them going into a full rebuild.  They'll do option 1 this season and then try to acquire additional talent in free agency using the jump in cap space and Johnson's big contract coming off the books.

They're likely going to miss the playoffs with the team they have and are going to be hard-pressed to compete for a spot in this Eastern conference even if they add some bench help (what veteran is going to want to sign with that team?). Given that reality, they should start thinking about the future and that means considering bringing in draft picks, which means trading someone away. It's not definite that they'd do this but they're not going to be well positioned to bring anyone of value over in free agency so it would absolutely make sense to ditch some irrelevant talent now for the prospect of talent when it means something later.

Some sort of Lopez for young players and picks?  Sign some reclamation and rehabbing projects from the scrap heap, probably overpay for them?

Oh, it's going to take a miracle for the next 3 years not to suck in Brooklyn.

Lopez for a young prospect + picks package is really the only deal that makes sense. I get that option 2 doesn't make complete sense as you want to have the high value of your own pick when you sacrifice wins. Getting back into the draft with some form of first round pick at least helps speed up the process though surely?

Trading Lopez doesn't make much sense.  They just aren't going to get that much return for him.  You've got to salary match to make the trade work and Lopez makes 19.7mil.  Also the Nets are up against the luxury tax line so they are not going to take on more salary than they send out.  Which teams would actually need or want Lopez, be able to match his salary and give the Nets enough in return to justify the trade?   Given all that, I can't think who an't think of any realistic trade proposals for Lopez and I haven't seen anyone propose one either.

First of all, teams, who after taking on Lopez's salary, and who can send out a little bit of salary but still stay under the cap (Utah, Philly, Portland), don't need to "match" any salary at all. They just need to send back one of these things (from the excellent CBAFAQ website):

-A player under contract.
-A future draft pick. If a pick is protected (see question number 87), then no more than 55 picks in a single draft can be protected.
-The draft rights to an "NBA prospect" -- a player with a reasonable chance of becoming an NBA player during his career, or a contributing player in a reputable professional league (as determined by the league office).
-The right to swap unencumbered picks in a future draft.
-$75,000 or more

Even if you go over the cap, you can still qualify for a Trade Exception, although I don't really understand how they are approved, or if those teams who can stay under the Tax-line are even eligible. But suffice to say, it is a misnomer to say that all trades need to have "matching salaries"moving both ways; and this is ignoring three or four team trade provisions too.

Obviously the problem with Lopez is the horrible length of his monster deal. Finishes not next year but the one after that. I can't think of any situation where a GM takes on 2.5 years of Lopez, even for a protected second round pick in 2020, but if he continues his stellar play of late, and Portland are sitting 6th or 5th in the West at the deadline, they may jump - unlikely, but they might.

Next Philly might do it, because - Philly.

Utah would need a complete nightmare situation, but that might happen too.

The Nets don't need to "justify" taking back anything. They know they are screwed, they would be over the moon to be released from the burden of paying his salary. My last point is that, ironically, someone like Joe Johnson is unfortunately a better candidate for a deadline trade (although almost everyone - including Brooklyn - has Cap Space next year, so expiring deals are not as useful as usual), just because he is in his last year of a bad deal (as opposed to being an expiring deal..)

Philly??? That's a joke right?  There is no way they trade for Lopez and you know it.  Utah has Gobert so they won't need or want Lopez.   

Regarding then Nets trying to dump Lopez just to get out of his horrible contract, that is nonsense.  Lopez opted out of the last year of his previous contract last offseason so the Nets could have just let him go.  Instead, they re-signed him to his current 3yr/20mil contract.  http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/25229902/report-nets-are-re-signing-brook-lopez-thad-young-to-long-term-deals

Yes, Philly was a joke. Yes, not likely but if Rudy goes down they might consider it.

I don't think they realised how awful they would be even with Lopez playing really well. Although they have been much better lately, and I'm now starting to think that pick will be 7-12, as long as noone gets injured.

All the trade Lopez rationale is premised on them being 9-47 at the deadline. I agree they probably keep him though, maybe even thinking that his contract will be good value after the cap explosion..



 

[Redz]

Edited the title to include record and current lottery slot.  I'll try to keep it updated.

[mef730]

There are two ways they can go this year:

1. Get some short contract bench help or some veteran help before the deadline and improve their depth. Not a great result for us. Their record will improve.

2. Trade core players for picks in an effort to get back into the draft in some way, shape or form. Best possible result for boston.

Without their own picks, the 2nd option doesn't make sense for them.  They are not going to get a good enough return from Lopez and Young to justify them going into a full rebuild.  They'll do option 1 this season and then try to acquire additional talent in free agency using the jump in cap space and Johnson's big contract coming off the books.

They're likely going to miss the playoffs with the team they have and are going to be hard-pressed to compete for a spot in this Eastern conference even if they add some bench help (what veteran is going to want to sign with that team?). Given that reality, they should start thinking about the future and that means considering bringing in draft picks, which means trading someone away. It's not definite that they'd do this but they're not going to be well positioned to bring anyone of value over in free agency so it would absolutely make sense to ditch some irrelevant talent now for the prospect of talent when it means something later.

Some sort of Lopez for young players and picks?  Sign some reclamation and rehabbing projects from the scrap heap, probably overpay for them?

Oh, it's going to take a miracle for the next 3 years not to suck in Brooklyn.

Lopez for a young prospect + picks package is really the only deal that makes sense. I get that option 2 doesn't make complete sense as you want to have the high value of your own pick when you sacrifice wins. Getting back into the draft with some form of first round pick at least helps speed up the process though surely?

Trading Lopez doesn't make much sense.  They just aren't going to get that much return for him.  You've got to salary match to make the trade work and Lopez makes 19.7mil.  Also the Nets are up against the luxury tax line so they are not going to take on more salary than they send out.  Which teams would actually need or want Lopez, be able to match his salary and give the Nets enough in return to justify the trade?   Given all that, I can't think who an't think of any realistic trade proposals for Lopez and I haven't seen anyone propose one either.

First of all, teams, who after taking on Lopez's salary, and who can send out a little bit of salary but still stay under the cap (Utah, Philly, Portland), don't need to "match" any salary at all. They just need to send back one of these things (from the excellent CBAFAQ website):

-A player under contract.
-A future draft pick. If a pick is protected (see question number 87), then no more than 55 picks in a single draft can be protected.
-The draft rights to an "NBA prospect" -- a player with a reasonable chance of becoming an NBA player during his career, or a contributing player in a reputable professional league (as determined by the league office).
-The right to swap unencumbered picks in a future draft.
-$75,000 or more

Even if you go over the cap, you can still qualify for a Trade Exception, although I don't really understand how they are approved, or if those teams who can stay under the Tax-line are even eligible. But suffice to say, it is a misnomer to say that all trades need to have "matching salaries"moving both ways; and this is ignoring three or four team trade provisions too.

Obviously the problem with Lopez is the horrible length of his monster deal. Finishes not next year but the one after that. I can't think of any situation where a GM takes on 2.5 years of Lopez, even for a protected second round pick in 2020, but if he continues his stellar play of late, and Portland are sitting 6th or 5th in the West at the deadline, they may jump - unlikely, but they might.

Next Philly might do it, because - Philly.

Utah would need a complete nightmare situation, but that might happen too.

The Nets don't need to "justify" taking back anything. They know they are screwed, they would be over the moon to be released from the burden of paying his salary. My last point is that, ironically, someone like Joe Johnson is unfortunately a better candidate for a deadline trade (although almost everyone - including Brooklyn - has Cap Space next year, so expiring deals are not as useful as usual), just because he is in his last year of a bad deal (as opposed to being an expiring deal..)

Philly??? That's a joke right?  There is no way they trade for Lopez and you know it.  Utah has Gobert so they won't need or want Lopez.   

Regarding then Nets trying to dump Lopez just to get out of his horrible contract, that is nonsense.  Lopez opted out of the last year of his previous contract last offseason so the Nets could have just let him go.  Instead, they re-signed him to his current 3yr/20mil contract.  http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/25229902/report-nets-are-re-signing-brook-lopez-thad-young-to-long-term-deals

Yes, Philly was a joke. Yes, not likely but if Rudy goes down they might consider it.

I don't think they realised how awful they would be even with Lopez playing really well. Although they have been much better lately, and I'm now starting to think that pick will be 7-12, as long as noone gets injured.

All the trade Lopez rationale is premised on them being 9-47 at the deadline. I agree they probably keep him though, maybe even thinking that his contract will be good value after the cap explosion..

I've got that pick now at 4-8, closer to 8 if they keep performing well. That does not, however, take into account injuries. Brooklyn has had much better luck than its peers on the injury front. Namely, they haven't really had any. Teams that are eight or nine players deep can weather a few missed games. The Nets can't.

I think Lopez is a very good player, but his strong offense is a heck of a lot easier to see in a box score than his weak defense. I just don't see a lot of top free agents saying, "Wow, I'm gonna go to the Nets. Between me, Lopez and Young, we can win it all!" Hey, if you wanna be in New York and play for a team with a future, go join the Knicks. If the Nets were the only team with cap space, it would be one thing. But next year, teams are going to be throwing money at second-tier players, simply because they can.

Mike

[Ogaju]

nice to have a game of interest to watch when the Celtics have a day off. Makes the LEAGUE PASS actually worth it.

[viulo]

One team I could see having interest in Lopez is OKC - sending Kanter to Brooklyn. The problem is their draft picks won't be enticing and I don't see prospects on their roster they would be willing to pack to the Nets... I don't think they would do a Steven Adams+Kanter+2 picks for Lopez. And even if they did, I'm not sure Brooklyn would take it.
Now, if they would be willing to do a 3 team trade with us ending up with Ibaka, I'd give the Nets all the picks they wanted... apart from their own...

[letsgoblue86]

Go cavs

[The_Truth]

C'mon Cavs!

[SHAQATTACK]

Early in season LeBron plays

What concerns me is the last 15 games the Nets play .......stars sit.....team that normally are great can suck and loose .....thus bolstering the Nets WiN total

[SHAQATTACK]

Cavs still missing Irving ...wow.