The Official 2016-2017 Brooklyn Nets Season Watch Thread (20-62, #1)

[Darío SpanishFan]

Dream scenary:

Phoenix 1, Celtics 2, Dallas 3, Lakers & Sixers out of top-3.

Phoenix picks Ball, we get Fultz who, as second pick, takes less salary cap than Ball. It would be essential to our chances of signing a max player next summer.

Frankly, if you want a max free agent without too much hassle this summer, you should be rooting for us to pick 4th.  Picking 2nd is still going to require about the same amount of maneuvering as 1st at this point.  Maybe you wouldn't have to dump Demetrius Jackson, but he's not going to be a sticking point in any scenario.

Yes, buddy. I thought about it, but we can't have Fultz with that pick (even with nº 3). Anyway, just dreaming.

[Ogaju]

Since Nets obviously didn't tank, Silver should just grant them (us following swap) the 1st pick, and let the lottery be for the 2nd and 3rd picks.

Seems fair, right?

I wish.

Somebody said the league could mandate that Nets Celtic swap cannot be exercised until after the draft which means that the Nets get to make the pick. LOL. Obviously that is not true, but imagine it was and the Nets pick a scrub worse than the 28  or wherever the Celtics pick.

[hwangjini_1]

i say the league will want to recreate a celtics dynasty and give the celtics the first 5 picks in the next 7 drafts.

there, now go say how "someone said" this. 

[Ogaju]

i say the league will want to recreate a celtics dynasty and give the celtics the first 5 picks in the next 7 drafts.

there, now go say how "someone said" this. 

LOL ..... Actually 'Somebody' is a poster here, and you can check out his/her post in the 'Brooklyn Nets Worst Record in the NBA Party' thread. See, I bet you did not know 'Somebody' was a real poster. LOL.

[BringToughnessBack]

Nothing to watch in this thread anymore! When does the 2017-18 Nets watch thread begin? I can't wait.

[hwangjini_1]

i say the league will want to recreate a celtics dynasty and give the celtics the first 5 picks in the next 7 drafts.

there, now go say how "someone said" this. 

LOL ..... Actually 'Somebody' is a poster here, and you can check out his/her post in the 'Brooklyn Nets Worst Record in the NBA Party' thread. See, I bet you did not know 'Somebody' was a real poster. LOL.

right you are and a tp. i had forgotten about "sombebody".

[CelticSooner]

Thanking the Suns once again. I'll tell you Butler is a good player. I wouldn't consider him clutch though.

[KGs Knee]

Thanking the Suns once again. I'll tell you Butler is a good player. I wouldn't consider him clutch though.

That step-back, fade away three from the corner when the Bulls were down only 2 points with < 10 seconds left in the game was such a dumb shot.

Butler had Lopez guarding him after a switch and if he just turned the corner on him had an easy path to the basket for a layup and a potential And-1.  Instead, he settled for a very difficult shot that effectively ended the game.

But Brooklyn won that game because they simply played harder the last 5 minutes.  It really is amazing how hard that team continues to play.  I figured they would have shut down guys like Loepz and Lin after they locked up the worst record, since they no longer could play themselves out of the indignity of giving the Celtics the best lottery odds.  Credit to them, though, for playing out the stretch and showing a bit of pride.

[fairweatherfan]

Of the many things I love about that 2013 trade, one of the most satisfying is that we built a 50 win team before Brooklyn did 

[MJohnnyboy]

Of the many things I love about that 2013 trade, one of the most satisfying is that we built a 50 win team before Brooklyn did 

The next step is winning a playoff series. Something Brooklyn actually did with that squad.

[TheSundanceKid]

Brooklyn have played really well to close the season. It'll be interesting to see what happens with them this summer. I think they will finally trade Lopez, possibly at draft time. They have two picks in this draft, currently 22 and 26. If they could get one more, or a 2018 pick then they'd be in good shape building a young core going forward.
In the summer I expect them to look strongly at guys like KO. Although he's older than the core they'd be building, he should provide them with a relatively cheap 5 man to build around. Maybe he becomes a good trade asset in a few years.

Overall my expectation for them next year remains pick 5-8, which is what I thought they'd be this year. By the time they get to pick again they should be in much better shape going forward

[kraidstar]

Brooklyn have played really well to close the season. It'll be interesting to see what happens with them this summer. I think they will finally trade Lopez, possibly at draft time. They have two picks in this draft, currently 22 and 26. If they could get one more, or a 2018 pick then they'd be in good shape building a young core going forward.
In the summer I expect them to look strongly at guys like KO. Although he's older than the core they'd be building, he should provide them with a relatively cheap 5 man to build around. Maybe he becomes a good trade asset in a few years.

Overall my expectation for them next year remains pick 5-8, which is what I thought they'd be this year. By the time they get to pick again they should be in much better shape going forward

Every Vegas sports book had them dead last in the league going into this year,  and they were right. What made you think they would be better than that?

And I disagree with the 5-8 position next year, I think they'll be bottom-5 again.

A good run at the end when most other teams have mailed it in doesn't erase four months of historically bad basketball.

And they have few avenues to improve. Any free agent worth his salt knows they are a dead-end location.

[hpantazo]

Brooklyn have played really well to close the season. It'll be interesting to see what happens with them this summer. I think they will finally trade Lopez, possibly at draft time. They have two picks in this draft, currently 22 and 26. If they could get one more, or a 2018 pick then they'd be in good shape building a young core going forward.
In the summer I expect them to look strongly at guys like KO. Although he's older than the core they'd be building, he should provide them with a relatively cheap 5 man to build around. Maybe he becomes a good trade asset in a few years.

Overall my expectation for them next year remains pick 5-8, which is what I thought they'd be this year. By the time they get to pick again they should be in much better shape going forward

Every Vegas sports book had them dead last in the league going into this year,  and they were right. What made you think they would be better than that?

And I disagree with the 5-8 position next year, I think they'll be bottom-5 again.

A good run at the end when most other teams have mailed it in doesn't erase four months of historically bad basketball.

And they have few avenues to improve. Any free agent worth his salt knows they are a dead-end location.

They will likely get a bit worse when they move Lopez finally. I also expect the other teams like the Lakers , Sixers and Suns to get better because they will actually have high draft picks to add. The Suns will also have Bender back healthy and more experienced, and the Sixers will get Simmons and Embiid back and add a lottery pick or two.

[KGs Knee]

Brooklyn have played really well to close the season. It'll be interesting to see what happens with them this summer. I think they will finally trade Lopez, possibly at draft time. They have two picks in this draft, currently 22 and 26. If they could get one more, or a 2018 pick then they'd be in good shape building a young core going forward.
In the summer I expect them to look strongly at guys like KO. Although he's older than the core they'd be building, he should provide them with a relatively cheap 5 man to build around. Maybe he becomes a good trade asset in a few years.

Overall my expectation for them next year remains pick 5-8, which is what I thought they'd be this year. By the time they get to pick again they should be in much better shape going forward

Every Vegas sports book had them dead last in the league going into this year,  and they were right. What made you think they would be better than that?

And I disagree with the 5-8 position next year, I think they'll be bottom-5 again.

A good run at the end when most other teams have mailed it in doesn't erase four months of historically bad basketball.

And they have few avenues to improve. Any free agent worth his salt knows they are a dead-end location.

Well, Brooklyn was able to sign Jeremy Lin who is a solid player "worth his salt". Brooklyn was also able to sign Tyler Johnson to an offer sheet, who is also clearly "worth his salt". Brooklyn would have to overpay a bit again to lure similar players, and it may not behoove them to since they are getting close to being able to keep their own pick finally. But if they go that route, they definitely could acquire some help in the FA market.

Who knows if they will actually trade Lopez or not. They should if they can get good value for him, which would obviously make them a much worse team in the short term. They also could look to trade Lin at some point if someone makes them a good offer.

But until they actually jettison those players, there exists the chance Brooklyn could easily move up in the standings next year. Probable not very much, but enough to avoid conveying another top 4 pick. Had Jeremy Lin been healthy and not missed so much time this year, Brooklyn probably does finish outside the bottom 5. He's been that critical to whatever little success they have had this season.

Personally, I hope they trade Lopez. Doing that would seemingly almost assure them of being a bottom 3 team yet again.

[max215]

The Lakers are not good at tanking. Landing #1 while they lose their pick would be so sweet.