2017-18 NBA Preview: Brooklyn Nets
GM: Sean Marks
Head coach: Kenny Atkinson
2016-17 record: 20-62 (15th in the Eastern Conference)
2016-17 result: Didn’t make the playoffs
Key departures: Brook Lopez
Key acquisitions: D’Angelo Russell, Allen Crabbe, Tyler Zeller, DeMarre Carroll, Jarrett Allen
The Brooklyn Nets are finally starting to resemble an NBA team.
This summer, they really started to put their horrific 2013 trade with the Boston Celtics in the past. Without their own first round pick till 2019, Sean Marks found the team a potential focal point for their roster moving forward by dealing for D’Angelo Russell from the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for long-time Net Brook Lopez.
Other crafty moves included trading for Allen Crabbe, using the pick they received from the Wizards at the 2017 trade deadline to draft centre Jarrett Allen, and signing big man Tyler Zeller. They also took on a salary dump from the Raptors in the form of DeMarre Carroll, who’ll have the most experience under his belt for the Nets as an eight-year vet.
While adding fresh faces is nice, Marks retained some consistency from last season by keeping young rotation players like Joe Harris, Quincy Acy, Spencer Dinwiddle and Sean Kilatrick. The Nets aren’t expected to be good, giving them time to experiment, like by trying to execute head coach Kenny Atkinson’s plan of using six-foot-seven Rondae Hollis-Jefferson at centre.
Even though they’re still years away from returning to the playoffs, they can at least move forward with a clear sense of direction heading into the 2017-18 season.
Potential Breakout Player:
D’Angelo Russell was in serious need of a fresh start. In Brooklyn he’ll have a chance to prove why he was a second overall pick. The Nets’ primary option, Russell should have an easier time reaching his 2016-17 statistics of 15.6 points and 4.8 assists, as well as his potential as a future all-star.
When coming into the league, he was considered to be a highly gifted passer. That reputation has since waned but his passing should become a focal point again now that he’s leading a three-point heavy team. His ability to score the ball should also continue to help his rise in the league, having scored at least 28 points on seven different occasions last season.
What a successful 2017-18 season looks like
Since they haven’t had a lottery pick in ages, their success will based on the growth of Russell and their young players. You shouldn’t expect much in terms of wins from Brooklyn, who finished last in the Eastern Conference in 2016-17 after winning just 20 games.
X-Factor
The Nets finished 25th in three-point shooting percentage (33.8) last season and yet were fourth in total three-point attempts, ahead of the Golden State Warriors. Now, many of those shots will drop in the lap of Allen Crabbe, a career 41.4 per cent shooter from beyond the arc.
