Three years ago, the slogan was “Hello Brooklyn” when Deron Williams signed his five-year, $98 million maximum contract to be the face of the Nets. This summer, the slogan was “Goodbye Brooklyn” after Williams agreed to a buyout, prematurely ending the D-Will era.
During his time with the Nets, Williams was derailed by ankle injuries that never allowed him to sustain his All-Star form. He teased fans with flashes, such as his franchise-record 57 points against the Charlotte Bobcats in 2012. As recently as last postseason, Williams dropped 35 points and handed out seven assists against the Atlanta Hawks in a Game 4 win during Brooklyn’s first-round matchup.
But Williams was never truly comfortable in Brooklyn, on or off the court. He lacked consistency as a player, chemistry with his four coaches and was not a fan of the big market. On any given night, watching Williams was like opening a box of Cracker Jacks, because you never knew what you were getting, which frustrated the point guard, coaches, management and fans alike.
In Brooklyn, Williams reportedly wanted to fight coach Lionel Hollins sometime around the All-Star Break. Speaking of Hollins, the continuity brought with his return will be a welcome change for the organization. Last season, Hollins became the fourth coach for the Nets in as many seasons.
The frontcourt tandem of Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young also returned. For better or worse, an injury-prone center who is a deficient rebounder with tantalizing offensive ability and an effective small ball power forward with shortcomings as a rebounder and defender are the frontcourt of the future for a combined total of $100 million through the 2017-18 season.
Key rotation players such as Mason Plumlee, Alan Anderson and Mirza Teletovic are gone. Plumlee was a valuable insurance policy for Lopez and showed flashes of being a consistent starter. Anderson was one of Brooklyn’s best on-ball defenders and a reliable 3-point shooter from the corners. Teletovic was one of the league’s top stretch forwards before being sidelined with blood clots in his lungs.
First-round pick Rondae Hollis-Jefferson was acquired in the trade with Portland for Plumlee on draft night. Two Knicks castoffs, Andrea Bargnani and Shane Larkin, were added. Bargnani was brought in as a cheaper replacement for Teletovic. Larkin adds depth at point guard at a discounted price. With the extra money, journeymen Thomas Robinson and Wayne Ellington were brought in. Robinson adds athleticism while Ellington replaces Anderson at shooting guard off the bench.
As a result, Brooklyn made a concerted effort to trim the payroll and get younger in the process. Expectations are not high, as Brooklyn is 200-1 to win the title, with an over/under win total of 28 1/2. William Hill offers the best NBA betting opportunities.
With that in mind, the Nets must answer five questions if there’s going to be postseason basketball in Brooklyn.
1. Will the Joe Johnson era end before the trade deadline?
When GM Billy King acquired Joe Johnson to pair with Deron Williams in 2012, he dubbed them the “best backcourt in the NBA.”
Williams has been bought out, and the clock is ticking on Johnson’s time with the team as well after being dangled as trade bait each of the past two seasons. Johnson was nearly dealt to Charlotte last season.
Brooklyn has pledged to build a young and more athletic team going forward. At 34 and coming off an injury-marred season, Johnson doesn’t fit that mold. Therefore, Johnson – in the final year of an enormous contract – will likely be dangled once again as trade bait before the deadline with the hope of replenishing the draft picks lost in the deal for Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.
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Johnson will make $24.9 million this season, second only to Kobe Bryant’s $25 million. According to our Pete Newmann, Johnson’s 14.1 PER from last season ranked 187th in the NBA and was 5.9 percent less efficient than the average player.
It will be tough for the Nets to trade Johnson without taking back salary in the future. If Brooklyn fails to trade him at the deadline and the team falls out of playoff contention, a buyout could also be possible. Wouldn’t that be an ironic ending to the backcourt pairing of Williams and Johnson?
2. Can Brook Lopez be the face of the franchise?
Lopez has ranked among the top three centers in PER for three straight seasons. The only other forward or center to do so during that span is Blake Griffin, as our Pete Newmann noted.
That stat validates what Nets guard Jarrett Jack told SheridanHoops in April regarding Lopez. “He’s a top tier dude,” Jack said. “He’s right up there with the other big-name centers in this league from what he can bring on the perimeter as well as on the post.”
Lopez has always been considered one of the game’s top offensive centers. The variable was always his health. He didn’t miss a game during his first three seasons, then missed nearly two full seasons over the next five with foot injuries and subsequent surgeries.
If the Nets are going to compete for the playoffs, Lopez has to maintain his All-Star form over a full season and become a more dominant rebounder. There’s no reason why the skilled 7-footer shouldn’t be able to average 20 or more points and 10 or more rebounds.
As the best player on the team, Lopez also must be more assertive and a leader.
After years of trade speculation, Lopez – the longest tenured Net – finally has a chance to be the face of the franchise. As a result, the team will go as far as his broad shoulders can take them.
3. What can we expect from Jarrett Jack as starting point guard?
With Williams gone, Jack will be handed the keys to the offense. He has not been a starter since the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season with New Orleans, when he stepped in for the traded Chris Paul.
At 31, Jack will be prepared to have the season of his career with his last chance at a large payday on the line. In 27 starts last season, Jack averaged 15.9 points on 45.8 percent shooting with 6.6 assists and 3.8 rebounds in 35.6 minutes.
Expect Jack in a lot of pick-and-roll sets at the top of the key with Lopez, where he will look to pull up on either elbow or attack the lane.
As King noted, Jack has “something to prove” as a full-time starter. Jack has never been a player who is short on confidence or scared of a big stage. The biggest concern will be whether Jack can be as effective at the end of a full season playing a high number of minutes.
4. How will the young players develop?
Brooklyn expects forward Bojan Bogdanovic to have a breakout sophomore season as a full-time starter after being named to the All-Rookie Second Team. At 26, Bogdanovic is beginning the prime years of his career.
In the final seven games of the regular season – with the Nets pushing for a playoff berth – Bogdanovic averaged 17.4 points on 55.3 percent shooting overall and 51.3 percent from the arc.
King made it no secret that Bogdanovic will be an integral part of the team’s success or failure this season when discussing his role. “Be aggressive, score, because we do need him to be aggressive and not defer,” King said.
Markel Brown sat for the majority of the first half of last season before cracking the rotation and eventually starting. Yet Brown was suddenly benched in four of six playoff games against the Hawks. Expect Brown to be a regular member of the rotation as one of the team’s top defenders and athletes. He’s also one of my early candidates to participate in this year’s Slam Dunk Contest.
Rookie Rondae Hollis-Jefferson is expected to make an impact defensively. The 20th pick was one of the best defenders in this year’s draft class. His 2.9 defensive win shares ranked 13th in the nation and his 87.8 defensive rating ranked 20th overall as our Pete Newmann examined.
Fellow rookie Chris McCullough will continue to recover from a torn ACL injury. At 20, learning the game from the veterans will be invaluable with a full career ahead of him and lots of untapped potential.
Former first-round pick Sergey Karasev started 16 of the 33 games he appeared in before his season was cut short by a knee injury. Karasev must become a consistent knockdown shooter and improve defensively to earn a regular spot in the rotation.
If the Nets are indeed focused on getting younger and more athletic, they need to figure out which of their young players can become core pieces for the long haul. The only way to do that is by giving them playing time and experience.
5. How much longer will Mikhail Prokhorov wait for Billy King to turn things around?
Despite turning 50 during the playoffs last season, owner Mikhail Prokhorov isn’t facing a midlife crisis.
However, Prokhorov hasn’t been able to keep his lofty promises since buying the team. The Nets haven’t won a championship in Prokhorov’s five-year time frame and he didn’t get married – which was the condition if Brooklyn didn’t win.
Prokhorov also vowed to give James Dolan’s New York Knicks – or as he calls them, the “Manhattan Knicks” – a run for their money as the team of the city.
King went all in on Williams when he gave up Devin Harris, Derrick Favors, a 2011 first-round pick (Enes Kanter) and a 2013 first-round pick (Gorgui Dieng) to the Utah Jazz. Favors is the only piece that remains in Utah from this deal and he has improved steadily every season across the board. At 24, Favors still has loads of untapped potential.
King then traded a 2012 first-round pick (Damian Lillard), Mehmet Okur and Shawne Williams to Portland for Gerald Wallace. Lillard has since become an All-Star and the face of the franchise in Portland. Lillard also inked a five-year, $120 million contract extension this summer.
The wheels were then put in motion by King to build “the best backcourt in the NBA” when he traded Anthony Morrow, Jordan Farmar, DeShawn Stevenson, Johan Petro, a first-round pick (Shane Larkin), the right to swap first-round pick in 2014 and 2015 and a 2017 second-round pick to Atlanta for Joe Johnson. For what it’s worth, none of the players involved – or resulting draft picks – have turned into a player the caliber of Johnson.
Finally, King mortgaged the future by trading numerous first-round picks to the Boston Celtics in the deal for Garnett and Pierce that resulted in a failed one-year title window.
If Brooklyn fails to make the playoffs, Prokhorov surely won’t be pleased. In a video message for Nets fans, Prokhorov vowed to a shift in the team’s approach to be younger and more athletic while competing for the playoffs. We’ll see if that vision becomes a reality or a failed promise like the others.
PREDICTION: Brooklyn will miss the playoffs. The Nets finished eighth last season while teams such as Indiana, Miami and Charlotte all made significant upgrades this offseason, improving their chances of qualifying for the playoffs. After the Nets managed 38 wins last season, it’s hard to envision more than a .500 record with the changes to the roster. The question is whether any bold statements will come from Prokhorov before the end of the season regarding ownership of the team, the franchise’s direction or King’s future.
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Michael Scotto is an NBA columnist for SheridanHoops.com. Follow him on Twitter: @MikeAScotto.
Joe Johnson buyout post trade deadline?!
He expires at the end of the year. Please do your research.
It could easily happen. It happened with the Knicks with Amare last year; they tried to move him, couldn’t, then bought him out because he wasn’t part of the future. The Nets could easily be 20-30 at the All-Star break and decide BoBo and Markel Brown need to play more and clean house. They get the cap room either way. Thanks for reading.