Introducing... the Brooklyn Nots
I'll be here all week
As I’ve been going through different teams, I’ve been wondering which teams to do a deep-dive on. With the Pelicans, I wondered how they could make a few moves towards becoming an official contender, and with OKC, I asked whether certain variables were as fixes as people assume. Now, this week, I wanted to think about the least interesting team in the current NBA: The Brooklyn Nets.
The History
Nets history in the NBA can be broken up into 7 phases:
After winning the final ABA championship in 1975-76, the New Jersey Nets won one playoff series (1984 led by Darryl Dawkins and Otis Birdsong) before Jason Kidd arrived in the 2001 offseason.
In the next six postseasons, they won nine playoff series, including two consecutive finals berths in 2002 and 2003.
Kenyon Martin and Jason Kidd left, and they went into a few years of purgatory until they tanked for John Wall in 2011… and got Derrick Favors. Bobby Marks has recounted that they saw Favors as a good trade chip when they were looking to build a superteam similar to Boston and Miami, and he was included in the trade for Deron Williams.
After a season and a half of figuring their team out, and a move to their current residence in Brooklyn, they had arrived. The Swamp Dragons were going to be on top. Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Brook Lopez, and Gerald Wallace felt like a core that would do some damage. Until it didn’t, and the Nets made the worst trade in modern basketball history, sending Wallace, a few other guys, and 4 first round picks for Garnett, Pierce, and a first round pick.
So, after giving the future rights to Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum (and subsequently a ring) to the Celtics, they tanked without any picks. Admirably, around the likes of D’Angelo Russell, Caris LeVert, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Jarrett Allen, they made the playoffs two times.
In the summer of 2019, they somehow lucked into Kyrie and KD, who later convinced James Harden to come along and create one of the best on-paper teams to have been assembled. COVID vaccines, injuries, and shoe sizes made it so this team only won 1 playoff series, and then as fast as they came along, they were all gone. They traded James Harden for Ben Simmons, Kyrie Irving for Dorian Finney-Smith, and Kevin Durant for Mikal Bridges and Cameron Johnson (and a ton of picks).
Finally, in an important move after trading Mikal Bridges to the Knicks for a bunch of picks, they traded the Suns’ remaining 3 first round picks from the KD deal to the Rockets for their own picks, so they can firmly place themselves in the tank.
The Current State of New York’s White Sox Roster
In this transitionary period, there are few players that are likely “keepers” for these Nets and new head coach Jordi Fernandez. I assume that they believe in Nic Claxton, given that they just paid him a bunch of money, and also Noah Clowney, who is strangely just another Nic Claxton (6-10, 210lb vs 6-11, 215lb, switchy defensive bigs with not much on offense). But check them out:
Other than these two, the most important assets are their draft picks. But let’s take a look at their current setup:
Guaranteed next year: Nic Claxton, Noah Clowney, Cameron Johnson, Dariq Whitehead, Keon Johnson, Jalen Wilson
Expiring contracts (non-rookie): Ben Simmons, Bojan Bogdanovic, Dennis Schröder
Final year of rookie deal: Cam Thomas, Ziaire Williams, Day’Ron Sharpe
Player option for 2025-26: Dorian Finney-Smith
This comes out to about $80m in cap space if they keep DFS and don’t re-sign any of their players (which is not common). But, given their current team, I’d be surprised if they didn’t just trade guys like DFS, Schroder, and Johnson this season for long-term, bad contracts, or become a salary-dumping ground next offseason for them to accrue more picks.
Some Fun Trade Ideas
NOTE: I added all three individual trades into one picture, just to optimize the space.
Bulls trade Lonzo Ball’s expiring salary, Portland’s perpetually lotto-protected 1st round pick, and a 2nd round pick for Cameron Johnson
Why would Brooklyn do this?
The draft capital.
Why would Chicago do this?
You really think they’re tanking? Nope, they’ve got their young gun in Josh Giddey. They’re all in.
Cavs trade Caris LeVert’s expiring salary and 4 seconds for Dorian Finney-Smith
Why would Brooklyn do this?
The draft capital.
Why would Cleveland do this?
DFS steps in as their wing they’ve wanted for years. Honestly, would be scary.
Pelicans trade CJ McCollum, a lightly protected 2025 first, and a future 2nd round pick
Why would Brooklyn do this?
You guessed it… the draft capital. They’re taking on committed money, but that’s okay for them. CJ can also be closer to the offices at ESPN in Bristol!
Why would New Orleans do this?
Expiring deals and bench depth. CJ’s deal is just too big.
Okay, but what about this year?
Short answer: They’re going for Flagg or Dybantsa.
Longer answer…
This team really isn’t awful on paper relative to the rest of the east. If they started Dennis Schroder, Cameron Johnson, Bojan Bogdanovic, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Nic Claxton, and then had Cam Thomas, Noah Clowney, Benjamin Simmons, and a few other young guys off the bench, then I think they’d be competing for 11th or 12th in the East (now, let’s be honest, they’d be fighting for 16th in the West).
But they want to position themselves for the draft, similar to 2011 when they had gotten rid of Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson. That didn’t turn out as they had hoped, but maybe this is their year (also, if 2025’s class isn’t deeper than 2011’s then many “experts” will be wrong).
Cam Thomas will look like 2019-20 Collin Sexton, and Noah Clowney will play 37 minutes per game. It’ll be a fun year, for those guys. And the dozens of fans attending the games.