There's a lot of buzz going on in Brooklyn. And it's the basketball team in Brooklyn getting that buzz, the Brooklyn Nets. Yes, that's right. The Brooklyn Nets are relevant again and it's mostly in large part because of General Manager Sean Marks.
Billy King absolutely gutted this franchise with the Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett & Jason Terry trade. Trading away 3 future first round picks and a pick swap in 2017. Those picks ended up being James, Young, Jaylen Brown, Collin Sexton & the pick swap ended up being Markelle Fultz as the Sixers traded up from #3 to grab him. The Celtics ended up taking Jayson Tatum with the 3rd pick.
Trading away what ended up being 3 very high draft picks, 3 of the 4 picks landed in the top 10. Safely to say, that trade was a disaster. Gutted your franshise's future for 2 older stars well past their prime.
After that failed project of going all in for a championship with KG, Pierce, Deron Williams, Joe Johnson and company, the Nets started emptying house. Brooklyn bought out and used the stretch provision on the former face of the franchise, Williams. The next season then new Nets GM, Sean Marks came to terms on a buyout agreement with Joe Johnson. Stating Joe had the right to play on a playoff team if that is what he wished. And then started the Brooklyn turnaround.
Next season a few days before the 2017 NBA Draft, the Nets came into agreement with the Los Angeles Lakers on a trade sending longtime Net Brook Lopez & the #27 pick in the draft (Kyle Kuzma) in exchange for the former #2 overall pick in the 2015 draft, D'Angelo Russell & Timofey Mozgov. The Nets got themselves possibly a player to build around.
Marks made some other sneaky moves as well. Taking on the contract of DeMarre Carroll for Justin Hamilton & a 2018 first round pick & second round pick. The trade was more for getting picks but Carroll has been a good leader and veteran for the young squad in Brooklyn.
Brooklyn wasn't good in 2017, as expected. But there were plenty of bright spots. The most notable has to be Spencer Dinwiddie. When Lin went down he was instantly going to get more minutes as the backup PG. And then Russell went down for an extended period of time and Dinwiddie started making a name for himself. He was definitely a pleasant surprise tallying 12.6 PPG, 3.2 RPG & 6.2 APG. Becoming a possible future piece for this Brooklyn team or as a possible asset in a trade, either way, Spencer Dinwiddie is making a name for himself.
Also a nice surprise was 2017 first round draft pick Jarrett Allen out of Texas. Showing Nets fans he can most definitely be the center of the future for Brooklyn with his crazy athleticism and great shot blocking ability, it's going to be exciting to watch the continued growth of the young big man.
Nets were faced with some questions this off-season. Could they dump the terrible contract of Timofey Mozgov? Would Jeremy Lin be traded? How about Dinwiddie or Carroll? Would they throw money at more restricted free agents as they had in the past couple seasons? Well, one of those questions was answered pretty quickly, actually, before the draft. Brooklyn & Charlotte came to an agreement on a trade involving Timofey Mozgov & Dwight Howard. Mozgov & 2018 second rounder (Hamidou Diallo, later traded to OKC) to Charlotte, Howard to Brooklyn. My initial reaction was "How did he get rid of that horrid contract?" I honestly thought we'd be stuck with Mozgov but Sean Marks came through.
The next question was, is Dwight Howard even going to play on the Nets. That was answered very quickly. Reports came out saying Howard & Brooklyn would reach a buyout for Howard to become an unrestricted free agent. The trade wasn't for Howard, it was to get rid of Mozgov's contract. Most thought Howard would back up Allen in Brooklyn if he stayed which Dwight probably wouldn't of taken lightly.
In the draft the Nets took Dzanan Musa with the 29th pick, the Bosnian Scoring Machine & Rodions Kurucs with the 40th pick. Both already signed their rookie deals. Neither expected to make an impact right away but could be important pieces in the future
Nets quickly struck deals right as free agency opened up with backup center Ed Davis on a 1 year, $4.4M deal to the disappointment of many Blazers fans and writers. Davis considered by many to be the best backup center in the game. Nets also came to an agreement with sharshooter Joe Harris, bringing him back on a 2 year $16M deal.
Marks made some more moves that made Nets fans happy, well some, not all. He traded Jeremy Lin & a 2025 second round pick to the Hawks. Nets received a 2020 second round pick and the rights to Isaia Cordinier. Teams also agreed on the rights to swap 2nd rounders in 2023. It was an expected move with the backcourt logjam.
On the same night, Brooklyn reached a deal with Denver in a salary dump sending Kenneth Faried, Darrell Arthur, 2019 top 12 protected first round pick & 2019 second round pick to the Nets in exchange for Isaiah Whitehead who was released shortly after the trade. Nets get a very tough nosed athletic player in Faried who can rebound very well & a player in Arthur who can stretch the floor and knock down the 3. But, I think the real reason behind the trade is the draft pick, it is top 12 protected but many expect the Nuggets to make the playoffs this season. I'd be very shocked if Brooklyn doesn't end up with the pick. Even if they don't get the pick this year they will get the Nuggets first rounder by 2024 (All top 12 protected), if it hasn't conveyed by then Brooklyn receives Nuggets' 2024 & 2025 second round picks.
Nets later signed Shabazz Napier to a 2 year deal making a lot of fans wonder about Dinwiddie's future in Brooklyn.
All in all. Sean Marks has done a heck of a job turning this franchise around. Setting Brooklyn up for a possible banging Summer of 2019 with two max salary slots expected to be available for the Nets, contingent of restricted free agency of D'Angelo Russell & Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. The likes of Kyrie Irving, Jimmy Butler, Kawhi Leonard, Klay Thompson and more are expected to be available next off-season. Most of the trades made were to set the Nets up for a possible splash in 2019. Nets only have 6 players under contract next season, Allen Crabbe, Caris LeVert, Jarrett Allen & Joe Harris, Musa & Kurucs. The Nets will have plenty of space & it'll be interesting to see how this all plays out.
But I do believe this team will shock some people this upcoming season and could fight for the 8th seed in the playoffs. If you're a Nets fan, you should be excited, regardless. This team is heading in the right direction. There is definitely a buzz in Brooklyn. A good buzz.
