2017-18 Finish: 38-44

Season Highlight:

The Nets had high hopes for this season after a complete make over of the roster has them reading like a semi All star team in the starting line-up, and the bench features names of potential and NLL talent. The highlight would have to be this fact, coming from where they’ve been and seeing the roster now full of potential and legit veteran players. Even if it has meshed and clicked properly yet, the players they have are all assets so when it comes to now cutting up and finding the basketball code, they have plenty of ammo to do so.

 

Season Lowlight:

Unfortunately despite reading well, the Nets season was probably a disappointment overall finishing with a sub 500 record and missing the playoffs, with the afore mentioned roster that reads like a treasure trove. They started the season 0-3, and fell to 2-6 before stringing some wins together finally, but never cracked the .500 and never looked like the threat they seem on paper. This lowlight culminated in a final 3 weeks of the season, when the playoff spots were there for the taking, with a 4-8 final 3 weeks to the year and Blake Griffin sitting out the final crucial week. It was a tough blow.

 

Best Trade:

The Nets didn’t make heaps of moves this past season, but when they did, they made a bang. Young talent, picks, big names, it was all there!

Nets Send: Kyle O’Quinn, Justin Anderson and Guershon Yabusele
Nets get: Larry Nance, Shabazz Napier, AJ Hammons, LAL 2^nd, BOS 2^nd and POR 2^nd.

Sure there’s bigger names involved in other trades, but when the only thing you give up of value is Kyle O’Quinn, who looks like he’s been a rental for the Celtics, and you get a starting quality big man on a rookie deal, a PG who still has currency and 3 picks to boot, you’re doing great!

Worst Trade:

Ok so there really wasn’t much to dislike about the moves Brooklyn made this year, but if you’re going to get really nit-picky (because you have to with this)…

Nets Send: James Ennis, Brooklyn 1^st round pick 2018 and Brooklyn 1^st round pick 2019
Nets get: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Cameron Payne, Boston 2^nd round pick 2018

It’s being picky, but is RHJ worth 2 1sts? Particularly when at least the one just past was a lottery pick. Ennis isn’t a world beater, but he’s a solid rotational bench guy and was probably worth Payne and the late late 2^nd at the time, and Payne was later dropped for another late 2^nd. RHJ would seem to be the perfect glue guy though in a line-up that demands the ball otherwise.

 

Other Notable Trades:

Nets send: Kevin Love, Etwaun Moore and 40 GM points
Nets get: Danilo Gallinari and Jabari Parker

A lot of faith shown to Parker here giving the star player and the points, for the comeback kid and the walking injury.

 

Nets send: Jabari Parker and 10 GM points
Nets get: DeAaron Fox and Detroit 1^st round pick

Parker went down, and the Nets decided to reload with the uninjured potential, while the Pistons could afford to wait.

 

Nets send: Danilo Gallinari, Caris LeVert and Portland 2^nd round pick 2018
Nets get: Taj Gibson, Orlando 1^st round pick 2018 and Memphis 1^st round pick 2018

Solid Vet big man and an extra 1^st for the injury and LeVert whom has shown promise.

 

Nets send: Taj Gibson, Larry Nance, Mason Plumlee, AJ Hammons, Cameron Payne and Golden State 1^st round pick 2018 (Pick 2)
Nets get: Blake Griffin, Jerami Grant, Montrezl Harrell and LAC 2^nd round pick 2018

Big time acquisition of Griffin with a couple of serviceable role players, but it was a questionable fit. In the end though only really Nance and the pick were serious value given up.

 

Star:

An honourable mention has to go to DeAndre Jordan here who was a pillar down low all season, but the clear star of the team is DeMar DeRozan. 27 points per game, 3.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and a steal on 47% shooting. He lead their scoring an incredible 59 times and played all 82 games in the season. The man was a legit beast for them and there’s no reason why he won’t be for year after year.

 

Goat:

This one is relatively easy as his going down arguably threw the whole Nets dynamic into disarray. Danilo Gallinari. He was brought in via the KLove trade to be that floor spacing wing the team so desperately needed. A long range bomber who would do just that at every opportunity. But, he managed only 9 games and the Nets had to adjust and roll with the line-up that wanted to operate more inside the arc than out, despite Middleton trying to be that guy. He was ultimately dumped on Memphis.

 

Draft Grades (from the draft insiders):

Round 1:  Jerome Robinson (Pick 20), Traded Pick 18 for Jakob Poetl

Round 2: Jacob Evans (Pick 33)

Grade:  A for Robinson, B+ for Evans (Nenjabin)

 

The Future:

The Nets future looks bright as a beacon. The only knock they got (sorry to bring it up again Wiz) was that the eventual star studded line-up they assembled didn’t really seem to work together as well as the names it possessed would suggest, with the main gripe being that with DeRozan’s lack of outside threat being paired with a similarly outside phobic guard in Bledsoe, and a lot of ball needed by 4 starters who prefer operating inside the arc, simply didn’t make a whole lot of sense. Griffin however surprised by immediately doing a Kevin Love impression and they were better after he joined the team than they were before, overall. They haven’t sat on their hands through the summer though with a handful of big name guys moving all round the place, and an active approach to broaching the floor spacing issue and removing salary from their massive luxury bill payroll. They’re in good shape, again, and if the new guys even make it just that little bit easier while not requiring the ball as much, then the Griffin/Middleton/DeRozan triplet is going to devastate opposition teams this coming season.

Just think, only a couple of short seasons ago this team was lead by Dwyane Wade and…Rudy Gay? Wiz, you’re a Wiz!

 

Upcoming Free Agents:

DeAndre Jordan – UFA and wants to test the waters, but the Nets are likely going to ante-up big to make sure he’s not going anywhere.

Shabazz Napier – RFA, cheap and had a good year. He’ll be kept.

Montrezl Harrell – RFA, He may be linked to a little more than the Nets were hoping for, but he’s a hustle guy and an underrated commodity, he’ll be staying.

Jerami Grant – UFA, expressed a lot of interest in staying, and with a blossoming game he won’t be leaving.