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A Challenge for Everybody

The offseason is where players are transformed, where they really learn and expand skills. As we're heading into the last stretch of the offseason Nets players are scattered about gyms across the country. Every player wants to improve and take his game to the next level, but not all of the focus can be on the individual - some of it is what the team needs them to do in order to accomplish the ultimate goal of winning an NLL championship, whether or not that is a realistic pursuit for a team in a given year. Here is the rundown on what the Nets need every player to do with the remainder of their summer to yield a successful campaign this season.

Al-Farouq Aminu: 3 point shooting - Al is one of a couple new players this offseason. The easy answer is to find his place with this team, but we want to be a bit more creative than that. This guy has had an up and down career thus far, but has been on a straight upward trajectory for the last year. The biggest addition he showed was a newly found 3-point stroke to go along with the defensive abilities he always possessed. The Nets really need him to continue to knock down that shot and have it translate to NLL games.

Eric Bledsoe: Health - Health can be another go-to thing to work on, but that is really what they need from Eric. He burst out of the gates last season and showed that he could be an all-star in the right situation. However a bad knee injury ended the best season of his career before it really got going. If he comes back healthy, he'll be the #2 option and have the ball in his hands constantly. If not, the Nets will really be scrambling for what to do at the point and really kicking themselves for shipping out so much to get him.

DeMarcus Cousins: Stop getting suspended - Cousins is the unquestioned first option on this team, but the team needs him to be a true leader. A leader can't miss multiple weeks in a season due to clapping, scowling, and throwing tantrums. Stay on the court, and show the league you can win. The awards and critics will all fall into line at that point.

Danilo Gallinari: Passing - Injuries are always the issue with Gallinari, but you can't just complain about the whole team missing games. Gallinari could be the perfect fit at the three for this team with his ability to both score and pass. However, he's been in too many roles recently where he was acting as an isolation scorer instead of spotting up and keeping the ball moving. With Cousins inside and several other capable shooters surrounding him, the Nets can't handle Danilo being a ball-stopper.

Tobias Harris: Rebounding - Harris is basically this season's big free agent signing and lottery pick all rolled into one. The Nets obviously coveted him to give up the 9th pick and that much cap space and may put themselves in luxury cap hell because of it. If they're going to get the maximum dividend out of the move with their current roster, Harris needs to play the four and do it well. He put up solid numbers last season on a loaded Bucks team and the Nets would like to see the same. Cousins will suck up all of the rebounds he can get his hands on, but he needs some help... and a lot of times that help is going to need to come from Tobias.

Josh Huestis: Make the team - Huestis is currently on the outside looking in... a rare player with a guaranteed contract that already knows in August that his team has 16 players and he's the 16th. With Tobias incoming and LaVert's first round contract the Nets need to cut someone. At this point it's probably between Huestis and McRae barring a trade. Huestis needs a lot of things to get his game to a rotation player level, but there is a reason the team took a risk on him last offseason.

Terrence Jones: Confidence - Has it been only 14 months since it was written that Terrence Jones may be the team's best shot at having a legit second option next to Cousins? Obviously some of the craziness of that statement is that they've found several solid options to surround him with. But most of it rests in the fact that Jones went from a young player on the rise to one trying to save his career in just months. Freak injuries, work ethic, and poor performance plagued him. He needs to get his confidence back and it looks like he's going to have to do it off of the bench, maybe without taking the floor every night.

Tyus Jones: Shooting - Tyus has been in the gym putting up shots all summer, and that's what the team needs. He's got a good feel for the game and due to size won't be getting much better on D or in the paint. The way Tyus gets minutes in this crowded Nets backcourt is by being a better shooter than Cory Joseph and Austin Rivers, because that may be the only edge he'll be able to get. Luckily, this probably isn't the last summer Jones will have before the Nets need him to play a role.

Cory Joseph: Strength - Cory had better be hitting the weights hard this summer. The last two years he has turned himself into a very solid role player but this season there is no way he's supplanting Eric Bledsoe without injury. However, there is a decent role on the bench for a ball-dominant scorer and Cory's best path to big minutes may be having the strength to get to the basket and finish.

Jeremy Lamb: Effort - Lamb is a perplexing talent. Prototype size, athleticism and even talent. However he goes through the motions in practice and even on the court. Hopefully he can finally find his drive this summer so that he can put all of that God-given talent to good use. There is a need for his scoring on the bench, but his level of effort could be the difference between sixth man contender and just another rotation wing.

Caris LeVert: Watch - Caris probably won't be seeing much floor time, but he needs to adjust to the pace of the NLL game. He should be watching as much film as possible to see how much different players move at this level. He's got the size and talent to make it at this level and the Nets have the ability to be patient with him. He still has a bit of healing to do from his numerous foot issues, but when he comes back there will be a spot waiting for him - most likely at the end of the bench for now.

Jordan McRae: Make the team - The other "make the team" guy. Currently he's in a dogfight with Josh Huestis for the last spot on the team. McRae has shown he can score in quantity in the D-League and Summer League, but efficiency is another matter. Scoring in bunches off of the bench at a high percentage gets you a Lou Williams/J.R. Smith type of career... doing it at low efficiency gets you a D-League career.

Khris Middleton: Star Power - After the leaps and bounds he's made the last couple of seasons it almost doesn't seem fair to set offseason goals for a guy, give him some rest! Khris has improved every facet of his game to the point that he doesn't have many weak points in his game. The big thing that is missing is taking the leap to the next level. It's not a skill or something he can necessarily do in the gym, but he can take the step into stardom and he needs to command attention. Hopefully he'll have the winning team to make an all-star berth a possibility and can see the rest through.

Kyle O'Quinn: Low post scoring - Scoring down low is out of style and ugly, but it's still necessary. The Nets have a bucketload of that ability with Cousins, but he can't play every minute and probably won't play every night. The Nets are excited about Kyle's ability to replace some of DeMarcus's rebounding and shot blocking, as well as his ability to step out and hit a jump shot. However, they really need somebody that can play the center on offense outside of Cousins. They'll have players to stretch the floor all over the place in the starting unit, so when O'Quinn is paired with the starters occassionally there won't be much room for him to float around outside as he has in the past.

Austin Rivers: Defense - The departure of Avery Bradley leaves a huge void in this team in many ways. Most of the responsibility in filling the role, and even the minutes, will go to Middleton and Bledsoe. However one thing that remains is the need for a quick perimeter defender to put in front of other team's scorers. Bradley made it so the team didn't have to worry about this the past couple of years, but Khris is pretty slow laterally for a two so they'll need a change of pace guy and as of now they need it to be Austin.

Glenn Robinson III: Defense - Many people would put GR3 as the third member of the "just make the team" club. But last season wizkid and the coaching staff showed a surprising amount of confidence in this young player. They were desperate for bench athleticism and scoring, and while bringing in Jeremy Lamb fills a good amount of that gap, this guy played real minutes in 62 games this season with most of the 20 he didn't see action in coming early in the year. The Little Dog needs to step up and use his athleticism on D because often times he gets caught dreaming of the next time he'll get the ball.

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