Brian Lewis on Tuesday examines the slow pace of the Nets rebuild which as of this past weekend has been underway in some form or another for three and half years since Kevin Durant became the final piece of the Big Three to be traded back on February 9, 2023.
As Lewis writes, there’s no hope of anything dramatic happening his coming season, which will begin October 21 somewhere in North America, the details of which will be made known on Thursday at 3:00 p.m. ET.
After going 20-62 last season (with
a preseason over/under win total of 19.5), the Nets are tabbed to be one of the league’s worst teams again. They’re listed with the second-lowest wins over/under by FanDuel and BetMGM at 24.5.
Jordi Fernandez may think his charges can produce more wins than anyone inside or outside the organization, but other than the head coach, the consensus is the Nets will, um, struggle … for the want of a better word than another that also begins with “S.”
Lewis enumerates all the issues the Nets have as they prepare for Thursday’s announcements, Media Day questions and training camp: Is Julius Randle as short-term hire bound for a contender? Will the Nets extend Michael Porter Jr., or trade him for even more assets? How will they handle the team’s “extreme youth” — with nine players 22 years old or younger on the roster? Not to mention how the East is now a mad house, with the defending NBA champions across the river, big new faces in Philadelphia, Toronto and Miami and an old one returning in Indiana, etc., etc.
But the Post writer also delves into his analytic bag and finds some hope for the most patient of what has been a generally patient fanbase. Specifically, he looks at what other organic, pick-heavy rebuilds have produced, history offering hope.
With eight rookies on the Nets’ roster last season — including a record five first-round picks — they played those first-year pros a league-high 6,716 minutes. The Hornets were the next-closest at 6,241. (Editor’s note: It was not, despite comments by Marks and Fernandez the most minutes in the NBA ever.)
Over the past decade, only four other teams had as many minutes played by rookies: the 2017-18 Kings, 2021-22 Thunder, 2023-24 Trail Blazers and 2024-25 Wizards. And like last season’s Nets, that entire quartet was horrid, struggling to a combined .274 winning percentage or 22.5 win pace. But their lessons paid off.
The next year, those same four teams improved to a .402 percentage, or 33 wins, even with that average dragged down by the Wizards having tanked again this past season to get the top overall pick.
Those teams’ quantum leaps to contention came in Year 2 after the investment in rookie playing time. The first three examples vaulted to an average .528 win percentage, or 43-win pace. The Wizards are expected to improve in their Year 2 with Dybantsa, Trae Young and Anthony Davis.
A couple of those teams — the aforementioned Wizards and the Trail Blazers — are still works in progress but the Thunder of course remains the model. Get smart, get young, get lucky … as OKC did with Shai Gilegous-Alexander.
Marks and Joe Tsai continue to be in lock-step on the plan to use flexibility (which Lewis notes flexibility “is like air for the GM.”) He quotes Marks most recent comment on its value when opportunity arises.
“You just never know what’s going to come your way. So for us to have that optionality is going to be really important. But at the same time, I like the roster we have. I love seeing what I’m seeing out there. The guys are guys are playing hard, they’re playing the right way and they’re playing for each other. So I don’t think we’re in any immediate rush to do anything there, from adding more pieces.”
And of course they didn’t. They don’t seem to be interested in Peyton Watson, didn’t make any real effort to deal for Jaylen Brown — and one report noted he was not interested in them, preferring a contender; seemingly felt that Giannis Antetokounmpo was getting older (32 in a few months) but not cheaper; Austin Reaves was never leaving LA. and they didn’t want to pay the Pelicans an exorbitant three first rounders for Trey Murphy III.
Remember what Marks said back on Media Day last September that the Nets wouldn’t be making big moves unless the player “automatically and absolutely” changed the franchise’s projection. No more spending to get the fifth or sixth seed.
We will probably know more soon about how at least in the short run what the Nets are thinking. The end of business Tuesday is sort of a deadline for MPJ’s future. If they sign him to a extension of more than two years and a five percent raise, he can’t be traded this season, limiting their options.
They also have to decide by October 19 whether to sign Noah Clowney to a rookie-scale extension or let him become a restricted free agent next July. Twelve days after that, they have to decide whether to guarantee a third year for last year’s rookie class — Egor Demin, Nolan Traore, Drake Powell, Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf. Terance Mann is also eligible for an extension October 1.
Of course, they haven’t started to play games yet and everyone, fans to management to ownership — was thrilled by what they saw in Summer League from Demin and Mikel Brown Jr., who are the team’s first top 10 lottery picks taken in back-to-back drafts since 1995 and 1996 when they took Ed O’Bannon and Kerry Kittles. There’s enthusiasm as well about Day’Ron Sharpe getting his big chance, etc. Then, there’s all those draft assets and cap space and Tsai’s willingness to spend when it feels right.
Anyone who listened closely to Sean Marks or watched what he’s done or didn’t do over the past two years should’ve been prepared for all this to some extent. Being happy with it is a whole other conversation, one which goes on and on.
“Anytime you’re in a hurry, that’s when people make mistakes,” Marks said when asked about Porter, which Lewis notes can apply to their entire plan. “We’ve got a well thought-out plan here over not only the last couple of years, but the couple of years ahead. We’re going to try and find who the next Nets are going to be. I don’t think we want to do anything hastily or in a rush here.”
No rush indeed.
- The Nets’ timeline for a superstar trade keeps getting pushed back — until when? ($) – Brian Lewis – New York Post
- NBA Extension Eligible Player Updates – Keith Smith – Spotrac
