While the Nets haven’t had the blockbuster offseason that most suspected, they sure have gotten close. Lets see how this team has not only changed their name, but also their NBA odds for a championship run.
Brooklyn Nets
offseason team report
The Nets are going from a lottery team to almost a lock to
make the playoffs this upcoming season. Let’s take a look at some of the parts
the Nets have added, and analyze whether or not we think they can make it to
the NBA postseason.
Retain, regain and resign
The Nets
didn’t get their offseason started like they would have hoped, as they lost
their first round lottery pick to the Blazers. However, the Nets quickly
rebounded. In their first act of the offseason, the Nets re-signed Gerald
Wallace, the guy that lost them their lottery pick this season, to a four-year
deal worth $40 million. Although most in NBA circles seem to think they
overpaid for Wallace, it wasn’t even their biggest money move of the summer.
After Wallace
was locked in at the small forward position, the Nets needed more. At this
point, Deron Williams was exploring going to Dallas, and the Nets didn’t have
Dwight Howard. Therefore, the Nets sent almost all of their expiring contracts
to Atlanta. In return, they got one of the better shooting guards in the league
in Joe Johnson. Even though Johnson is wildly overpaid, he will give the Nets a
big lift in three point shooting and 2-guard play. His contract may become to
unmanageable in the future, but for the next few seasons, he will be good value
for Brooklyn.
It
wasn’t even 24 hours after the Johnson trade was agreed to; that the Nets got
the call they wanted. Deron Williams re-signed with Brooklyn. The Nets now have
in place one of the better 1, 2, 3 combos in the league, and it was time to try
and put the icing on the cake.
Out of icing
Unfortunately
for the Nets, the Magic played the run around game too long, and Brooklyn lost their
patience. Dwight Howard was desperate to get out of town, and the Nets were
trying everything to get him. However, they lost most of their assets in the JJ
deal, and even though a four-team deal was rumored, it never happened. The
Magic quite understandably didn’t want Kris Humphries included in a deal with
Brook Lopez and MarShon Brooks.
This all
but killed the Dwight to Brooklyn trade talks, and because of it, the Nets
re-signed Brook Lopez to a four-year max deal. This is still big for the Nets,
because even though they missed out on Howard, Lopez is still one of the best
centers in the league. While Lopez is almost a liability on the boards and on
defense, he probably has the highest offensive upside of any center in the NBA.
He will still be the second option behind Williams this season.
Not so distant future
With the
additions this team has made in the offseason, they are without a doubt a
playoff team in the East and have also increased their NBA odds for a title shot. After that, they may have become better than their cross-river
rivals, the New York Knicks. The first game between those two is going to be epic.
Where do
the Nets go from here to round out their roster? They don’t have much room for
anyone else, and they will have to round out their roster with minimum contracts.
They do have some nice young talent in their summer league roster right now,
and a few of those guys are almost certainly going to make the big team. They
really need help at the power forward position, and that will be their next
plan of attack. Either way, the Nets are no longer irrelevant.