NLL Insider - Team by Team: Brooklyn Nets

by badwolf, updated on Saturday, August 10 2013, 11:04 am EST

	2012-13 Record: 47-35 Season Highlight Nets had a solid season, were on the way to win 50 games before the late season collapse, but they were never really a threat to join the elite of the East and looked like first round exit was their ceiling. That might be the reason why Proid tweaked and tweaked his team to find the perfect combination, that proved to be quiet elusive. But Nets were the undisputed kings of the free agency. Remember that time when everyone signed with the Nets? Gerald Wallace, Steve Nash, the ultra-wanted Gerald Green, european superstar Teletovic, super role player Pietrus, veteran Thomas and many many more. Most of them left soon, none really had an important role for the Nets in the end, but GM proid convinced them all to sign. Having a rich owner that could convince you to sign for pennies (and secret stash of rubles) hanging from his private chopper over Moscow worked in NLL a year before it was cool in NBA. Season Lowlight You're usually gunning for some momentum going into the playoffs, something to bring confidence before the deciding match up. Losing seven of their last nine games wasn't what Nets had in mind. They probably didn't lose a seed with this at the end as Sixers held firmly to a 6 win cushion, but it didn't help their confidence going into the playoffs were they met the Metropolis rivals Knicks and lost after a hard fought battle. Best Trade The Brooklyn Nets send Chris Kaman, Mickael Pietrus and Kevin Martin to the Toronto Raptors. The Toronto Raptors send Chris Bosh, Leandro Barbosa and CJ Miles to the Brooklyn Nets. Chris Bosh was a monster or Brooklyn - 20 points, 8 rebounds, 59% shooting, money from the line, though he disappeared in the playoffs. Almost as good as K-Mart (24-4-2, 45/42/95). But the beauty of his trade for the Nyets is in future implications. Bosh is signed for another year at least, maybe more, while Martin is gone; signed with a different team in NBA, F in loyalty and Raptors have no points to throw at him. Kaman and Pietrus? Gone too. Getting Chris Bosh for a rental of Martin - priceless. Trading one of the worst contracts in NBA in Gerald Wallace for defensive juggernaut Asik, useful Smith and pick 30 (ended as Glen Rice) had to be mentioned. Nobody could expect how bad a season will end for Gerald. He could bounce back a bit but he'll never be as valuable as Asik anymore. Worst Trade The Brooklyn Nets send Al Harrington, CJ Miles, Daniel Gibson and Omer Asik to the Charlotte Bobcats. The Charlotte Bobcats send Tyson Chandler, Dahntay Jones and Dante Cunningham to the Brooklyn Nets. A bunch of (overpaid) role players and Asik for Tyson Chandler. Clearly proid jumped the gun at a chance to get an all star super defender. But in NLL Tyson might be the worst player adjusted for salary. 7 points and 6 rebounds for 14 M off the cap. Asik wasn't much better, but he's still improving, isn't an injury risk and is much much cheaper. Green for Delfino deserves a mention. Trade of a successful chucker (50/38 %) for chucker deluxe (gazillion three point attempts at 24% success) on an expiring contract. Maybe it was just a salary dump as NBA Pacers had to use a pick to dump him. But NLL has different rules, and here Green is a star. Best FA Signing 26 free agents signed with Brooklyn last year, 16 in FApalooza and 10 during the season. Not one stayed long enough to leave lasting impressions and be called a success. There were some good ones, like Gerald Green, who played succesfully in his short stint in Brooklyn before being exchanged for a different flavor, or Steve Nash, who was traded right after he (re?)signed but was later reacquired and played solid enough could take the cake. Worst FA Signing There were so many signings that didn't hold. We could say Gerald Wallace with his monster contract but he was successfully dumped on Indiana for Jason Smith, Omer Asik and a late pick. Derek Fisher is a serious candidate though. He wasn't brought in to assure the championship and his salary was minimal, but he was even worse then expected. Craig put some hope in his veteran mojo for 20 games, including 4 starts but finally gave up. Star Brooklyn is Wade's team. Been like that for a long time. Wade is the player with second longest stay with the same team, right behind the immortal Nazr Mohammed. Wade was only traded once. A stupid GM traded him to (the very first?) Nets GM for basically nothing (Jason Collins, Kerry Kittles, pick 20+ for Wade, Kelvin Cato, 2nd). Was that the worst trade in NLL history? Wade had a solid wadesque season. He scored a lot, finished 6th in the league at 24.4 (the former Net Martin was even better as a Net, though in a small sample), he was very solid on the boards and assists, finishing with roughly 24, 4, 5. He missed only two weeks. Wade, as usually stepped his game up in the playoffs, scoring a bit more, but injuries took its toll and he missed two games that Brooklyn lost. Having a healthy Wade could be a difference in this match up, even though Knicks won game 6 against Wade in a convincing way. Surprise As I might have mentioned so far there was such a big roster turnover that it's hard to find a surprise as noone stayed long enough to leave his mark on the team. Only Wade, Bosh, Green, Terry and Teletovic played more then 50 games here. Only first two finished the season on the team. The last two were bad, so it leaves Gerald Green. Green was well recruited in free agency, there was talk about throwing exorbitant amounts of GM points at his feet, but in the end he signed pretty cheapish for the Nets. He was great, a perfect third option, scoring 15+ on very impressive efficiency. And then he was traded. Noone really knows why. 'I didn't make the deal because I thought Delfino was better. I actually made it because I needed a one dimensional jump shooter,' was the official explanation. Sounds a bit weird as Green might be just that. The trade backfired, Delfino was the worst chucker possible (remember that remarkable 1-12 from three game against Bucks). Goat Great things are expected from you when you're paid 14 million per season, Tyson Chandler. Then you put up 7 points (on stellar efficiency to be sure) and 6 rebounds. He was ok on the block, but fouled to much. Sure his best attributes are on the defensive side... Yet Brooklyn was far from an elite defensive team, a bit above the average, but far from top of the league. Chandler is what he is in this engine, steady stats for three years. Maybe he'd be better with new version of the game, but it's unlikely. He'll probably get unloaded in the offseason on a GM that thinks he's the missing piece to jump into elite category. Draft Report Card Brooklyn was without a first round pick yet again. It was sent to the Sixers right after 2012 draft. GM Craig obviously felt confident about the success in the upcoming season. He briefly held Miami's pick, but exchanged it for Al Harrington. Looking to the Future Does it sound just like 2012/13 yet again? Nets are starting the season with four players yet again. Only this time they have no space under the cap and few GM points. They still have a solid, though aging and injury prone core, enough to keep them in playoff hunt, with a low seed barring injuries.. It might be time to rebuild, cash in on Wade (and Bosh) before he breaks down, trade Tyson and Stevie for youth and get a high pick in 2014. Looking at Craig's record he'll probably go the other way, sign a few free agents (not more then 10 this year), trade a couple of players (definitely more then 10) and throw together a competitive team. Upcoming Free Agents Dahntay Jones, Andrew Goudelock, Jannero Pargo, Quentin Richardson, Kenyon Martin, Derek Fisher, Cole Aldrich, Chris Johnson, Carlos Delfino, Maalik Wayns Barring a last-minute change of heart, it looks as if they are all leaving right now.

NLL Insider - Team by Team: Brooklyn Nets

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