What’s Sean Marks Got Planned for the Brooklyn Nets This Offseason?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, the Golden State Warriors won another championship and all that. Good for them, hopefully it’s their last for ages. Which… might not be as implausible as it seemed watching the Dubs thump the Cleveland Cavaliers in four. Chances are that’s the series that dooms Cleveland, with LeBron a good possibility to leave now, but don’t forget that if Chris Paul hadn’t been injured then the Houston Rockets might well have sent them packing in the Western Conference Finals.

There’s your big what-if right there but it ain’t like the Boston Celtics, with a healthy Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward on top of what took them to the Eastern Finals, or the Philadelphia 76ers with Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons and no more distractions from Bryan Colangelo’s poor wife, don’t rate themselves ready to contend either. Or the Toronto Raptors with a new coach. Maybe the New Orleans Pelicans if they can re-sign Boogie Cousins and get him back to fitness or the San Antonio Spurs doing the same with Kawhi Leonard. Everyone has their plans/dreams.

People complain about the Warriors ruining things but they’re the benchmark, it’s up to everyone else to rise to meet them and such a dominant team only raises the standard of the whole league. Except for the Sacramento Kings, but they’re a lost cause.

Sean Marks and his Brooklyn Nets are no different than everyone else trying to climb up that cliff-face to meet the Warriors at the top… they’re just starting from way further down. Marks famously inherited a general manager’s seat with nothing much in the way of player assets and no control of their own draft picks. Well, that’s what makes this summer such an interesting one because not only has Marks had two and a half years of general management to get here but the 2018 NBA Draft will be the final one which the Nets spend in the shadow of the Paul Pierce/Kevin Garnett trade. Their first round pick is due to the Cleveland Cavaliers, having been traded by Boston as part of the Kyrie Irving thing, and then that’s that. Come 2019 they’ll be able to use their own first rounder for the first time since picking Mason Plumlee in 2013.

Having said that, 2018-19 is still at least one season too soon for the Nets to be storming towards the playoffs unless something absolutely crazy happens. They’re coming off a 28-win season, eight better than the season before but still way off being a contending franchise. But the framework is coming along. Kenny Atkinson’s team took the second most three-pointers and were top ten in rebounds and assists. Only problem is that they missed so many of those shots (second in 3PA but 20th in 3P%). Pretty obvious then, they still don’t have the talent.

In some ways this past season was over as a competitive outlet only one week into it. They didn’t own their first round pick, didn’t have any real chance of making the playoffs and then Jeremy Lin only lasted 25 minutes before his season was ended with injury. Bit of a punch in the gut, there. However they had already snapped up D’Angelo Russell in a cheeky trade that earned them a point guard worth working with. Russell missed 34 games with injury and was inconsistent at best after the New Year. Still, he’s arguably the first piece of the eventual vision for this franchise.

Then there was Spencer Dinwiddie. Out of nowhere the bloke had a season so good he got himself into Most Improved Player contention. Allen Crabbe and Joe Harris shot well from deep. In young centre Jarrett Allen they’ve got a big fella who could well turn out to be something very decent.

Lots of little positives amidst all the subtle behind the scenes cultural foundations being established. This was never not going to be a long term project but next season we should see more tangible results starting to emerge.

Kenny Atkinson: “Our players, although we showed good individual improvement and team improvement, we have to take another step next year. So our guys are in the gym, they’re working. We have a great offseason development program which we’re really proud of. I think you’ll see a better Nets team next year.”

However they’re pretty limited in what they can actually do. They’ll pick 29th overall thanks to a selection snapped from the Toronto Raptors but could definitely try make some moves to edge up there. Problem is that their cap space situation is not great which means that taking on salary for picks isn’t the option it once was. They have DeMarre Carroll on the books for $15.4m next season and Timofey Mozgov for the next two at $16m and $16.7m. D’Angelo Russell needs a multi-year extension and they might want to offer Rondae Hollis-Jefferson a better deal too. They’ll have an estimated $17m of cap space before they offer any contracts. A fair amount compared to most teams but most teams don’t need as much help as the Nets do.

So… maybe chill on any chances of getting LeBron James to rock up in Brookie. Not even Sean Marks is that talented. And not even his own players believe it’s happening. (Although they can probably fit in Kenneth Faried’s contract for a draft pick if that’s still on the table).

Cap space has been Sean Marks’ biggest weapon since he arrived. Those back-loaded restricted free agent deals (which eventually landed them Allen Crabbe) and then acting as a salary dumping service is what’s been responsible for their best acquisitions. But that’s not really an option this year unless they can shake Mozgov or Carroll loose early. A healthy Jeremy Lin will improve things but what they really need is size and defence (two things that Mozzie and Carroll aren’t helping enough with).

The Nets just gave up the fewest three point attempts in the NBA but, again, opponents had the eighth-best 3P% against them… not to mention allowing the most two-pointers. They can chase folks off the perimeter but then they score easy inside instead. They also gave up the most rebounds, despite having an okay rebounding rate themselves, thanks to all those missed shots of theirs. Fewest steals in the league. Fourth-most blocked team. Third-most points allowed. Part of this is Kenny Atkinson encouraging a quick pace of play, looking to keep this team on the cusp of the modern game. But he’s doing it with subpar players.

Talent. That’s what that all comes down to. They need much more of it. Particularly in the forward positions, which is something that Sean Marks has admitted in public. But where to find it…?

The first option would be the draft, clearly. The Nets have already worked out 60+ prospects so they’re doing their homework, putting their scouting abilities to the test. Summer League invites would be another. Jarrett Allen’s going to play Summer League again… be very interesting to see what kind of teammates he gets. The Nets have not been shy to explore every possibility in finding players who can contribute. Joe Harris is a great example, a player they invested in during the 2016 offseason who has steadily improved ever since, including dropping 30 points on the Cavs in March. Spencer Dinwiddie they signed out of the G-League. Caris LeVert was a draft-day trade. There are ways and means, mate.

Rest assured that Marksy Marks has a plan. Probably one that’s been in the works for a long time. It won’t be restricted free agents or salary dumping, at least not on the same level as before, but it will be something. And it could be one of the low key most fascinating stories of the NBA offseason.

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