Should the Nets Keep Thomas Robinson?

This season has been an awful one for the Brooklyn Nets. We all know that, but now we are getting to the point of the season in which general managers are starting to put together thoughts for next season. None more so then Sean Marks, who may have the toughest job in the entire league.

One player of interest to him will be Thomas Robinson. Will the big man’s recent improved performance show that he is good enough to be here next year?

Thomas Robinson joined the Brooklyn Nets in July 2015, signing a two-year deal and recorded four points and five rebounds in his debut against the Chicago Bulls in the season opening loss. The 6’10 power forward was a consensus All-American at the University of Kansas and drafted fifth overall in the 2012 NBA draft by the Sacramento Kings.

Leading up till this point T-Rob hadn’t had a lot of opportunity to play, with the likes of Brook Lopez, Thaddeus Young and Chris McCullough all playing minutes and getting the majority of them. Robinson isn’t happy with his lack of minutes and made his thoughts clear after Sundays game.

"I haven’t played over 13 minutes my whole career. To me, it’s BS"

Maybe he is right, we can look over his last 10 games played and can see a huge difference when the minutes are increased. In the first five (starting at the Bucks on the 13th of March) he averaged 13.6 mins per game, he managed a poor 2.2 points per game and only 4 rebounds per game. Now what from this would give a head coach reason to give him more minutes he thinks he deserves?

Robinson is 25 and with displays like that it’s easy to see why he has moved around the league (Brooklyn is his sixth team in four years — Houston, Sacramento, Portland, Denver, Philadelphia and Brooklyn). But has Robinson made his case in the last five games?

News on Sunday came that the Nets had decided to shutdown Thaddeus Young and Brook Lopez for the rest of the season (read into that what you want) but it gave other players like Robinson a chance to shine. Sean Marks has one of the toughest jobs in the NBA by pulling Brooklyn out of the mess that they are in.

He has taken advantage of this dismal season be using the last 6 games to give more minutes to players who he isn’t sure on. Thomas had been give more minutes leading up to this game, but this is a huge chance for him to stake a claim on the roster next year and guess what: he is taking it!

Over the last five games (all losses) he has averaged 27.2 mpg putting up 15 points and 12.2 rebounds per game; very impressive numbers and backing himself up with the performances. Giving Robinson the minutes he wants shows that he ready to put the work in and that he can do the job.

It’s the first time Robinson has been over to 20-minute mark for a good amount of time and he has repaid Brooklyn by having five double-doubles in a row and is hoping to continue his streak. Thomas Robinson stating, “It’s about time I become a 20-plus minute player” and he thinks if giving this on a regular basis he can keep the double-doubles coming, “It’s the end of the season, and the minutes are there, but there’s not one (game) I played 20-minutes plus and I not have a double-double.”