NBN Roundtable: New Year’s Resolutions For 2017
By Sandy Mui
2016 has finally come to an end, and the Brooklyn Nets stand at 8-24. What can we reflect on from 2016 and look forward to in 2017?
Sandy Mui (@sandymui1134)
Reflecting on 2016
The 2016 offseason began with a little heartbreak, as the Brooklyn Nets traded away one of my favorite players, Thaddeus Young. Luckily, the way I see it now, this trade has paid off for the Nets, as Caris “The Gazelle” LeVert is thriving in his small sample size of 12 games in Brooklyn. Soon enough, we’ll see LeVert develop into an All-Star, and he’ll hopefully be part of the long-term success that will eventually (key word: eventually) transpire in Brooklyn.
LeVert is only one of the many new additions to the team in the 2016, as the Nets had a roster turnover of 12 players, with just five players remaining from the 2015-16 squad. I’m particularly pleased with what Sean Kilpatrick has turned into, as many of you know Kilpatrick’s jersey is the only jersey I own, and I did call him “our hero” before his 38-point outburst.
Trevor Booker has also been a pleasant surprise, since after Thad’s departure, I was 92.75 percent certain that Brooklyn would see a downgrade at power forward. Booker is certainly the only player who keeps the Nets holding onto a thread on the boards, and his game is well-versed in everything besides ball-handling.
There’s still a long way to go until this rebuild will churn out a satisfactory product, and I’m not overjoyed about the Nets’ 8-24 record at the end of 2016. Well, if I said that I was happy with an eight-win team 32 games into the season, you’d think I’m crazy.
While I’m not thrilled with where Brooklyn stands in terms of wins, I believe in Sean Marks and Kenny Atkinson. Hopefully 2017 will only reel in more success for the Nets.
Looking Forward to 2017
In 2017, I hope to see the Nets take more advantage of the D-League, particularly their own D-League club, the Long Island Nets. They’ve been using the L.I. Nets quite efficiently this season, as both clubs practice and play in the same facilities. However, they’ve been reluctant to bring more D-League stars up to Brooklyn, mainly using the squad that was assembled during the 2016 offseason. Yogi Ferrell was brought up, but only due to the lack of help at the point guard position after Jeremy Lin went down.
Meanwhile, Chris McCullough has been a journeyman for both squads and hasn’t even played in half of the Nets’ games nor received more than garbage minutes. The 6-foot-9 power forward has been dominant for L.I. though, doing everything from electrifying dunks, to knocking down long twos and even shots from behind the arc. He is L.I.’s second leading scorer with 19.6 points per game, just a tad behind Ferrell’s 19.7 points per game.
A more unknown name (yet highly popular in the underground league), Trahson Burrell, is killing it for Long Island as well. Burrell is averaging a near double-double with 13.5 points and 9.6 rebounds per game, but has yet to squeak a call from Brooklyn.
Based on how certain Nets are performing, it’s only a matter of time until players like McCullough and Burrell get more of an opportunity in Brooklyn. The new Collective Bargaining Agreement should help the Nets in this sense, adding two more roster spots and allowing two-way contracts for players who see minutes on both squads. McCullough would certainly fill one of these spots if he’s down in L.I. for all of eternity.
There’s always a hidden gem out there, and the Nets are more than likely to find one in the D-League, since they don’t own their first-round draft picks for another couple of years. Marks found a keeper in Kilpatrick, and there’s no reason the Nets can’t land even more undiscovered talent from the D-League.