NBN Roundtable: New Year’s Resolutions For 2017
By Sandy Mui
Christian Milcos (@ChristianMilcos)
Reflecting on 2016
On January 10, 2016, the Nets finally decided to start anew by getting rid of two men who greatly contributed to setting this franchise back a decade. Billy King resigned and Lionel Hollins was fired, making Tony Brown the interim head coach for the rest of the season. This was a necessary move for the franchise in order to put the team in a different direction.
Since this overhaul, the Nets hired Sean Marks and Kenny Atkinson to begin a long rebuild. So far, there isn’t a move either one has made that can be considered unproductive. From signing Jeremy Lin to finding gems such as Sean Kilpatrick and Joe Harris off the scrap heap, the Nets’ new leadership group is making all the right moves for a multi-year rebuild. This rebuild wouldn’t have been put into motion if Mikhail Prokhorov hadn’t decided to end an era in Nets history last January.
The 2016-17 Nets are much better then the 2015-16 team, yet their current record and position in the Eastern Conference doesn’t show this. This is largely due to the newfound motivation to win from every team in the conference. Teams who have tanked the past couple of seasons, such as the Sixers and Magic, made moves in this past offseason to try and compete for a playoff spot this Spring. As a result, Brooklyn is finding themselves up against formidable rosters on a nightly basis. However, Nets fans must keep in mind that from the locker room to the court, everything about this team is more respectable despite the fact that they will likely finish last in the Eastern Conference.
Considering the shape the old regime left this organization, this franchise is in the best place they can possibly be. They are taking fliers on young guys with a lot of upside, and some of these risks have turned out very well. These are building blocks who can continue developing and be kept for the long-term when the Nets ultimately get their picks and respectability back.
Focusing specifically on the current season to this point, their large volume of three-pointers taken stands out. Atkinson currently has his guys taking the third-most three pointers per game in the league while connecting on the fifth-most per contest. This is a complete change in offensive philosophy, compared to last season, when the Nets ranked 26th in the league in threes made per game. In a day and age where three-point shooting is highly valued among NBA franchises, the Nets seemed to have hit the nail in the head with this new direction offensively.
Looking Forward to 2017
Now that the Nets’ offensive woes seem to be figured as a result of this new system and finally having a true point guard, it’s time to take care of the other side of the ball. For every bit of praise the Nets have received for their offensive overhaul this season, there has been criticism for their defensive deficiencies. Brooklyn gives up the most points per game, averaging 114.4. This is an issue that must be addressed in coming months, as giving up 110+ points per night destroys the confidence of any team, especially one with a plethora of young players.
With no draft pick and little incentive for free agents to pay any mind to this team, consistent improvement and continuing to find diamonds in the rough should be the goal for Marks and company in 2017. By adding a little more talent this offseason, perhaps the Nets will be able to be in the playoff hunt next season with their ceiling being that of a seven or eight seed. This franchise will not be able to take bigs steps toward relevancy until they control their own destiny pertaining to draft picks and trade assets. Everything should begin to come together with lottery-level talent in place, combined with cap space. In short, June 2019 will be a joyous month for Nets Nation.
Top-tier free agents such as Russell Westbrook and Stephen Curry are simply out of the question for the Nets, which leaves players who are a step below superstardom as potential targets. Sharpshooting wing Gordon Hayward and all-around power forward Paul Millsap should be the ultimate targets goals for the Nets’ front office. Simply snatching up one of these two would be a huge accomplishment for Marks. Millsap would be the more likely one due to the connection he has with Atkinson from his years with the Hawks.
In continuing with the theme of throwing big offer sheets at restricted free agents, versatile wing Otto Porter would be a perfect candidate to potentially offer a max contract to.