Five Players The Brooklyn Nets Should Keep

Jan 8, 2017; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Jeremy Lin (7) reacts with the team during the third quarter against Philadelphia 76ers at Barclays Center. Sixers win 105-95. Mandatory Credit: Nicole Sweet-USA TODAY Sports

The Brooklyn Nets made it publicly known they are willing to part way with their franchise center, Brook Lopez, for the right price. Making it very apparent they are in full rebuild mode, who are the players they should keep to build around?

Last season was called a “bridge year” for good reason. It bridged the Hello Brooklyn-Deron Williams–Billy King era to the Sean Marks–Kenny Atkinson-Brooklyn Grit era. It is best we all forget the 2015-16 season as we look forward to 2017 and build towards the future, but who will be part of the future?

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Many people around the Nets make the claim that this year’s roster is filled with high-character guys that have great potential. Yet, Brooklyn has pretty much locked up the 30^th spot (dead last) in the power rankings, which means that most of these guys will not be on the roster when the team finally reaches respectability, or at least .500.

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Brook Lopez has been the best player on the Nets this season. Lopez has added a three-point game to his offensive repertoire and is currently averaging over 20 points per game to show for it. However, his rebounding numbers are a career-low at 5.1 per game because he is spending so much time shooting from the arc and not in the paint.

Despite being one of the most loyal players in the league and the longest tenured Net ever, he is not untouchable by any means. The team has already made it known they are looking for two first-round picks for Lopez. So with the writing on the wall for Lopez, we must look to see who the Nets should keep and build a winning culture around.