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Why the Nets Trading Chris McCullough Isn’t a Big Deal

By Zach Cronin

Dec 23, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Brooklyn Nets forward Chris McCullough (1) warms up before the game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Brooklyn Nets at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 23, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Brooklyn Nets forward Chris McCullough (1) warms up before the game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Brooklyn Nets at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Brooklyn Nets sent Bojan Bogdanovic to the Washington Wizards, and second-year forward Chris McCullough was a part of the package.

Among some members of the Nothin’ But Nets team, Chris McCullough, or Brisk, was a favorite. He didn’t spend a lot of time with the Nets, but that didn’t stop anyone from having faith in him. I’m not writing this because I don’t like McCullough; I hope he has a long and prosperous NBA career, and I believe that’ll happen once he figures out who he is as a player. Instead, this is because his departure doesn’t impact Brooklyn that much, if at all.

There have been 38 instances of Brisk getting assigned and recalled from the Long Island Nets, and he played pretty well with them. In 31 D-League games, McCullough averaged 18.1 points on 44.6 percent shooting and 8.8 rebounds, but he just couldn’t crack the Nets’ rotation.

Here, we have a case of someone who would’ve benefitted from a couple of extra seasons in college, and his ACL injury should’ve been more of a reason. Instead, McCullough made the leap to the pros as an energy guy with nice length and athleticism, but both sides of his game lacked polish.

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At 6-foot-9 and roughly 215 pounds, McCullough’s a four who’s built like a three. On defense, he has trouble guarding power forwards because of his size, and he’s not quick enough to take on small players. Personally, it doesn’t bother me when young guys have issues on that end, because it takes time to adjust to the pace of NBA defense and the size and strength of their athletes. However, McCullough gets called for a lot of fouls, and he’s averaging 3.4 per D-League game.

Discipline is an issue more than anything else, and the only time that many fouls should be allowed is if that same player is blocking more than three shots a night.

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On top of not being a great defender, his offense wasn’t eye-catching. And don’t bring the “it’s because he didn’t get enough time” excuse around. While it’s hard to produce in five minutes a night, the D-League dominance would surely suffice and warrant more time, right?

Not necessarily. See, the coaching staff watches their players practice and scrimmage against one another, and that’s usually how players work their way into the rotation. Once they see an increase in minutes, consistent production is the next step to getting more time.

If he’s dominating the minor league but not getting time in the NBA, Kenny Atkinson must not see what he would like. Atkinson loves to dig deep into his bench, and he’s got 12 guys averaging more than 18 minutes per game, so it’s not like he’s stingy with his rotation.

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Also, it’s important to note that D-League defense isn’t great. McCullough seldom creates for himself on offense, and most of his points come out of the pick-and-roll or on lobs. Watching some highlights, it’s evident that his opponents struggle with help defense more than anything else — it either doesn’t happen at all, or it’s slow when it does.

Quicker rotations in games and during practice would mess up McCullough’s rhythm because he’s not used to it, and it’s a lot easier to finish around the basket when the weakside guy doesn’t slide over fast enough.

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If McCullough struggles in practice against the worst defense in the NBA, it gets no easier during games. I’m not saying that’s the case, but it very well might be because Atkinson and the other coaches are seeing things that we aren’t.