There is a young core in Brooklyn that holds the future of the franchise in their hands. But the front office can’t lose sight of the value that veterans bring to a team.
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The Brooklyn Nets have made it obvious that they value young, untapped potential over the grizzled veteran role player. But General manager Sean Marks needs to keep in mind that having some veterans on the team is good for the development of the younger players.
Marks attempted to bring impact veterans in last season by signing Jeremy Lin, Trevor Booker, Randy Foye and Luis Scola. Lin spent most of the season injured, while Foye and Scola underwhelmed in their roles. Booker was the only one to remain healthy and provide productive minutes throughout the season.
Although that small sample wasn’t the picture of success, it was easy to see that the Nets were at their best when all the veterans were healthy and playing. Along with veteran Brook Lopez, the team played respectable basketball when the older players on the roster were contributing.
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The younger players had the ability to play tough throughout the game, but always hit lulls and couldn’t close out tight contests. It wasn’t until the veterans got involved in games on a consistent basis that the Nets started to play a semblance of good basketball.
Here is a compiled list of current veteran free agents that the Nets can target who will help them take another step in the right direction in the rebuild.