Brooklyn Nets: Core development key to future success
By Evan Decruz
Rodions Kurucs
Rodions Kurucs brings intangibles to the Brooklyn Nets like athleticism, moving without the ball, finishing strong and speed in transition.
However, he is still very raw in terms of his development. He is a tough player with a high IQ and has potential to be very good while addressing team needs.
His top offseason priority must be to become a more consistent shooter from range. His shooting base appears to be too wide in his legs for his body-type and this is negatively affecting his shooting efficiency.
With some minor adjustments and tons of shooting repetition, this can be easily remedied.
He is extremely aggressive when driving and is a good finisher around the rim, but if opposing teams sag off him he must punish them by making his outside shots instead of forcing drives into lanes that aren’t open.
While not a bad ball handler, Rodi must become a better dribbler. This season he rarely was able to utilize deceptive dribble moves to beat defenders. He relied mostly on his first step. He would benefit greatly from 1-on-1 games with LeVert, who is exceptionally crafty off the dribble.
The loftiest goal for Rodi would be to develop a mid-range game while also improving his range. This would add new dimensions to his game and make him an extremely valuable piece for the Nets.
The Nets need Rodi to become a two-way player by defending the perimeter better while also becoming a better perimeter player on offense.
These are realistic goals for him. Rodi is young so he should play a lot in Summer League to work on these flaws.