Option D: Keep the core, with some small tweaks
The Brooklyn Nets have their sights set on some of the biggest names in NBA free agency, and rightfully so. But this isn’t a boom-or-bust offseason for the Nets.
In the event the Nets miss out on their top free agent targets, there is no need to panic. Brooklyn can simply bring back a young team that managed to finish sixth in the East even with one of its top players missing most of the season through injury.
Caris LeVert was enjoying a breakout campaign before a brutal leg injury kept him out for three momths, and while it took him a few weeks to get back into a rhythm, he finished the year as the Nets’ best player in the playoffs.
If he can stay healthy, LeVert could be ready to make a similar leap to the one D’Angelo Russell did last year.
This was a young and inexperienced Nets team whose key players had never really been to the playoffs.
Now, Russell, LeVert, and Dinwiddie all know what it’s like to compete at that high level, and given the work already done by the Nets’ player development coaches, there is no reason to believe this group won’t improve on the 42 wins from this campaign with some small additions.
Rodney Hood enjoyed something of a resurgence in the playoffs with the Trail Blazers as the former Cavalier rediscovered his shooting stroke and provided a nice spark off the bench.
The Nets could use another wing like him to handle the ball and generate some offense for a second unit which is often quite reliant on Spencer Dinwiddie.
Hood showed he could play decent defense in the series against the Warriors, too, and could be a useful addition for the Nets come playoff time.
Trevor Ariza and JaMychal Green are two other names that the Nets may consider as solid backup options.
Ariza personifies the 3-and-D player and while he is approaching the end of his career, he is still a good shooter and lockdown defender as he showed for the Houston Rockets in last year’s playoffs.
Green, like many on the Nets roster, is a former G-Leaguer who simply works harder than everyone else. He is a ferocious rebounder and a tough interior defender who has expanded his range to the three-point line.
With a 41.3 percent success rate on over three triple attempts per game, Green will maintain the Nets’ floor spacing.
It’s shaping up to be an exciting offseason in Brooklyn.