3 Things the Brooklyn Nets Should Watch Out For

Don’t Stunt Anyone’s Growth

When you add a point guard talent who finds himself topped only by 3x NBA champ Steph Curry, handing over the keys to said point guard appears as an incredibly obvious welcome gift. While Brooklyn should indeed run their primary offense through Irving next year, consequently negating the minutes formerly given to the young, yet promising Caris LeVert is another potential mistake which this Nets team must avoid.

Even with D’Angelo Russell‘s emergence, Spencer Dinwiddie’s continued excellence off the bench, and Joe Harris’s occasional yet appreciated shifts over into the guard position, head coach Kenny Atkinson managed to still find minutes for LeVert, and therefore continued his development as the team pushed into the playoffs.

Now with an point guard who wields an even greater skillset and consequently requires more minutes, Atkinson has his work cut out for him once more.

Before suffering a gruesome injury, LeVert quickly drew a spotlight towards his direction by averaging 18.4 points per–game thanks to his clutch shooting abilities and dazzling play–making skills. Even after rejoining the team to serve as a off–the–bench “spark plug,” LeVert sill maintained an intriguing appeal, showing his ability to play effectively during the post season as well when he averaged 21.0 points per–game during the team’s series against the Philadelphia 76ers.

In order to feed into his continued progress, Atkinson must find time in between Irving, Dinwiddie, and others to play LeVert. To deny a budding star the “nutrients” required for his growth not only hurts LeVert himself, but also the Nets who’d halt their chances to develop a potential superstar talent.

DeAndre Jordan’s presence on the team may threaten third year man Jarrett Allen’s growth as well.

Mirroring LeVert’s promise, Allen last year averaged 10.9 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per–game, consequently establishing himself as a noteworthy rim protector and earning a bid to the Rising Stars Challenge.

With Jordan penciled in at the same position and formerly playing a role similar to Allen, the two seem certain to generate another scenario in which Atkinson must distribute playing time effectively between the two big men.

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With a “youth vs. overall skills” situation once more at hand, Allen takes the cake as he simply requires minutes to a degree far greater than Jordan, as they allow him to gain the necessary experience for him to blossom and prosper. Failing to do so would force Brooklyn into a second scenario in which they disrupt star potential, missing out on another valuable weapon poised to threaten opposing teams in the future.