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Steve Nash will have luxury of deploying a lot of different Nets lineups

ByJerry Trotta|
Basketball player Steve Nash attends the 15th annual Harold & Carole Pump Foundation gala at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza on August 7, 2015 in Century City, California. (Photo by Tiffany Rose/Getty Images for Harold & Carole Pump Foundation)
Basketball player Steve Nash attends the 15th annual Harold & Carole Pump Foundation gala at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza on August 7, 2015 in Century City, California. (Photo by Tiffany Rose/Getty Images for Harold & Carole Pump Foundation)

Nets head coach Steve Nash has a lot of talented players to work with.

Based on recent reports, the Brooklyn Nets are showing no incentive as it pertains to making further upgrades to the roster, whether it be through trade or free agency. The James Harden rumors could pick back up following the trade of Russell Westbrook, but everything we’ve read indicates that GM Sean Marks has no interest in meeting Houston’s absurd asking price.

On top of that, there’s a little more than two weeks remaining until the start of the regular season, so adding a so-called “third star” could potentially derail all the chemistry that’s been established since the team reported to camp.

The bottom line is that the Nets’ should start the 2020-21 campaign with their roster as presently constituted, and that should no doubt satisfy the fanbase. After all, it’s one of the deepest in the entire NBA and head coach Steve Nash, who will be under immense pressure in his first year at the helm, will have the luxury of deploying a variety of deadly rotations.

Barring something unforeseen, we’re expecting the Nets to roll out an opening night starting five of Kyrie Irving, Joe Harris, Caris LeVert, Kevin Durant and one of DeAndre Jordan or Jarrett Allen at the five.

That’s a lethal unit, but fans better prepare themselves to see the team embrace a small-ball philosophy similar to what Golden State unleashed when they went to five straight Finals from 2015-2019. Here’s what we could be looking at if that opportunity was presented.

  • PG: Irving
  • SG: Spencer Dinwiddie
  • SF: Harris
  • PF: LeVert
  • C: Durant

You could even rotate recently-acquired sharpshooter Landry Shamet in there to offer even more floor spacing, though he would likely be better off in a bigger lineup given his deficiencies on the defensive end of the floor. We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, but that group — assuming it isn’t entirely inept on defense — could prove to be unstoppable.

Outside of Harris, who shot 42.4% on threes last season, every member of that unit is nearly impossible to contain in isolation. With proper ball movement, we see no reason why the Nets wouldn’t be able to get an open shot on every possession.

If the coaching staff wanted Shamet and Harris on the court at the same time (who wouldn’t?), they could simply sub the former in for LeVert in the original starting five with Jordan or Allen providing some assurance and stability in the paint.

Nash has been adamant in stating that his primary focus since taking the job has been on defense, so if he wanted to take the sting out of a game down the stretch, he’d have the luxury of deploying a lineup of:

  • PG: LeVert
  • SG: Taurean Prince
  • SF: Durant
  • PF: Jeff Green
  • C: Allen/Jordan

All five of those players are 6-foot-6 or taller and three of them are taller than 6-foot-8. Their respective wingspans and versatility in terms of being able to defend multiple positions would make life incredibly difficult for opponents. Length is key on defense and every shot would be contested with this lineup.

We could continue breaking down potential rotations, but you get the point. Brooklyn is one of the most balanced teams in the league, and we fully believe that Nash is staying up until the crack of dawn every night trying to come up with as many combinations as possible.