Changing the Brooklyn way: A Brooklyn Nets Dynasty

[Funkycorm]

Re: Changing the Brooklyn way: A Brooklyn Nets Dynasty

Our 2020-21 NBA season mercifully came to an end. We ended with a record of 19-63 and finished 5th in the Atlantic, 15th in the Eastern Conference, and 30th in the NBA.com Power Rankings. We ended the year with losing streaks of 6 games, 7 games, and 12 games at various points of the season and could not muster more than 2 wins in a row at any point this year.

The good news is that Wally Carlisle came back off the bench in the last game of the season and looked good for us. We lost him for 4 months of the season and that is a big reason why we had our worst season to date since my takeover 5 years ago.

Monthly record:
February (post All-Star)/March: 3-15
April: 4-3, including a big win over Atlanta in the last game, 109-84

Record breakdown:
Overall: 19-63
Division: 7-9
Conference: 15-37
Home: 12-29
Away: 7-34

Here is how the league fared at season’s end:

NBA Standings - Updated: Apr 15, 2021
ATLANTIC	W	L	GB
Philadelphia	53	29	-
New York	44	38	9
Toronto	43	39	10
Boston	32	50	21
Brooklyn	19	63	34
CENTRAL	W	L	GB
Chicago	42	40	-
Milwaukee	41	41	1
Cleveland	39	43	3
Indiana	38	44	4
Detroit	38	44	4
SOUTHEAST	W	L	GB
Washington	54	28	-
Orlando	53	29	1
Charlotte	48	34	6
Atlanta	37	45	17
Miami	26	56	28
EAST PLAYOFF RACE	W	L	GB
Washington	54	28	-
Orlando	53	29	1
Philadelphia	53	29	1
Charlotte	48	34	6
New York	44	38	10
Toronto	43	39	11
Chicago	42	40	12
Milwaukee	41	41	13
NORTHWEST	W	L	GB
Minnesota	56	26	-
Oklahoma City	48	34	8
Utah	43	39	13
Portland	42	40	14
Denver	40	42	16
PACIFIC	W	L	GB
Golden State	64	18	-
L.A. Clippers	44	38	20
Sacramento	38	44	26
Phoenix	37	45	27
L.A. Lakers	29	53	35
SOUTHWEST	W	L	GB
Dallas	44	38	-
Houston	42	40	2
Memphis	38	44	6
New Orleans	38	44	6
San Antonio	20	62	24
WEST PLAYOFF RACE	W	L	GB
Golden State	64	18	-
Minnesota	56	26	8
Oklahoma City	48	34	16
Dallas	44	38	20
L.A. Clippers	44	38	20
Utah	43	39	21
Portland	42	40	22
Houston	42	40	22

Here are the award winners:

2020-21 NBA Award Winners
Award	Player	Pos	Team
Most Valuable Player	Steph Curry	SG	Golden State
Rookie of the Year	Isaac Marks	SG	New York
Sixth Man of the Year	Tyreke Evans	SF	New York
Defensive Player of the Year	Kawhi Leonard	SF	San Antonio
Most Improved Player	Wade Baldwin	PG	Memphis
Coach of the Year	Ron Adams		Golden State

Wally Carlisle led all rookies in scoring and was Rookie of the Month twice. He would have been Rookie of the Year and 1st team All-Rookie had he not broke his ankle in January. We are sure he would have and instead ended with no accolades playing only 18 games.

Here are our player stats:

Brooklyn Nets Stats - 2020-21
Player	GP	MIN	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TPG	FPG
Matthew Dellavedova	71	1953	8.5	2.0	7.4	1.3	0.2
Bradford Ford	27	566	6.8	0.4	6.3	0.3	0.3
Jerian Grant	7	105	7.7	1.0	2.7	0.0	0.4
Johnnie Watson	82	2376	12.2	4.2	2.6	0.1	0.4
Ben McLemore	55	1098	8.7	2.0	1.2	0.6	0.3
Wally Carlisle	18	561	23.6	4.4	3.6	1.3	0.9
Noel Whitney	80	1815	8.6	2.5	0.5	0.6	0.3
Solomon Hill	68	1501	8.0	4.0	1.8	0.6	0.3
Quincy Pondexter	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Thomas Robinson	81	1836	7.4	9.4	0.7	0.5	1.0
Richaun Holmes	76	1920	10.4	6.6	1.2	0.3	1.5
James Michael Simpson	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Nerlens Noel	82	2266	11.3	8.3	1.8	0.8	1.6
Boban Marjanovic	48	810	4.3	6.1	0.5	0.1	1.1
Ian Mahinmi	11	176	7.0	4.0	0.2	0.0	1.1

Thomas Robinson was 18th in the league in rebounds per game and Nerlens Noel was 17th in the league in blocks per game.

Team stats (league rank):

PPG: 89.7 (28)
PAPG: 100.2 (22)
FG%: .394 (30)
FT%: .750 (25)
3P%: .352 (10)
RPG: 52.1 (6)
APG: 21.8 (30)
SPG: 5.3 (30)
BPG: 7.5 (7)
Bench Scoring: 34.8 (8)

In the playoffs, the Golden State Warriors came back from a conference finals loss a year ago to beat the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA Finals, 4 to 0. Kevin Durant was the MVP of the Finals averaging 32.0 points per game. The Cavs were starting to slip in the East, missing the playoffs entirely, and potentially signaling a start of the changing of the guard in the East.

At season’s end, Tony Parker retired and had his number retired by San Antonio. There were no Hall of Fame inductees from this season. Former 2nd round draft pick, Dean Nealy, also retired from the league after not being picked up this last season after we did not resign him. On the coaching front, Gregg Popovich and former Nets assistant coach Jacques Vaughn retired.
No rule changes or league realignment occurred during the offseason.

Staff Changes:

We retained our CFO, trainer, and head scout on 4 year contract extensions.
Even though we just came off of a 63-loss season, we offered Head Coach Jeff Hornacek a 2 year/$3.36M per year extension. We feel he is doing a good job helping to foster the growth of our young players and keeping team chemistry up despite mounting losses. We did set the expectations that we need to see improvement over the next 2 years though.

With the draft lottery looming, we held a 25% chance for the first pick. And for the second time in 3 years, we end up with the number 1 pick. We also hold the 15th pick and the 33rd pick in the draft.

We have some big choices to make this summer during the draft and after.

Next update will be NBA Draft coverage.

Stay tuned for the next update!

Thanks for reading!

[Funkycorm]

Re: Changing the Brooklyn way: A Brooklyn Nets Dynasty

Today, we will discuss what we want to do as an organization for the draft, our Draft Board, and all things draft.

The 2021 NBA Draft Lottery:

1. Brooklyn
2. Miami
3. Memphis
4. San Antonio
5. L.A. Lakers
6. Boston
7. Atlanta
8. Phoenix
9. Memphis (via Detroit)
10. New Orleans
11. Indiana
12. Sacramento
13. Cleveland
14. Denver
15. Brooklyn (via Milwaukee)
16. L.A. Lakers (via Houston)
17. Chicago
18. Portland
19. Toronto
20. Utah
21. Memphis (via Dallas)
22. L.A. Clippers
23. Dallas (via New York)
24. Charlotte
25. Oklahoma City
26. Philadelphia
27. Orlando
28. Washington
29. Minnesota
30. Golden State

The top 3 prospects on the board this year are small forwards, with a shooting guard and center rounding out the top 5.

Our Draft Board:

Our primary target is the center Rick Huestis, who is projected to go 3rd to Memphis. He is projected at 73 overall with B+ potential and is labeled as an inside scorer.

We like Huestis, but not at the top pick. We know Memphis is overloaded at center and could probably trade down with them and hope they draft a small forward and that Huestis is still there at 3. We will be working the phones draft night to see what we can pull off.

Projected Top 5:

1. Brooklyn: SF Lou Braxton (78A+)
2. Miami: SF Franklin Shelton (71A+)
3. Memphis: C Rick Huestis (73B+)
4. San Antonio: SF Kelvin Justice (72A-)
5. L.A. Lakers: C Alfredo Rogers (74B-)

The above being predicted by Draft Express. Once draft night hits, we will see if we can land our center of the future.

Draft Night:

Draft night is upon us. Let’s get to it and see what we do next as an organization.

We decided to trade the number 1 pick to Memphis. We traded out 1st pick and a 2022 1st (via Philadelphia) to Memphis for the 3rd pick and a 2024 1st round pick (top 3 protected). This gives us the 3rd pick this year and the 15th pick this year. The pick from Philadelphia was going to be late round anyway as they just came off of a NBA Finals appearance this year and will be looking to go back next year. This trade hopefully still lands us Huestis at number 3 and gets us another potential pick in the future.

The next draft trade comes from Atlanta. They trade a 2023 1st and C Hassan Whiteside to the Lakers for the 5th pick. This marks the second year in a row Whiteside was traded on draft night.

Atlanta then trades their 7th pick to Utah for a 2nd round and a few role players.

Detroit trades into the top 10 at the 9th pick, trading back for the pick they originally owned at number 9 overall with the Grizzlies. Detroit also sent a second rounder this year getting Tobias Harris from Memphis in return.

After just drafting SF Frankie Shelton, Miami trades SF Justice Winslow and PF Jianlian Yi to New Orleans for the 10th pick and SF Doug McDermott.

Here is a recap of the top 10 picks:

2021 NBA Draft - Top 10 Draft Pick Recap
Pick	Team	Player	Pos	Ht	Wt
1	Memphis (trade Brooklyn)	Lou Braxton (77A)	SF	6'7"	230
2	Miami	Frankie Shelton (72A)	SF	6'8"	232
3	Brooklyn (trade Memphis)	Rick Huestis (73B)	C	7'1"	276
4	San Antonio	Kelvin Justice (72A-)	SF	6'8"	218
5	Atlanta (trade L.A. Lakers)	Sammy Bowden (67B-)	SG	6'2"	180
6	Boston	Caris Emerson (72B)	SF	6'7"	225
7	Utah (trade Atlanta)	Alfredo Rogers (74B-)	C	6'11"	251
8	Phoenix	Marshall King (70B-)	SF	6'7"	220
9	Detroit (trade Memphis)	Edgar Wheeler (71C+)	SG	6'4"	196
10	Miami (trade New Orleans)	Niko Novac (68C+)	PG	6'2"	177

When our turn came up at the 15th spot, we traded the pick, our 2nd round pick, 33rd overall, and SG Ben McLemore to San Antonio for their 2022 1st round and their 2023 1st round. This trade means we now hold San Antonio’s 1st round pick for the next 3 years as we had also acquired their 2024 1st at the trade deadline. They have traded their future for a chance to win now and they are still falling at the bottom of the West. These trades may be what finally gets us our championship. Time will tell.

Here is a recap of our pick:

2021 NBA Draft - Brooklyn Nets Draft Pick Recap
Pick	Player	College	Pos	Ht	Wt
3	Rick Huestis (73B)	Florida	C	7'1"	276

Overall, this was a solid draft for us. We got the center we wanted and we secured some more future 1st round picks.

Stay tuned for the remainder of the offseason.

Thanks for reading!

[studbucket]

Re: Changing the Brooklyn way: A Brooklyn Nets Dynasty

I hope the Nets can finally start seeing some success with this young core, supplement it with all these great picks they've got from other teams.

Keep it up, I enjoy reading this.

[Funkycorm]

Re: Changing the Brooklyn way: A Brooklyn Nets Dynasty

I hope the Nets can finally start seeing some success with this young core, supplement it with all these great picks they've got from other teams.

Keep it up, I enjoy reading this.

Thank you! I appreciate it. I am really enjoying doing this.
Here's hoping that my young core we have made and some of our plethora of picks makes our future bright. The Nets can only move forward from here.

[Funkycorm]

Re: Changing the Brooklyn way: A Brooklyn Nets Dynasty

The rest of the offseason is upon us. We need to prepare for the 2021-22 NBA season.

Rookie Signings:

Rick Huestis: 2 year/$8.37M deal

Team Options:

Johnnie Watson: accept 2-year team option
Bradford Ford: accept 2-year team option
Jerian Grant: We declined his option. We have no interest in keeping him on the roster.

My Free Agents:

Nerlens Noel: We offered him a 3 year/$73.36M deal. This is the biggest contract we have offered a player. We feel Rick Huestis will be the future at center for us but he will need a few years to grow completely into that role. For now, Noel is a solid defender and rebounder for us.
Boban Marjanovic: He wanted to test free agency and we just drafted Rick Huestis so we are not in the market for a center off the bench.
Ian Mahinmi: He wanted to test free agency and we just drafted Rick Huestis so we are not in the market for a center off the bench.
Jerian Grant: We had no interest in him.
Quincy Pondexter: He wanted to test free agency and we were ok with that. He was signed as depth and did not play.

Free Agency:

PG Tim Frazier (74B-): We offered a 1 year/$1.60M deal. He will be 3rd in line on the point guard rotation and provide depth for us to help cover injuries.
SG J.J. Redick (73B): He was offered a 1 year/$1.88M deal. Though aging, he is still a quality shooter off the bench.
C Marcin Gortat (73B): He was offered a 1 year/$1.91M deal. He can provide some depth as center but will not see much playing time behind Noel and Huestis.
SG Alex Abrines (73B-): We offered a 1 year/$1.64M deal. He will be depth at the shooting guard spot for us. He may see some playing time to help cover injuries.

League Signings:

There was not much movement around the league in terms of signings. Most players accepted big extensions for their current club.

One thing to note is that former Brooklyn Nets power forward Shaun Bridgeman was offered a 3 year/$42.85M deal from Atlanta. A little expensive for our taste for the numbers he put up here, but congratulations on the big contract for him.

Brook Lopez, after signing a 3-year deal with Utah last offseason, was waived by the Jazz and remained on the free agency market after the start of the next season.

Player Progression:
Nerlens Noel: +1
Wally Carlisle: +1. We predict he would have grown more if he was not out most of the season with an injury. Surprisingly, there was no change to his overall durability.
Johnnie Watson: +3
Noel Whitney: +2
Richaun Holmes: +1
Bradford Ford: +3
James Michael Simpson: +3
J.J. Redick: -4. With this drop, Alex Abrines will receive playing time before Redick as our back up shooting guard this upcoming season.

Training Camp (untapped potential):

Johnnie Watson: B+ to A-
Wally Carlisle: A to A (89 to 92)
Bradford Ford: B+ to A-

Season Outlook:
After having a long season this last year and losing 63 games, I feel we will have a turnaround this upcoming season. We were hampered by Carlisle’s injury. If he stays health, I predict we will win 35 games this season. We will still fall short of the playoffs, but I think this will be the year we inch closer with a young core of players growing together. We also have 3 first round picks next summer so we will be able to address any deficiencies we have, especially at power forward.

Record prediction: 35-47, 4th in the Atlantic.

Stay tuned for the 2021-22 NBA season overview. Including improvements to the power rankings.

Thanks for reading!

[Funkycorm]

Re: Changing the Brooklyn way: A Brooklyn Nets Dynasty

A new season full of promise for the Brooklyn Nets. The 2021-22 season begins now. We look to put last year behind us and move forward as a young team of growing future stars in the league.

Here is our roster:

Brooklyn Nets
#	NAME	POS	AGE	HT	WT	SALARY
8	Matthew Dellavedova (75B-)	PG	31	6'4"	198	1yr/$1.16M
1	Bradford Ford (74A-)	PG	24	6'0"	178	2yr/$3.95M
6	Tim Frazier (72B)	PG	30	6'1"	170	1yr/$1.60M
30	Johnnie Watson (78A-)	SG	24	6'4"	200	2yr/$5.45M
9	Alex Abrines (73B-)	SG	28	6'6"	190	1yr/$1.64M
4	J.J. Redick (72B)	SG	37	6'4"	190	1yr/$1.88M
41	Wally Carlisle (80A)	SF	22	6'8"	241	1yr/$4.23M
45	Noel Whitney (75B)	SF	27	6'8"	215	1yr/$1.94M
21	Solomon Hill (72B-)	SF	30	6'7"	225	1yr/$1.16M
33	Richaun Holmes (75B-)	PF	28	6'10"	245	1yr/$1.53M
15	Thomas Robinson (74B-)	PF	30	6'10"	237	1yr/$1.16M
50	James Michael Simpson (69B)	PF	22	6'9"	229	1yr/$1.68M
17	Nerlens Noel (82B+)	C	27	6'11"	228	3yr/$23.40M
40	Rick Huestis (73B)	C	23	7'1"	276	2yr/$4.09M
3	Marcin Gortat (70B)	C	37	6'11"	240	1yr/$1.91M

Depth Chart:

Brooklyn Nets Depth Chart - 2021-22
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
PG	Bradford Ford	Matthew Dellavedova	Tim Frazier
SG	Johnnie Watson	Alex Abrines	J.J. Redick
SF	Wally Carlisle	Noel Whitney	Solomon Hill
PF	Richaun Holmes	Thomas Robinson	James Michael Simpson
C	Nerlens Noel	Rick Huestis	Marcin Gortat

Roster Assessment:

Our roster is starting to improve with young players that have the ability to be stars in this league in the future. This team will rely heavily on Wally Carlisle as he will probably be seeing 33-35 minutes a night. If he can stay healthy, this team can start making some noise in the Atlantic this year.

Draft Picks:

2022: 1st round, 1st round (via Memphis), 1st round (via San Antonio)
2023: 1st round, 1st round (via Miami), 1st round (via Houston, top 3 protected), 1st round (via San Antonio)
2024: 1st round, 1st round (via Memphis, top 3 protected), 1st (via San Antonio)
2025: 1st round, 2nd round.

We own a plethora of 1st round picks the next 4 years, including San Antonio’s for the next 3 years which should all hopefully be projected to be lottery picks as they need to rebuild. We own a total of 12 picks over the next 4 years with 11 of those being 1st rounders. We have a bright future of young players ahead of us. These 12 picks represent the most of any team in the league over the next 4 years. I remember when we acquired this team, we owned the least. Times are changing and this prospect looks good for Brooklyn.

Prospect Profile:

C Rick Huestis:
Huestis is a 22-year-old, 7’1”, 276 pound, 73 overall, B potential center from Florida. He averaged 13.8 points per game, 11.8 rebounds per game, and 2.5 blocks per game over 35 games and leading the Gators to the Elite 8. He is scouted as an inside scorer, but we feel with his college stats, he can also provide some defense for us. He rates as a B+ in post defense, A- in rebounding, and C- in inside scoring. He has a 3-star rating in strength, 2-star rating in rebounding, and 1 star rating in layups and dunks. Out scout feels he is a play who can contribute right away, but is not the best on the offensive side of the ball without some growth first. He is also a great rebounder who goes above and beyond on the offensive and defensive glass. Our plan for him is to groom him for a few years then he will eventually be replacing Nerlens Noel at the end of Noel’s contract. He will be coming off the bench as the backup center and should get plenty of opportunity to prove his value early on.

Stay tuned for the preseason power rankings, which I decided to do separate this season as I have decided to expand upon them a little to make them more realistic so we can get a feel for what is happening more around the NBA. Our midseason update will follow.

Thanks for reading!

[Funkycorm]

Re: Changing the Brooklyn way: A Brooklyn Nets Dynasty

Let’s check out where everyone stands in the league going into the 2021-22 NBA Season.

NBA.com Preseason Power Rankings:

1. Cleveland: With Lebron in tow, the Cavs will be here yearly if injuries do not plague this team again.

2. Minnesota: KAT and Wiggins lead this group of young stars. The Timberwolves have the best chance of catching Golden State in the West.

3. Philadelphia: Ben Simmons is a star already. Back to Back Finals appearances may be in store. The 76ers are the most likely team to leap ahead of Cleveland in the East.

4. L.A. Lakers: Every year they are up here because of their talented roster yet they underperform yearly. Should be no different this year.

5. Golden State: Perennial championship contenders. Curry. KD. Klay. Draymond. No need to go on.

6. Atlanta: They have depth at point guard with Kemba Walker and Donte Barrett but not many players for those points to move the ball to.

7. Chicago: Jimmy Butler and Caris Levert need a front court to help them win games.

8. Indiana: Paul George and Myles Turner’s team are only 1 player away from being a force to deal with. Point guard move at the deadline may be needed here to stay competitive with Cleveland.

9. New York: ‘Melo is getting older and still relying on D-Rose as your point guard will not get them into the playoffs.

10. L.A. Clippers: Blake, Deandre, and CP3 will only get a few more chances to catch Golden State.

11. Oklahoma City: Westbrook is still a beast and Oladipo needs to improve his play this year to put the Thunder back in the Finals.

12. Utah: Middle of the road team that needs to surround Hayward with talent before they can become a force in the West.

13. Washington: John Wall will be solid again after signing an extension and should get the Wizards back to the playoffs.

14. Orlando: Solid young core can get them to the top of the East sooner than later.

15. Phoenix: With Devin Booker and Kelvin Long as a backcourt to be reckoned with, good things lie ahead for the Suns.

16. Sacramento: Front court is solid with Cousins and Gobert, but need to improve everywhere else to make noise in the Pacific

17. Denver: A young nucleus lead by Mudiay is close to contending.

18. Detroit: Drummond is solid, but needs help to keep the Pistons in playoff contention.

19. Houston: Harden and Capela can push them to the playoffs but a first round loss will be the way of it.

20. Boston: The plethora of lottery picks they have gotten are starting to grow. Isaiah Thomas, Jaylen Brown, and Monty Gatens can make this team dominant if they can learn to coexist.

21. Dallas: Last year’s playoff appearance was a fluke and the quick exit made that apparent. Mike Conley’s bloated contract won’t land them in the playoffs this time.

22. Memphis: They are a solid team that could easily win a weak Southwest division.

23. San Antonio: Kawhi is not enough to lead this team of role players. No first round picks the next 3 years will not help their cause. Time to move Kawhi to a contender and start thinking about the future?

24. Portland: Lillard and McCollum are stars but need front court support.

25. New Orleans: Anthony Davis deserves a championship. Too bad no one else on this team can help him get it.

26. Milwaukee: With Giannis signed long term, the Bucks look to push on Cleveland in the Central.

27. Toronto: An off year by DeRozan and an aging Kyle Lowry may be signaling rebuild time north of the border.

28. Miami: The Heat have traded away big names the last 2 drafts. Full rebuild mode here.

29. Brooklyn: If Carlisle can remain healthy, the Nets could make some noise in the East. Playoffs are still a year or two away.

30. Charlotte: Young frontcourt needs guard help to get them the ball low. They won’t be at the bottom much longer.


Though we are near the bottom now, I feel we will be moving out of the league’s cellar this year.

Stay tuned for our mid season update!

Thanks for reading!

[Funkycorm]

Re: Changing the Brooklyn way: A Brooklyn Nets Dynasty

The 2021-22 season is in full swing at the All-Star break. Our Nets come in with a record of 26-30, which puts them 3rd in the Atlantic, 10th in the East, and 20th in the NBA.com Power Rankings. This is a major improvement over last year where the Nets only managed to win 19 games the entire year. Our longest losing streak of the season was 4 games between December 1 and December 6, with our longest winning streak of 4 games coming between January 7 and January 14.

Record Breakdown:

Overall: 26-30
Home: 12-17
Away: 14-13
Division: 7-2 Our Nets are playing strong in the division this season.
Conference: 16-17

Monthly Record:
October/November: 8-10
December: 5-10
January: 9-5
February (through All-Star Break): 4-5

Looking around the league, here are the NBA.com Power Rankings:

1. Golden State (44-12)
2. Philadelphia (40-16)
3. Charlotte (38-20)
4. Cleveland (34-21)
5. Detroit (34-21)
6. Minnesota (33-24)
7. Washington (33-23)
8. L.A. Clippers (34-24)
9. Chicago (33-24)
10. Houston (32-26)
11. Oklahoma City (32-25)
12. Utah (30-27)
13. Portland (30-26)
14. Orlando (29-26)
15. Atlanta (29-27)
16. Phoenix (30-27)
17. New York (29-28)
18. Dallas (27-29)
19. Memphis (26-30)
20. Brooklyn (26-30)
21. L.A. Lakers (25-32)
22. Sacramento (25-31)
23. New Orleans (23-35)
24. Milwaukee (23-34)
25. Denver (21-35)
26. Toronto (21-36)
27. Indiana (20-37)
28. San Antonio (18-39)
29. Boston (17-40)
30. Miami (13-44)

Player Stats:

Points per game: Carlisle 25.9, Noel 12.2, Watson 11.6, Whitney 11.1, Abrines 10.2
Rebounds per game: Noel 11.0, Robinson 9.4, Holmes 7.3, Huestis 5.3
Assists per game: Ford 7.9, Dellavedova 5.7, Frazier 5.0
Blocks per game: Noel 2.1, Holmes 1.6, Carlisle 1.1, Huestis 0.8
Steals per game: Carlisle 1.5, Dellavedova 1.0, Noel 1.0
Minutes per game: Carlisle 33.0, Noel 30.8, Watson 29.1, Holmes 25.7, Ford 25.5

Notable Information:

Carlisle has only missed a few games this year and he is showing why we drafted him. He currently sits 4th in the league in scoring. Noel is 7th in the league in rebounds per game and 3rd in the league in blocks per game so far this season.

We have our first representatives in the All-Star Game since I took over in 2016. Both Wally Carlisle and Nerlens Noel made the Eastern Conference All-Star team as reserves. Wally Carlisle also played for the Stars in the Stars vs. Elites Game. Rick Huestis represented us on the Elites team this year.

Matthew Dellavedova tore his right MCL just before the All-Star Game so Bradford Ford will be the full-time starter the rest of the year. To this point, the 2 have been splitting starts. Solomon Hill is also out for 2 to 4 months with a dislocate right patella. Though he wasn’t getting much playing time anyway.

Wally Carlisle was Eastern Conference player of the week from December 12-18. Rick Huestis was also Eastern Conference rookie of the month in December. Huestis is currently 3rd in the Rookie of the Year race and Nerlens Noel is currently 5th in the Defensive Player of the Year race.

Trade Deadline:

We made only 1 trade at the deadline. We traded J.J. Redick to Chicago for a 2022 2nd round pick and a 2024 2nd round pick. This trade was made solely for the picks and Chicago offered up 2 picks so we jumped at the opportunity.

Signings:

To add depth for the trade of Redick and the injury to Solomon Hill, we signed SF Hollis Thompson (70C+) to a 1 year/$1.16M deal.
To add some depth to our point guard rotation, we cut Marcin Gortat and signed Shabazz Napier (70C+) to a 1 year/$1.16M deal.

Stay tuned for the end of season recap as the 2021-22 season draws to a close.

Thanks for reading!

[studbucket]

Re: Changing the Brooklyn way: A Brooklyn Nets Dynasty

How many games out of the 8th seed are the Nets?

[Funkycorm]

Re: Changing the Brooklyn way: A Brooklyn Nets Dynasty

How many games out of the 8th seed are the Nets?

We are only 3 games out. Atlanta holds the 8th spot and New York is 1/2 game behind them. We are on the cusp of the playoffs!

[Funkycorm]

Re: Changing the Brooklyn way: A Brooklyn Nets Dynasty

The 2021-22 NBA season is in the books. The Nets finished with a record of 40-42. Our best to date since I took over. We ended in a 3-way tie for the 8th spot in the East but lost the tie breaker so ended 10th overall in the east. We finished 3rd in the Atlantic and 19th in the NBA.com Power Rankings. Even though we did not make the playoffs, we still had a solid year. We improved 21 wins over the previous year and a slew of our young players had solid seasons. This was a season about growth. As a team, we showed that.

Record Breakdown:

Overall: 40-42
Division: 10-6
Conference: 27-25
Home: 20-21
Away: 20-21

Monthly Breakdown:
February (post All-Star Break)/March: 9-10
April: 5-2

We went on a 5-game win streak in April, our longest of the year. Even though we just missed the playoffs, this strong finish will give us confidence going into next season.

Let’s see how the league fared:

NBA Standings - Updated: Apr 14, 2022
ATLANTIC	W	L	GB
Philadelphia	59	23	-
New York	40	42	19
Brooklyn	40	42	19
Boston	32	50	27
Toronto	27	55	32
CENTRAL	W	L	GB
Cleveland	51	31	-
Detroit	47	35	4
Chicago	45	37	6
Milwaukee	32	50	19
Indiana	23	59	28
SOUTHEAST	W	L	GB
Charlotte	53	29	-
Washington	45	37	8
Atlanta	42	40	11
Orlando	40	42	13
Miami	21	61	32
EAST PLAYOFF RACE	W	L	GB
Philadelphia	59	23	-
Charlotte	53	29	6
Cleveland	51	31	8
Detroit	47	35	12
Chicago	45	37	14
Washington	45	37	14
Atlanta	42	40	17
Orlando	40	42	19
NORTHWEST	W	L	GB
Minnesota	51	31	-
Oklahoma City	46	36	5
Portland	46	36	5
Utah	42	40	9
Denver	28	54	23
PACIFIC	W	L	GB
Golden State	63	19	-
L.A. Clippers	44	38	19
Phoenix	41	41	22
Sacramento	37	45	26
L.A. Lakers	37	45	26
SOUTHWEST	W	L	GB
Houston	49	33	-
Memphis	42	40	7
Dallas	41	41	8
New Orleans	34	48	15
San Antonio	32	50	17
WEST PLAYOFF RACE	W	L	GB
Golden State	63	19	-
Minnesota	51	31	12
Houston	49	33	14
Oklahoma City	46	36	17
Portland	46	36	17
L.A. Clippers	44	38	19
Memphis	42	40	21
Utah	42	40	21

League Awards:

2021-22 NBA Awards
Award	Player	Pos	Team
Most Valuable Player	James Harden	SG	Houston
Rookie of the Year	Lou Braxton	SF	Memphis
Sixth Man of the Year	Floyd Westbrook	PF	Boston
Defensive Player of the Year	Cleanthony Schayes	PF	Utah
Most Improved Player	Emmanuel Mudiay	PG	Denver
Coach of the Year	Ron Adams		Golden State

Rick Huestis made All-Rookie 1st team for the Nets this season. Noel was named to the All-Defensive 2nd team.

Player Stats:

Brooklyn Nets Stats - 2021-22
Player	GP	MIN	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TPG	FPG
Bradford Ford	82	2203	6.5	1.0	8.4	0.2	0.3
Matthew Dellavedova	52	1212	7.8	2.2	5.7	1.0	0.1
Tim Frazier	36	536	3.5	1.6	5.0	0.7	0.1
Shabazz Napier	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Johnnie Watson	77	2240	11.6	4.8	2.2	0.4	0.4
Alex Abrines	70	1361	10.3	0.9	1.7	0.5	0.2
Wally Carlisle	68	2213	25.5	3.8	2.3	1.4	1.1
Noel Whitney	70	1770	11.2	3.5	0.4	0.6	0.4
Hollis Thompson	14	128	3.3	1.0	0.5	0.0	0.1
Solomon Hill	18	365	6.1	3.3	1.7	0.8	0.2
Richaun Holmes	82	2113	9.0	7.4	0.8	0.2	1.6
Thomas Robinson	82	1674	6.7	9.4	0.4	0.3	0.9
James Michael Simpson	5	43	1.8	1.4	0.0	0.0	0.4
Nerlens Noel	82	2469	11.0	10.6	1.7	1.0	2.1
Rick Huestis	82	1416	3.8	5.7	0.3	0.4	0.8

Carlisle was big for us this year, without a doubt. He was 5th in the league in scoring. Noel has a great campaign as well, proving himself in the first year of his new contract. He was 11th in the league in rebounds per game and 3rd in blocks per game. Ford came in 6th in the league is assists per game. Watson lead the league in free throw percentage.

We had 5 players play all 82 games for us this year.

Team Stats (league rank):

PPG: 96.8 (15)
PAPG: 97.6 (17)
FG%: .427 (21)
FT%: .780 (18)
3P%: .366 (4)
RPG: 50.7 (12)
APG: 23.6 (23)
SPG: 5.8 (28)
BPG: 7.6 (5)
Turnovers per game: 14.0 (10)
Bench Scoring: 36.0 (8)

Playoffs:

Utah beat Golden State 4-3 in the first round in the West and Orlando beat Philadelphia 4-1 in the East. This means that both top seeds fell in the first round. In the NBA Finals, The Portland Trailblazers beat the Orlando Magic in 7 games, 4 to 3. The NBA Finals MVP was C.J. McCollum.

Retirements:

Marc Gasol retired and had his number retired by the Memphis Grizzlies.

No players from this retiring class made the Hall of Fame.

Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, and Kobe Bryant were honorary inductees into the dynasty’s Hall of Fame this offseason. Congrats to them!

There were no rule changes or league realignment this year. However, the NBA owners did start initial discussions about expansion but there were still 20 votes against this.

Staff Changes:

We retained our Assistant GM on a 4 year contract.

We signed Dwyane Wade to a 1 year extension as Assistant Coach. His coach attributes are B for offense, A+ for defense, and A- for potential.

The draft is upcoming. We have our pick in the lottery and 1 other picks in the lottery this year, and also 1 more from Memphis later 1st round. San Antonio missed the playoffs and we have an unprotected 1st round pick from them. We have a target in mind for the draft, so we may need 2 of these picks to move up in the draft if we have to. Our main target, power forward Dale Fordham is projected to be a top 5 pick. If we fall out of the top 5, we will do what we can to trade up. Fordham is a legit low post threat at the power forward spot and would be a perfect fit for our scheme.

Stay tuned for the NBA draft lottery and 2022 NBA Draft.

Thanks for reading!

[Funkycorm]

Re: Changing the Brooklyn way: A Brooklyn Nets Dynasty

The NBA Lottery has been released. We had the 2.5% odds for the 11th pick and 6.5% odds for the 5th pick (via San Antonio).

From 14 down to 7 there were no shakeups and everything went as predicted. At the 6th best odds were the Celtics, but Toronto was slotted there. At the 5th spot we had the odds via our traded pick, but Denver was slotted there. This moved us into the top 3. Boston then was slotted at the 4th spot.

Then there were 3. The Heat, Pacers, and Nets.

At number 3 went Miami, who had the best odds to go first.
At number 2 was… the Pacers…
At number 1 was us, the Brooklyn Nets.

We had the 5th best odds and won the first pick again. Again! This time we have no interest in trading this pick. We know exactly who we want. Now comes the interesting part for us with 3 first round picks, with 2 of those being lottery.

Here is the 2022 NBA Draft Order:

1. Brooklyn (via San Antonio)
2. Indiana
3. Miami
4. Boston
5. Denver
6. Toronto
7. Milwaukee
8. New Orleans
9. Denver (via L.A. Lakers)
10. Sacramento
11. Brooklyn
12. New York
13. Dallas
14. Phoenix
15. Orlando
16. Utah
17. Atlanta
18. Brooklyn (via Memphis)
19. Boston (via L.A. Clippers)
20. Chicago
21. Washington
22. Oklahoma City
23. Chicago (via Detroit)
24. Houston
25. Boston (via Cleveland)
26. Minnesota
27. Charlotte
28. Memphis (via Philadelphia)
29. Golden State
30. Portland

Draft Express Top 5 Prediction:

1. Brooklyn: SG James Michael Higgins (83B+)
2. Indiana: SF Cedric Adrien (82A+)
3. Miami: PG Gabriel Washington (81B+)
4. Boston: PF Dale Fordham (80A)
5. Denver: PF Dean Berry (77A)

We know who we want at 1 and that is Fordham. He scouts as an 80A so we assume he will probably have a 78-80 overall and hopefully B+ to A potential.

2022 NBA Draft:

We start out and make our first pick, PF Dale Fordham from Michigan State, completely ignoring all trade offers.

Right before we made our first pick, we made a trade. We traded up into the 2nd pick from Indiana. We traded our 11th and 18th picks this year, a 2023 1st (via Houston, top 3 protected), and a 2024 1st (via Memphis).

We now owned the top 2 picks. We picked PG Gabriel Washington out of Houston with the 2nd pick overall.

Utah traded Rodney Hood and a 2023 1st round pick to Denver for the 5th pick this year and Denver’s 2nd round pick.

Phoenix traded Devin Booker and TJ warren to Toronto for the 6th pick and Demar DeRozan.

Toronto then traded a 2024 1st round pick and Jonas Valenciunas to Milwaukee for the 7th pick.

Miami traded Cody Zeller and a 2024 1st round pick to Sacramento for the 10th pick and Bojan Bogdanovic.

We also used the 51st pick to select PF Jermaine Chandler out of Northern Iowa.

Summary of Top 10 Picks:

2022 NBA Draft - Top 10 Draft Picks
Pick	Team	Player	Pos	Ht	Wt
1	Brooklyn (via San Antonio)	Dale Fordham (79A-)	PF	6'9"	266
2	Brooklyn (trade Indiana)	Gabriel Washington (81A-)	PG	6'0"	200
3	Miami	Cedric Adrien (81A+)	SF	6'8"	242
4	Boston	James Michael Higgins (83A-)	SG	6'5"	197
5	Utah (trade Denver)	Troy Rollins (71B)	SG	6'5"	203
6	Phoenix (trade Toronto)	Grant Hope (78B+)	PF	6'10"	247
7	Toronto (trade Milwaukee)	Lloyd Fulton (74B)	PF	6;7"	242
8	New Orleans	Jeb Smalls (73B)	SG	6'3"	198
9	Denver (via L.A. Lakers)	Dean Berry (76A)	PF	6'8"	217
10	Miami (trade Sacramento)	Dedric Teague (71B-)	PG	6'0"	168

Summary of our Picks:

Brooklyn Nets 2022 NBA Draft Picks
Pick	Player	College	Pos	Ht	Wt
1	Dale Fordham (79A-)	Michigan State	PF	6'9"	266
2	Gabriel Washington (81A-)	Houston	PG	6'0"	200
51	Jermaine Chandler (61D+)	Northern Iowa	PF	6'9"	251

Draft Assessment:

This was a rock-solid draft for us. We got the power forward we wanted and didn’t have to trade anything to move up to get him. With this opportunity to draft at number 1 and with 2 other 1st round picks, we were able to make a big trade up to number 2 to get a great point guard. We don’t dislike Bradford Ford as our point guard, but we could not pass on this opportunity to make our team better.

Overall there was some good talent in this draft.

Stay tuned for the rest of the 2022 NBA offseason.

Thanks for reading!

[studbucket]

Re: Changing the Brooklyn way: A Brooklyn Nets Dynasty

Wow....you guys should be title bound by 2024 or 2025 with that roster.

[Funkycorm]

Re: Changing the Brooklyn way: A Brooklyn Nets Dynasty

Wow....you guys should be title bound by 2024 or 2025 with that roster.

I certainly hope so. Barring some crazy injuries our playoff drought should end!

[Funkycorm]

Re: Changing the Brooklyn way: A Brooklyn Nets Dynasty

The rest of the 2022 NBA offseason is now. We just came off of our best draft we had and we look to build on this core we are forming over the rest of the summer:

Rookie Signings:

Dale Fordham: We accepted his 2 year/$10.52M rookie deal.
Gabriel Washington: We accepted his 2 year/$9.41M rookie deal.
Jermaine Chandler: We did not sign him to a contract.

Team Options:

Wally Carlisle: accepted 2-year team option
Johnnie Watson: accepted team option
Bradford Ford: accepted team option
James Michael Simpson: accepted 2-year team option

My Free Agents:

Richaun Holmes: He wanted to test free agency. He played solid for us but with Fordham and Simpson at power forward, we did not offer him a contract.
Thomas Robinson: He has played well for us defensively for a long time now. We decided to offer him a 1 year/$1.89M deal to keep him as our last power forward on the depth chart.
Noel Whitney: He wanted to test free agency. We would have liked to keep him, but there were better small forwards available in free agency.
Matthew Dellavedova: We offered him a 2 year/$3.45M deal to provide depth at point guard.
Alex Abrines: He played good for us but wanted to test free agency.
Tim Frazier: He wanted to test free agency and we had no need to keep him.
Hollis Thompson: He wanted to test free agency and we did not need his depth at small forward.
Shabazz Napier: He did not play. He wanted to test free agency so we let him.
Solomon Hill: He was alright as depth for us, but we could find better.

Free Agency:

SF Otto Porter (76B-): We offered a 1 year/$4.29M contract. He can provide some nice shooting off the bench for us.
SG Elliot Becker (74B-): We offered a 1 year/$1.30M deal. He is a solid young shooter with some upside.
C Brandan Wright (74B-): We offered a 1 year/$1.89M deal. He will provide front court depth in case of injury.
SG Iman Shumpert (75B-): We offered a 1 year/$1.89M deal. Shumpert will provide some shooting off the bench for us.
SF Norm Ward (77B): We offered a 1 year/$7.10M deal. He will see some playing time as a backup for Wally Carlisle and provide some insurance in case Carlisle gets hurt.

Notable League Signings:

Brandon Knight: He signed a 4 year/$56.76M deal with San Antonio.
Caris Levert: He resigned a 3 year/$36.66M deal with Chicago.
Chris McCollough: Cleveland resigned him to a 3 year/$26.23M deal.
Phil Norman: He signed a 2 year/$21.47M deal with the Clippers.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson: Dallas signed him to a 2 year/$18.56M deal.

A lot of former Nets got some nice contracts this summer. All these players helped us at one point on our journey and we are happy they have found success elsewhere.

Player Progression:

Wally Carlisle: +3
Nerlens Noel: +1
Johnnie Watson: +2
Bradford Ford: +1, though his potential did drop from 84 to 78. This will still make him a quality backup behind Gabriel Washington.
Otto Porter: -1
Iman Shumpert: +1
Rick Huestis: +2
Elliot Becker: +1
Thomas Robinson: -1
Brandan Wright: -1
James Michael Simpson: +2
Matthew Dellavedova: -3

All rookies were auto generated with no changes made to the draft class.

Training Camp (untapped potential):

Gabriel Washington: 84 to 87
Rick Huestis: B to B+
Johnnie Watson: A- to A

Season Outlook:

I think with this roster this next season is the one where we finally make the playoffs. It’s time to end the playoff drought and losing record streak in Brooklyn. This roster is still growing but with leadership from Carlisle, we will be playoff bound.

Record Prediction: 44-38, 2nd in the Atlantic, 5th in the East

Stay tuned for the start of the 2022-23 NBA Season.

Thanks for reading!