Monthly Archives: February 2016

Sean Marks’ roster planning in Brooklyn is faintly beginning to take shape.  Gone are Joe Johnson and Andrea Bargnani.  In are . . . well, Marks hasn’t hashed that part out yet.  But with only 13 players on the roster, and just 5 with guaranteed contracts in 2016-2017 — all of whom are tradeable should they be shopped — it is safe to say that no matter what Marks does, the roster will look different next year.

Here’s a look at roster building options for the Nets, from the Jazz and Nuggets in free agency this year:

Free Agency: 

Darrel Arthur: It’s clear that with Mudiay, Gallinari, Faried, Chandler, Barton, Nurkic, and Jokic all under contract, that Arthur is not a core piece in Denver.  With the TV money explosion, he may decline his $2.9 million player option for next year.  If he does, Arthur is still only 27.  He has shown he can play capable minutes off an NBA bench, and can defend both the interior and the perimeter.  His biggest struggle has been with his health.  Arthur is the type of low cost, no splash addition the Nets should look at this summer.

Trevor Booker: The loss of rotation players hurts, and that can be seen in Washington where the Wizards feel the loss of players like Trevor Booker.  Booker plays with a ton of energy off the bench.  Booker is a quality reserve big who can be a third or fourth big on a playoff team depending on the other components of the roster.  And with the Jazz clearly invested in Gobert, Favors, and Trey Lyles up front, you can only pay so many non stars, and Lyles may be up for grabs.

Jeff Withey: Withey is a fine reserve big. He plays hard, stays ready, and, critically, was a huge component of keeping the Jazz afloat this year when Gobert went down.  He may seek a bigger role in the offseason, but he is a piece the Nets should take a had look at. Utah may be priced out of the Withey market.

Joffrey Lauvergne: Lauvergne is a fine young big in Denver, thriving as a late second rounder (and showing why you don’t discard second round picks in deals).  However, the Nuggets have a $1.7 million team option to retain him, which they are nearly certain to exercise.

JaKarr Sampson: Sampson was recently added by the Nuggets when the Sixers waived him to facilitate the Donatas Motiejunas trade, and who the Sixers could not recover after the deal was rescinded.  Clearly, if you’re the 15th man on a team like Philly, how good are you?  Sampson has no real NBA skill and the Nets should look elsewhere in their roster building.

DJ Augustin: Augustin has essentially vacillated during his 8 year NBA career between competent reserve point guard and journeyman third string guard.  The Nets clearly need upgraded play at the point, but in the way of a starter, or an upper class reserve. Is Augustin helping any more than Donald Sloan? The Thunder just traded him because he lost his reserve role to Cameron Payne.

Shelvin Mack: Your prototypical end of bench guard.  Mack really struggled in limited minutes in Atlanta before being shipped to Utah, where, for some reason, some feel he can boost a playoff run.  The Nets can comfortably pass here.

Christapher Johnson: Johnson is a fringe relatively young player who has bounced around for several years trying to stick.  The Nets do need to look at speculative youth in free agency, but their looks are better spent on undrafted free agents, and players first starting their journeys, rather than guys who have bounced around several years, such that we know what they are.

Mike Miller: Miller is nothing but a veteran bench presence in Denver.  He has nothing left in the tank and could retire this summer.

Trades: 

Nothing really significant here.  The Jazz and Nuggets, like the Nets, are stronger up front with needs at guard (aside from Mudiay and perhaps Exum), which does not lend itself to deals.

The Brooklyn Nets are on pace to go 22-60 in 2015-2016.  Given the talent level, that, sadly, sounds right.  Most projections for the Nets fell in the 20-30 win range, and that was before Jarrett Jack got hurt, and Joe Johnson showed that his decline has furthered.

It is without dispute that the goal in Brooklyn should be to take these Nets from 21 wins, to a product that can consistently compete for 45-55, or even 55+, wins per season.  It is also without dispute, to anyone who reviews the NBA market, that only 3 players on the current roster have anything more than marginal trade value — Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Brook Lopez, and Thaddeus Young – and that nobody believes the Nets should be looking to trade the first of that trio.

So the tempting question for Sean Marks as he begins his tenure becomes: should the Nets deal Lopez, on a $20 million per year contract, or Young, on a $12.5 million per year contract.

That conversation, necessarily, starts with a judgment of what Lopez and Young are.  The NBA, if you think about where players sit in its hierarchy, has multiple classes of player.  You have superstars, who essentially guarantee that they will drag your team to W’s: there are very few of those.  You have stars, players who are not quite superstars, but are certifiable great players, and will play a huge part of a team winning games.  I like Lopez and Young, in the interest of full disclosure, but they do not fit within this class of NBA player, and there is no argument to the contrary here.  Lopez and Young are not great players.  That is the simple truth.

From there, you have many, many more players.  There are players competing to make NBA rosters.  There are players who definitely belong on rosters, but are not rotation players.  There are fringe rotation players, who would qualify for some rotations, but not for others.  Then you have clear rotation players, and then you have sixth men who excel as the prime piece off a bench: Lopez and Young are better than that (Young has started the majority of his career, and has been an important piece on multiple playoff teams: narratives to the contrary are lazy).

Above your rotation players and sixth men, you have your good players, for lack of a better word: solid NBA starters, and “fourth” or “fifth” starters, who may vacillate between situational starters around 4 clearly better players, due to fit, or fit on a bench.  Lopez and Young?  They’re good NBA players.  And if you look at the key players on playoff teams, placing them there is certainly warranted.  For context, DeMar DeRozan, Jonas Valanciunas, Al Horford, Jeff Teague, Dwyane Wade, Hassan Whiteside (possibly), Pau Gasol, decrepit Derrick Rose, Monta Ellis, George Hill, Tobias Harris, Victor Oladipo, Avery Bradley, and Jae Crowder are arguably the second and third best players on the east’s non Cleveland playoff teams.  You can certainly argue that Lopez can be the second or third best player on a playoff team (he was the best player on a playoff team last year!) depending on who else is on the roster, with Young as the fourth or fifth piece (or perhaps third, but that is likely a reach).

You might wonder.  “Can they really be that good if the Nets are a losing team?”  But just because a team is losing, does not mean all its players are not good.  Has Carmelo Anthony as a Knick vacillated from decent, to great, to mediocre, to terrible, because his team has?  Are Greg Monroe and Giannis Antetokounmpo bad players?  Is Damian Lillard average?  Is Anthony Davis not a star? Brandon Knight?  Danilo Gallinari?  These are all good or better players, players who clearly can be part of a winner with the right group around them, but just do not have that, at the moment. And just because their teams are losing, or pedestrian, does not mean that their teams would be no worse off without their salaries: replace these players with players who are worse, and their teams would win less games.  Replace Lopez and Young with nobody, or with players who are worse, and the 14-40 first half would be closer to 9-45, or 5-49.

It also should be noted that if you want to allege that Lopez and Young are overpaid at $20 and $12.5 million annually, respectively, you need to study the free agent market with the context of an increasing cap. Contracts, first off, must be valued as a percentage of the cap, not a dollar figure, simply because the cap began rising significantly due to the new TV deal.  That makes contracts given out in 2015 and beyond incomparable with contracts given out in 2014 and prior to then.  The salary cap in 2016 jumps from approximately $67-$90 million, at least, and then to $108 million in 2017 – that’s a near 62% increase from 2014, and that absolutely changes what players should make.  Take a look at a representative sampling of the 2015 free agency market:

-Contracts in the $5-6 million range: Alexis Ajinca, Derrick Williams, Mirza Teletovic, Brandan Wright

-$6-7 Million Range: Patrick Beverley (whose team tried to relegate him to the bench), and Marco Belinelli, Ed Davis, and Aron Baynes (all clear career reserves, although Beverley may be able to start if you have superstars around him, as a fifth starter perhaps; still, the Rockets acquired Ty Lawson because Beverly was not the answer at point guard)

-$7-8 Million Range: Lou Williams, Cory Joseph, and Al Farouq Aminu (a career reserve, and two young players only starting to become rotation players prior to the new contract)

-$8-$9 Million Range: Arron Afflalo and Kosta Koufos (Afflalo has struggled sticking with teams and has been mildly disappointing, Koufos is a career backup center)

-$11-$13.5 Million Range, players getting what Young is getting: Monta Ellis, Amir Johnson, Omer Asik, Tyson Chandler, Khris Middleton.  – it can’t be said that Young does not stack up well with this group, r at least in its conversation, especially given Chandler’s regression.  Simply put, players of this caliber, more or less, are worth these salaries, unless you just want to sit out free agency.

-$15-18 Million Range: DeMarre Carroll, Tobias Harris, Reggie Jackson, Greg Monroe, Wesley Matthews, Enes Kanter, Goran Dragic (who is struggling this year).  Given these deals at this threshold, how much merit to the idea of Lopez as overpaid is there?  Some of these pieces may be better than Lopez, but most are not, and they make just a bit less.

-$20 Million: DeAndre Jordan – a third piece on a contender.

It is true that, often, it is smart for a rebuilding franchise to trade players of Lopez’s and Young’s caliber – and players listed above who may be of their caliber – for future considerations.  That way, you can launch a sincere, deliberate rebuild, through the draft.

Alas, this is why the Nets CAN’T trade Lopez and Young, absent being blown away with an offer – the Nets cannot rebuild through the draft!  The following is the current draft pick situation in Brooklyn:

-2016 and 2018: no picks at all, in either round

-2017: a first rounder subject to Boston’s right to swap (and Boston, if they keep this up, will ensure that this pick falls in the 20’s); a second rounder IF Boston swaps first rounders with Brooklyn, but then the second only conveys if it falls between 46-60.  So, essentially, the Nets will have a late first, and late second, in all likelihood in 2017

-2019: a first rounder

-2020: a first rounder

-2021: the Nets finally have their full complement of picks

The short, critical translation of the above is as follows: the Nets have one non lottery

first over the next three drafts, and perhaps one second rounder in the 46-60 range.  That’s it.  With them in the lottery in the east?  The Sixers have multiple young players with upside and a full complement of picks.  Nearly everyone in the lottery has young players in house with more upside than any young (under 25) Net, and their full complement of picks in house.  The Knicks are the exception, given they do not have a 2016 first, but already have Melo and Kristaps in house.

With the dramatic dearth of picks, and lottery picks, the Nets have, they simply cannot decide to rebuild through the draft.  A rebuild through free agency?  That is always wrought with difficulties, as getting free agents to play for you, no matter how hard you try, is simply difficult.  But rebuilding through the draft with one non lottery pick over the next 3 years, RHJ, and Bojan Bogdanovic (no offense to any of these players), when your lottery bound competition features two teams over .500, Melo and Porzingis, Wall and Beal, Giannis MCW Jabari and Monroe, and Noel Embiid Saric and a 2016 top 5 pick on the horizon?  That is suicide.  You cannot keep up with those teams in the draft with those types of deficits: you have to take another course.

Of course, the counter to this by some is, “just replenish the draft pick deficit by dealing Lopez and Young.”  In no uncertain terms, good luck with that.  Thaddeus Young was traded in 2014 (forget the KG deal; the Wolves were hell bent on bringing KG back given his meaning to the franchise, so that was an out of context deal in all respects), and Young likely has value at a similar level now as he did in 2014.  The return in 2014?  A lottery protected pick unlikely to convey for 3 years, Alexey Shved, and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute.  The market for Lopez?  While he nearly netted Reggie Jackson, the Thunder backed off the deal.  Lopez is a good player, but a team would be taking on his contract, and, yes, his injury history.  Lopez is not a star, and a team is not going to deal a lottery pick for his services: that just does not make sense.  For context, look at the trades made at the deadline.  In the Jackson/Enes Kanter trade the first rounder traded by the Thunder was lottery protected until 2018: an asset like that is a possibility for Lopez.  In the Isaiah Thomas deal, the first dealt was a Cavs pick protected top 10 through 2018, and thus unlikely to convey until 2019 given LeBron’s presence in Ohio.

Is Lopez worth much more, in a deal, than protected first rounders of that nature?  It does not appear that this is the case.  So, suppose that is what the Nets fetch for Lopez and Young: two mid first rounders, and perhaps a fringe rotation player or 2 – not unreasonable returns, both for the opposing teams and the Nets.  That leaves the Nets with the current roster, minus its best two players – the Nets without Lopez and Young would be embarrassingly bad.  As for replenishing their picks – their lottery picks the next three years are gone, and the Nets would have three mid to late firsts over the next year, plus perhaps an additional young reserve on the roster and a fringe rotation player.

Translation?  Trade Lopez and Young, and the Nets are most likely looking at a historically bad roster (particularly if the seemingly inevitably Joe Johnson buyout comes), and no lottery picks to escape the abyss.  Imagine having a young rookie with a fractured ankle, with offensive limitations, as your only pseudo known rotation player, and no lottery picks over the next 3 drafts?  That would be the Nets if they traded Lopez and Young to rebuild – the Sixers, minus the big name prospects and upcoming lottery picks.  The Nets also would take whatever limited appeal the current roster has in free agency, and destroy it (the roster only has little appeal: nobody is saying this is LeBron James on South Beach.  But that limited appeal would become a zero).

And while deals may open cap space, what does cap space do for you with nothing on your roster: free agency has persistently shown since 2010 that name talent goes where it can win; the Knicks and particularly the Lakers have done nothing significant with substantial cap space in recent seasons because they headed into free agency without any players already in place. The Nets have $44 million or so in cap space with Lopez and Young in place – they do not need more space than that to add legitimate talent, and weakening their talent base to open more space when they already have plenty of space is counterintuitive: cap space is the one thing the Nets actually do have.  Perhaps the Nets could then sell free agents on “here’s a blank canvas, make your roster,” but what free agent has ever defected to a team on that premise, given the volatility of teams’ plans.  That is simply something that has never happened.

Having players in place is what intrigues players and that requires the Nets – and all franchises seeking gold in free agency — to walk a balance between space, and talent in house.  Right now, the balance is too far in the cap space direction, and not far enough in the talent in house direction.  Why further skew the balance?

Again, the current roster is anything but a free agent magnet.  But at least with Lopez and Young entrenched in the 4-5 spots, and RHJ as a known rotation wing, there is at least a chance of free agents looking at the roster, and seeing the outlines of a team that can compete.  A good team?  Of course not. But you can see the outlines, however faint.  You can perhaps imagine, as a guard, coming in and being a significant upgrade, and having talented frontcourt players to play with.  And then, as Brooklyn, you hope that upgrades take you from 21 wins, to maybe 30-40 wins (unless you hit a home run).  Then, in 2017, you try to step from 30-40 wins, to 40-50 wins, or maybe even the 50 win range (although that likely could not come that quickly.  Those building blocks and steps will be much harder to make if the Nets revert backwards, by dealing away the only good players they have for modest future considerations.

The typical cliché in NBA circles is that if you are bad, that means you must rebuild.  Rebuilding is popular, and often seen as the safe route.  Collect assets! Do it the “right” way!  But here’s the rub: there is no cardinal rule for building an NBA team.  All situations require individualistic review pertinent to the particular circumstances.  And the circumstances here do not warrant a rebuild.

Is relying on Lopez and Young being in house, and trying to add to that core, the world’s best plan?  By no means: not even close.  But it is simply the best plan available to the Nets, given the current asset situation.  The Nets HAVE to add to this roster over the next two-three years by free agency, there is no other viable option.  While their sales pitch is not exactly Brad selling me this pen right here in Wolf of Wall Street, to destroy the one basketball related pitch they have with the pick situation as it is nothing but a death march for the organization.

            There is one caveat to everything I have said in this piece.  I am never averse to the Nets trading anyone on the roster, no matter how good, at the right price.  The Phoenix Suns were willing to give up a vaunted asset last trade deadline in the Lakers’ 2016 pick, only top 3 protected, for Brandon Knight.  If a team is willing to do THAT for Brook Lopez, then, by all means: thanks Brook for all you have done here, but have fun at your next stop.  However, the flip side to my willingness to trade any player for the right price, is my staunch unwillingness to trade any player for the wrong price.  In all likelihood, the price Lopez and Young will demand, given the Nets’ asset situation, will not justify dealing either.

The Nets need to take a step back and realize where they are.  If they had their full arsenal of future draft picks, or close, perhaps a Lopez or Young deal, to go young in a full and complete sense, would be smart, but it simply does not make sense under the current asset circumstances.  The Nets went 17-13 last season after acquiring Young, by surrounding Lopez and Young with average point guard play in Deron Williams (as opposed to the poor play of this year – many including myself do not like Deron, but facts are facts), average wing play in Joe Johnson (whose taken a noticeable step back) and Bojan Bogdanovic (who has failed to replicate his success of last year’s second half), and a pretty deep bench of rotation pieces: rotation pieces matter, and the Nets replacing so many of them with fringe NBA talent has clearly affected the roster.

The hope in Brooklyn has to be that, over time, they can surround Lopez and Young, instead, with better and more athletic perimeter players than they did during last year’s 17-13 run.

It’s the only choice they have.

On this site, I have looked at Nets free agency and trade options with every East team, except the Hornets and Magic.

Now, I complete our look at the East.

Free Agency:

Nicolas Batum: The Hornets have loved having Batum and, after a down season in Portland, he has rebounded and some.  The Hornets will make a handsome offer to Batum to keep him, so the Nets are fighting an uphill battle, but they should definitely try to add a wing of his caliber.  He is not a star, but is a great 3rd or 4th starter on a contender — as we saw in Portland.

Evan Fournier: Fournier is having a very good season on the wing for the Magic.  But with Vucevic, Harris, Payton, Oladipo as a core going forward, there is only so much money to go around, and even with all those pieces the Magic sit at 23-29.  They cannot keep all of this youth around: they need to either consolidate it via trade for a big name, or let some of it go and sign a big name.  Fournier could be one of the odd men out.  Orlando may match an offer to retain control, as he is a restricted free agent, but as far as obtainable restricted free agents go, he is near the top of that list.

Jeremy Lin: Lin generates remarkably polarizing opinions.  He made history as an Asian American player bursting onto the scene.  That history for some bred love, for others bred resentment.  If one forgets about all of that, and just looks at the basketball player wearing number 7 for the Hornets, what they will see is a smart basketball player, who is useful as a low end starter, or in a sixth man role, as a playmaker and talented runner of an NBA offense.  A quality, useful 5th-6th man on an NBA team.  Lin has a $2.2 million player option he absolutely should decline.  The Nets face an uphill battle if Lin does not want to go back to NY City.

Marvin Williams: He has always been a punchline due to being drafted ahead of Chris Paul, but when you look at him through the lens of who he is, rather than who he was picked ahead of, he is a useful hybrid 3-4 who can shoot the 3 and fit in defensively with a playoff team.  He is similar to Lin in regards to the prism of analysis affecting his perceived value. Williams is unlikely to devote the second half of his career to a team on the wrong side of .500 like the Nets, but he is worth a look.

Andrew Nicholson: Nicholson, a mid round first in 2012, is yet to find his real NBA niche, but has some small ball four potential if he can continue shooting the 3 well: he is only taking 2 attempts per game but that is a career high, as is his 35% clip.  If the Nets can get him economically, he may be worth a look.  He will be restricted if Orlando extends a qualifying offer, but Orlando has other priorities this summer.

Al Jefferson: Injuries have finally caught up to Jefferson, who is the worst he has been in a good nine years.  There are teams who can use Jefferson as an extra boost to their current contention.  The Nets should not look at players on this side of their career arcs.

PJ Hairston: Hairston is a decent reserve wing who, despite his youth, was given up on by the Hornets.  Hairston has some potential down the road, and may be a worthy gamble for Brooklyn.  He certainly will only command a low number, and the Nets need young players with upside, anyway they can find them.

Dewaye Dedmon: Dedmon could be a quietly good addition to the Nets bench.  He grabs 14 rebounds per 40 minutes, and may be able to find a niche as a 4th or 5th big, just in games to rebound.  The Magic may decline making a qualifying offer, which would make him an unrestricted free agent.

Brian Roberts: Roberts is a useful fourth or possibly fifth guard on a team. The Nets can look at him on a minimum deal this summer, although that is a downgrade for him salary wise.

Troy Daniels: Daniels is a fringe NBA player whom is a restricted free agent, if the Hornets make a qualifying offer, which is doubtful.  He is likely to be someone the Nets do not target.

Jason Smith: Smith can hit his midrange jumper and is a decent reserve big.  However, he is also the definition of a dime a dozen player.  He wouldn’t hurt off the Nets bench, but is not exactly a priority either.

Tyler Hansbrough: Hansbrough is a limited role player struggling for playing time with the Hornets.  Players like Hansbrough, when you’re contending or close and need a player to fill a role, are readily available.

Aaron Harrison: Harrison is a second rounder on whom the Hornets have a $875,000 team option they may exercise, to give him another year to develop.  Little is exciting for the Nets here.

Devyn Marble: The Magic have a $980,000 team option but Marble is in and out of the D League, and unlikely to generate much market interest.

Keith Appling: Appling is in Orlando on a ten day contract, and may be out of the NBA after this season.  He is a fringe NBA player.

Trades:

-Channing Frye and Evan Fournier for Bojan Bogdanovic and Jarrett Jack: If the Magic know they will not match an offer on Fournier, they can do a deal like this to get a young piece in return, as well as use it as an opportunity to ditch Frye’s bad contract.

-Brook Lopez for Cody Zeller, PJ Hairston, and Al Jefferson: Jefferson has little left; this deal would be about getting younger, and, for the Hornets, trying to insert a player to augment their core.  The Nets could try to push here for a first or multiple seconds

With several days until the trade deadline, the Nets GM search is still pending.  From a practical perspective, that easily may lead to them sitting out this trade deadline, at least with regard to big transactions.

However, the lack of a GM does not preclude the Nets from making a deal they want to make.  And it certainly does not preclude fans from speculating regarding the deadline’s possibilities, should the Nets approach it aggressively like any other deadline.

So who can the Nets acquire this deadline?  There are limitations: the majority of the Nets roster, frankly, has so little value that it is virtually untradeable, and there are no picks in house to deal picks for players.  Still, let’s look at some possibilities.

GO BIG OR GO HOME DIVISION:

–Atlanta Hawks and Memphis Grizzlies three team trade:

-Nets get: Teague, Vince Carter, Sefolosha, and Mike Scott

-Hawks get: Lopez, Brandan Wright, and Mario Chalmers

-Grizzlies get: Splitter and Bojan Bogdanovic

There’s a lot to chew on here. From the Nets’ perspective, if you decide that Lopez is not a piece to move forward with, you get Teague, who makes far less money and fills your point guard position.  Given the amount of value Atlanta is getting in this trade, you probably push the Hawks here to convey their first rounder, or a future first rounder, which could provide a mid round pick as well. Vince Carter gives the front office the little “splash” boost it always craves, while Sefolosha is a good defender on the wing. Mike Scott is just here to make the money work.

For the Hawks, if you believe Horford is leaving, this fills your center position going forward with Lopez and Wright. You can then start Schroeder at point guard, and try to flip Horford for a wing to fill your wing spot.

For Memphis, this trade provides them with Splitter to try to bridge the gap with Gasol out, and you also dump Chalmers and Vince as you build toward your future, while adding a future wing in Bojan.

Three team trade: Pelicans, Lakers, and Nets

-Pelicans get: Russell and Joe Johnson

-Lakers get: Brook Lopez

-Nets get: Holiday, Hibbert, and Eric Gordon

The Pelicans would be putting another young developing piece in Russell next to Davis. The Nets would be dealing big for small to grab Holiday, despite injury concerns. The Lakers would be selling short on Russell, at least this early in his career.  Hibbert, Gordon, and Johnson make financials work.

-Lakers and Nets: A derivation of the three teamer with the Pelicans — Brook Lopez for Hibbert and Deangelo Russell: if you want to rebuild, you do this as the Nets. You will not get better value for Brook. Guess we will see how irrational Byron Scott can make the Lakers.

–Suns and Nets: Joe and Bojan for Markieff Morris, Tyson Chandler, and Sonny Weems: The Nets would be taking Morris off Phoenix’s hands while seriously upgrading their talent level.  The Suns may decline, as Morris is playing better under new head coach Earl Watson.  Bojan, however, may be the best return they get in lieu of a first rounder, and the Nets would be taking Chandler off their hands.  The get here for the Nets is Morris — Chandler and Weems are only here to make the money work.

Three team trade: Bulls, Raptors, and Nets

-Bulls get: Thad, Jack, Terrence Ross, and Delon Wright

-Raptors get: Gasol

-Nets get: Rose and Tony Snell

POPULAR RUMOR DIVISION:

Raptors and Nets two team trade: Young for Delon Wright, Patrick Patterson, and James Johnson

For the Raptors, the goal here is obvious.  They have the fifth best record in the league and want to advance in the playoffs and contend, and this deal fills their one weak position.  For the Nets, this would be a trade to add pieces for the future.  Delon was just picked at the 18 spot in the first round of the draft, but is buried because the Raptors have Lowry and Cory Joseph.  Patterson makes the money work and while he is struggling, can be a rotation piece.  Johnson has not been in the rumors, but is a good wing defender who is persistently unhappy in Toronto.  Would the Raptors make him the difference between getting the deal done or not?

Pistons and Nets two team trade: Bogdanovic and Jack for Jennings

Jennings is only arguably a starting NBA point guard, despite the popularity of his name: just run down the list of starters and ask yourself who he is better than. See how few you come up with. And with the Pistons having Jackson in tow, that creates some incentive to trade Jennings.  Still, Jennings has been a good sixth man for them running the offense, so the Pistons will want value in return.  Is Bogdanovic enough?

TAKE ON OTHERS’ MISTAKES DIVISION:

Heat and Nets: Dragic, McRoberts, Udrih, and Josh Richardson for Johnson and Bojan: the Nets would he hoping Dragic could become their future starting point guard, and that his poor tenure with Miami is a product of his fit, rather than the beginning of a sharp decline. The Heat would be seeking a mulligan on the Dragic contract, and renting Bojan as an asset so that they do get an asset in return.

Magic and Nets: Frye and Fournier for Bojan and Jack: The Nets would be, if they want Fournier, obtaining total control of his services as he would be their restricted free agent.  Frye has fallen out of favor in Orlando, but is shooting the 3 as well as ever — he’s just buried in the rotation on a minutes basis.  The Magic would be getting out from under his contract. Jack is involved to make the money work.

OTHER DEALS:

–Wizards and Nets: Thad for Humphries, Dudley, Temple, and a first and second rounder: The Wizards weakest poisition is the 4 spot and Young would fill it.  Humphries and Dudley are decent reserves (both are underrated at this point as they shoot the 3), but the get here for Nets would be the picks.

-Nuggets and Nets: Lopez for Nurkic, Chandler, and Hickson.  The Nets would be turning Lopez into a young piece to grow with, and a rotation player; Hickson is just there to make money match.  The Nuggets likely reject this but perhaps seek to accelerate the timeline as they build around Mudiay.

–Rockets and Nets: Bogdanovic for KJ McDaniels and Sam Dekker: McDaniels is a high flier, while Dekker was a mid first round pick last year. Bojan can be a rotation player for the Rockets, while the Nets would get a little more asset heavy.

–Jazz and Nets: Bogdanovic for Jeff Withey and draft pick considerations: Withey has been a quality big for the Jazz with Gobert missing time this season.  Still, Utah is far more set up front than at the guard spots, so perhaps they look to sell high on Withey and grab a wing. The Nets here should push for a first, but two seconds may get the job done.

-Kings and Nets: Thad Young for Willie Cauley Stein and Kosta Koufos: This would be seriously stupid short term thinking by the Kings . . . but you can never put that past them

Nets and Hornets two team trade: Lopez for Al Jefferson, Cody Zeller, and PJ Hairston

-The Hornets here would be turning Jefferson, whose seriously declining, into Lopez.  The Nets would be leveraging that for two of the Hornets’ younger pieces who are not necessarily core pieces . . . especially Hairston, whose team option the Hornets declined.  The value here is not that high, but this may be the type of deal the Nets can secure for Lopez at this point.

With this piece, I continue my look at free agents across the league – this time, by looking at the Northwest division (*pre trade deadline*), starting with the Thunder and Blazers.

Who from the Thunder and Blazers are free agents the Nets can look at?

Kevin Durant: Clearly, the Nets are hilarious underdogs in the Durant chase. The presumptive favorite are the incumbent OKC Thunder.  He can go to the Warriors, or another contender.  He can go “home” to Washington DC.  Should he crave going to a bigger city, the Lakers (with Randle, Clarkson, and Russell, yes) are better set longterm than the Nets, and the Knicks (with Melo and Kristaps) clearly are as well.  Still, you HAVE to try.  If Durant tells you he wants a meeting, you spend umpteen hours preparing your pitch, and you sell the franchise as best you can. You will fail, 99.999% of the time. But you have to try to be that .001%. If you are that 1 in 1,000, the other 999 alternate universes do not matter.

Meyers Leonard: The easiest thing to do when starting a rebuild, really, is to start. Even the Nets, in amassing a ton of assets as of January of 2011, got that part right.  The Blazers have as well in the wake of losing Aldridge but start facing decisions on their young players, like Leonard, next summer. Leonard is a nice young big, who shoots four threes per game (a very encouraging sign), and has shown he can fit in with a winning group in some capacity.  Do the Nets make him an offer and see if the Blazers match on their restricted free agent? Leonard is a nice piece, but is behind Plumlee and Vonleh in the pecking order in Portland.

Dion Waiters: Waiters is a classic “overrated and underrated” case.  On one hand, casual fans love high scoring wings who were big names coming out of college, which conspired to cause Waiters to become overrated.  On the other hand, media and more nuanced fans hate players overrated by casual fans and disliked by metrics, which conspired for overcompensation in the market correction on Waiters’ popular value, to the point many underrate him.  Strip all of that away, and he is a key role player on a 40-14 team who clearly can be a 5th or 6th piece on a contender, as he is now.  That has value on the market, especially given Waiters’s age.  I would not overpay, but he is worth a $10 million contract on this market, without a doubt.  Waiters will be restricted so OKC can match any offer, but Durant’s decision may affect their assessment of whether they should (they are likely more apt to match if Durant stays).

Allen Crabbe: Crabbe has been a useful shooting guard off the bench in Portland.  He shoots the 3 well, and plays very good minutes off the bench for the second place team in the Northwest.  Crabbe, a restricted free agent, may be obtainable, given the Blazers are clearly committed to Lillard and McCollum as their back court.   The Nets need better guards and Crabbe can help in that area.

Maurice Harkless: The Blazers did an excellent job of getting Harkless for nothing this summer.  He has been a decent reserve, and, lately, has started in place of Vonleh (and seems poised to take Vonleh’s starting job even after his return from injury).  Harkless has not been that great, but has some skills, and is another restricted free agent the Nets may look to pry to bolster their bench.  With so many young restricted free agents, the Blazers may crack somewhere.

Anthony Morrow: Morrow is clearly a high class outside shooter.  He can play a critical role on any contender, as he is now, as a reserve spreading the floor. The Thunder have a $3.5 million team option they clearly should exercise.  But given their constant desire to save money, perhaps they decline . . . a “perhaps” made more likely if Durant defects. The Nets clearly should show interest.

Gerald Henderson: After years starting, Henderson is now a reserve in Portland.  He is likely obtainable, as an unrestricted free agent who is not in Portland’s future plans. Henderson is decent defensively, and is actually shooting a career best 36.5% from three on a career high number of attempts.  He can be a useful piece in Brooklyn, but is certainly not a priority.

DJ Augustin: Augustin is a fair reserve guard in a pinch, nothing more or less.  With Cameron Payne emerging next to Westbrook, there is little reason for OKC to make him a priority.  The Nets would not be hurt by adding him.

Cliff Alexander: An undrafted free agent the Nets cut during their 2015 training camp, Alexander has not been able to get much of a sniff with Portland.  Brooklyn, with far less talent, may be a better fit for a speculative player like Alexander, to see what he has. The Blazers have a $875,000 team option but with so many other issues this summer, who knows if they exercise it.

Chris Kaman: If he’s not finished, he’s close.  Kaman has little to bring to the table at this point, and when the Blazers inevitably let him go this summer (unless he stays as nothing but a locker room veteran), the Nets should look in other directions.

Steve Novak: Novak can shoot the 3. But there is nothing else he can do at this advanced career stage.  The Nets should look in other places.

Tim Frazier and Luis Montero: Both are end of the bench pieces who may not be in the league much longer.  Frazier is a restricted free agent who likely becomes unrestricted upon Portland declining a qualifying offer; Montero a player on whom the Blazers have a $875,000 team option they may decline.