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Brooklyn Nets: 2016 Offseason Grades

By Gerald Bourguet

Apr 8, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard Jeremy Lin (7) goes up for a shot against Brooklyn Nets guard Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (24) during the first half at Time Warner Cable Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 8, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard Jeremy Lin (7) goes up for a shot against Brooklyn Nets guard Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (24) during the first half at Time Warner Cable Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports /
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Brooklyn Nets
May 13, 2016; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat guard Tyler Johnson (8) takes a breather during the first quarter in game six of the second round of the NBA Playoffs against the Toronto Raptors at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /

Failed Offer Sheets

The Nets knew they were never going to be in contention for a Kevin Durant or a Mike Conley this summer, so Marks wisely targeted young players with upside to throw money at, hoping to lure them away from their respective teams that might’ve been in a bind to keep them.

Unfortunately, both of the Nets’ gaudy offers to restricted free agents were matched by their respective teams.

When the Miami Heat were agreeing on a massive deal for Hassan Whiteside, in the running for Kevin Durant and (supposedly) hoping to bring back Dwyane Wade, the Nets tried to poach backup guard Tyler Johnson with a four-year, $50 million offer.

Sadly, Durant chose the Golden State Warriors, Whiteside was taken care of and Miami’s relationship with Wade surprisingly fell apart. Pat Riley had more than enough room to match Brooklyn’s offer at that point, depriving Marks of a potential on-the-rise second-year guard.

With the Portland Trail Blazers dishing out money left and right ($70 million for Evan Turner, anyone?), Brooklyn tried to sneak off with swingman Allen Crabbe, who agreed to the Nets’ four-year, $75 million offer sheet.

This kind of superfluous offer made sense for a team with nothing to lose like Brooklyn, but Rip City surprisingly continued its summer trend of overspending, matching the humongous offer for a  3-and-D bench player who averaged 10.3 points per game on 39.4 percent shooting from deep last year.

The Nets walked away empty-handed in these two situations, but you’ve got to commend Marks for picking and choosing his targets; he just got unlucky on both of them. In any case, even if Brooklyn didn’t get their men, they forced their incumbent teams to pay quite a bit more than they were hoping for, and that in and of itself is a small victory.

Grade: C+

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