Brooklyn Nets: 2016-17 End Of Season Roundtable
1. What was the biggest observation from the season about this Nets team?
Phil Watson (HoopsHabit): The Nets are just operating from a talent deficiency that will have to be systematically addressed as the franchise is able to recover from the bad decisions made during Billy King’s run as GM.
They went all-in on a very short-sighted plan that has set the franchise back several years in terms of remaining competitive and developing new talent. There’s no quick fix for this.
Justin Salkin (HoopsCritic): My biggest observation, which was very encouraging, was the Nets’ commitment to Kenny Atkinson’s Spurs-like motion offense. For years, the Brooklyn Nets relied on anti-modern isolation-heavy offenses that really only worked for the 25 or so games Deron Williams was a star and 45 or so games the loaded 2014 roster clicked.
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Finally, the Nets ditched that — and while they lost a lot this year, their style was akin to the league’s best teams. Atkinson’s offense is clearly built around ball and man movement, with guards making plays off the dribble, to create creases for Lopez, and openings for shooters.
What impressed me about Atkinson is his understanding that you have to play this way to succeed in the modern NBA — even when the Nets lost persistently and missed threes, he never wavered and encouraged continued shooting.
Atkinson could have constructed a more regressive system that fit this group better — but why build for a roster that will not be here in two years, and deploy an offense with a low ceiling? Rather, Atkinson stuck with his high ceiling offense that can thrive with real talent.
Two years from now, if the Nets have better talent, and players from this year who are still around are used to, rather than learning, the system, we will see the dividends.
Bryan Fonseca (NetsDaily): People (not me) would’ve been really surprised seeing how the Nets would’ve been with a healthy Jeremy Lin running the point all season. They would’ve been (around) a 30-win team, which I predicted before the year began.
But, instead we are left with what could’ve been this season. Also, the obvious growth of the young talent.
Plenty of ups and downs, but between Caris LeVert, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Isaiah Whitehead, Spencer Dinwiddie, and even Archie Goodwin and K.J. McDaniels showed some good things at the tail end.
A lot of low-risk/high-reward guys paid dividends (Quincy Acy is yet another one) and next season should be incremental progress.
With a couple first-rounders and plenty of options, we could be looking at even more young talent as this current crop returns in the fall with an additional year of experience.
Jaime Oppenheim (SiriusXM NBA Radio): You have to take two things away from this season. First, this team gives you everything they’ve got. Second, they’re really not very good at basketball, regardless of the positive vibes after the All-Star break.
Jonathan Griggs (WeMustBeNets): Much of the talk heading into this season was this idea of building the right kind of culture in Brooklyn.
After years of doing things the wrong way, the Nets finally appear to be on the right track in this department, something that hasn’t been seen with the organization since Rod Thorn was the chief architect of those teams from the early to mid-2000s.
The Nets’ record doesn’t indicate how a strong foundation has been put in place that management can build upon. Had Jeremy Lin not missed 46 games, you could make a legit argument that Brooklyn would’ve been 10-15 wins better.
Doug Bearak (Brooklyn Nets Super-fan): They don’t only preach “Brooklyn Grit” as a slogan, but they embody it. Our record wasn’t a fair indication on our true potential. That’s my favorite example of our team’s grit.