A look into what the Brooklyn Nets are getting in Allen Crabbe
After being acquired by the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday, fellow Hoops Habit writer Raymond Simms provides some insight into what the Nets are getting in Allen Crabbe.
Brooklyn Nets play-by-play broadcaster Ian Eagle predicted general manager Sean Marks still had “something up his sleeve,” in a recent interview with Sports Illustrated Media Podcast host Richard Deitsch, and boy was he right.
On Tuesday, the Nets agreed to acquire Allen Crabbe — who they gave a four-year, $75 million offer sheet to last July — from the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Andrew Nicholson.
The Nets, who made it known they were interested in Crabbe from the get-go, made it no secret that they were still interested in the 25-year-old wing after being recently eligible to be traded to the team that originally signed him to that offer sheet.
I had a chance to sit down with fellow HoopsHabit colleague and Portland Trail Blazer beat writer Raymond Simms to get some insight on what the Nets are getting in Crabbe.
1. The Nets clearly wanted Crabbe after signing him to a four-year, $75 million offer sheet back in July of 2016. What do you think the Nets saw in Crabbe that made them offer the then-restricted free agent $18.75 million annually over four years?
RS: The main thing the Nets saw in Crabbe is his offensive ability. He’s an athletic player that is capable of scoring from anywhere. However, his main calling card is his three-point shooting. Of course, the Nets put up a lot of threes last year, but they weren’t coming down at a good clip.
Crabbe was the second-best three-point shooter in the NBA last year at 44.4 percent. Even during the summer the Nets gave him the offer sheet, he was coming off a year where he shot 39.3 percent from outside. So the Nets were strongly pursuing this athletic offensive player, and they finally got their man.
2. On the surface, it seems as if Allen Crabbe had a very similar year in comparison to his pre-restricted free agency year. Diving deeper, is this true?
RS: In everyday life, it’s usually a good thing when someone is the same person even after a big payday. However, that was definitely a problem for Crabbe last year. He was amazing shooting from three, but his two-pointers took a hit in the process. As a result, he only saw a 0.4-point improvement in points per game between 2016 and 2017. Honestly, almost all of his per game numbers were eerily similar between seasons. But, maybe the Nets’ faster-paced offense will jolt his averages.
3. Playing alongside the likes of Jeremy Lin and D’Angelo Russell in the backcourt, it seems Crabbe will assume the starting 3 position. How can we expect him to complement both Lin and Russell’s play?
RS: Crabbe’s spot-up shooting is going to work beautifully with Lin and Russell’s pick-and-roll proclivities. He averaged 1.23 points per possession on spot-up opportunities in 2016-17. He accomplished this with guys like Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum running the point. He shouldn’t have much of an issue transitioning to Kenny Atkinson’s offense.
4. What aspects of Allen Crabbe’s game do you think will be exposed (both positively and negatively) under a pace-and-space offense head coach Kenny Atkinson loves to run?
RS: Crabbe certainly won’t help whatever defensive issues Brooklyn had last season. Though it isn’t an end-all-be-all statistic, he had a similar defensive rating as the departed Bojan Bogdanovic (114 points allowed per 100 possessions). Crabbe will be a great addition offensively, but guys like DeMarre Carroll or Rondae Hollis-Jefferson will likely be called upon if some defense is needed at the 3.
Raymond makes all the right points, signaling a consistency in Crabbe from 2015-16 to 2016-17 isn’t all that terrible, considering he played somewhat of an identical role in Terry Stotts’ offense. Now, Crabbe will be called upon to improve, getting an opportunity to really stroke the three-ball in Kenny Atkinson’s pace-and-space offense.
Next: NBA Trade Grades - Blazers dump Allen Crabbe to Nets
One thing is for sure, this Brooklyn Nets team will be fun to watch.