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Brooklyn Nets: 2017-18 NBA season preview

By Josh Cornelissen

GREENBURGH, NY - AUGUST 11: (EDITORS NOTE: Image has been digitally altered) Jarrett Allen of the Brooklyn Nets poses for a portrait during the 2017 NBA Rookie Photo Shoot at MSG Training Center on August 11, 2017 in Greenburgh, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
GREENBURGH, NY - AUGUST 11: (EDITORS NOTE: Image has been digitally altered) Jarrett Allen of the Brooklyn Nets poses for a portrait during the 2017 NBA Rookie Photo Shoot at MSG Training Center on August 11, 2017 in Greenburgh, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Elsa/Getty Images
Photo by Elsa/Getty Images /

The Brooklyn Nets have to toil another year without their own first round pick. What does the 2017-18 season hold for the team as it rises from the bottom?

Fans of the Brooklyn Nets have known for a long time that these seasons would be the dark ages of the franchise. Since the optimism of the super-team faded into the reality of departed draft picks, there was always going to be a three-year stretch where the team’s own incompetence would fail to yield any future building blocks.

That doesn’t make it any easier for the organization or its fans, as losing is a bitter drink without the sweetener of high draft picks. The Philadelphia 76ers created a culture around losing with a purpose, and teams such as the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers have been rewarded with players such as Devin Booker and Lonzo Ball, respectively.

The Nets made moves to add talent this offseason, but nothing is the same as coming out of the draft lottery with a high pick, dreaming for weeks about the player your team will choose, and then watching that lottery player grow within the organization. The Nets have been denied that opportunity by their own incompetence.

But this season is the last one in the desert, and the team moved to add a recent lottery pick in D’Angelo Russell. What should fans be watching for as the 2017-18 NBA season begins? Is there any hope for Brooklyn?

2016-17 Vitals

20-62, 5th in Atlantic Division, 15th in Eastern Conference
105.8 PPG (12th)/112.5 Opp PPG (29th)
104.6 Offensive rating (28th)/111.3 Defensive rating (23rd)

Team Leaders

Scoring: Brook Lopez, 20.5 PPG
Rebounding: Trevor Booker, 8.0 RPG
Assists: Jeremy Lin, 5.1 APG
Steals: Jeremy Lin, 1.2 SPG
Blocks: Brook Lopez, 1.7 BPG

Honors
N/A

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