The Brooklyn Nets' future part 2: Spencer Dinwiddie and the young guns

The Brooklyn Nets are constantly evaluating their young talent to help build for the future. Will these four players fighting for roster spots impress the front office enough to become long term solutions for the Nets?

Part 2 of our four-part deep dive into the Brooklyn Nets‘ roster is finally here. We previously looked at the most expendable players on Brooklyn’s roster, and unfortunately for Trevor Booker, part of it turned out to be true.

Today we’ll be looking at four young Brooklyn guards with futures much more difficult to predict than our previous piece. These four are on the list because of their young age combined with the uncertainty about their future. They are essentially fighting for roster spots moving forward, fighting to make a real name for themselves in the league.

Let’s jump in.

Nik Stauskas

Newly acquired guard Nik Stauskas wasted no time showing his new team what he’s capable of. Despite Brooklyn getting run out of the gym Friday night against the Toronto Raptors, Stauskas was able to hit five of his seven 3s in his Nets debut, which is a franchise record for a debut.

Nik finished the game with 22 points on 6-of-9 shooting and seven rebounds. But I’m sure as Nets fans are starting to learn this season, with the good comes the bad. Two days after his breakout debut, Stauskas was held scoreless on 0-of-5 shooting while playing 15 minutes against the Indiana Pacers.

The jury is obviously still out on how he’ll fit within Brooklyn’s system because, well, he’s only played three games. But schematically, Stauskas understands he has the chance to thrive under Kenny Atkinson and told reporters about it after his record-setting debut:

"“I think playing in this system is a guard’s dream. If you can handle the ball and shoot it, you’re going to thrive in this system.”"

He’s not wrong either. We’ve already covered Brooklyn’s pace and how it likes to run. The Nets also like to shoot 3’s, which complements Stauskas’ game very well. Brooklyn is second in the league in 3-point attempts (34.2 per game) and Stauskas has already shown he can get a hot hand. The good thing about shooting specialists is that it’s not hard getting them acclimated to a new offense.

via GIPHY

Here’s an interesting yet relatively simple play to free Stauskas. Brooklyn starts at the top of the key and has Caris LeVert clear weak side. Strong side, Quincy Acy sets a hard off-ball screen to shake Stauskas’ defender.

Timofey Mozgov does your typical hand-off and rolls, which is enough to drag Toronto big man Jakob Poeltl off Stauskas long enough to open Nik up for a shot before his defender recovers from Acy’s screen. Look for these off-ball screens to be a main way Brooklyn integrates Stauskas into their offense.

But does Nik have a future in Brooklyn? The short answer is probably not, but it’s not that simple. Stauskas was the eighth overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, which means he’ll be eligible for restricted free agency this upcoming summer.

Spencer Dinwiddie

We won’t go too in depth on Dinwiddie considering we already did that a month ago. Consider this more of an update.

Dinwiddie’s last 15 games have been a good summation of his season: a budding star that has some work to do. Over his last 15 games, Dinwiddie is averaging an impressive 13.8 points and 7.5 assists on a less impressive 38.1 percent shooting from the field and 27.8 percent shooting from 3.

The good with Spencer is his upside, his progression throughout the season, and the extremely team-friendly deal he’s on. Dinwiddie made the transition from D-Leaguer, to bench contributor, to running an NBA offense seamlessly, and it says a lot about the ever-growing ceiling he has.

If there’s a part of his game that needs improvement, it’s his shooting. For as many shots as he’s averaged this year (10.6 field goals with 5.7 3 pointers) his percentages have to be better. He’s only shooting 39 percent from the floor and 33.5 percent from 3. He’s been able to find other ways to contribute, like distributing the ball, but improving those shooting clips would elevate his game to a new level.

Nothing’s really changed with Dinwiddie in terms of his future with Brooklyn. I fully expect Brooklyn to honor his non-guaranteed contract next summer and if he continues to progress, I think he has the brightest future of the four players on this list.

Joe Harris

Believe it or not, sharpshooting Joe Harris has been at the middle of some trade rumors lately. The guys over at NetsDaily.com wrote a good piece a week ago that covers Joe Harris as a potential trade chip for Brooklyn. I’ll let you read it for the details, but the talk was all sparked by former Nets GM Bobby Marks on Chris Mannix’s podcast. Bobby Marks basically claimed that now would be the time to trade Harris because of his breakout season paired with his looming unrestricted free agency this summer.

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I would be inclined to agree with the Nets’ former GM here. Harris is averaging 10.1 points per game on 45.2 percent shooting from the floor and 37.1 percent from 3. While the numbers may seem a bit pedestrian on the surface, Harris is one of those pieces a contending team would drool over. He has a big 6’6″ frame, can shoot the ball and plays defense. Pair those attributes with the career year he’s having and you have some real value on the market.

Marks did a good job laying out the options Brooklyn has with Harris. If Brooklyn decides to trade him they’ll most likely get more rebuilding pieces for the future while eliminating the risk of watching him walk for nothing this summer.

If they decide to keep him past the trade deadline, they’d better be prepared to sign him around the $5-6 million range for multiple years. Remember how I said it was unlikely Brooklyn would match an offer sheet of multiple years for Nik Stauskas if it came to that? It’s even more unlikely they bring both Stauskas and Harris on mult-year deals. Stauskas has the qualifying offer option to keep him around Brooklyn for one more year, Harris does not. Don’t be surprised to see Joe Harris dealt by the trade deadline.

Caris LeVert

Man, Caris LeVert is fun to watch. He’s a long, athletic ball-handler who can make these weird extendo-arm like passes around defenders and finish around the rim. Below is a pass very few in the league would even attempt, let alone pull off.

via GIPHY

His style of play is unique, to say the least. How he gets from point A to point B may not be the most aesthetically pleasing, but he gets there. His athleticism allows him to create space and his length allows him the ability to finish in spots few could.

Think of what a herky-jerky Manu Ginobili Euro-step paired with a funky-looking Giannis Antetokounmpo finish around the rim would look like. Got it? Now compare it to this finish.

via GIPHY

LeVert is similar to Spencer Dinwiddie in terms of length, his ability to handle the ball, and create either for himself or others. However, Brooklyn has him coming off the bench right now while Dinwiddie starts. You could make the argument that it’s because LeVert provides a spark off the bench, or the fact that he turns it over at a higher clip.

Regardless, LeVert’s future with Brooklyn is seemingly in his hands at this point. He’s only in the second year of his rookie deal, Brooklyn has already picked up his third year option, and he has the tools to be a key player with this team moving forward. Expect Brooklyn to value what LeVert brings to the floor for years to come.

Next: 2017-18 Week 10 NBA Power Rankings

Stay tuned for Part 3, when we’ll take a look at Brooklyn’s highest paid players.

Home/Brooklyn Nets

The Brooklyn Nets’ future part 2: The young guns

By Jacob Ahlmann | Dec 22, 2017

The Brooklyn Nets are constantly evaluating their young talent to help build for the future. Will these four players fighting for roster spots impress the front office enough to become long term solutions for the Nets?

Nik Stauskas

Spencer Dinwiddie

Joe Harris

More from Hoops Habit

Caris LeVert