What the expansion of mediocrity means to the Brooklyn Nets

As the rift between the haves and have-nots in the NBA widens, so does the sheer volume of teams in the middle class, those stuck between rebuilding and contending. This trend is significant for the Brooklyn Nets as they start to churn the gears of contention.

It’s no secret that the NBA is top-heavy. By nature, the sport is dominated by the few elite superstars who are far from populous.

LeBron James. Kevin Durant. Stephen Curry. James Harden. These are the head honchos for legitimate title contenders.

If your franchise doesn’t possess players of this caliber, or players capable of ascending to this level, you had better pull out the dynamite ASAP. Otherwise, you’re vulnerable to getting stuck on (DUN DUN DUN) the Mediocrity Treadmill…

The victims

The Detroit Pistons decided to cap themselves out as a perpetual 8-seed candidate. By extending ball-dominant guard Reggie Jackson to pair with Andre Drummond, they cut their ceiling off right then and there. As a result of this stagnation, Stan Van Gundy got desperate and traded for Blake Griffin, whose contract will look awful when he’s owed $39 million at age 32.

The Washington Wizards not only got greedy by matching the Brooklyn Nets‘ “why not” max deal for Otto Porter Jr., but also gave Ian Manhimi exorbitant amounts of money for no reason. They have a “Big Three” of John Wall, Bradley Beal, and Porter, but thanks to the Manhimi and Marcin Gortat deals, that’s literally all they can do. That’s their core.

And the Charlotte Hornets have made about 13 ill-advised moves too many to outline in one article. Just take a look at who they owe money to for the next few years.

These are the exact types of predicaments the Brooklyn Nets need to avoid.

A cautionary tale

Having a plethora of young players will certainly keep the Nets bad through at least 2019, barring any sort of needle-moving deals. Thankfully, it seems all the extremely good vets around the NBA who needed to leave their previous franchises already have, at least in the short run.

General manager Sean Marks needs to make sure he doesn’t buy into contention too early; 2019 will be the first year since approximately the Jurassic Era that the Nets will have their own first round pick. They need to make that selection as high as possible in order to find a franchise cornerstone.

The incumbent pieces are fun to watch, but none of them stand out with superstar potential other than arguably D’Angelo Russell. He needs another high-upside guy next to him. If I sound like a vibe killer by saying Brooklyn needs to tank next season, so be it. The team needs another player with star potential to be Russell’s Robin (or maybe Batman. Who knows? That’s the fun of tanking).

Plus, it’s not like any marquee veterans want to come to Brooklyn anytime soon. There’s no sense in forcing the issue by overpaying middling veterans.

Next: 2017-18 Week 17 NBA Power Rankings

Teams like those above are locked into their “cores” for years to come. The Brooklyn Nets need to leapfrog them by building methodically, and doing so without haste. Everyone within 500 miles of Philadelphia is probably sick of hearing how “it’s a Process,” but such a slogan wouldn’t get as far as it has without some truth to it. Trust it, Brooklyn.