Brooklyn Nets: A look at the guard rotation for next season

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Shooting guard

This is where it gets tricky. Since most of the 1-guard minutes should go to Dinwiddie and Russell, the 2-guard distribution will be a hodgepodge.

Because DLo spent so much time injured, Allen Crabbe soaked up most of the minutes at the 2, with Joe Harris backing him up. In very specific cases, Crabbe and Harris slid down to the 3 to accommodate for Dinwiddie and DLo.

Their slide will be more common in 2018-19. Not only does the roster construct demand it, but so do the small-ball trends of the modern NBA. Crabbe’s 6’6″ frame gives him some flexibility to slide down, and his constant 3-point threat will keep defenses honest.

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Harris will likely have troubles on that end, but the fact that snipers who moonlight as defensive sieves such as Kyle Korver and Marco Belinelli can still play legitimate playoff minutes tells you all you need to know about that cost-benefit relationship. His free agency will be an interesting subplot of the offseason, but not likely one that results in him leaving. He has made it quite clear how much he likes this team.

Lin has played off the ball with both the Houston Rockets and Charlotte Hornets, so this role is nothing new to him. He will probably carve out about 20 of the 2-guard minutes per game if both DLo and Dinwiddie are healthy. As for DLo, he would likely get about eight more minutes as the 2 in order to reach his requisite playing time mark as a franchise cornerstone. These minutes will almost all be with Dinwiddie, so that’ll be their time to shine together.

The remaining 20 are where the hodgepodge begins. Between Crabbe, LeVert, Harris and whoever the Nets draft and sign over the offseason, this could go a slew of different ways. In this case, Crabbe probably gets more of them than the others (10?), Harris gets another large chunk (8-10), and LeVert gets the remaining few sprinkled into his various roles with the team.

If this was difficult for you to follow, that was the point. The Nets have a lot of work to do with their guards and wings, and no one on the roster is safe. Minutes can be earned by anyone, and therefore lost by anyone too.

Next: 2018 NBA Mock Draft - Doncic still No. 1 in post-lottery edition

Along with no one being safe is the possibility of a trade. With Dinwiddie and Lin (if he opts in) on expiring contracts, they are valuable trade pieces to contenders. Whatever needs to happen to add clarity to the roster, general manager Sean Marks and his crew will make it so. But for now, having too many cooks in the kitchen is far from a bad thing.

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