Brooklyn Nets: Starting lineup locks, fringe and potential break-ins
Fringe: Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Landry Shamet, Taurean Prince, Joe Harris
Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot
Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot is the definition of fringe for the Brooklyn Nets. He played great in the bubble in the absence of Durant and Irving. Luwawu-Cabarrot was productive on offense, and then head coach Jacque Vaughn gave him the playing time. It was fun to watch.
Luwawu-Cabarrot is good at shooting and defense, so he’s a two-way player. He’s also 6’7″, so his size and athleticism will be good for the Nets who are full at every position and could use their depth. This season with the Nets can hopefully be similar to what he displayed in the bubble, and that is doing great things for a good team that needs his style of play on the wing.
Landry Shamet
In terms of depth and building around Irving and Durant, this includes a search for a backup point guard. With Dinwiddie already in play, Landry Shamet may seem left out, but he actually is a perfect fit for Brooklyn. Shamet is a solid point guard with solid duties: he can score, run to the basket, and defend off the ball.
He’s a former Clipper who played alongside Kawhi Leonard and Paul George with Doc Rivers as head coach. Moving on to KD, Kyrie and Nash shouldn’t be a problem. At the point guard position, he can provide minutes and do a lot in those minutes at that position as well as shoot the lights out beyond the arc, a prerequisite for anyone playing alongside two ball-dominant stars.
Taurean Prince
Taurean Prince is another fringe option for the Nets, and he is a perfect option in this area. Prince’s current role with the Nets consists of coming off the bench and shooting from downtown. The bench depth of the Nets is headlined by players like Prince, and it should stay that way, although his abilities may attract many teams in the league. And they have. Prince was a fringe player for the Hawks lineup before joining the Nets.
So, the Nets, without the pieces they have now, saw an interest in him. Imagine what his potential is now that the team has nearly completed a rebuild with Irving, Durant, and Nash.
Prince’s shooting is still intact, which is a specialty that is unique to only a select few individuals and he can improve at other things, and this makes him pretty much an all-around good asset for Brooklyn.
Joe Harris
Joe Harris is really a lock for Brooklyn, but he’s also an x-factor who will prove beneficial with his natural skill on the floor and ability to shoot. The Nets building their roster and having Joe Harris on it in general, regardless of what role he plays, is great for the team.
Harris can be used in similar ways as the others: bench depth and also at the wing/small forward position. Harris, like many of his teammates, can shoot and has a breadth of skill, including defense. Nets fans are in for a treat watching Harris, who runs along the baseline, makes plays for open teammates, and for himself.