NBA
Nets’ Core Building Beyond The Box Score
In this juiced-up arms race of an NBA landscape, youโre either a contender or a pretender โย but if you happen to be the Brooklyn Nets, the situation lately has been more akin to a dire, bleak nightmare. Long without control of their own draft pick and the inability to draw a top-level free agent in, the Nets have treaded water since Joe Johnson, the last reminder of their fruitless all-in gamble upon moving to Brooklyn, was bought out in February of 2016. By way of Brook Lopezโs sudden three-point explosion, their tireless chase on defense and their fast, chuck โem up offensive style, the Nets earned plenty of compliments last season — but without wins to go along with them, they ultimately mean little in the long run.
That why the Nets are focused on two keywords headed into an important 2017-18 season: Continuity and culture. If Brooklyn can build on a couple of the franchise’s main values, well, then there may just be a way out of this bottomless pit sooner rather than later.
Continuity
Heโs the Netsโ head coach, but that hasnโt stopped Kenny Atkinson from getting his hands dirty for the second straight summer. As the Nets fearlessly charge into the great unknown once again, Atkinson has long loved the opportunity that coaching in Las Vegas affords him. The Nets went 20-62 in 2016-17, the NBAโs worst record, and that means the entire team can stand to improve, even the head coach.
โQuite honestly, I need to get better,โ Atkinson candidly admittedย on Monday. โI need to improve my game, Iโve had some situations out there where I was like: โMan, I couldโve done that better.โ I just feel like you’re in a flight simulator, the more reps you can get, the better you get.โ
And for Atkinson and the Nets, thereโs always room to be just a little bit better, which is why five members of last yearโs team are leading the way in Las Vegas. For many participants, the various Summer Leagues act as an opportunity for draftees to acclimate themselves to their new league and a chance for those not yet on franchiseโs radars to do so. But in the Netsโ case, their raw youngsters also double as a large majority of the teamโs core โย enter Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Caris LeVert, Spencer Dinwiddie, Isaiah Whitehead and Archie Goodwin.
โHungry is a good word, but theyโre hungry to get better โย thatโs our whole theme this summer. Weโre hungry to get better, weโre just so locked into the process,โ Atkinson said. โThatโs why weโre all here at Summer League quite honestly, rather than back in Brooklyn.โ
The current roster is a complete work-in-progress, particularly so after the Nets moved Lopez, the franchiseโs all-time leading scorer, to the Los Angeles Lakers in June. Outside of DโAngelo Russell locked in at one of the guard spots and, hopefully, a sophomore year leap for LeVert, Atkinson and the Nets know that theyโre far from out of the woods. Of course, theyโve got at least one more year of Jeremy Lin ahead of them โย he owns a player option in 2018 โย but itโs hard to imagine that heโs a long-term centerpiece in the way that Lopez was for nine years.
From there, the Nets have a chopped-together roster โย one part youngsters trying to find their place, the other part a home for bloated salary dumps. Still, for a team that won less than a quarter of their games last season, they intend on bringing a majority of the roster back โย well, those of them that arenโt traded away this summer. In fact, mid-way through July, K.J. McDaniels, Justin Hamilton and Randy Foye are the only three that wonโt be returning thus far.
Thatโs because of the front officeโs new commitment to continuity. As the Nets see it, it’s tough to find any type of stride with massive roster turnover year after year. Even if the team lacks an All-Star, why willingly start over at ground zero in each successive season? After clicking toward the end of Atkinsonโs rookie year at the helm, in part thanks to Linโs return after missing half the season, the Nets aren’t ready to hit the reset button again.
While Whitehead, LeVert and Hollis-Jefferson are all under contract for the upcoming season, the partial guarantees for Dinwiddie and Goodwin still loom large. As of now, both are expected to stay with the team, but should a few more free agents come along, the situation could play out differently โย so thatโs why Goodwin is in Las Vegas grinding: Heโs trying to earn his spot back.
โI look at it as an opportunity to get better with our young core of guys, I been having up and downs throughout my career,โ Goodwin saidย after their victory against the New Orleans Pelicans. โBut I feel like here I really have an opportunity and Iโm just trying to make the most of it.โ
Goodwin is certainly raw, but heโs only just 22 years old and somehow entering his fifth NBA season after the Phoenix Suns waived him before the first game in 2016-17. Although Goodwin has never averaged more than 8.9 points per contest, the flashes are certainly there, lurking. In the pick and roll, Goodwin is a tough guy to defend, gliding to the hoop in Las Vegas like a seasoned veteran. With his 6-foot-5 frame, the Nets also like his potential as a pesky defender โย but could he earn significant time on a guard-heavy roster?
The Netsโ patience in Goodwin has paid off and the guard has averaged 12.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists on 57.7 percent from the floor in just 20.7 minutes per game during Summer League so far. The Nets are no strangers to taking on D-League projects, but it feels like Goodwin has some legitimate sticking power in Brooklyn โย just like key bench scorer Sean Kilpatrick did last season โย all because those around him are giving him the chance to succeed.
โWhen I got here, the guys accepted me right away, so they made it a lot easier for me than I thought it would be,โ Goodwin said upon arriving at Summer League last week. โThey made it easy for me. . . and hopefully, Iโll be around for the long run.โ
Culture
Yet, for all the Netsโ losses last year, general manager Sean Marks isnโt looking for any get-rich-quick shortcuts. Their commitment to continuity has gone hand-in-hand with their evolving culture during the lengthy rebuild.
Although Hollis-Jefferson is now Brooklynโs longest-tenured player at three seasons, the franchise has aimed to cut out the pitfalls that doomed their roster’s former versions. From arriving late to practice to animosity between players, that veteran-laden Nets roster โย created by way of today’s missing draft picks โย fell short season after season until most were traded, bought out or fled in free agency.
But now, the roster is full of players that actually want to make a name for themselves in Brooklyn, a big difference in just a few years time for a team this far out of long-term contention.
โWe can make a huge jump, weโre all young, [those at Summer League are] all under 25,โ Dinwiddie told Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. โWeโre all hard workers, weโre all hungry for success, to be better as a team and try to win. The skyโs the limit.โ
And itโs true โย the teamโs oldest players heading into next season are currently Timofey Mozgov and DeMarre Carroll, both acquired this summer via salary dump and each turn 31 next week. But as of now, chemistry is one of the Netsโ biggest foundational supports, banking on kinship and unity to help build the culture that the franchise has lacked since they played a state over in New Jersey. Sure, it sounds hokey, but it’s given this young roster with no expectations a reason to be confident.
Thatโs why nearly every member of the Nets has popped up this summer in some way, shape or form. There are cuts to Marks in the stands at the Thomas & Mack Center as he speaks on the phone and evaluates his young assets. Thatโs why Lin, Kilpatrick and Joe Harris took in Sundayโs contest courtside, and why Russell was working out past midnight with LeVert just days after he was acquired.
Itโs one thing to get players to compete for a rebuilding, pick-less franchise like the Nets, but itโs another thing altogether for them to uniformly buy into it.
โI think when youโre trying to build a culture, reestablish yourself in the league and start really from the ground up, you kinda have to do stuff like this because chemistry is so important,โ Dinwiddie said. โWhen you look at the Warriors, itโs not just their collection of talent but the way they play together and thatโs what weโre trying to foster.โ
The Netsโ situation is well-documented at this point โย although it got a little better following their pending trade for the aforementioned Carroll and the Toronto Raptorsโ first- and second-round selections in 2018 โย but this small core competing this summer represents a very real, tangible ideal for the struggling fanbase: hope.
Heading into to another season without control of their own draft pick for a final time and a playoff berth still unlikely, finding any type of advantage is key. Thatโs why theyโre all in Las Vegas grinding away, even Atkinson. While these wins wonโt translate to any automatic successes in the fall, itโs the idea of family and togetherness thatโs dragging Brooklyn through the last stage of their grueling rebuild.
Of course, the results of these glorified scrimmages mean very little. But for a franchise well on itโs way to changing their status league-wide, stacking their roster and sending the head coach for a tune-up doesnโt signify desperation, it displays readiness.
โIโm going to fight Sean to do it again next year, he probably wonโt let me,โ Atkinson admitted on Sunday. โ[But] itโs like a dress rehearsal for the regular season, I love it.โ
As Dinwiddie put it, the sky’s the limit for the Nets, particularly so as they look to build on a difficult 20-62 season. Although they may need to wait a few more years before real โย ahem, postseason โย results arrive, it appears as if Atkinson, Goodwin, Dinwiddie and the rest of the franchiseโs key contributors will enjoy the ride every tiny step of the way.