The NBA may be taking a harder stance on tanking but that can’t deter the Nets from getting the best possible position in the loaded lottery, Brian Lewis of the New York Post opines (subscription required).
Lewis notes the Nets are more talent-deficient than other teams who are elbowing for lottery positions. Getting one of those high picks is crucial to accelerating their rebuild. They come out of the All-Star break just a game out of the No. 2 lottery spot and need to keep the wins for the remainder of the season at a minimum, Lewis writes.
Here’s more on the Nets:
- In his evaluation of the team’s performance prior to the break, Lewis points out that most of their rookies remain question marks. In particular, Drake Powell, Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf still have a lot to prove, though lottery pick Egor Demin has shown that he can be a steady factor — he’s had 34 straight games with a three-pointer, an NBA rookie record. Nolan Traore has also developed into a more reliable threat, posting averages of 13.1 points and 5.6 assists since Jan. 23 on 51.1 percent shooting, including 39.3 percent from distance.
- In an in-depth subscriber-only story, Lewis takes a look at Sean Marks’ roller-coaster decade as GM. One anonymous assistant GM praised Marks for a couple of his biggest deals. “Yeah, he’s had some big wins. The (Kevin) Durant trade (to Phoenix) was a big win. The Mikal Bridges trade (to the Knicks) was a big win,” the assistant GM said. “Other executives that were less good negotiators than Sean might have accepted the deal at a lower price point and not gotten as much. And his willingness to stick to his guns on those got him some big wins.”
- The schedule after the break could facilitate the Nets’ desire to pile up the losses. Their next dozen games include a pair against Eastern Conference leader Detroit as well as two games apiece against Cleveland and Miami. They also have to play Oklahoma City, San Antonio and Boston during that stretch.
The Nets have an interesting thing going on, I really like what I saw from Egor and Nolan’s numbers look great either
If they can get another great player in this upcoming draft, they could have a pretty solid core to build around
Maybe trade Claxton for some extra draft picks
Egor’s body will never allow him to play any other position than point guard, and unfortunately, his mind will never allow him to be a good point guard. Hopefully the Nets move on from him regardless of any positive return, so that they can start developing Saraf, who has shown more aggressiveness, passing abilities, and leadership skills so far.
He is just 19 years old (almost 20) and 6’8. He can get bigger and he can develop as a player. I don’t get why people won’t give young guys a chance to get better.
He came extremely raw from collegue and his numbers are alright for a rookie pg.
And he already made some clutch shots this season.
Reality indicates that Demin is not only a better PG than Saraf (who is a shooting guard who can’t shoot), but a better overall player, shooter and rebounder. There are valid reasons why Demin was picked 18 spots before Saraf.
Hahahahahaha Demin is light years ahead of Saraf, Saraf is actually their only rookie who hasn’t shown much of anything yet
Send Danny Wolf to the Knicks
Is there any chance Brooklyn would near-max LeBron this summer?
Why would LeBron do that?
There is currently a 0.77% chance
Egor is a trash can. Harden looks like a defensive specialist compared to him. Don’t care if he makes 40% of his 3s.
Lol, how was Harden’s defense as a 20 yo rookie?
Hate on!
Huh? his defense has been solid
Leave it to the Nets to have 5 picks last year and 1 this year
Nets have been bad for a while, if they get another pick that doesn’t do too much for them really. Wizards have been the same. The players taken have not justified tanking. Here’s hoping that one of the teams that are not fully tanking get the number one pick.