Netsdaily Off-season Report – No. 14

Yeah, we’re a little late but there’s a lot to ponder.

The end of the Brooklyn Nets two summer leagues, coinciding with the start of free agency, seems like a good time to assess things. The Nets could make a move yet and LeBron James hasn’t made his decision.

Just Saturday, the New York Knicks tendered an offer sheet to the Dallas Mavericks for Moussa Cisse, a 6’11” 23-year-old center, only to see it matched hours later. On Sunday, the Mavs, Thunder and Hawks did a three-way swap that sent All-Defensive Wing Lu Dort from OKC to Atlanta, former overall No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher from Atlanta to the Dallas, Ryan Nemhard from Dallas to Atlanta and multiple draft picks, what else?, to OKC.

Things change.

Also, the Nets won’t play now for nearly three months, sometime the first week of October when training camp and preseason open. So where are we?

The Nets two lottery picks from 2025 and 2026, acquired as the centerpieces of a two-year long rebuild, have looked as Summer League head coach Dutch Gaitley said of Mikel Brown Jr., “electric” both as individuals, one coming off a development spree, the other a prized newcomer, AND as a fit, aka the “Aura Bros” as fan described them … a sobriquet Egor Demin seems to like. The organization is already taking advantage of the connection in a stream of recent social media. Why not? And the Nets do still hold the trademark to “Brooklyn’s Backcourt” if not Aura Bros…

And?

Michael Porter Jr., in comments we noted Saturday, seems quite happy with the Nets, offering to recruit Peyton Watson and praising what the organization is building. The recent back-and-forth mostly on the timing of negotiations on an extension seem the normal NBA foreplay than evidence of some split.

And?

Julius Randle who did average 21, 7 and 5 in 79 games, all starts, last season is all-in on his newest home, thirsting for a leadership role and, per Brown Jr., encouraging him already, telling him he expects the team to “shock the world.”

And?

The Nets have rewarded the hard work of Day’Ron Sharpe, giving him a new (and reasonable) contract as well as apparently the starting 5 spot come October now that Nic Claxton is gone. They also added Moe Wagner as a backup, too, although he hasn’t signed yet.

And?

Chaney Johnson had a breakout in the Summer League, leading all Vegas in steals at 3.3 per game while finishing only behind the Aura Bros in scoring and leading the Nets in rebounding.

And???

Well, there’s where it gets dicey. Yes, Josh Minott is a good gamble at 23 years old and Keon Ellis fills a need and brings quintessential 3-and-D numbers, but after that big list, things begin to slip from the positive into the negative or at least mediocre,

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Two of the Flatbush 5 seem to have regressed based on their summer league performances. Drake Powell had a 1-of-28 shooting slump followed by a 4-of-6 3-point effort followed by a 1-of-6 outing, including 0-of-4 from deep. Where’s that SMH emoji?

Danny Wolf had some bright spots, averaging a little less that 10 points, a little more than six rebounds, across four appearances for Brooklyn. He did struggle, as he did last year, from deep, going 0-for-6 in his last two games before Friday, then didn’t take a three at all in that one. His passing potential has been hurt by his turnovers. In Friday’s game, he had two assists and a whopping five turnovers in 18:35, a few of them of early when the Rockets took charge.

Ben Saraf’s game has seemed to stabilize at the level we saw year with some kudos on his defense coming from Jordi Fernandez. There was no breakout. We didn’t get to see Nolan Traore at all. He’s rehabbing from a ‘scope on his left knee. Not exactly encouraging across the board. Yes, you can argue, “what do you expect from players taken in the back half and deep in the first round?” More. Development and scouting are crucial for a team whose strategy is based on garnering draft picks for an organic regrowth.

That Johnson has advanced so while Powell and Wolf hit road blocks says both positive and negative things about the Nets.

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The lack of rim protection and rim running. Sharpe deserves his shot and his forte’ — indeed historical value — are about rebounding and offensive rebounding in particular. He is not about blocking shots and looking down the depth chart at the 5, he is not alone. Nic Claxton’s shot blocking may have declined from 2.5 per game to 1.1 over the last four years but he had that skill. You can also argue, if you wish, that the Nets will be more physical, more defensive-oriented, and that will compensate. Maybe.

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At this moment, the lack of offense in general off the bench should be worrisome. The first players off the bench this season likely will be some version of Noah Clowney, Josh Minott, Terance Mann, Keon Ellis, Moe Wagner. Maybe one of the other rookies will get minutes: Joshua Jefferson or Tyler Bilodeau who’s on a two-way deal. Clowney, 22, and Minott, 23, are the only ones who have any real potential to throw up some points in a hurry and both are young and inexperienced while the role seems daunting, based on past history. The Nets bench to any offensive credibility, there will have to be a breakout and a breakout is always a surprise.

Good things can happen. Late trades get done. Players surprise … in good ways. Moves get made at the deadline. Pray for good health! But as we’ve noted, while the tank is over, the rebuild is not, as the off-season showed. The Nets have made some improvements, particularly in the starting lineup as long as the Aura Bros. play as well as we expect. MPJ and Randle are both capable 20-point scorers if both are always a bit controversial.

Could the Nets have been more aggressive? Done either of those weekend deals? Probably, but how much more since we don’t know any details of any proposal, it’s hard to debate. Frustrating but only in fan discussions. How much it really matters won’t come known until the fall. They did keep their flexibility, mostly manifest in that cache of draft assets.

It is getting easier to debate where we think the team will stand starting in October. As Bobby Marks has said, we are entering the time when all GMs love their roster and how it fits their strategy, a phase that usually lasts till the end of the first third of the season which simultaneously falls around the unofficial beginning of trade season on December 15. Sean Marks (no relation) said something this week that matches what Bobby said, “I like the roster we have.”

Of course fans’ opinions are different with most wanting more wins now but others willing to show some patience over a longer run. None want a replay of last season. The Nets didn’t overpromise like the Mets nor simply promise, like the Jets who won their last title the month before Julius Erving turned 13. You can have you own opinion and we’ll all set our crystal balls up for late September.

Jordi wants a career in Brooklyn

Jordi Fernandez has won only 46 games in his two years as NBA coach, but has won plaudits from his and other teams’ players and coaches for developing young players — and holding things together during a tank. Now, his priority is winning.

On Sunday, Fernandez, a native of Spain and Catalonia’s basketball-mad city of Badalona, was honored by his hometown as its “native son,” an award the Nets coach cherished. He is the first Spanish-born head coach in the NBA, of course. He also a native of Catalonia, the autonomous republic in Spain’s north east whose capital is Barcelona one of the world’s great cities.

In receiving the award, he spoke to the media and told local reporters this, thanking among others the Nets and added this…

Translation: “I hope to retire with the Brooklyn Nets in the NBA.”

In today’s NBA, of course, that would be a very big deal. Fernandez is in his early 40s with a career that could with good fortune stretch into the 2040s. It doesn’t happen anymore unless you win multiple championships like Gregg Popovich or Steve Kerr. We assume Fernandez is well aware of the record!

Meanwhile, a Fernandez acolyte from Catalonia, tweeted out his thanks to the Nets for giving him an opportunity as one of the team’s “guest coaches.” For several years, unpublicized, the Nets have invited young international coaches to join the Summer League staff…

Boris Balibrea is currently the head coach of GTK Gliwice, one of Poland’s top teams. He is seen as one of Europe’s top young basketball minds, having been coach of the year twice in Sweden and once in the Alpe Adria league in central Europe’s alpine region. He’s currently the head coach of Sweden’s national team and has also coached elsewhere in Euope, Africa and China.

Last year, the guest coaches included another Catalonian, Spanish league legend Anna Cruz.

Final Note

Nets fans of a certain age and era understand that geopolitics can interfere in the world of basketball. Mikhail Prokhorov, the team’s Russian owner for nine years, sold the team in part because of pressures from Moscow and Vladimir Putin after the U.S. heavily sanctioned Russia following its 2014 invasion of Crimea. So it’s always wise to monitor what’s going on between the U.S. and China. Although neither Joe Tsai nor his Kansas-born wife, Clara Wu Tsai, are citizens of China, Alibaba, the company Tsai helped found is one of China’s biggest and best known companies.

So, we reported the other day how a U.S. congressman, John Moolenaar, Republican of Michigan, had told ESPN that the NBA should review Tsai’s ownership of the Nets following the Pentagon’s designation of the giant Chinese e-commerce, AI and Cloud computing giant as a “Chinese military company,” in the process banning any contracts with the company.

However, it should be noted, as we also did in our reporting, that neither Moolenaar nor his advisory committee on connections between U.S. companies and China has any power to do anything more than suggest a review and there is no indication the NBA would even consider such a request … if indeed the congressman has forwarded one to the league. At this point, there is no indication he has. NBA China, along with the International Olympic Committee, the UEFA championship league and world federations governing several sports, have AI and Cloud computing deals with Alibaba.

At least at the moment, rest easy if that’s your want about the possibility of a change in ownership. You have enough to worry about re: rim protection and Drake Powell’s jumper.