OKC Thunder TIP3 heads south to Mexico City with Nets expert weighing in prior to tip

TI Q1: The curse is almost over – what’s next?

This summer is the fifth anniversary of the trade with the Boston Celtics which mortgaged the future of the Brooklyn Nets. More importantly Brooklyn can mark ‘paid in full’ as they send the final pound of flesh payment to the man I call the NBA’s Shylock (Danny Ainge).  Reflecting beyond the three (first round) draft picks which headed to bean town there simply isn’t a way to salvage any positives from the deal. Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett are now analysts for ESPN and NBA TV respectively. Jason Terry is playing for the Bucks and D.J. White is no longer in the league.

Sean Marks who inherited the mess has done yeoman’s work via some of the most creative free agent offers ever witnessed. Marks has also managed to add value and simultaneously work in draft picks with trades. In another deep draft this summer the Nets have accumulated the Raptors first and second round picks  as well as Indiana’s second round pick.

The San Antonio Spurs and Gregg Popovich have long served as the training ground for many of the Association’s coaches and upper management recruits.  Yet, it was rumored Pops and Buford tried mightily to keep Marks in the Spurs system. The problem was Marks would never supersede Buford which in essence is the position he claimed coming to Brooklyn.

As the Nets regain control of their first round draft picks, what do you expect an unshackled Marks’ philosophy will be? That is, with his new found freedom to operate unimpeded do you anticipate he’ll continue to swing for the fences or play it safer?

Maniego offers his insight on Nets future:

Sean Marks has constantly used the term “opportunistic” when talking about how he’ll construct the Nets’ roster now and in the future. Even with the Nets FINALLY having their own draft pick (for the first time in 5 years), I believe Marks will continue to be opportunistic in building the team. So far, we’ve seen that – with the Nets’ entire 2017 offseason based on capitalizing on the mistakes of others.

The Lakers, Trail Blazers and Raptors all had huge, regrettable contracts. Even after the Nets lost out on the Otto Porter restricted free agency madness, Marks still was able to acquire talent for essentially nothing. Allen Crabbe, DeMarre Carroll and D’Angelo Russell are all huge parts of the Nets’ rotation – and they were all acquired due to the Nets’ capitalizing on opportunity.

The Nets are building not from ground zero, but from six feet under. – Maniego

Now, the Spurs model has been discussed a lot since Marks was hired. But here’s the thing. The Nets aren’t the Spurs. They’re not even in a comparable situation to Orlando, Charlotte, or New Orleans (all teams that have or had a former Spurs guy in their front office.) The Nets are building not from ground zero, but from six feet under.

Building foundation one brick at a time:

Marks can’t swing the fences now – the foundation is still being built. While the Nets may have exciting young players on the roster, (exciting compared to the absolutely 0 youth in previous years) and a potential star in D’Angelo Russell, the team still has major holes.

Each young player has shown flashes, but there hasn’t been consistent, reliable play. So I expect the Nets to continue adding solid, but unspectacular pieces for the next few years. You gotta crawl before you ball. That’s where Billy King failed. It’s also what Sean Marks is trying to master – crawling before anything else. The Nets may still throw restricted free agency offer sheets to players, but don’t expect another asset sapping trade anytime soon.