The Brooklyn Nets Futures Odds (BetDSI Sportsbook)
Brooklyn Nets to win the Atlantic Division: +25000
Brooklyn Nets to win the Eastern Conference: +25000
Brooklyn Nets to win the NBA Championship: +100000
Brooklyn Nets Total Win Prediction: Total 26.5 (Over -130, Under +100)
The Brooklyn Nets had one of the worst seasons in the franchise history in 2016/17 and recorded only 20 wins, finishing as the worst team in the NBA. However, there is room for improvement after this offseason, and although they are still miles away from the playoff picture, the Nets can certainly display better performance in 2017/18.
Brooklyn brought D’Angelo Russell in one of the biggest trades of the summer, while the center Brook Lopez went the other way to the Los Angeles Lakers. The Nets also added Allen Crabbe and DeMarre Carroll, losing fringe players in return, so this team looks more competitive than it was last year. Although they don’t have a dominant center on the roster anymore, the Nets have a very talented backcourt and are ready to make a step forward and move away from the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
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The 2017/2018 Brooklyn Nets Roster
Arrivals: DeMarre Carroll, Allen Crabbe, D’Angelo Russell, Timofey Mozgov, Jarrett Allen, Aleksandar Vezenkov.
Departures: Archie Goodwin, Justin Hamilton, Brook Lopez, KJ McDaniels, Andrew Nicholson, Randy Foye.
The Brooklyn Nets selected Jarrett Allen with the 22nd pick overall in the 2017 NBA Draft, and the center will have a great chance to flourish with only Timofey Mozgov as his competition at the position. The 19-year-old played the previous season with the Texas Longhorns, averaging 13.4 ppg and 8.4 rpg, earning the Third-team All-Big 12 honor. The youngster is listed behind the Russian in the pecking order, but he should receive around 20 minutes per contest, and I expect him to become a useful rotational player. Brooklyn also picked Kyle Kuzma with the 27th pick overall, but he was a part of Brook Lopez deal and will begin his NBA career in Los Angeles. Aleksandar Vezenkov was the 57th pick overall, but he will spend another year with his current club Barcelona before joining the Nets in 2018/19. The 22-year old power forward has the potential to play in the NBA, but it seems that he needs to play a little more in Europe before switching to the NBA.
DeMarre Carroll joined the Nets in a trade that saw Justin Hamilton going the other way, but Brooklyn also got the first and second round picks from Toronto for the 2018 NBA Draft. Carroll’s big contract was too much for the Raptors, while the Nets have enough salary cap, so it seems like a good deal for both parties. After his arrival to Toronto from Atlanta, Carroll didn’t experience the best time on the court, and now he has an opportunity to become a leader of the Nets, in a team without superstars. Demarre averaged 8.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.1 spg, and 1.0 apg in 26.1 mpg in 2016/17, but there is no doubt this numbers will improve this year, even though he is listed behind Allen Crabbe at the SF position on the depth chart.
Talking about Crabbe, he came to Brooklyn in a story similar to Carroll’s. Allen’s contract is higher than the Blazers were ready to pay, and they decided to ship him out, which was a solid chance for the Nets to get their man and add a talented player to their roster. In return, Portland received Andrew Nicholson, but they waived him straight away. The Blazers weren’t interested in matching the Nets offer and Crabbe became a starter in Brooklyn, ahead of Carroll and Joe Harris at the SF position. Crabbe averaged career highs in points (10.7) and rebounds (2.9), but also in minutes per contest (28.5), and these number will probably be higher in 2017/18.
In the aforementioned big trade with the Lakers, Brooklyn received D’Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov for Brook Lopez and Kyle Kuzma. Russell is a fantastic addition to this Brooklyn team, and hopefully, he will continue with great performances he had in 2016/17 when he averaged 15.6 ppg, 4.8 apg, 3.5 rpg, and 1.4 spg in 28.7 mpg for Los Angeles. The 21-year old only spent two seasons in the NBA, but it seems that this season will definitely put him on the map, and I think he can become one of the best guards in the East. Russell is the point guard, but in order to have both him and Jeremy Lin in the starting lineup, Kenny Atkinson listed him as the starting shooting guard. D’Angelo wouldn’t mind that as he likes to score more than to pass the ball, so everyone can be satisfied.
Timofey Mozgov returned to New York after spending the half of 2010/11 season with the Knicks, and with Brook Lopez gone, he will be the Nets new starting center. Although that doesn’t sound quite encouraging for the Nets fans, the Russian can be an important player and his devotion to the game was never questioned. Mozgov averaged 7.4 ppg and 4.9 rpg in 20.4 mpg for the Lakers in 2016/17, but I am convinced his numbers will improve this time around.
| PG | SG | SF | PF | C |
| Jeremy Lin | D’Angelo Russell | Allen Crabbe | Rondae Hollis-Jefferson | Timofey Mozgov |
| Spencer Dinwiddie | Caris LeVert | DeMarre Carroll | Trevor Booker | Jarrett Allen |
| Isaiah Whitehead | Sean Kilpatrick | Joe Harris | Quincy Acy | |
Brooklyn waived Archie Goodwin after the point guard played only 12 matches for them, while the shooting guard KJ McDaniels joined the Toronto Raptors as a free agent. Andrew Nicholson moved to the Portland Trail Blazers in the Allen Crabbe trade, but the Blazers decided not to keep him and waived him the following day instead. Justin Hamilton showed signs of promise in 2016/17 when he averaged 6.9 ppg and 4.1 rpg in 16.4 mpg, but he is not a Net anymore as he joined the Toronto Raptors in DeMarre Carroll deal. The veteran Randy Foye left the team after appearing in 69 games for the Nets in 2016/17, averaging 5.2 ppg, 2.2 rpg, and 2.0 apg in 18.6 mpg, but the 33-year-old shooting guard apparently doesn’t have enough strength and stamina to compete at the highest level. Although his experience was valuable to the team, Foye will not be missed as the Nets have some great players in their backcourt.
Brook Lopez moved away from Brooklyn after nine seasons with the team, he played for them when they were located in New Jersey, and his departure certainly hit the fans. The stories about his new team circulated in the last couple of years, but only a few could anticipate that he will go to the Lakers. Lopes was a true leader in Brooklyn, and there is no doubt he will be one in Los Angeles as he is one of the best offensive big guys in the NBA for years now. In 2016/17, Lopez averaged 20.5 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.3 apg, and 1.7 bpg, while his three-point shooting emerged as an additional weapon. Brook will be a precious player in L.A., but Brooklyn received Russell in return and will create a team around the point guard as they did with Lopez in the last several seasons.
The Nets are looking relatively better than in 2016/17, and it seems they are strongest at the SG and PF positions, where they have players like D’Angelo Russell, Caris LeVert, Sean Kilpatrick, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Trevor Booker, and Quincy Acy. Although neither of them is a star, they are all highly talented and can make a difference, so I am convinced they will move from the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
The Bottom Line and Total Win Prediction
It takes time to structurally change the franchise as it requires a few years, and as we all know, not even Rome was built in a day, so the Nets will have to wait for a year or two before competing for the postseason. They do have a relatively young and talented squad and could cause problems for many teams in the East, but for now, something between the 10th and 12th place in the conference seems like their final position at the end of the upcoming campaign for them. However, the Nets should easily surpass the last year’s 20 victories, and the bookies also think so, as the BetDSI Sportsbook set the number of season wins at 26.5, so I am pretty sure they will record around 30 wins in 2017/18.
Season total wins: 26.5 Over (-130)
