The IDEAL Brooklyn Nets Offseason: NBA Draft Steals, Giannis Antetokounmpo Sweepstakes?

The IDEAL Brooklyn Nets Offseason: NBA Draft Steals, Giannis Antetokounmpo Sweepstakes?

Coming up, I offer a road mapap for the Brooklyn Nets off season ahead of a pivotal year in their rebuild. All that and more coming up next. [Music] You are Locked on Nets, your daily Brooklyn Nets podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. All right, welcome in to the Lockdown Nets podcast right here on the Lockdown Podcast Network. It’s your team, the Brooklyn Nets, every single day. I’m Eric Slater, Brooklyn Nets beat reporter for clutchpoints.com. Thank you for making me your first listen of the day. This show is 100% free on all those great platforms. And on today’s episode, I’m going to be outlining a blueprint for the Nets off season, detailing why Brooklyn is in a great position in this draft, how Giannis Santenn Koopo could make that a moot point, and what will ultimately decide which direction the team goes. But before we get into that, want to let you know that this episode is brought to you by Monarch Money. Take control of your finances with Monarch Money, Udco’s lockdown MBA at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. To start off the show today, want to talk about a little transition obviously in the lockdown nets podcast and locked on podcast network with myself taking over for Doug Nory and Adam Armrech. two guys who have done such a great job on this show for years. We’re talking, I think it was around six years that they were on this show and on this network, taking you guys all the way through the Nets rebuild into the KD Kyrie days into the implosion of that, the Bridges era, tearing all that down into the beginning of this rebuild. They covered it all and they did such a great job. And you know, I’ve come to learn in my three years on the Nets beat, this was my third season covering the team for Clutch Points. got to know Doug and Adam. Got to know, you know, how much they meant to the Nets community, especially those who, you know, take in podcast content, how many people followed their work, what a big part of, you know, all those peoples and all those fans lives that this channel was and that they were. And I just wanted to, you know, really shout them out for everything that they’ve done. They had me on this show several times and really, you know, welcomed me in, developed a relationship with me and then were willing once they were deciding that they were going to move on, you know, put in a good word for me obviously and kind of talked me, you know, through what it would be like taking this spot and it’s something that I’ve been really excited to do. I think you know all of you guys don’t want to go too long on this intro of myself but I think a lot of you guys have probably followed my work covering the team for Clutch Points and also this past season hosting a podcast on the believe network believe in Nets covering the team but you know when I was presented this opportunity and the opportunity to make you know daily Nets pods and daily Nets content on you know this type of platform I really thought it was something that I couldn’t pass up and I was really excited to do because you know throughout the last couple seasons I’ve had a lot of approach me and say, you know, we want you to do more uh consistent content in terms of the podcast platform. We like what you do there, and I was writing so much, but this coming season, taking this position, I think it’s going to be more of a balance between the podcasting and the writing, and I’m just really excited for this. I’m really excited to get into it. I am going to be hosting the show solo, but I plan on having kind of a recurring panel of guests coming on, you know, reporters, possibly players, some team people, and you know, other just national people throughout the league. So, going to really, you know, bring my own obviously expertise, but then welcome in a lot of different perspectives and hopefully get some debate going on that. But, yeah, really excited to get started on this. And you know, I think if we’re talking about the Nets off seasonason and where the Nets go from here, I think there’s no other way to start the first episode than talking about this draft and the gravity of the situation that the Nets find themselves in with having four first round picks and what a lot of people describe as, you know, a generational draft and one of the deepest drafts of the last two, three decades. I mean, that’s obviously picking eight, 19, 26, 27. But specifically speaking about that eighth pick, you know, I I grew up in New Jersey. I’ve followed the Nets my whole life and I really, you know, it’s been since 2010 that we’ve seen them have a pick like this in the lottery. They obviously took Derek Favor’s third overall in that draft. They missed out on John Wall and since then they have not had a lottery pick since Shawn Marx took over as GM in 2016. He has never picked higher than 20th. And the reason that I outlined is that is obviously we entered this past season with fans having dreams of the Nets landing, you know, the number one pick, Cooper Flag, potentially even a top three pick. They obviously win a little bit more than expected. They drop to the six best odds in the lottery and then they fall on lottery night to number eight, which seemed like, you know, an extremely disappointing outcome at the time. And it was an extremely disappointing outcome. But I think, you know, the disconnect there a little bit from where I was seeing things is while it was very disappointing, I think, you know, obviously with that disappointment, a lot of people want to label it as such things as a disaster. This is awful. You know, this is a complete failure of last season. And while I think there are a lot of things that I think maybe the Nets would try to go back and change if they could in terms of where they landed up in that lottery order, you look at the strength of this draft, you look at the strength of this class, and I can no way say that it’s a disaster. for the Net, the position that the Nets find themselves in. Having an eighth pick in this draft and being able to choose from a pool of highly talented prospects like this, it’s an opportunity that in my time covering the team and in really the modern history since this team has moved to Brooklyn, they’ve never had an opportunity like this. So, while the fall to eight is disappointing, while you know there’s obviously the always going to be the whatifs of what could have happened if maybe they finished higher in the lottery standings, you know, they’d have a top five pick this and that, they’re still in a good position. And I really think that speaks to the strength of this class and, you know, just getting into some of the names potentially. I’m going to go into a lot more pods in this coming week and leading up to the draft doing deeper dives on individual players. But looking at the way that this draft board is playing out early on, we still have three weeks to go until draft time. But assuming, you know, Cooper Flag obviously going number one, it seems like Dylan Harper’s the consensus number two. And while there is some data debate amongst, you know, draft analyst, front office people, it seems like Ace Bailey and VJ Edgecomb obviously are in the top four. And you look at the consensus of the top players behind that on what, you know, these big boards really starting to take shape. You have guys like Jeremiah Fierce, Trey Johnson, Khan Kuple, Kaman Maluok, Noah Sen, a player who’s making his way into the top 10 in a lot of these mock drafts. And my point being, you’re guaranteed to get one of those guys. You know, if you just look at the numbers, you have the top four. I just named five more guys. That’s nine. The Nets are at eight. They’re guaranteed to get one of those players. And there is a lot of talent in that group. And any of those players that you pick, there’s a lot to like about them. These are players that in many other good drafts would easily be top five, maybe even top three picks. If you look in last year’s draft, a lot of these guys, almost all of these guys would be the number one pick in that draft. So, the Nets are going to come away with a good player here. You look at the names I just named. I said I’m going to get much deeper into, you know, what those guys look like as individual prospects, their strengths, their weaknesses, whether they’re high floor guys, whether they’re high ceiling guys. Um, you know, you look at all of them. A guy that I’ve really come to like as I’ve watched film, Jeremiah Fears. He’s a guy who may be out of the Nets’s range. Could potentially talk about tradeup scenarios. I’m going to talk about that in coming segments. But he’s a guy that I think just screams star potential as a lead ball handler. You look at his ability to create separation. You look at his ability to get downhill. You look at all the things that he’s able to do. I think that he has extremely high upside. The jump shots obviously a question. There’s some questions about the defensive end, but I like the form there. I think he has good size. He could fill into his body. He’s a guy that, you know, if the Nets could find a way to come away with him in this draft, which may not look likely based on the order, but I think that he’s a really nice player. You look at the other guys. Trey Johnson, really great player. Con Canipple, a guy who’s been, you know, mocked to the Nets in a lot of draft. A guy who might not be the flashiest name and a lot of people, you know, might have been disappointed. And I know a lot of fans earlier in the season, the idea of coming away with Khan Canipple was disappointing, but I pushed back on that at several points, especially when we got into the NCA tournament talking about Canipple’s floor, talking about the things that I think he brings in terms of a concrete skill as a sharp shooter, a guy who can be a secondary shot creator, a high IQ guy, a high motor guy, a guys who a guy who’s going to be about all the right things. You know, I really think that he’s a great pro prospect. Obviously, we know what Kaman Maluok brings it as a center and Noah Asen, a guy I want to touch on briefly. I just wrote about him the other day, but a player that’s really starting to catch the eye of, you know, a lot of scouts. He’s obviously people have been watching him. You know, he’s played about 52 games over in Germany in the top professional league over there this season. But these last few weeks is really putting together one of his better stretches of the season. and a 6’9 forward who has, you know, is a fluid mover, has fluid ball handling ability, good touch and finishing ability around the rim, has the tools to be a really good defensive player, has shown playmaking flashes, the jump shots are work in progress. When you look at the size, the measurables, all the thing that he’s going to be able to bring to the table, and kind of how he can project in terms of, you know, a concrete NBA role as a two-way guy who could be a force on both ends of the floor. I think a lot of scouts are really excited about him. I think he’s a guy who is going to start, you know, gaining a lot of momentum as a potential pick for the Nets at number eight. A guy who seems to be creeping into the top 10 of a lot of mock drafts of a lot of big boards and he’s a player that I think is very realistic for the Nets to be able to get at eight. And I think there’s a lot to like about his skill set and all the guys that I just named. And you know, just overall, you know, point about this segment, I think that there’s a lot to like about these players. And while the fall to eight is disappointing, I think that, you know, there’s players in this group who have star potential, there’s players in this group who even if aren’t a star, could be high-end starters, you know, in a playoff caliber rotation based on how they can project to the next level. And I just think that there’s a very good chance the Nets come away with a really good player at eight. Trades obviously have been a big conversation. The Spurs at number two, could the Nets get up there? I talked about this on the last locked on Nets pod with Adam. just think it’s unlikely that the Nets are going to be willing to give up what is necessary to get up to that spot. If we’re talking three with the 76ers, I think that, you know, that could be more realistic. I still don’t see it as likely given what the Nets would have to give up and there potentially not being a huge difference between three and eight in terms of the prospect rankings and, you know, how some people have players on their board. I think maybe six with the Wizards could be another spot that the Nets could look to trade up. But regardless, it’s obviously going to depend on how their board shakes out relative to some of these other teams. But bottom line, I think the Nets are in a really good position to come away with a really highlevel player in this draft. A caliber of player that we have not seen the Nets draft in the Brooklyn era. We have not seen Shawn Marx and BJ Johnson and that scouting department get this kind of opportunity. and I’m really excited to dive into it on coming episodes getting more into, you know, this individual skill sets of some of these players and breaking down the strengths and weaknesses and having some draft experts on here to break all that down. So, think the Nets are in a good spot for the draft and really excited to break down more of that. But coming up next on this episode, I’m going to talk about the name that will dominate the summer in the NBA, obviously, Giannis and Tenno and the possibility of the Nets entering those sweep stakes. But before we get to that, want to tell you again about our friends at Monarch Money. Ever check your bank account and wonder where did all my money go? Between dining out, online shopping, and entertainment, it’s easy to lose track. That’s where Monarch Money comes in. 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I don’t think we’re going to see a lot get going until there’s clarity on what Giannis’ future is. We heard a week or two ago that Giannis was going to have a meeting with the Milwaukee Bucks. Shams Trani at ESPN um reported that he’s obviously open now with Damen Lillard’s Achilles tear within the Bucks being a first round exit in the last three seasons. He’s open to evaluating his options, which obviously he should be, but there hasn’t been much clarity on whether or not that meeting between Giannis and the Bucks took place and you know whether or not he’s going to be on the move this summer. I’ve said it several times, even before Dame’s injury, but especially after Dame tore his Achilles and the Bucks were bounced in the first round for the third straight year. I just don’t see any way that the Bucks with, you know, D even with Damen Lillard healthy, but now, especially with Damen Lillard injured and that 5060 million hole next season, you know, on their cap sheet, there really is no way for the Bucks to get back to a contender. They have limited assets. They don’t own a pick, one of their own picks until 2031. And all of that, I think, points to an obvious conclusion. Unless Giannis is just completely in content on, you know, ending his career a Buck and winning a championship really isn’t that big of a deal to him, maybe he could stay. But that’s not what we’ve heard from Giannis over the past few seasons with him applying pressure to this Bucks fraud office. It’s just not what he said. So that to me points to the logical direction of him asking out of the Bucks realizing that it’s probably in their best interest to move him if they want to recoup some assets and potentially build this out and set themselves up for the next era of basketball there. And the Nets have been a team that is frequently mentioned and obviously there’s other teams that could get in the mix that’s going to dominate the question are the Nets, you know, a realistic possibility? Are they a team that should do this? Will they be able to outbid other teams? And you know, I I think that it’s it’s I didn’t think that it was going to be, you know, all that realistic or something that they would do. I think the way that the Eastern Conference shaked out in these playoffs with Jason Tatum blowing out his Achilles with the Indiana Pacers, a team that a lot of people probably didn’t give too much of a shot making their way to the NBA finals. I do think that changes this equation. I also think, you know, the way that the Western Conference has stacked up and really just been loaded up compared to the East, I also think changes the equation because if you’re Giannis and you’re looking around the landscape of the NBA and you’re trying to decide where is my best place to try to keep winning, where is my best place to try to reach the NBA finals again, I it’s not in the Western Conference. So, you know, if you’re a guy like Giannis, I think you’re looking to stay in the Eastern Conference. And if you’re looking at the Eastern Conference and you’re looking at teams that could realistically put together a competitive offer for Giannis, teams with a combination of draft picks and young players, if not at the very front of that race, the Nets are very firmly in the mix. They obviously have 15 first round picks over the next seven years. They have an NBA best 10 tradable first round picks right now. They have obviously I said the eighth pick in this draft. They have the Bucks pick at 19. They have 26, 27, 36 and all these picks beyond that in coming years. And you know, as an exercise entering this podcast, assuming Giannis wants to stay in the East, which is not a foregone conclusion, he still could look to go west. The Houston Rockets, the Spurs, there are teams there that could be in the mix, but the West is just looking like it’s going to shape up to be a gauntlet. You know, obviously with OKC, with Minnesota, with the Lakers, with some of these other teams that are really coming up there, the Clippers, the Nuggets, all these teams, it’s going to be really tough to make it out of that Western Conference, especially with the way the Thunder are looking. You look at the East and the East, you know, I think sometimes it’s a little overplayed how bad the East is, but in comparison to the West, it’s really not a question, and it’s really going to be easier to come out of the Eastern Conference. So, I wanted to look at the teams in the East and who I felt could put together a realistic package, the realistic best combination of draft picks andor young players, you know, young players with star upside. And I really came away with four teams, the Nets, the Magic, the Raptors, and the 76ers. And that’s not at all those other teams besides the Nets. That’s not bringing into account whether Giannis is going to want to play for those teams or not. I’m just saying the teams that have the combination of draft picks and young players. There’s other teams obviously that could get in the mix. You look at the best teams like the Cavs. Could the Cavs look to trade Evan Mobley? He’s going to be one of the most enticing young pieces that you know the Bucks could possibly come away with in something like this. The Cavs don’t have as many draft picks. They have a guy like Moy. I didn’t include them with what I was saying because I don’t think that the Cavs are going to move Moy, you know, at this young age and early stage of his development for Giannis. The Celtics, could they look to trade Jaylen Brown and some picks and some other pieces? they could, but with Tatum out with an Achilles tear with where they’re looking at resetting their timeline, I don’t think that that’s really realistic at all. So, I came away with those teams. I said the Nets, the Magic, the Raptors, the 76ers. The Nets obviously have the most picks of uh that group. As I laid out before, the Magic, you’re looking at them. They have four tradable first round picks. They obviously have three guys, Paulo Beno, France Vagner, Jaylen Suggs. They could offer up any of those guys in a package. And I think the combination of that player with picks would be really intriguing for the Bucks. You look at the Raptors, they have the ninth pick in this coming draft. They have I think have four tradable first round picks in total. They I don’t think they’ll trade Scotty Barnes. I think you you know maybe they would, but I think you’d want to keep him obviously if you were trying to, you know, build this roster out in the best way possible there. But he is a guy who’s there. They have other pieces beyond him. There’s been rumblings. I think Brian Winhorse talked about it um on Get Up earlier today or yesterday that the Raptors are going to look to make a move for a star. They obviously acquired um Brandon Ingram from the New Orleans Pelicans at last year’s deadline and it looks like they’re gearing up for something to try to make a move to try to finally build something and get out of the meddling position that they were in. The 76ers don’t have many as many tradable first round picks. I think they have two or three, but they obviously have Tyrese Maxi. They have Jared McCain with the health uncertainty of Joel Embiid with what Paul George look like next year. I don’t know how realistic a deal is, but those are all teams that I feel have a combination of picks andor young players. And if you’re really looking out of all those teams, I think the Nets and from Giannis’s perspective, the Nets in terms of being in the New York market, the assets that they have, they really make a lot of sense for a team like him. And assuming that he’s going to want to stay in the East, I think it’s very plausible that the Nets could be seriously in the mix here. The question is obviously going to be, is he all in on staying in the Eastern Conference? Is that that much of a priority for him? But if he is, I think the Nets in New York City with the assets they have, I think would be very intriguing for him. Now, from the Nets’s perspective, I’ve talked about this um extensively throughout even throughout last season into the beginning of this offseason. Should they do this? I’ve really haven’t gone back and forth. I’ve been more on the side that they should not do this, that they should continue to build through the draft, that they should look to, you know, not try to fast track this. But I do think that the way that Jason Tatum went down, the Celtics being out of the equation, the way the Eastern Commerce has shaken out, I think that, you know, the way this playoffs have shaken out, I think I’ve shown that if you give yourself a chance and you bring yourself close enough, things can break your way. Look, nobody thought the Indiana Pacers were going to be in the championship this year. They’re in the championship. Obviously, they’re a huge underdog. One injury to the Thunder though, they could be NBA champions. So, you give yourself a chance. And I do think that there is a case that this could make sense for the Nets. Do I agree with it? Do I think it’s the direction that they should go? No. But if you’re looking at what the what the Nets could potentially be able to do, they have the combination of the picks and the cap space. Obviously, they don’t have, you know, a ton of, you know, win now championship pieces, playoff rotation caliber pieces. If you’re talking about guys on the current roster who are, you know, that level of player, I think you can definitely say Cam Johnson, you can maybe say Nick Claxton, and I think the jury obviously is very much still out on Cam Thomas and whether he can be part of that rotation. But the Nets, if you’re talking about would they be able to acquire a player like Giannis and build this out beyond that to a point where they have a legitimate shot in the Eastern Conference in this Eastern Conference, I think they can do it. Do I think that it’s, you know, they’re going to come out being a favorite? No. But I think that they do have the pieces. Say, you know, say they’re moving Nick Claxton and, you know, some other salary salary fillers with five, six first round picks plus swaps probably what it would take to get Giannis from the Bucks. You bring Giannis in, you still have cap space left over. There are some free agents, I think, who would be good options, you know, for if you’re looking to go in a win now direction like that. You have uh obviously Nquil Alexander Walker and Nas Reed have the Timberwolves. You have Quinton Grimes with the 76ers. There’s going to be some other cheaper veterans on the market. Besides that, there’s going to be players who, you know, other teams are looking to salary dump who could you could potentially utilize in a playoff rotation and get from the cheap. I’d be looking at the Boston Celtics in that regard with Drew Holiday, Kristoffs Porzingis. You know, I think it’s very likely that one of those guys are on the move this summer and they’re not going to cost a whole lot. they’re going to be more of a salary dump, but guys who could still have, you know, some some juice in them and some, you know, utilization for a championship seeking team or a contending team. You look at all that, you look at whether the Nets will be able to swing this trade for Giannis, use their leftover cap space, use some of the assets, the further draft picks that they have. I think they’ll still have, you know, four first round picks left in the scenario that I laid out. Would they be able to put together a rotation this coming season that is able to compete in the Eastern Conference? I think they could. Now, will they be a favorite in the Eastern Conference? I don’t think so. Will they be, you know, a legitimate contender in a team that could win a championship realistically even if things broke their way? I think the jury is still very much out on that discussion. But that’s next season. They still would have some picks left over. They still would have, you know, other things they could look beyond the next, you know, you get Giannis, he’s 30 years old. You’re talking about a three, four year window. They would have some more assets that they’d be able to use to build out and try to further build this team. So, do I think that, you know, it’s the best path for them to go? I don’t. Do I think that there’s a case to be made that it’s, you know, a plausible direction for them to go and be able to build a contender? I do think that there is a scenario where that could be the case. Now, it’s going to come down to price. It’s going to come down to a lot of other factors that were, you know, we’re not yet privy to the information because we’re so early in the offseason. But, I do think right now it’s a closer conversation than what it was before. Does that mean that, you know, I think that they should do it? You know, I I’m not on that camp right now, but I think that there’s a case to be made and I think that I’m going to have a lot more discussion on this throughout the next week, throughout the whole offseason, and I think on tomorrow’s episode, I’m going to touch a lot more on what that conversation could look like. Coming up next, I’ll close out the show by talking about what I view as the most likely direction for the Nets this summer and next season as they move forward in their rebuild. Right, as I close out today’s locked on Nets episode, wanted to talk about the other direction. I just touched on the potential Giannis trade, what that could look like, how the Nets could build that out from there, but on the more likely scenario that they do not go after Giannis, that this looks like another rebuild this coming season. What that could look like, how the Nets could look to utilize the position they’re in to further, you know, accelerate, not accelerate, but to put themselves in a better position as they move forward in this rebuild. And I think a lot of that conversation is going to start with their cap space because the Nets are projected to have between, you know, 50 and $60 million likely in cap space. This summer they are the only team in the NBA projected to have, you know, cap space, let alone significant cap space. And they are really, you know, hoarding and they have monopolized the cap space this off season. And based on the position that some of the teams in the NBA find themselves in in, you know, regarding the new CVA, I think that they’re in a great position to utilize that cap space to their advantage. What could that look like? Obviously, there’s free agents that they could look to go after. There’s restricted free agents they look to pry from other teams. There’s unrestricted free agents who could be good by low options for them. But if they’re playing this out in the scenario where they don’t go after Giannis and they’re rebuilding and, you know, going through this next year, it’s likely going to be another tanking season where they’re looking to maximize their draft position. And a good way that they could look to do that while also adding to their asset pool would be to utilize that cap space as a dumping ground as we’ve seen Shawn Marks do in the past. And with this new CBA, there are going to be even more so than we’ve seen in the past, a lot of teams trying to get off money because the second apron, the first apron, the team building restrictions, and the team building penalties for being over those thresholds is greater than what we’ve seen before. And a lot of teams are going to need to get out of it. They’re going to need to reshuffle their rosters. They’re need they’re going to need to regain some flexibility. The Celtics are a team. The Suns are a team. There’s a lot of teams that are in situations where those aprons are really going to be hampering them. And the Nets are in a great position to utilize their cap space to really be the only team that can do this to take on contracts in return for draft capital or take on guys that maybe they could view as bow options. And this is something that we’ve seen the Nets do back in 2017. They did this a few times. They made a few great moves. Uh the first salary dump that Shawn Marks made was uh you know took Timothy Maz got from the Los Angeles Lakers along with D’Angelo Russell. Obviously DLO turned into an all-star. He led them to you know their first playoff appearance in years. They were the 16 team one of the most endeared teams to the Nest fan base during the Brooklyn era. That was a good salary dump. They also took on Deari Carol from the Toronto Raptors. He became you know an impact veteran for that playoff team in 201819 and they also got a first round pick along with him. So, those are moves, you know, that we’ve seen Shawn Marks make in the past. We’ve seen seen Shawn Marks utilize his cap space. And with the landscape of the NBA financially with the new CBA, with all these teams trying to potentially get off money and add flexibility, I think the Nets are in a great position to utilize that there. Now, looking further down the roster, if the Nets are going into a rebuild, if this is going to be another tanking season, I think a lot of eyes are going to shift to Cam Johnson, a guy who was the top player, unquestionably on the Nets this past season. A guy who had the best season of his career with the team last year, was around 20 points on 50, 40, 90 for a large chunk of the season, and really looked like a guy who was one of the more efficient wings offensively in the NBA. And if you’re looking at Cam, you’re looking at the direction that the Nets could look to go if they’re looking to tank this year. He’s a guy who could be here again. I spoke to Shawn Marks at Shawn Marks’ um exit interview, asked him about the potential of trading Cam Johnson. He spoke extremely highly of Cam about what he brings. He said the Nets are in no rush to trade players like Cam Johnson who bring the things he does on the court, but also the intangibles that he brings in the locker room. And with the Nets bringing in potentially four rookies in this coming draft, having a guy like Cam, I think is obviously going to bring some value in terms of the veteran leadership that he can bring. But I also think that he’s, you know, his value is pretty high, you know, coming off of what he did last season. He could be a guy they could potentially look to package with picks to move up in this draft, whether that’s to move up from eight, whether that’s to move up from 19. He’s also a guy throughout the year that they could just look to trade in order to lean further into the tank and in order to, you know, add to their chest of draft capital. Because if we’re talking about potentially a salary dump or two where you get picks there, you trade Cam Johnson, you get another first round pick there, you’re adding multiple first round picks to the stockpile you already had while potentially being one of the worst teams in the league and guaranteeing yourself a top five, six pick in this coming draft which has three players at the top of it. you know, in Darren Peterson, AJ Deansa, and Cam Boozer, three guys extremely highly regarded. You could add to your stockpile of assets and put you in position to, you know, pick a potential star player in that draft along with whatever you get in this draft. And that could be the foundation of having a few really high level young players on this roster and then also having the picks to kind of build that out in the mold of, you know, I don’t want to say in the mold of the Oklahoma City Thunder because the Oklahoma City Thunder obviously hit on stars with several of their draft picks and most importantly traded for a guy like Shai Gilligas Alexander. But the Oklahoma City Thunder have, you know, players, younger players, team controlled, and they also have this arsenal of picks. And we’ve seen them build this out to a point where they’re an extremely deep team. They have flexibility moving forward. And if you build through the draft like the Nets could, you hit on eight this year, you get a top five pick next year, you hit on a potential star guy, while having the clean cap sheet, while having all these picks that you could potentially have from trading Cam Johnson, from taking on salary dumps, all the stuff you got in the male trade. That could be the really good, you know, a really healthy start of a rebuild and a way that you could build sustainable success, which has been a buzzword for Shawn Marks in the Nets front office. Sustainable success. It’s something we’ve heard from them throughout the last year into this off seasonason. And that’s a blueprint hitting on a couple of these draft picks, having that stockpile of future draft picks, having a healthy cap sheet. That is in this modern NBA, in this modern CBA, that is the way that you build sustainable success. A lot of things have to break right for you there. But I do think that, you know, that’s a very enticing route. And based on the way that this Nets front office has drafted in the past with picks that were 20 and below, I really think that they have a good shot to do a good job drafting and come away with some impact players in these next couple of drafts while making moves around the margins that add to their stockpile of assets. The last thing about the direction that taking direction that it would entail, it would also entail evaluating players that are currently on the roster, deciding what to do with them moving forward. I think the most important guys with that who, you know, still have some youth, obviously Nick Claxton and Cam Thomas, what do you do with those two guys? Obviously, Claxton signed that four-year 97 million contract before last season. I don’t think he had the year that a lot of people expected or a lot of people hoped. He told us after the season and throughout the season that he was dealing with a back injury dating back to last offseason. He had a hamstring injury at the beginning of the season. He didn’t really look right throughout the year. So seeing what you have in him, seeing where he bounces back like CJ, he could also be a trade candidate. There’s going to be teams looking for centers. Obviously the Lakers are a team that have been linked to Nick Claxton and obviously are going to need center help after trading Anthony Davis. Could he be on the move? Could you potentially decide he’s young enough that you want to keep him? I think the beginning of this season, how he comes out could play a large role into that. And then Cam Thomas, a guy who is going to be a free agent and we’re going to talk extensively on this podcast about his free agency leading up to the beginning of um that period, but he’s a guy who I think the Nets are going to get back on a team friendly contract. I think that the Nets are going to have him on another short-term deal uh if I had to guess. And I think that that will be another evaluation period. So deciding whether he is going to be potentially if they go into that tanking full rebuild direction whether he’s going to be a guy who you want to keep here for the long haul whether he’s going to be a guy who you think can fit what you want to do in terms of the identity of your team on both ends of the floor this next season if they lean into the tank they lean into the rebuild evaluations of Nick Claxon and Cam Thomas I think will be one of the more interesting oncourt storylines obviously in addition to the development of whoever they draft at 8 19, whatever picks they end up having, those rookies they end up bringing in. So, that’s a little, you know, concise, you know, my vision of what it could look like if the Nets lead into the tank next year, the way that they could position themselves in terms of assets, in terms of the lottery next year, and in terms of just setting the foundation for what could be a build moving forward. But everything that I touched on today, going to touch on more extensively later later on this week leading into the draft and then further on to the offseason about, you know, all of those topics and what it could look like moving forward. But that does it for this first episode of the new era of the Locked on Nets podcast. I really appreciate all of you for tuning in and everyone who reached out and offered kind words after finding out the news that I would be taking over the channel. The support means a lot and the excitement that I saw for me to be able to get on this forum more consistently and provide you guys with Nets content like this. It’s extremely excited and I’m really exciting and I’m really looking forward to it uh throughout this season. But be sure to like, comment, subscribe if you want to help to continue to build this channel. I’ll be back tomorrow talking more Brooklyn Nets basketball.

In his first episode as host of Locked on Nets, Erik Slater outlines the Nets’ offseason blueprint, detailing their advantageous NBA draft position, what a Giannis Antetokounmpo pursuit could entail, and what the team’s most realistic path forward should be.

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