ESPN SLAMS Nets’ offseason following SHOCKING draft | Can Brooklyn prove critics wrong?

ESPN SLAMS Nets’ offseason following SHOCKING draft | Can Brooklyn prove critics wrong?

Coming up, the NBA offseason is winding down and ESPN has a harsh assessment of the Nets summer moves. Are their criticisms justified? I’ll dive into that after this. You are locked on Nets, your daily Brooklyn Nets podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. 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 cuts.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 breaking down ESPN’s harsh assessment of the Nets off season, analyzing why Brooklyn is catching heat for its summer moves and whether it can come out the other side, making many pundits look foolish. And just to set the stage from what we heard from ESPN in regard to Brooklyn’s off season, uh Kevin Pelton, longtime writer for that outlet, did a series where he grades every team’s off seasonason. He does it every year and he did not have a favorable review of what the Nets have done this thus far. He gave Brooklyn a C minus for its off season and that was uh the fourth worst in the league or tied for the fourth worst in the league. Only the Sacramento Kings, Indiana Pacers, and New Orleans Pelicans received worse grades than the Nets. And here’s what Kevin Pelton wrote in his piece and had to say. He said, “Given the Net’s commanding position as the only team with more than 30 million in cash space this summer, their return has been underwhelming. Brooklyn did net a 2032 unprotected firstrounder from Denver and can hope to rehabilitate Michael Porter Jr’s value. The Nets also landed the number 22 pick with Terrence man prior to the draft, but keeping all five first round picks and using them largely on players whose games don’t seem complimentary was confusing. Brooklyn can still create 20 plus million in cap space and we’ll see whether additional deals materialize before training camp. So my initial reaction to seeing that was I’m not all that surprised that someone like Kevin Pelton who has analyzed the league for a long time came out the other side viewing the Nets off season unfavorably. And by reading that, I think it’s pretty clear that a lot of that dissatisfaction with what the Nets did this summer stems from their draft and making the five first round picks and the players that they ultimately came away with. And I think that it has much more to do with that than the trades that they made and some of the other moves they made. And that makes sense because ultimately it was the biggest part of the Nets off season was this draft, making an NBA record five first round picks. Something that few analysts, you know, saw them doing leading up to the draft. A lot of people saw them as a team that was going to consolidate and try to move up and they didn’t do that. They stuck and they made all five. And while the volume of picks was surprising, that wasn’t the only thing. They also kind of stuck their neck out with the selections that they did make. General manager Shawn Marks, assistant GM BJ Johnson, all the people in that Net’s draft room, they kind of zagged and they went a little bit out on a limb with some of the players that they took and they clearly had convictions in some of those guys. And you know, I think a lot of that starts with Diego Dilman, who was the number eight pick and the Net’s first lottery selection since 2010. And he was not a player that many people saw going that early in the draft. A lot of people had him more as a late lottery pick, maybe even going into the late teens. Some people saw him as a target for the Nets at number 19 and they stick their neck out and they go with him at number eight and they’ve had a lot of conviction talking about the pick. But I can understand why there is that, you know, trepidation from people about Gilman as a guy taking that high in a draft that had, you know, featured a lot of good prospects. And I think that a lot of that is tied to his struggles as a ball handler, his struggles as some, you know, with some things that may be limiting his ceiling. But if you listen to some of the things that the Nets have said about Gilman, they’re confident in the upside and they believe that the upside is there. So they clearly feel that they have an evaluation that maybe a lot of other teams didn’t have on Gilman and maybe there’s some things that they’re prioritizing that other teams weren’t and they see some of those aspects of his games that that weren’t as promising coming along on a different developmental track than some of these other teams did. So I think Joe is the biggest part of that. Even beyond that, you take Giggor Dio man and you surprise a lot of people and go out on a limb really at the number eight spot and then it the ball just kind of kept rolling on the surprises and the headscratching moves for you know in the perspective of a lot of draft analysts to what the Nets did by taking Nolan Troy at 19 by taking um obviously Ben Saraf a third international ball handler at number 26 Danny Wolf not a point guard but another guy who was best with the ball in his hands at Michigan. So that’s four guys who all played with the ball in their hands. They all were not good shooters this past year. And then obviously Drake Pallet number 22, even him, while he was kind of, you know, a outlier from the rest of the Nets draft picks in terms of not being a high usage guy, being a really better athlete and potentially more complimentary piece. You know, he was still a reach a lot of people thought at number 22 in regard, you know, in comparison to what the consensus was. So, I think there’s a lot of people who have come away, you know, dissatisfied with what the Nets did um this off seasonason, but overall, I think that most of that stems from what they did in the draft and a lot of people, you know, really coming away scratching their heads with the strategy. But I’ve said from the start that while I may have some concerns about what the Nets did, I did understand the vision. And I think a big part of that vision was there not being a good opportunity to trade up in their eyes. When you look at, you know, the draft, there really wasn’t a lot of movement. those top spots in the draft, whether it was two with San Antonio, three with um Philadelphia, four with Charlotte, teams were trying to move up and nobody did. And why was that? It was because the price was so high. So, you know, they didn’t move up there. Trying to move up in the late lottery was obviously an extremely high price because we saw the Pelicans move up from number 23 to 13 and give up an unprotected 26 uh 2026 first round pick. And that move is getting crushed. The Pelicans got an F from Kevin Pelton in this series um for what they did. And I think a lot of that was probably stemming from that move and them taking Derek Queen and Jeremiah Fierce in those spots. So the opportunity to move up in the draft really doesn’t seem like was there to get good value from that perspective. And with the Nets having so few highlevel, you know, young prospects on the team, they decided to stick and make all five picks. And I do think the picks were still surprising. But the strategy of going with multiple guys who they view as high upside guys because regardless of what you think about them, there was a clear strategy and a clear theme with a lot of these Nets picks. You look at Jaggore Dilman, he’s a guy who was a consensus top 10 pick, you know, at this time last year leading up to the draft talk about this class. You look at Nolan Troy, he was even in the top five in a lot of rankings at this time last year. Drake Pal, a guy who was a former five-star recruit. A lot of people thought he was going to be a lottery pick at this time last year. Um, and you know, even Ben Saraf, like he might not have the past pedigree, but the upside, I think you could see at number 26 in the draft, getting a guy with his ball handling ability and some of the things that he can do. And same thing with Danny Wolf with a really unique skill set. So, there was a bet on pass pedigree, a bet on upside, a volume game of really just throwing darts at a dart board and seeing if some of them can stick. And while I have some quibbles with the strategy, I do understand the vision. And with Jaor Dyman in particular, I understand what people say and I understand, you know, the kind of outcry of criticism that the Nets have gotten for taking him at number eight because, you know, if you’re taking him in that spot, you clearly feel that some of the things are going to come along and there’s going to be a ceiling. And I’ve said that I’m not so sure how much of a believer I am in the overall ceiling. I think that he can be a really good player in the NBA if he can shoot the ball well as he did at summer league. But if we’re talking about a guy that’s potentially going to reach a star level or be like a really high level guy, like a top 50 player in the NBA, I think that the ball handling, the self-creation is going to have to reach a level that we really just haven’t seen him do at any level up to this point. So that gives me a little bit of pause about whether or not he’s going to be able to reach a level that, you know, warrants using the number eight pick on him at that spot. But I would also say, and it’s something that I have said, if you look at the options at that pick, we knew that the Nets wanted to go for upside and you look at the, you know, guys that they had available when they made that selection. You have Kaman Maluatch, um, Colin Murray Boils, Noah Asen, you want to talk about Derek Queen, like those are guys that realistically could be upside bets, but you know, are any of those better selections than Jaor Gman at this point in regard to upside or things along those lines? Like I think you can make an argument for Kaman Malawatch. I think you can make an argument for Noah Asen. I don’t think Colleen Murray Boils with how limited he is as a three-point shooter was really a fit for this Net system and what they want to do with Jordi Fernandez. But, you know, Malawatch, I think you could say definitely probably has a higher floor than um Gman and I think that he does have ceiling potential, but I think Jman being a lead ball handler and having some of those potential, some of the things that he can do potentially as an offensive engine if some of those other skills come along as the Nets feel they can, he might have a higher upside in that regard. I think Noah Asen might be a guy who has a higher upside. So, it’s just interesting to think about, you know, what how different is the discourse surrounding the Nets off season if they take Malawatch or a Sen or maybe even Derek Queen as that number eight pick as opposed to Yorman. I think a lot of people would probably view it significantly differently, but I’m not sure that it’s a huge difference between Jourman and those guys in terms of the tier of prospect that they’re in. I think that there’s a lot that you can be critical about in the evaluation of Jagor Deman and the Nets taking him in that spot. But when guys like the way the board out with them falling to the eighth pick with guys like Trey Johnson, Jeremiah Fears going off the board right behind them, you’re looking at the potential upside options and Jaor Gilman was clearly in a tier of those guys that I just named. like he was in that bunch and is it all that surprising, you know, looking back on it that the Nets came away with him and believe that he was the best bet for them to, you know, be a rotation piece and potentially have some more potential beyond that. It’s not all that surprising to me, but it is a big risk and I think that that is the theme of the Nets draft. They had to nail this draft. BJ Johnson talked about that in the scout series. They spent well over a year preparing for this. I think it was arguably the biggest draft in Nets franchise history and they come away with five first round picks. to come away with unfavorable reviews and they really took a chance and they really had a lot of conviction in their process and what they believed different from how a lot of other people were seeing it and they could come away looking like the smartest people in the room or they could come away with a lot of egg on their face and if that is the case it ultimately you know really could blow up in the face of Shawn Marks and some of these other front office guys you know people who have been here for a long time without much success only one playoff series win for Shawn Marks during his tenure so he can’t afford to miss on this draft and he took one that is pretty risky it seems like and has a lot of people scratching their heads. So that seems like the biggest reason for ESPN viewing the Nets off season unfavorably and a lot of other people in the draft. But the draft wasn’t the only thing that they did this summer. They made a lot of other moves that I think should be viewed a lot more favorably than a C minus grade. So what were those and how do I think they could affect the Nets moving forward? I’ll get into that after a quick break. But before that, want to tell you about our friends over at 5Hour Energy. Guys, it’s the summer and that means golf season. Time to fuel up and turn it up with 5Hour Energy Transfusion. It brings the bold grape, ginger, and lime flavor of your favorite golf drink minus the alcohol into a quick energizing shot. Whether you’re sinking birdies or just making memories with friends, this one’s a hole-in-one for your energy game. Let’s be honest, some days on the course or off it, you just need that extra boost to stay sharp and energized. 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Coming out of the break on today’s Locked on Nets episode, talking about Brooklyn’s offseason moves and ESPN’s dissatisfaction with what Shawn Marks and Co did. We said Kevin Pelton from ESPN gave the Nets a C minus during his offseason grade series. But much of that dissatisfaction seemed to be stemming from what they did in the draft, as has been the case for a lot of NBA analysts and pundits. But the Nets did things other than other than the draft. They were very busy outside of that on the trade and free agent market. And I want to focus on the trades right now because I think the Nets made two moves that should be viewed pretty favorably. Obviously, the first being they did the salary dump with the Hawks taking on Terrence Mann’s contract and getting the number 22 pick in this year’s draft. Then they traded Cam Johnson to the Nuggets, got Michael Porter Jr. and unprotected 2032 first round pick. And when you look at those two moves, I think it’s, you know, some people have come out and said that they weren’t viewing those very favorably and they thought that the Nets didn’t do well, but I really just don’t understand that because when you look at the return they got for what they gave up, they got two assets that I think should be viewed pretty favorably in an unprotected 2032 first round pick from the Nuggets, a team that Nicole Joic is going to be 37 when that pick conveys. You have no idea what they’re going to be. And then they also got the number 22 pick in a draft that by all accounts a lot of people viewed as, you know, one of the deepest of the 2000. So those are two assets that you came away with while giving up only Cam Johnson sending him out. And I think that that’s probably a better return than I think a lot of people could have hoped for honestly. You know, you got two premium assets. I had Yosi Goolan, an NBA capologist and a guy who is really, you know, follows the league in detail, and he wasn’t very confident that the Nets were going to get a, you know, favorable asset in return for salary dumps this year based on what the market was for some of the salary dumps last summer. And they come away with a number 22 pick while taking on only Terrence Man’s contract, which is three years 47 million. So, a midsize deal. And they send out Cam Johnson and they get that unprotected 2032 first round pick from Denver. And that was a better asset than I thought that they were going to get in the Cam Johnson trade. And I think that, you know, you really shouldn’t be surprised by the strategy because I think going into this, we all said, or at least I had been saying that if the Nets were going to go the rebuilding route and they were going to commit to it and not try to go for the star trade in the quick fix this summer, it was going to be the salary dump route. and they put themselves in an advantageous position by, you know, setting themselves up and taking on only expiring contracts in trades for Dennis Shruder and Dorian Finny Smith last season, positioning themselves as the only team with above $30 million in cap space as Kevin Pelton noted and they came away and they use that to their advantage and they got two assets that I think should be viewed favorably. Now, we’ll see what Drake Pal, who you know they took with the number 22 pick, we’ll see what he turns into, but that is a good asset at that spot in this draft or the quality of draft that people perceived it to be. And that 2032 first round pick from Denver is something that ESPN said in a prior article talking to some NBA front office executives that teams have been viewing that very favorably and monitoring it for a long time and seeing whether Denver was going to be able to was going to be willing to use that in a deal to try to bolster their team around Nicole Joic. and the Nets are ultimately the team that comes away with it and we don’t know that that pick could be a top five pick and when you’re looking at picks and you’re looking at draft, you know, stocks and things along those lines, you’re looking at them as stocks and you’re looking at them for upside and that pick is a pick that has the potential to land at the top of the draft. And if that were a scenario where that played out, I don’t think anybody would be, you know, shocked, you know, if it played out that way and Denver wasn’t good in 2032 when Nicole Joic is 37 and probably either out of the league or not playing at the same level and Denver’s using a lot of assets right now to build around him. There’s a plausible scenario where that pick ends up hitting in a big way or it could be used in a deal leading up to that based on that potential to try to land the Nets a bigger piece or you know that starter that they’ve been searching for. So from the pick perspective, I think the assets they got were, you know, pretty high level. And then you look at, you know, Michael Porter Jr. and Terence Man. Obviously, they had to do something to get that. And that was sending out Cam Johnson and also taking on those two guys at salary dump. Starting with Michael Porter Jr., you know, he’s a guy who we’ve gone through extensively the contract. It’s got two years $79 million left on it. That’s a deal that obviously isn’t view being being viewed favorably up to this point, but the Nets have, you know, at least two years left in this rebuild. You know, probably a lot more. They’re going to be in the early stages of the rebuild when they’re paying out those two years of Michael Porter Jr. and they have potential for Porter Jr. to rehabilitate that value. So, the way that I’ve been looking at it, and I don’t think that, you know, the logic is that flawed, you look at Michael Porter Jr., and he’s a player that I think everybody would agree is in a similar tier to Cam Johnson. Do I think he’s a better player than Cam Johnson? I do not. I think that CJ’s better, a little bit more seasoned, offered some more things that the Nuggets and a contending team were looking for in an ancillary piece. But Michael Porter Jr. is two years younger and the Nets are in a rebuilding situation where two years younger and going from 29 what CJ is, to 27 where MPJ is, it gives him the ability to potentially fit their timeline. So, if he can rehabilitate his value in these two years and the Nets pay out that $79 million where they don’t really have to worry about it because they’re not trying to compete right now. So, if he can rehabilitate his value and they can extend him on a better value deal, you could have him as a long-term piece alongside that 2032 first round pick or he could be flipped in a trade whether just for a team looking to add a piece like him or for um or as the main salary filler in a trade for his star. So I think that they got the 2032 first round pick which was the main reason for the trade and the main asset the prized asset that they got. But going from you know Cam to Michael Porter Jr. players who are in similar tiers and getting one who’s two years younger. I don’t really think that they’re that much worse off for wear from the playoff player perspective and then you add in the pick on top of that and I think the deal should be viewed very favorably because it gives them a lot more optionality and what they’re trying to do because that 2032 first round pick when they get down the line and they’re in trade negotiations that’s going to be a chip that’s going to headline a lot of packages in terms of the draft pick perspective like that pick is going to be something that teams are eyeing that teams want and in addition to the other first round picks have eight other tradable firstrounders in addition to that they’re going to be able to build a package. That should be pretty enticing. And maybe in the final year of MPJ’s contract um in 2026 27 when he is an expiring deal and they have him as a main salary filler plus whatever other young prospects they want to include for maybe this year’s draft class or Noah Clown or whoever you want to say. You’ve MPJ, those other um young prospects you can throw in plus that 2032 pick and whatever else beyond. That’s a package that could potentially land you a big fish. So, the Nets have, I think, a lot of optionality as a result of this MPJ trade. I think that it was a good deal for them. I think it was a good deal for the Nuggets. I’ve said that from the start. And then you look at the other trade, and I outlined it. You know, Terrence Mann’s contract at three years, 47 million, you know, $15 million annually. Is that a good contract? Obviously not, because the Atlanta Hawks felt that they just needed to use the number 22 pick to salary dump it. But is it like the worst contract in the world? Is it a contract that’s going to prohibit the Nets from doing anything moving forward? I don’t think so. Maybe he can rehabilitate his value a little bit. He’s still a young guy at I think 28 or 29 years old. So, they have him. They get the number 22 pick. They’re no worse off for wear there because that’s just a midsize deal. And who knows what Terrence Man can be down the line. So, you look at the overall return and them sending out just Cam Johnson and getting packed MPJ Terrence man that unprotected 20 32 pick and the 20 and the uh number 22 pick which turned into Drake Pal. I just think that those were good maneuvers. Those were good use of the Net’s cap space and that’s the reason that they put themselves in this position to set themselves up to be able to utilize that and be a salary dumping ground and get assets like this. And I think they ultimately came away with two assets that fans should be excited about. You know, we’ll see what Drake Pal turns into, but where the pick was and the value of it, I think obviously was a favorable position. And then the 2032 pick, I think speaks for itself. So from the trades perspective, I think that Shawn Marks did well. He still has $22 million left in cap space. So, there could be more moves to be made there or on the free agent market. And speaking of free agents, Shawn Marks also made some moves ressigning some of his own guys. And there’s still some moves to be made in that regard that will ultimately play into how we’re viewing this off seasonason. So, I’ll break all that down when I close out Locked on Nets after a quick break. Coming out of the break, closing out today’s Locked on Nets episode, talking about Brooklyn’s off seasonason, ESPN’s unfavorable grade of a C minus for what the Nets have done thus far. We obviously touched on I think most of that stemming from the draft and people not viewing their picks favorably with the five first round selections they made. Then I got into the trades, which I think should be viewed a little bit more favorably and should, you know, increase the grade that the Nets have beyond the draft. And then obviously the free agent signings are the last part of this. And the Nets have made two free agent signings thus far. They signed Dron Sharp and Zire Williams to identical contracts, two-year $12 million deals with team options in the second year. And I think that that was good business by the Nets. You know, the way that they handled it, they did not extend Don or Zire qualifying offers, which made them unrestricted free agents, but they actually agreed to deals with them before the official start of free agency. So, it seems like they had those deals negotiated ahead of time and good value for both of them. Particularly in Daon Sharp’s case, though, I think that this 2-year $12 million deal was a major win for them. I think a big part of the reason they were able to get it done was the fact that they were the only team with cap space and they hoarded that cap space and I said and preserved all that cap space by things that they did, you know, with the trades that they made in the prior offseason and only taking on expiring contracts. But there were other teams that could have offered Dron more using the mid-level exception, but ultimately it seems like Dron prioritized wanting to be back home and maybe there wasn’t as big of a market for him. We don’t know up to this point, but a two-year 12 million deal with a team option in the second year. I think that’s really, really good value for Dron Sharp, a guy who has flashed an elite skill as an offensive rebounder in the NBA. He posted the second highest offensive rebounding percentage in the league last season. And I also think that we saw encouraging strides in other areas as a defender, as a short role playmaker, as him potentially trying to expand the range beyond uh expand the shooting range beyond the three-point line. We’ll see if that is anything real, but I think that there’s a baseline of skills that should make Dron a competent backup big man, if not more. Probably a reserve big man in the league long term. And the Nets locking him down on a two-year 122 million deal with a team option in the second year or so. They’ll most likely have him under team control for $6 million next year and then, you know, potentially extend him at a bigger number if he plays well, similar to what they did with Nick Claxton, who also signed a two-year bridge deal after the end of his rookie contract. I just think that that was a favorable deal for Dron. I think it was a good deal to retain him. And you never know what’s going to happen, you know, from a trade perspective or anything along those lines. It’s just a good value deal to have on the books and I think it was good business by Shawn Mark. Same thing with Zire Williams. I don’t think that he’s the level of player that Dron is, but I think that he has some potential and having him on what is effectively for him, it would seem like more of a one-year $6 million deal because I’m less confident that the Nets are definitely going to pick up that team option the following season, but they have him under control. He had a career best season from three last year. He flashed some encouraging things as a point of attack defender. I think that he has some potential to rehabilitate his value further as a former lottery pick who just couldn’t catch on with Memphis. So, I think that that was a good deal. And there’s one more free agent, uh, incumbent free agent who it seems like is the last domino fall for the Nets, and that’s obviously Cam Thomas. He’s yet to get the deal up to this point. But I would say based on how the free agent market has played out, based on the cap landscape, based on what is happening with restricted free agency, I think it’s pretty safe to assume the Nets are going to get Cam Thomas back on a favorable deal. And you know, Jake Fischer talked on his podcast and he said that up to this point, he has not heard of the Nets offering Cam Thomas anything more than a two-year deal. Um, not going above the mid-level exception. So, at the most a two-year, $28 million deal. And I think he said with a team option in the second year. So, that’s the offer to Cam Thomas right now. If the Nets were to get Cam Thomas on that contract or something in that range, I think that that’s a good deal for them, a good value deal, and they’re in that position again because they set themselves up as the NBA’s only team with cap space. And these other teams that have the mid-level exception could offer Cam up to 14 million. But if they were to offer him a two, threeyear deal at 14 million annually, that’s the same offer the Nets are making right now. So, they would just match it. Now, the risk of the Net’s run, obviously, is Cam taking the one-year, $6 million qualifying offer, at which point he would be an unrestricted free agent next summer. He would also have uh veto rights on any trade during the season. So, you know, a lot of times when teams take or when a player takes that qualifying offer, it more likely than not is the, you know, beginning of the end of them with that team. They usually don’t end up returning to that team. So, we’ll see if Cam ends up taking that. it’s really going to be in a position where the Nets are probably looking to trade him and they might not have as much leverage. But I’m not so sure that he’s going to take that qualifying offer because I’ve said that if the Nets are offering him two years $28 million say and you know his other option is this one year $6 million deal. He might have more earning potential next season when he enters unrestricted free agency. But it’s a big risk for a player who hasn’t received a significant payday up to this point to just walk away from $28 million and to take six without knowing what your market’s going to be next summer because right now there is no market for Cam Thomas. Now his uh he and his representation might just look at that and say look there’s no cap space. He didn’t have that market but there were no teams it seems like or there haven’t been any teams it seems like who have access to the full mid-level exception running to sign Cam Thomas with that. So him passing up that, you know, whatever offer it is from the Nets, two years probably I’ve said something in the 10 to 15 million range annually, that seems like where it’s going to fall. Him passing up that to take the qualifying offer, it’s definitely not out of the realm of possibilities, but I’m not sure if it’s if it’s the most likely scenario. And if the Nets are able to get Cam locked down on a deal that is, you know, two years 24 to 28 million, some in that range, something in that range, I think that’s a really good deal for the Nets. I think that that is, you know, on top of Dron Sharp, a really good free agent outcome for them in addition to the deals that we saw them get done on the trade market and the assets that we saw them bring in that way. So from the trade and free agent perspective, I think the Nets have done a really good job and I think that the grade of the offseason is ultimately going to come down the biggest part of it is going to be the draft as it should be because they made five first round picks and they’ve been gearing up for this draft for a long time. So, it seems like the dissatisfaction is stemming from the draft, but it’s an incomplete grade in my opinion thus far because we don’t know like you can crush the Nets draft class and say that you didn’t like it, but we’re not going to have a proper judgment of this class for, you know, a few years for an extended period. So, Sean Marks and the Nets front office clearly had their conviction and their vision of what they were doing in the draft, what they were doing with some of these other moves. I understand the vision and the process and we’ll see if the draft picks pan out. But I think a C minus grade is a little harsh. You know, if you don’t view the draft favorably, I think that it’s understandable to give a grade like that. And clearly Pelin and some of these other people haven’t. But we’ll see down the line. I understand the vision, but I also understand the criticisms of what the Nets did. But we’ll see how it plays out. I’ll have much more analysis of what the Nets do moving forward of all these draft picks and everything here on Locked on Nets. But that does it for today’s episode. Thanks to all of you for tuning in and supporting the show. If you do not already, subscribe to Lockdown Nets on YouTube or or wherever you get your podcast, whether Apple podcast or Spotify. If you enjoy the content, smash that like button. Leave a comment. Let me know what you think about the grade of the Nets offseason. What grade would you give the Nets? If you agree with Pelton’s grade of a C minus, but I’ll have more analysis of all this here on Locked on Nets when I’m back tomorrow talking more Brooklyn Nets basketball.

Erik Slater reacts to ESPN’s unfavorable grade of the Brooklyn Nets’ offseason. He analyzes why pundits have criticized the team’s offseason moves, examining Brooklyn’s draft, trade, and free agent decisions.

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