From Sports Illustrated writers, mostly positive things on Brooklyn Nets off-season

Sports Illustrated set up a writer's roundtable this week on the Nets off-season, asking five of their best to grade Billy King's efforts on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being a "spectacular flop" and 10 being a "championship contender." All registered scores of six or above, with three ranking them at 8.

Lee Jenkins was the most pessimistic with a 6. He notes the offensive possibilities, but explained, "I remember saying something similar about the Lakers last summer, and these Nets could also be derailed by injury, disharmony and advanced age." (Of course, former SI writer Zach Lowe noted last week of the comparison: "Those Lakers, another on-paper juggernaut, went four deep before a falloff to subreplacement players.")

Chris Mannix was most optimistic with an 8 ... or higher. "A solid 8, with the potential to be even more. It's easy to look at the talent and declare the Nets to be Miami's chief rival, but if last season's Lakers taught us anything, it's that talent doesn't always translate to wins. Still, the pieces that the Nets acquired fit."

The writers were also asked if the Celtics had a successful off-season and the answer was a unanimous yes, mostly because of the three picks Boston received from the Nets. Boston now has 10 first round picks in the next six years, six in the next three.

• Eastern Conference roundtable: Taking stock of the offseason - Sports Illustrated