Nets gain youth, talent from last season

The pre-season starts this weekend. That should be enough news! Still, the proximity of bouncing balls won't stop pundits from conceiving more and more lists to pass the time. This one is an interesting look at roster construction, a look at the team's with the best under-25-year-old talent going into this season.

On this topic, the Nets vastly improved from last season to this season, going from having only Mason Plumlee, Toko Shengelia and Tyshawn Taylor to having Plumlee, Marquis Teague, Cory Jefferson, Markel Brown, and Sergey Karasev.

As Amin Elhassan of ESPN.com writes...

The Nets moved up several spots thanks in part to the strong second half Plumlee had, doing a much better job on the defensive glass and giving the Nets some young, athletic legs to liven up their front line and play above the rim. Karasev was a nice pickup as a young shooter with size on the wing, and Brown and Jefferson were value finds in the draft.

Elhassan ranked the Nets No. 27 last season, but this year the scribe ranks them No. 20 overall. Seems to be about right for a team that has put a priority on acquiring more youth this off-season and is an indicator of the direction the team is heading.

• Ranking the league based on under-25 talent - Amin Elhassan - ESPN