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The Brooklyn Nets are in a state of flux with no GM and an interim coach. The team is 10-28 and they have no draft picks. This offseason, Mikhail Prokhorov and his crew will depend on what they're calling a "quick turnaround," a "small reset" that is, signing free agents.
They'll have around $40 million available to spend and even though they're struggling now, ownership feels like they have a decent "young core" that can help lure free agents.
The beats' tweets from practice report that Thaddeus Young and Brook Lopez have already started the recruitment process:
#Nets Thad Young sed he & BLopez are FA recruiting "trying 2 talk 2 guys we think we'd want 2 play w/ & just get them to take a look at us"
— Fred Kerber (@FredKerber) January 12, 2016
Thaddeus Young said he & Brook Lopez have already started recruiting potential free agents. Wouldn't give names, but hinted at "superstars."
— Andy Vasquez (@andy_vasquez) January 12, 2016
The "core," as mentioned, starts with Lopez and Young, two solid players that would be even better if they were role players, rather than primary stars and go-to guys. They also would be better with a first rank point guard, which has to be at the top of the Nets list of targets.
Young, the first and only Net to live in Brooklyn, thinks players would be set up quite nicely in New York's finest borough. Young is having himself a career year averaging 16 points and nine rebounds per game.
Young: "We’ve been talking to a lot of diff guys:‘Hey, there’s a condo available next to mine, you might want to start picking out a spot.'"
— Andy Vasquez (@andy_vasquez) January 12, 2016
Nobody necessarily expects the Nets to land a "superstar" this offseason. But they do have a nice pitch to throw at free agents. Aside from the core, the brand new practice facility in Industry City is opening up in February. This type of stuff matters to players. They like being a part of something expensive, especially if it's "hip" and "cool". They like ownership showing commitment. And we like to think, most players want to live in New York. (Okay, Deron Williams tried it and didn't.)
Not to mention, they'll have a new coach, potentially a big name to start fresh with. According to Stefan Bondy, former Nets beat writer now with the Knicks, Young and John Calipari have a good relationship.
Thaddeus Young also has a relationship with Calipari and had rave reviews. Cal recruited him hard while at Memphis.
— Stefan Bondy (@SBondyNYDN) January 12, 2016
We're not saying the Nets will definitely land a superstar or anybody that can flip this around. There is, however, always a chance when you have a team that's willing to spend with enticing assets to offer. They tried to do it when Brooklyn first became a thing, but it just didn't work. Maybe this time, a "reset" is just what this organization needs.
In the meantime, here are some of the bigger names or "superstars" that can opt out of their contract and sign with a new team this summer: Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Andre Drummond, Dwight Howard, Hassan Whiteside, Bradley Beal, Dwyane Wade, Harrison Barnes, DeMar DeRozan, and Mike Conley.
That's a lot of text messages.
- Thaddeus Young, Brook Lopez look to recruit for Nets - Colin Stephenson - Newsday
- Brooklyn Nets players already starting to pitch free agents - Stefan Bondy - New York Daily News
- Nets need big name to match Knicks in star search - Frank Isola - New York Daily News
- Nets stars recruiting free agents, but it’s a tough sell - Fred Kerber - New York Post
- Thaddeus Young describes his relationship with John Calipari - Fred Kerber - New York Post
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