May 1, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Brooklyn Nets head coach Lionel Hollins talks with Brooklyn Nets small forward Joe Johnson (7) during the third quarter of game six of the first round of the NBA Playoffs against the Atlanta Hawks at Barclays Center. The Hawks defeated the Nets 111-87 to win the series 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
With NBA Training Camps officially opening, we preview the Brooklyn Nets’ 2015-16 season
Team 2014-2015 Record: 38-44
Team 2014-2015 MVP: Joe Johnson
Three Things I Think I Know About The Nets:
They’re on the Cusp of a Rebuild – The Nets are so close to finally shedding the last of that string of bad decisions they made a few years back. They chose to throw big money at former All-Stars (and a couple of surefire Hall of Famers) on the decline. Joe Johnson, Deron Williams, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett were all brought in to the Barclays Center in recent years in the hopes that they’d lead the charge into the later rounds of the NBA Playoffs. It didn’t work out too well and they bankrupted themselves of young talent in their haste to win immediately.
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They’ll be Major Players During Next Summer – Nets owner, Mikhail Prokhorov, has proven that he doesn’t like to lose. So, in all likelihood, the impending Nets season will truly upset him. He won’t tolerate a second year of this floundering, and so he’ll ensure that GM Billy King has all of the finances he needs to build a winning roster. Whether they’re able to land him or not, I expect that they’ll certainly be one of the teams trying to win the services of Kevin Durant in July. I think the Nets will make it a priority to land a star, perhaps a Demar Derozan or an Al Horford, who will be looking to cash in with the increased salary cap next summer.
Joe Johnson Won’t be a Part of the 2016-17 Roster – The Brooklyn Nets still have the monster contract of Joe Johnson on their roster. He isn’t quite what he used to be, but his talent is still one that would pay dividends to a team looking to make a late season/playoff push. There’s a solid chance he doesn’t even end the coming season in a Brooklyn Nets uniform, if a team like the Cavaliers offer up the right package in exchange for his services as we near the trade deadline. Even if he doesn’t get traded by mid-season, when the calendar hits July I think there will be a mutual sentiment between he and the Nets that they aren’t right for one another.
Next: Nets Roster