3. Brooklyn Nets
Notable additions: Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant*, DeAndre Jordan, Taurean Prince, Wilson Chandler
Notable subtractions: D’Angelo Russell, DeMarre Carroll, Ed Davis, Allen Crabbe, Shabazz Napier
The Brooklyn Nets may have had the highest-profile summer of any team in the East, but they’ll have to wait a full season to see it fully come to fruition. Even without the injured Kevin Durant, though, Brooklyn is poised to make a leap up the standings.
Kyrie Irving, Caris LeVert and Spencer Dinwiddie make up one of the best three-man guard rotations in the league, giving the Nets a starting-caliber backcourt even when they turn to their bench. Irving is clearly the main attraction, moving to Brooklyn after a season where he averaged 23.8 points and a career-high 6.9 assists per game. His troublesome knees are a concern, but the aforementioned guard depth should allow the Nets to manage his minutes better than Boston could.
LeVert bounced back from a gruesome ankle injury better than anyone could have expected, and he was Brooklyn’s best player in their brief playoff appearance. His ceiling is still unclear, but with Durant out he should still have ample opportunities to develop his game alongside Irving.
The frontcourt remains a little shaky, but there are enough capable role players to flesh out a reasonable rotation. Kenny Atkinson will be hoping that the competition between DeAndre Jordan and Jarrett Allen for minutes will bring out the best in both players, as each has flaws that should be able to be overcome. Joe Harris is a lights-out shooter from deep, while Taurean Prince and Rodions Kurucs are high-upside prospects with the chance to prove themselves on a playoff contender.
The biggest concern for Brooklyn in year one of the Kyrie-KD era may be their chemistry. Irving, fairly or otherwise, has earned a reputation as a troublemaker in the locker room, and by trading D’Angelo Russell the Nets also traded a culture that Atkinson and Sean Marks had been cultivating for years. Can raw talent replace that kind of off-court shift?