Will Sean Marks CRANK UP the heat on the Brooklyn Nets tank? Can the rookies BLOW PAST expectations?

Will Sean Marks CRANK UP the heat on the Brooklyn Nets tank? Can the rookies BLOW PAST expectations?

Coming up, will the Nets exceed early season expectations again this year? And will Shawn Marx crank up the heat on the team’s tank? I’ll answer all those fan questions and more after this. [Music] You are Locked on Nets, your daily Brooklyn Nets podcast, part of the Locked On Network. Your team every day. Welcome in to the Lockdown Nets podcast right here on the Lockdown Podcast Network. It’s your team, the Brooklyn Nets, every single day. I’m Eric Slater, Brooklyn Nets beat reporter for clutchpoints.com. Thank you for making me your first listen of the day. This show is 100% free on all those great platforms. And on today’s show, it’s fan take Friday. I took questions from all of you on early season predictions for this new look Nets roster. Brooklyn’s new additions, the Giannis rumors, and more. So, let’s get right into these. First question, it’s early, but with some talented vets leading the way, I feel like we are heading in a similar direction as last season. Tank starts late and we get the eighth to 10th pick again. Might as well let them be a playin team, if not tanking from day one. And this is going to be the story, the early season story for the Nets. There’s going to be a lot of comparisons to last year when this team, you know, held on to some veterans into the year and started 9 and 10 and really put themselves behind the eightball in that tank race, you know, from which they were really not able to recover and they end up with the sixth worst record, fall to the eighth pick. And this listener and a lot of other fans that I’ve talked to seem to think that this is heading in a similar direction. And I understand why you could think that. Like you look at this Nets roster and while we would agree that it is one of the worst rosters in the league, there still there still are capable players up and down this roster. Like you look at guys like Michael Porter Jr., Terrence Man, Haywood Highmith, Nick Claxton, you know, Dron Sharp, you hope Noah Clowney emerges. Like there are veterans on this team who are capable. Cam Thomas obviously, you know, despite his uncertainty has to be mentioned there. Like there are players who can play on this team. But I would say that if you look at like and this is the reason why I haven’t really wavered on the fact that I think this team is going to be worse out of the gate than it was last season. You look at that stretch last season at the beginning of the year. What was the biggest factor by far in that Nets team exceeding expectations? It was Dennis Shruder who was playing at an all-star level level for the first what 23 games of the year before he got traded. I mean, you look at Shruder during that stretch, he was averaging 18.5 points and 6.6 assists while shooting like 39% from three on 6.5 attempts per game. He was playing out of his mind and he was the player who had the ball in his hand the most on this Nets roster and he was just doing a great job. Obviously, you had guys like Cam uh Cam Johnson and Dorian Finny Smith and obviously Cam Thomas playing well also, but Shruder was the guy. and going from Shruder to these rookie ball handlers and Jay Gorgman who’s supposed to be the best of those obviously probably isn’t going to be ready for the first game of the regular season or might not be ready. I just think that that drop off is going to be massive. And then if you look at the other spots like Cam Johnson was also playing out of his mind from day one of last year and you look at going from Cam Cam Johnson to Michael Porter Jr. I’ve said MPJ is I think in a similar tier to Cam Johnson, but I would say that from a shot creation standpoint and a secondary playmaking standpoint, secondary ball handling standpoint, you know, the areas where the Nets are really lacking, Cam Johnson was able to pick up some of that slack last year in a big way, much better than I envision Michael Porter Jr. being able to do that because MPJ just has a different skill set. He’s not as good of a ball handler. He’s not as good as a of a decision maker and passer. So, you know, I just don’t see him, you know, filling that role. Could he maybe do, you know, could he be a guy who is, you know, hitting threes off the move and getting the ball in the mid post and scoring from that area and doing some of these things and creating that way? Sure. I just don’t see it having the same level of impact as Cam Johnson did within this Jordi Fernandez system. And then also just the Shruder to the rookie point guards is really the biggest thing. like going from Shruder and the level of production that he had last year to going to what is probably to start the year going to be Ben Saraf and Nolan Troy or Jay Gordyman and Ben Saraf if they get healthy. I think that that’s just going to be a massive drop off and like we’ve heard all of the buzz about Ben Saraf. I’ve reported on it extensively uh throughout training camp and throughout the off seasonason and we saw Ben look good against Hapoel Jerusalem but I would say he’s playing Hapoel Jerusalem. So, you know, we’re going to get preseason games this weekend against the Suns, you know, two of them, and then they’ll close out the preseason against the Raptors. But I think that the drop off from Schroeder to Ben Saraf is going to be massive. And I think once we get into the regular season, Nets fans are going to see what having a rookie like Saraf or like Domen or like Troy or whoever has the ball for most of the game, that’s not going to be a recipe for success. And the Nets knew that. That’s why they didn’t resign D’Angelo Russell in free agency. why they went into this year, didn’t sign any other uh veteran point guard or floor general. And they’ve gone in with three rookie point guards. And that to me is a signal of the tank, the urgency, and all of those things. So, I think that this team is going to be worse out of the gate than it was last year when they started nine and 10. Next couple of questions in a similar vein. Am I crazy to think after one preseason game that I think we’re going over on our 20.5 win line this season? Despite the weak team, the Nets seem solid, scrappy, and well coached. Even though we have a hard schedule early on, it might end up being like the Raptors last year. And then another question, are you going with the over under 20.5 projected wins for the Nets? Okay, first question. Am I crazy to think after one preseason game that we’re going the Nets are going over? If you’re thinking that because of what you saw in that preseason game, that’s a little crazy because the Nets are playing a team in Hapo Jerusalem that you know obviously is nowhere near NBA level competition. But no, I mean I would say that you’re not crazy to think that. I mean, you look at this Nets team, and I do think that they’re going to be worse than last year, but they won 26 games last year. So, I think that the Nets are going to go under just because I think that there’s going to be so much more tanking urgency. And I wrote about this yesterday. You look at what the Nets did in that trade with the Houston Rockets. They gave up four first round picks for two first round picks to get back their 2025 and 2026 first rounders. And this past season, they barely saw a return on that trade. you know, the Phoenix Suns pick that they traded away was 10th. The Nets ended up eighth. So, not really much of a return there. And a lot of that was because of the lack of, you know, obviously bad luck in the lottery, but also the lack of tanking urgency that this team had out of the gate last year. So Shawn Marks, I think, is really going to be feeling some heat and some pressure to justify that Rocket trade because if the Nets come in this year and they get another bad pick and they don’t come away with a guy who looks like he could be, you know, a future face of the franchise type guy, that rocket trade is going to get crushed. So I think that we’re going to see more urgency from Shawn Marks and I think that we’ve already seen that with him going with exclusively rookie guys, rookie point guards out of the gate. And you know, I think that that’s a reason as the year goes on, if the Nets do start to play well, I think we’ll see them do some things that they didn’t do last year, whether it be some earlier trades, whether it be benching guys, whether it be taking whatever measures they need to in order to ensure that they end up where they want to be in the lottery standings, which is top three. So that’s why I say under. But are you crazy to think that this Nets team could go over? No. Like the line is 20.5 wins. Could this Nets team win 21 games with, you know, say Cam Thomas has a good year? I think they’ll trade him probably earlier in the year like Shruder if he starts to play really well. But say Cam Thomas starts out hot. Some of these rookies play a little bit better than expected and you have these veterans like Michael Porter Jr., Terrence Man, um you know, Nick Claxton starts playing well. Dron Sharp continues his ascension. You have another year under Jordy Fernandez’s system and a lot of people are in year two of that system and they get a little bit more comfortable and they punch above their weight and are scrappy like they were last year under Jordi Fernandez. like they could definitely win 21 games. Like that wouldn’t shock me at all. But just based on what the thought process should be and what Shawn Marx has somewhat already shown the thought process to be with his offseason moves and drafting five rookies, I think that there’s going to be more urgency and that would lend me to believe even if they start out like not as good but similar to how they did last year that there’s going to be more urgency than there was last year to ensure that they stack losses and get where they want to be. So that’s what I would say about that. Next couple questions before a break. Considering what we heard previously, any chance on a Giannis trade? If so, what would a package from Brooklyn look like? Yeah, I talked about this the other day with Lucas Kaplan. Go check that episode out if you didn’t uh if you have not already on the heels of that Shams report with the Knicks and any chance on Giannis, like I do think there’s a chance. I’m definitely not closing that door. Is it the most advisable route in my opinion for the Nets or is it likely? No. But I do think there’s a chance and I outlined on that podcast with Lucas, so go check that out. But, you know, just briefly summarizing what I said, it looks like Giannis is going to be traded. He wants to go to the Knicks and it doesn’t seem like the Knicks have anywhere near the package that the Raptors or that the Raptors that the Bucks are going to want. So, if you look at, you know, what that Knicks package is going to be, it’s probably going to be Cat and then flipping, you know, Cat and OG and seeing what maybe you could flip OG to a third team for. you get cat and some picks and swaps, like what does that do for the Bucks? Like that’s not a good package. And because of that reason, I think there’s going to be other teams involved. And I would expect the Nets to be one of those teams. And the reason for that being the Nets are, you know, rumored or not rumored, they’re reported and known to be extremely high on Giannis. That has been their guy that they’ve wanted, which isn’t surprising because he’s like the only top 10 guy who seems likely to change teams in the distant in the near future. So, you have that. You also have the fact that they have the assets to put together a really competitive package and you have the fact that they don’t have their 2027 pick and we know they’re going to try to be getting better after this season. Now, a lot of that is going to depend on, you know, what happens with the Nets this year. Do they land a top pick in this draft and a guy like AJ Deansa, Cam Boozer, Darren Peterson that could change the equation and also more so depends on Giannis and is there any way that he could see this Brooklyn destination as viable and attractive? You know, for a guy who said that his biggest thing is competing for a championship and wanting to win a second championship, I’m not sure he’s going to see this Brooklyn destination as, you know, viable. But the Nets do have some stuff working for them in the fact that he clearly wants to play in New York. you know, it’s been for the Knicks they’ve said, but he wants he finds the New York market attractive. Being in the East is much more attractive than being in the West right now if you’re trying to make it to the finals. And the Nets have the assets to put together a package, you know, a really competitive package. So, what would that package look like? I mean, you’re looking at probably three or four first round picks, swaps. It would be headlined by that 2032 uh unprotected Nuggets pick, you know, in terms of the picks. That would headline the pick package. Then you also have the Knicks picks. You have some swapped picks. You have uh the FE the Philadelphia pick in 2027. So multiple picks headlined by that Denver one. Multiple swaps and then some salary fillers and probably a young prospect. Like you have fillers like Michael Porter Jr. is a filler option. Nick Claxton obviously a filler option. And then you have all these young prospects. You talk about Noah Clowney and Dron Sharp. You talk about the five rookies. Like which of those guys show promise? You could throw one of those guys in there. So all of the picks that the Nets have probably Michael Porter Jr. as a main salary filler and then some young prospects like that is what the package is probably looking like. Nick Claxton could get involved there. But that’s what I would say and I would say that it’s a competitive package. It’s just a matter of how bad do the Nets want to get involved and how badly or is there any chance that Giannis sees this as a viable destination. One more Giannis question before a quick break. Why do you think the Giannis Donovan Mitchell pairing didn’t happen? And you know, I touched on that briefly or just I touched on the fact that that seemed to be the plan A. And that’s what I’ve heard from around the league for the Nets was pairing Giannis with Donovan Mitchell was their plan A before they made that Mikuel Bridges trade. And why didn’t it happen? Because, you know, Mitchell was the guy that they were probably going to be going after first because he had his contract expiring. He was rumored to be wanting to come home to play in New York. And I just think that when you look at how that Nets team performed during that what was that that 2023 24 season, they just they really kind of imploded. Obviously, they fired Jo Vaughn, Muel Bridges took a huge step back and the team just kind of looked in disarray. And then if you have if you’re Donovan Mitchell, no matter how bad you want to play in New York, if you’re looking at this roster that you have around you in Cleveland that’s ascending with guys like, you know, Evan Mobley and like Darius Garland and like all the pieces that they were able to get around him and what their situation was there. You talk about leaving that for a Brooklyn team that was imploding. That would have been just a ridiculous decision on his part and I don’t think that it was one that he was going to make. And Donovan structured his contract. He signed that what is it the two plus one contract where he’s staying in Cleveland. He’s giving himself a chance. He gave himself a chance last year to compete. He has another chance. They’re the favorites in the East this coming season and after that he’ll re-evaluate. So we’ll be, you know, is it something that maybe the Nets could revisit down the line? We’ll see. But that’s why it didn’t happen because that 2023 24 team was just in disarray. But we got more questions about the Net salary cap situation. How are they going to navigate that? Which rookies will show promise during the coming season? So, I’ll get to all that and more when I continue locked on Nets after a quick break. This episode is brought to you by Prize Pick. Every day we make decisions, but on Prize Pick, being right can actually get you paid. Don’t miss the excitement of this football season with Prize Picks, where it’s good to be right. Playing prize picks is such a fun, simple way to add more excitement to football. You just pick more or less on player projections like Josh Allen’s passing yards or Saquon Barkley rushing for a touchdown and you’re in the game. Guys, I love how quick it is. You can make your lineup in just under a minute. 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So yeah, the Nets are four about, you know, if you account for their guaranteed contracts, I just did an episode on this also. Nets are about $4.2 million below the salary floor right now. And they’re going to have to hit that by the start of the regular season. That is the date. In the old CBA, it was by the end of the regular season, and in the new CBA, it’s the start of the regular season. And if they do not hit that salary floor by the start of the regular season, they don’t get their share of any of the end of the season luxury tax payments. You know, all the teams that are in the luxury tax pay their tax and it gets even it gets distributed amongst the teams who are not in the tax. So, if the Nets do not hit that salary floor by the start of the regular season, they miss out on that share and it’s not an option. Like, they’re going to hit the salary floor. So that could be by a trade, that could be by, you know, waving a guaranteed player and guaranteeing some of their non-g guaranteed guys, but they’re going to do it one way or another. And the other questions like the aprons and the salary cap, like the salary cap and the aprons are calculated by where your salary is at, you know, and there are things moves that teams can make in this new CBA that trigger hard caps at the aprons, whether the first or the second when it’s, you know, taking back more money in a trade than you send out. You know, signing acquiring a player via sign and trade. There’s all these different things using certain amount of, you know, traded player exceptions. Like all of those things can trigger hard caps, but it’s calculated on your payroll. And then the luxury tax is a separate conversation. The luxury tax bill for all of those teams is calculated at the end of the regular season. And that’s why I said the Nets are going to get up to the salary floor, but I do not expect them to go much above it. And the Nets, if the Nets get just to the salary floor and just like a smidge above it, they’re going to have around $15 million in cap space. And that is significant because there are going to be teams who are in the luxury tax right now who are trying to get out of it by the end of the regular season and that they can do that at the trade deadline because the luxury tax bill is not calculated until the end of the regular season. So Boston Celtics a team I would be looking at you know Toronto Raptors, Orlando Magic, some of these other teams. Celtics probably the main one, but they’re a team that is going to be looking to get off contracts. Whether it’s Anthony Simons, whether it’s Sam Hower, and the Nets having being the only team in the NBA with Capace at the deadline. I definitely think that we’re going to hear some smoke about those teams, those two teams getting involved when we get closer to February about a deal. Next question. How many of the five rookies can we expect to appear on the two all rookie teams? All of them. Uh, no, not all of them. uh any of them would probably be a surprise, but if we’re talking about who are the most realistic candidates for the Nets, it would be Jagor Gilman is the guy we said before the regular season, I had talked about it and that was just based on the projection of how expansive his role is going to be, how much he’s going to have the ball in his hands and could he get to, you know, some nights where he’s putting up, you know, 10 points, eight assists, five rebounds, and he’s able to maintain that stat line for an extended period that could, you know, give him a case to be on the all rookie team just based on how expansive his role is. But Jaor is now dealing with this plantar fascia tear. We don’t know if he’s going to be ready for the start of the regular season. I think he’s going to be fine in the long term, but that’s going to give Ben Saraf an opportunity early in the year as we’re seeing in the preseason. So, could Saraf be a guy who impresses and exceeds expectations? I think so. I think all rookie team is probably um that would be pretty generous and that would probably be him exceeding expectations by a ton. But I don’t think you can rule it out just based on the, you know, level of the role that he could have if Jaor is hurt. But if Jaor comes back and takes back the lion share of those ball handling responsibilities, he’d probably be the more likely guy who would have a case. And then if you talk about Nolan Troy, Danny Wolf, uh Drake Pal, I would expect those guys to probably start the year in the G-League and I think they will get NBA minutes, but I don’t think they’ll have the role out of the gate to contend for all rookie team. Next question. Terrence man looked unstoppable against Hapoel Jerusalem. Should he be in the early MVP conversations? Um maybe the the preseason MVP conversations because I will say that Terren did look great against that team that once again was far from NBA level competition. But I think he had like 14 or 15 points, six or seven shooting from the field, a few steals, you know, a bunch of rebounds. Like he did look good. And I said Terrence is like an interesting player to me because he’s a guy who played a very solidified role, started a ton of games for a Los Angeles Clippers team that was in the playoffs each year. Then obviously he gets shipped to Atlanta and that bogged on Bogdanovich trade and then he gets salary dumped to the Nets. But I could see him a player being a player who has a chip on his shoulder. You know, got traded twice in the last year. He comes into this Brooklyn team. He’s going to have a role from day one. He’s back where he was born. And there’s some, you know, good feelings surrounding that. I could see him being a guy who exceeds expectations and some fans like for how hard he’s playing and some fans are annoyed by from, you know, him maybe doing some things that we saw some of the veterans do last year, whether it be a Dorian Finny Smith or whoever you want to talk about. Like he’s a guy who can shoot the ball somewhat, has, you know, some athleticism and off the dribble juice maybe that he’s looking to unlock, but plays really hard on defense and is a consmate professional. So, I would expect to see Terrence man have a good year this year and maybe that could lend itself to some trade conversations down the line. We’ll see. Next question is waving Dariq Whitehead then signing him to a two-way contract an option for the Nets. I spoke about this also on a recent podcast because it seems like I’ve, you know, been skeptical about whether or not the Nets would actually cut Dariq Whitehead, a player that we just saw them tra uh we just saw them draft in the first round two years ago. But it could be trending in a direction like that because all we’re hearing about is how great Tyrese Martin has played this off seasonason. And Tyrese Martin was way ahead of Tariq in the uh opening rotation, the the rotation during that first preseason game. So, it seems like Tyreek Tyrese Martin is ahead of Dar Whitehead in the race for that final roster spot right now. And there aren’t really any other guaranteed guys that are viable to be waved in my opinion to open up that spot for Tyrese. You could talk about Heywood Highmith. You could talk about Kobe Buffkin, but I just can’t see the Nets waving those guys over Dariq Whitehead. So, Dariq may be waved and is resigning him to a 2-way an option. Like, it’s an option. He’s eligible. Is it a realistic option? I’m not sure. Like I just I don’t when you wave a first round like you wave a former first round pick like that two years, you know, after drafting him, it’s a signal that you’re really not high on him at all and you’re very low on him and you’re probably giving up on him in that case. So if you’re Dariq in that case, why would you want to sign a two-way contract with that team that just admitted that they’re not that high on you and you’re probably not going to be a significant part of their future plans? In that case, you’d probably want to evaluate your options and go to another team where they might be higher on you and they think that they can revitalize you and they’re willing to put more stock in you moving forward. So, I don’t really think the two-way option is the two-way is an option for Dariq. Some the other non-g guaranteed guys who could be waved like Jaylen Wilson probably not an option for him either. Drew Timmy might be the guy where if he gets waved, he could sign a 2-way just because he was a guy who like came in late last year from the G-League, signed a 10day. Sure, he got this deal, but it was always non-g guaranteed. So, I could see him sticking on a 2-way. But even even Timmy, I think he might have some other options where he would want to go somewhere that might value him more if he is waved. So, we’ll see. But, it’s going to be interesting to follow how this goes with Dariq moving forward. Next question before a break. Do you think the Nets should trade specifically for more 2026 first? Why or why not? Um, like I could see it. I mean, the Nets only have their own first round pick next year, like as opposed to all these other drafts where they have multiple picks. So, it would make some sense from that perspective for the Nets to try to get another pick in this draft. But, I’d also say the Nets drafted five rookies in this past class. It’s going to be a really difficult task to develop all those guys at the same time. Then, you’re going to have this other new player coming in. You also have young guys like Noah Clowney, like Dariq Whitehead if he’s six rounds. So, there’s a lot of youth on this team. But if the Nets see an opportunity to get into this 2026 draft, you know, with a good value deal where they’re moving moving off a future pick and they get a pick that they feel, you know, is better value in this draft, that could make sense. But I have talked to some draft people and they’ve said that the top three or four of this draft is really, really strong, like stronger than last year’s, which was also really strong. And then there seems to be a drop off after like the third or fourth pick in this draft. So I don’t know how much, you know, how likely it would be that the Nets want to trade for another 2026 first if that’s the case. But it’s just so early. We’re going to have to see how it plays out. But we got a few more questions about some potential trades about the Nets rookie class and about Barlay Center that some of you guys submitted. So I’ll get to all those when I close out Lockdown Nets after a quick break. But before that, we want to tell you about our friends over at Quo. Guys, one of the tools that helps make a huge difference for business owners is Quo, formerly Open Phone. It’s the same great business phone system you’ve heard me talk about before, just with a new name. And here’s why it matters. Every missed call is money left on the table. When every customer conversation counts, you need a phone system that keeps you connected 247. Quo is the number one business phone system that streamlines customer communications. It works right through an app on your phone or computer. So, no more carrying two phones or relying on a landline. I love how Quo, formerly open phone, lets your team share one number and collaborate on calls and texts like a shared inbox. 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Whether you’re a casual fan or love diving into stats, FanDuel makes the game day experience so much better. So, what are you waiting for? Visit fanuel.com to download the FanDuel app today and get started. Coming back from the break, closing out today’s lockdown on Nets episode on this Fan Take Friday. Rolling on through the final questions that I got from you guys. Now that he’s signed, how would Jonathan Kaminga look in a Nets uniform if we trade him if we trade for him before the deadline? And who would Golden State want from us? Uh, I just I don’t really see Jonathan Kaminga as a trade target for this Nets team. first. I don’t really think that he’s the type of player that Jordi Fernandez would really want to target like in this system. Like Jordi Fernandez obviously wants to shoot a lot of threes. There’s a lot of movement involved. Like it’s not the Warrior system. It’s different. But Steve Cerr has these problems with Jonathan Kaminga and that’s why he doesn’t see him being a fit. And granted, he’s playing alongside Steph Curry and these other guys. So, could the Nets see him as a guy that could potentially pop and have this expansive role like on the ball and do these things that he clearly wants to do that he’s not able to do in Golden State? Maybe. But I don’t really see the Nets being too bullish on that. And I think that they probably view him like a lot of other teams in the league as more of a tertiary guy. And he hasn’t really shown skills in that regard that fit well with what Jordy Fernandez is looking for and what Shawn Mark seems to be looking for. I mean, Shawn Marks just made this draft class. And he told us after the draft, like 0.5 second basketball, the ball doesn’t stick. Like high field, pass first guys. That was obviously a theme of the Nets draft. Does Jonathan Kaminga really fit that mold with what he wants his role to be? Probably not. If he, you know, if he did, he’d probably be a better fit for Steve Curr and what they want there in Golden State. So, I don’t really see it, you know, for the Nets purposes and also, you know, for the Warriors purposes. They signed Jonathan Kaminga to that contract where he’s making like 24 million this season. And if they’re going to trade him, they’re probably going to be trading him in another deal to try to make an upgrade and really make a run at this with like a fringe star level guy, another fringe star level guy to put alongside Steph Curry. And the Nets don’t really have that to offer in my opinion. So, I mean, unless you’re talking about like Michael Porter Jr., I guess, but I just I I don’t see it for the Nets. And I just think that it wouldn’t really make much sense for the Nets or the Warriors, unless the Nets are just willing to overpay, which I don’t see them doing. Next question. How common is it for a rookie drafted number 26 or later to start on opening night? It appears that Ben Saraf may do that this season, and I do not know how to research how rare it is. It’s rare. I mean, you don’t really see rookies drafted at that spot usually start. If you do, they’re on teams like the Nets. They’re not on contenders, but contenders usually have those picks late in the draft. So, it is rare. I don’t have like numbers right now to give you for how rare it is, but it’s rare and it’s especially rare for a point guard, a guy that’s going to have the ball in his hands. Like, we just see that those guys take a lot of time to develop and Ben Saraf being the 26th pick. Him starting at point guard would be an interesting story and that would obviously have to do with Jorman being injured. But any of these Nets rookie guys, I think are going to struggle this year. But Ben Sra starting at point guard as a number 26 pick, you know, starting to open the year, that’s rare and it’s definitely a story and it’s going to be interesting to see how it plays out. But Ben has been regarded as, you know, one of the most NBA ready of these Nets rookies by Shawn Marx and we’ve heard how well he’s played and that’s not surprising because he played for a ratio team last season that made it to the finals in the Bundesliga and was a good team by all accounts and Saraf carried a really heavy load. So, he is seasoned and you know, it’s going to be fun to see how he plays. Last question. What are your top five go-to food items at Barclay’s Center? Interesting question to close it out. I used to when I used to go to games as a nonreporter would eat the concession food a lot more. Now, we get food, you know, given to us in the media work room in that area, but sometimes still will go up get some Barclay Center stuff. I really like these tacos. Like there’s a taco stand that they have that I think has really good uh like they have these like burri tacos and then chicken tacos and they’re really good. So I would go check that out. The Pisanos or whatever it is has really good burgers. There’s Buffalo Boss has those like Buffalo chicken tenders which are good but there’s a lot of good food options at Barclay Center. I think during the first preseason game I saw some new ones in the concourse. I don’t know if it was like something Mediterranean or something like that but I would say the tacos. I really like the Pisanos burgers. Always good. The Junior’s desserts always really good. Also a good option if you’re there. And then I would say Buffalo Boss probably good. And there’s like kosher options also that are good food. Like if you’re a kosher person. So a lot of good food options at Barlay Center. And uh yeah, if you’re going there, check those out. Check out the tacos. I think the tacos are really slept on. They’re a really good item there that I tend to gravitate towards when uh I’m getting food not in the media workroom. But that’s all we have for this fan tape Friday. Oh, once again, appreciate all of you guys who submit questions. Continue to participate. If I did not get to your questions, I apologize. Got a time limit on this podcast. Got to as many as I could. But if you guys do not already, make sure to subscribe to Lockdown Nets on YouTube and wherever you get your podcast, whether Apple podcast or Spotify. If you have a second right now, if you enjoy the content, smash that like button. Just hover over it, click it. It takes one second. Really helps the show. Leave a comment. Leave a fivestar review. Let me know what you thought about any of these takes. But we got Nets preseason action going on right now. Probably as this is airing on the podcast feed later on the video on Thursday. But Friday morning 8 a.m. got the Nets in Phoenix. So I’ll have coverage of all that and more when I’m back on Monday talking more Brooklyn Nets basketball.

Erik Slater answers questions from Brooklyn Nets fans about whether the team will exceed expectations early in the season, how Sean Marks will approach another tank, the team’s rookies, and more.

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