3 Brooklyn Nets Rookies Remain BENCHED During TANKING Season | Are Coach and Front Office ALIGNED?

3 Brooklyn Nets Rookies Remain BENCHED During TANKING Season | Are Coach and Front Office ALIGNED?

On today’s show, three of the Nets five rookies remain out of the rotation 10 games into the season. Is Brooklyn’s development plan cause for concern? I’ll answer that right now. You are Locked on Nets, your daily Brooklyn Nets podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network. Your team every day. Welcome in to Locked on Nets right here on the Locked on Podcast Network. Now the number one sports podcast network. It’s your team, the Brooklyn Nets every single day. I’m Eric Slater, Brooklyn reporter for clutchpoints.com. Thank you for making me your first listen of the day. The show is 100% free on all those great platforms. Today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, you’ll get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. Head to fanduel.com to get started. And on today’s episode, it’s fan take Friday. I took questions from Nets fans on a wide range of subjects, including Brooklyn’s rookie development plan, potential trades, the NBA’s tank landscape, and more. So, rolling on through it, taking these in the order they came in. First question, who is in charge of the team? Shawn Marks and Jordy Fernandez are not on the same page. Marks is trying to tank and Jordy is trying to win. Feels like the same process like last year that got us only the eighth pick. Should ownership get involved to pick a lane? Okay, this is something that I’ve seen from a fair amount of Nets fans. this concern that the coaching staff in Jordy is not aligned with the front office with ownership and it seems like that narrative or that thought process is arising because this is a tanking season and Jordy is coaching and trying to win a lot of these games that the Nets are playing in. But this is a tanking season. Like there’s no doubt about that and I’ve said it and I’ll continue to say it. There is alignment between the coaching staff, between the front office, between ownership. And I’ve said this about tanking since, you know, we’ve been in this situation with the Nets. The way that tanks go, organizations tank, front offices, ownership tank, players don’t. And coaches are sometime caught in the middle. But if you’re doing it right, the way that a tank and this should go is that the or the front office, the organization decides which player on a ro on a roster. Obviously, that should be, you know, geared towards a tanking agenda, handicapping the roster, as frustrating as that is. And then if you need to during the season, there’s cautious injury approaches. Guys might be held out on certain nights. There might be, you know, dictating what the rotations look like. But the coach in a proper tank, the way that I think a functional organization should run, there should be alignment. You might be caught in the middle, but you should be trying to win theoretically and coaching and doing some of those things. And the Nets are really executing this tank as, you know, pretty much perfectly as you could imagine. Now, we’ll talk about the rookie development and some people have, you know, quibbs with that and I have some as well. But in terms of the tank, the Nets are 1 and 10. They’re the worst team in the league by far right now. Like you look at the numbers across the board, they’re last in all these categories. And this was the whole point of the off season was yes, the Nets had a roster that was too good last year. Jordy coached it well in the beginning of the year and they got off they got off to a start that was detrimental to the tank. And Shawn responded by Jordie proofing the roster. Like that’s a term we’ve heard from some other people. That’s what Shawn did. He jordy proofed this roster and it seems like some Nets fans I guess have some PTSD about last year and how that went. The Nets messing up their draft lottery odds and falling to the eighth pick because they had too much talent. But as soon as they went into the off season, they had no veteran point guards. They went with three rookie point guards exclusively. And if you look at the rest of the roster, there’s just no shot creation. There’s no defenders. And this is why I said going into the year I took the under on the Nets at 19.5 wins when a lot of people were concerned that it was going to be the same thing as last year. I had no concerns that this team was going to win too many games because you look at the roster and that’s what Shawn has done. Shawn has Jordie proofed the roster and Jordy yes he’s coaching to try to win and despite that the Nets are one and 10. So that is, you know, if you’re looking at it or if you’re like a pro tank person or you’re rooting for the tank, like that’s a positive and they’re doing a good job with the tank in that regard. The reason that Jordy is coaching to try to win some of these games is a because he’s an extremely competitive guy and b he’s trying to keep some semblance of sanity and continuity in the locker room. That’s a reason why he’s playing some of these veterans. He’s not just playing all the rookies now. He hasn’t benched some of these other guys yet in favor of the rookies. because he’s trying to show to the locker room and show to the team that he’s putting his best foot forward and coaching to win. And you have to do that somewhat, especially in the beginning of the year, to keep sanity, to keep buying in the locker room and all of that. How long does that have to continue for? We’ll see. And I don’t think it’ll be too much longer. It’s probably like as we’re getting towards a trade deadline and stuff like that, a lot of things are going to change and probably even before that. But there is alignment between ownership, between the front office. ownership doesn’t have to get involved and pick a lane because a lane has already been picked and that was when they made this roster clearly one of the worst in the league that should not be able to compete in many games and that has been the case early this season and that’s why they’re 1 and 10 and they are going to be one of the top teams in the draft lottery standings. So that’s how I’m seeing that. Next question on a similar note, why is it that we’re 11 games into the season and fans think that rookies aren’t being developed because they haven’t been playing in front of vets? Especially when Jordy said he wanted to get them 60 games between Long Island and Brooklyn. He didn’t say 82 games. Another thing that I’m seeing from the fan base is, you know, some frustrations that some of the rookies aren’t playing. Some concerns about that. And I understand because I do think there are some rookies, particularly like Danny Wolf, we’ll get into it in a second, who I think maybe could have gotten minutes in the last game with Don Sharp sideline. But yes, through these games, Ben Saraf played the first five games, started at point guard, then him, Danny Wolf, Nolan Troy, all got sent down to the G-League. Now, Jaggor Yman and uh Drake Pal are the rookies in the rotation. And I feel like, you know, there were some injuries earlier in the year that kept some rookies out of the rotation. Like, I think Drake would have been playing earlier if he didn’t hurt his ankle. He’s healthy now. And now he’s in the rotation. So, you have Drake and Jagor, two guys who I think should be in the rotation and are. And outside of that, like you could say Danny Wolf, he’s the one that I would have an issue with, but like the reason that fans are angry about this, I feel like is because they just want to see all the rookies, which I totally understand. Like this is a season that is about development. They’re not really invested in these vets like Terrence Man or Tyrese Martin or like even Jaylen Wilson at this point. Like they want to see the rookies play over those guys. And I think that those guys will. But I would say that the Nets are going to use the G-League, Long Island, and Brooklyn as development tools. As you noted in the question, that is what Shawn Mark said. He I mean, uh, excuse me, that’s what Jordi Fernandez said. He said, “If we get 60 games between Long Island and between the NBA for our rookies, that’s a win.” And that’s what they’re aiming for and they’re going to get that done. So, you’re going to see these rookies playing many of minutes. I playing many minutes. I think fans are frustrated because they want to see all of them out of the gate. But Jaor and Drake are rookies who should definitely be playing. They’re playing Ben and Nolan. Like I think there’s an argument to be made that Ben could be getting minutes over guys like Jaylen Wilson or Tyrese Martin even though obviously he’s a far far cry from being NBA ready. But him and Nolan like I don’t really have a problem with those guys playing in Long Island because Nolan is very far away. He needs those minutes in Long Island. I think Ben could stand to benefit from it and he’s also going to get back into the rotation later in the season. Danny Wolf is the interesting one in the middle and that brings me to the next question. When will Danny Wolf get more minutes? And that’s an interesting question. I talked about this on a prior pod. You know, the Nets had that Dron Sharp injury. He missed the game on Tuesday against the Toronto Raptors. And with him out, the Nets don’t have another backup center on the roster. And you think it’s Wolf time. Like, bring on Danny. He’s going to get some minutes. All the fans started to get jazzed up about it. He gets called up and then he’s on the bench the entire game. And Jordy Fernandez rolls with um Noah Clowny playing extended minutes at center with the second unit. And I asked Jordy about it after the game and he said, you know, I’m just I’ve seen Noah. Noah’s got more experience right now. I’m more comfortable with him. So, he went with Noah and that’s it. And he did say that everybody will get an opportunity at some point. But I did think that that was a curious decision for a Net’s team that, you know, this is a rookie in Danny Wolf who’s a rookie, but he’s 21 years old. He’s two years older than a lot of these other rookie guys. He’s older than Noah Clowney. So, the development clock on him is a little bit different than some of these other rookies. And I’m fine with him spending time time in Long Island, but in a game like this where the Nets don’t have Dron Sharp, I feel like Danny Wolf could have gotten some minutes. Like, it’s a little frustrating. I said it after that game to see guys like, you know, like Tyrese Martin and Jaylen Wilson are combining for 30 minutes and Danny Wolf is on the bench the whole game. And I like, no disrespect to Tyrese or Jaylen, they work really hard. They’re great guys. They have some positive attributes to their game. Neither of them are going to be really long-term pieces for this Nets team. It doesn’t seem like I feel like that’s highly unlikely at this point. even a guy like Terrence man like he or Zire Williams like those guys are going to play because they’re veterans. But I think you know Tyrese Martin and Jaylen Wilson in a game like that getting you know 30 combined minutes and Danny Wolf getting none when the Nets don’t have a backup center in a season that’s supposed to be completely about rookie development. I thought that that was a little strange. Now you know overall I don’t have too much of a problem with Danny spending time in Long Island because the Nets do want to, you know, use Long Island and mine some data, see how they’re going to utilize him. Is he a power forward? Is he a center? where does he be best fit? Where does he excel? Where does he struggle? They did the same thing with Noah Clowny and they kind of, you know, collected that data and determined that he was best suited to play power forward. But the difference is that Noah was 19 when they were collecting that data. Danny’s 21 right now. He’s older than Noah. Noah’s in his third season right now. So that’s process has to be sped up. And Danny, I think, has a lot more NBA ready skills at this point than Noah did during his rookie season when he was spending time with GLeague. So, I would expect Danny to get some NBA minutes sooner rather than later, but I do think that it was a curious decision not to give him minutes um during that game when Dron Sharp was sidelineed. Last couple of questions then going to go to a break. Do you see Drake taking more minutes from players as they underperformed seeing as how in theory he is the best defender of our rookies? And then another question similar ilk. What are your thoughts on Brooklyn’s Brooklyn’s rookies so far over the last few games? And you do you and do you believe the progression of Drake Paloran could lead to a Cam Thomas trade at the deadline? If so, which teams do you think would show interest in Thomas? What do you think his value is? So, the first one, do I think that Drake will take some minutes from guys as the season progresses if they continue to struggle? Yes. Like I think Drake is playing a good amount of minutes now, but he only he only played I think nine minutes during the first half of that Raptors loss. And as the season progresses, I think we’re going to see not just Drake, we’re just going to see all of these rookies start to get into the lineup because they said 60 games, you know, between the G-League and the NBA, but these guys aren’t playing in 60 games in Long Island. So, they’re going to play in NBA games. All of them, I would expect. Nolan Troy is the one who’s furthest away, but we’ll see. Even him, I expect him to get NBA minutes. And as the season progresses, you’re going to see these guys like I think there could be trades, but you’re going to see guys like Tyrese Martin, Jaylen Wilson, I don’t expect them to be in the rotation the whole season. Terrence man could see his minutes scaled back. Zire Williams could see his minutes scaled back. We’re just going to see all of these guys get more time in the rotation. Like there are guys who are locked into the rotation. MPJ is obviously one. Claxton’s one as long as he’s here. Dron if he’s here and healthy, like all of those guys, there’s other ones too, but we’re going to see some of these veterans like there’s going to be difficult conversations as the season progresses because the Nets have five rookie first round picks which has never been done before. They’re trying to develop all of them and they have a roster with a lot of pieces and a lot of veterans that needs to be thinned. It isn’t all that thinable. So, there’s going to be some difficult conversations. But to answer your question, yes, I do think Drake will get more minutes as the season progresses, as will all of the Nets rookies, and that will push some guys out of the rotation. In regard to Drake and Jagor’s development and their progression lead to a Cam Thomas trade at the deadline, yes, I think that’s a very real possibility. I talked about that on a recent episode with Brian Lewis. I just think that I don’t really think, you know, if we’re assuming or if we’re just, you know, reading the tea leaves and it seems like the Nets don’t value Cam Thomas as a long-term piece. He just really doesn’t serve a purpose on this roster other than to dominate the ball and take a lot of onball reps away from guys like Jagor and Drake who have shown real promise and their usage has just skyrocketed and they’re getting a lot more reps and experience since Cam went out with injury. We said, you know, Jagor had this career best game against the Raptors. We had 16 points of these last three games. He’s at like 11, four and five on good efficiency. So all of that is a positive. And we talked to him after that Toronto game and he said it’s all about reps, repetition. So yes, I think that a Cam Thomas traded the deadline or even before the deadline. It might be closer to that December 15th date as it was with Dennis Shruder last year. That makes a lot of sense. If so, which teams? Like it’s too early to tell. Like the Detroit Pistons have been speculated as a team. I just look at teams who need perimeter scoring, who need a little bit of a scoring punch with the second unit. Like I got a question, another question later on here about the Clippers. Bradley Beal just went out, but they’re three and eight. I don’t know like how much they’re looking to do that. It’s just it’s tough to tell right now. What do I think Cam’s value is though? Go watch that episode with Brian Lewis, but I think it’s low like probably second round picks if anything. So that’s how I’m seeing that. But we got a lot more questions about the Nets rookies, about their defensive scheme, about Nick Claxton, and some other things. So, I’ll get into all those when I continue locked on nets after a quick break. Guys, when I’m hydrated, everything just works better. My focus, energy, mood, even my skin. That’s why I’ve been using Drip Drop. It’s doctor developed hydration that keeps me running at full power, no matter what my day looks like. Drip Drop isn’t your average sports drink. It delivers three times the electrolytes and half the sugar of leading brands using a science-backed formula trusted by medical professionals, firefighters, and over 90% of top college and pro teams. Guys, I like using Drip Drop as part of my daily routine. I’ll mix in a packet in the morning before the gym or during my midday slump. And it actually tastes amazing. It’s become my secret weapon for staying sharp and energized through long days. Hydration has become a non-negotiable for me. Drip job helps me feel sharper, calmer, and honestly, just better overall. 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I say they’re rookies and like rookies usually aren’t good defenders unless they’re older or more developed. Like these are rookies who are 19 years old. Like some of them, yes, have defensive concerns. I think Jaor, Saraf, Wolf, Nolan, all have some defensive concerns, but I think they all also have good positional size and have some plus attributes that are going to take some time to develop. Like defense, especially the defense that the Nets are trying to play, it’s very much a cerebral thing. Like you need to understand positioning, you need to understand rotations, you need to understand a lot of different things. And they’re 19 years old with the exception of Wolfe. They’re rookies. Like their bodies aren’t developed, their IQ isn’t developed, they’re not, you know, ready to contribute. That’s that’s a big reason why some of them aren’t in the rotation. Like we talked to Ben Saraf about it right after he got pulled from the rotation. He said he thinks that defense was a big part of it. So why do the Nets draft four players that don’t fit into their defensive scheme? I think that they think that they do fit in their defensive scheme. They just don’t right now. And why did they draft those guys if they don’t fit right now because they’re tanking and it’s all about development and this is a rebuild. But long term, we heard Shawn Mark say it after the draft like positional size, positional versatility, guys who can make things hard on defense. And if you look at these Nets guys like Danny Wolf, I think there’s real concerns about him defensively, but you look at it outside of like Drake obviously going to be a good defender. It seems like Jaor and Ben, you know, even Nolan like they have good positional size. Jaor, they’re all ball handlers, point guards perceivably. Obviously Jagor could slide to the wing, but Jagor 6’9, Ben 6’6, Nolan 6’4. They need to work on their bodies and get some more bulk to them, but they all have good size, good length, and I think that long-term that those guys have some, they think, the Nets think that those guys have some defensive potential. So, that’s what I’d say about that. Next question. Do you think Nick Claxton’s trade value is higher now than it will ever be? Does his long-term fit with pick and roll guards and dislike for Jord’s defense make it so the Nets should trade him? I talked about this yesterday. It seems like you who asked this question watched that episode with Lucas Kaplan. Do I think Nick’s trade value right now is higher than it ever will be? No. Like that 2022 23 season when he was on a much smaller contract and he was having a career season. Like I think it was probably higher then. Do I think that his trade value is on the upswing right now? I’d say yes because he’s having a career best offensive season. He looks healthy now. He’s going to have to sustain that for a period longer than 11 games. He’s going to have to do it for an extended period. And we also talked about it with Lucas that he’s going to need to become a better defensive rebounder. He’s going to need to show some, you know, real effort and motor in that regard because that has been lacking earlier this early this season. But do I think that his fit with pick and roll guards and dislike of Jord’s defensive system makes it so the Nets should trade him? No. Like I think that the Nets should do what’sever in their best interest, what they view as the best outlook for the center position. Like Nick is fitting in right now in terms of offense. He’s doing a great job. We talked about it on defense. He needs to improve. He doesn’t like the defensive system, but that’s like something that he’s just going to need to buy into. And I think that he will ultimately if the Nets are going to keep him on the roster and you’re starting to see better effort, better motive from him on the defensive end. So, the Nets have to make an evaluation of do they view Nick as a long-term piece? How do they feel about him with some of his strengths and some of some of his weaknesses? And do they feel like depending on what the price is in the trade, what the market looks like for him, does it make more sense to ship him off and cash in on him at this value? and do they feel like Dron Sharp or whatever other they plan they have at center they can effectively replace Nick’s production or do they feel like he’s a good option and he’s controlled at a price point that they’re comfortable with? So, those are all the determinations that they’re going to have to make. But another Clax question, with Clax, with Clax rising, what teams are looking to potentially trade in pieces for him? Charlotte has Caulk Brener. Boston has Kada. I’d love to get a future first and a Pacers 26 swap for Claxton. I can’t say right now like what teams are potentially looking to trade for Claxton because we’re not even in trade season. It’s very early right now. like the the unofficial start of trade season is December 15th when all the free agents who signed the prior offseason are eligible to be traded. So, we’re early right now. If I’m going to speculate and say what teams could be trying to trade for Nick Claxton, like I think you just need to look at teams that have a center need and are trying to contend or take a step towards contention, there’s not that many of them around the NBA. Like, if you look at it like the Celtics, you mentioned Kada. The Celtics are a team that’s obviously being thrown around because they don’t really have center options. like they have Kada, they have Buchet, they have uh whoever’s like some other guys, but it’s it’s probably the worst center room in the NBA. Kada is actually not playing bad right now to start the season. But they’re a team, but it’s kind of, you know, it does you don’t really know if they want to shift if they want to cash in assets for Claxton this season or for if they value Claxton at all. But if they do, say they like Claxton, they’re a team that could very perceivably not be like hard tanking, but soft tanking. Like they don’t have Tatum. This is a lost season. They have their own draft pick. I could very much see them as the season progresses just saying like we’re going to try to shed salary which could make them a trade partner with the Nets. I’ve talked about that in the past, but we’re going to try to shed salary and we’re going to try to, you know, wherever our draft pick picks wherever our draft pick falls it falls and we’re not really all that concerned with, you know, trying to compete. So, is it out of the question that they could trade for Claxton? No, because they are going to be trying to compete with Jason Tatum when he comes back the following season and the season after that. But I just don’t know if they’re giving up assets to try to improve their team in this season when they have their own draft pick and they perceivably, you know, could be just looking to do kind of a soft tank. Outside of the Celtics, like the Hornets, sure, like they have Kulk Brener. I don’t really think that they’re trading for Claxton, you know, or giving up anything significant for Claxton when they just drafted Kaulk Brener. The Bulls are a team I could maybe look at like Nicole Vushevich obviously like there’s been trade talks surrounding him. He’s a lot older. He struggles in a lot of the areas that Nick would be a big boost at defensively in some of those things. Obviously a different offensive player, but he’s an expiring contract. Maybe the Nets could trade Nick to the Bulls, get some kind of asset. They’re always trying to compete like and be a middling team, so help them further in that task. And maybe you get back Vuchevich in a draft pick and then you give them Claxton and maybe that could be something that works because if the Nets were to do that and they get Vevich’s expiring for Clax, they add even more financial flexibility this summer. Other teams like 76ers have a big void in the middle outside of Joel Embiid who obviously has his injury problem. The Pacers kind of in a similar situation to Boston like trying to probably tank this season now but going to be taking a step back towards contention. So could they look to get their center of the future? Maybe. Outside of that there’s not really anybody else any other teams that jump out to me. But I do think that Claxton will have a market. It’s just a matter of do the Nets feel like it’s worth it and is the market justifying them and how do they have how do they feel about their other prospects of back filling that center position as I said. But got a few more questions about Nets rookie. Also got some questions about the tank landscape of the NBA and will some teams potentially joining it. Should the Nets be worried? Should Nets fans be worried about other teams jumping them in the draft lottery standings? We’ll get to all that when I close out Locked on Nets after a quick break. The NBA season is heating up and Door Dash has found the perfect way to keep fans in their bag all season long. Whether you’re watching for the highlights, your fantasy team, or just your favorite player, Door Dash makes every game night even better. Door Dash is the official on demand delivery platform of the NBA. And they’re celebrating with something called the Bagdrop. 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Like Jagger obviously is coming off that plantar fascia tear. Do I feel like great about his foot speed and lateral quickness? No. I think defensively it looks like pretty ugly sometimes, but I think some of that is also technique. Like I think the moments where Jagger looks the worst defensively right now or his closeouts. His closeouts are really bad right now. And yes, there’s a foot speed and lateral quickness aspect to that, but there’s also a big technique aspect to that which should get better in terms of, you know, with experience and added, you know, weight, added strength, all of those different things. But I would say that he hasn’t said anything about the injury still hampering him, but he is coming off of a plantar fascia tear where he has said that he was immobile and not really doing anything for like multiple months. He was pretty much just off his feet. like he had some days where he was doing some stuff and then a lot of days like he was just in bed and he was not doing anything putting any weight on that. So, we’re not that far removed from that and I feel like it is fair to think that his foot speed and his lateral quickness could get better the further we get removed from that. But that is like that has been a concern about Jagor especially in terms of him being like an onball creator. Like he doesn’t have an explosive first step. Do I think that he’s like a total stiff? No. Like he looks stiff sometimes. He has high hips and some of those things, but I think that I think that Jagor is going to be okay and I would be encouraged by his performance of late. I think defensively it doesn’t look good, but he’s a rookie. I expected that. I think that he’ll get better and the further that he gets removed from that injury, I think that we’ll start to see some of it come back. Next question. With the recent news of Nico Harrison being fired and the Mavs direction in flux, who do you think will be the biggest threats to the Nets in the tank outside of Washington? Good question. Um, you know, I think you’re seeing the Pacers right now, like they obviously have a lot of guys hurt, but they’re a team that has their own draft pick. They traded for it back. It’s really just like a one-year tank like situation, kind of soft tank with them because they’re going to get Hallebertton back, but this is kind of a lost season. So, if they decide like they have some good players, so it’ll be tough for them to do that for the entire year. But, if they decide as the year progresses, we’re just going to mail this thing in and we’re really going to go for it. Like, they’re they’re a team that could be at the top. You know, the Los Angeles Clippers like look really bad right now, but they obviously have James Harden and Kawawaii. So, I don’t think they’re going to enter the conversation. Outside of that, like the Jazz, the Jazz are three and, you know, three and seven or whatever they are right now, like four and seven. Like, it’s it’s better than the Nets, but they’re a team that I fully expect to be bad as the year progresses. The Hornets, another team that could join the conversation. Like I think it’s a lot of the usual suspects outside of that like the Pacers and Boston, but I don’t think that they’re going to be bad enough to really like jump net the Nets in the draft lottery standings because they just have some players that are so much better than what the Nets have at the top of the roster. So, do I think there are like many huge threats that I’d be that worried about? No. like this team, you know, I said it in the beginning of this podcast, the Nets did right, did the tank right this year and they really handicapped this roster to a point where it’s one of the worst in the league and the Nets just don’t really have many avenues to competing no matter how hard Jordy tries. So, I wouldn’t be too worried about that. Next question. What direction do you think the front office should take in the offseason in terms of team building? It’s early to say right now and I think a lot of that is going to depend on where the Nets land in the draft and what player they end up coming away with because this player that they get in this draft, especially if they land in the top three, is perceivably going to be their franchise centerpiece and their future building block. And you look at the three that they have at the top, it’s Darren Peterson, it’s AJ Debansa, it’s Camboozer, and all of those guys are very different players. Like you have Peterson who’s this kind of like silky smooth two guard. You have Debansa who’s this like bigger wing who could do some ball handling stuff and then you have Boozer who’s like this power forward. It’s like they’re all different archetypes. Then outside of that you have Native Attentel Brown, Caleb Wilson, whoever else you want to say like whatever player they land in the draft is going to influence how they build their team and how they shape it around their player. Now I said it on the pop with Lucas that I think that they are going to try to take a step back towards competing next season because they owe the Houston Rockets an unprotected first round pick swap. I would say that the one thing that I hope because you know I said this that them owing that pick swap unprotected is going to influence their decision-making and they’re going to try to get better next season and they’re going to try Sean Marx is going to try to prove his worth and perceivably keep his job. So I understand that and that’s going to be a factor because they don’t want to gift Houston a top pick but at the end of the day something we’ve been through before with this Nets team that is a sunk cost. So, they should be trying to improve. They should be trying to get better. But, I don’t want them kind of just going to the quick fixes and going to all these things and just trying to expedite the timeline and doing things that aren’t really in their best interest just to avoid giving a top pick to Houston. I would say you can try to get better. You can try to compete. You can try to take a step back from winning. They should do step back towards winning. They should do that. But do it correct. Do it at the correct pace. Continue to build. If an opportunity arises and you can expedite the timeline, sure. But for the most part, do it correct. Continue to build. We’ve seen things like with, you know, this Houston team obviously with the Magic. The Spurs obviously had a lot of luck. Like you got to have some lottery luck. But those teams built it out and they continued not just completely fasttracking it. You can take some in between moves and you can have that approach a little bit, but don’t mortgage the future for anything when the team is in no position to do that. That’s what I would say and that’s the way that I really hope that they approach it. But that’s all the questions I have on this episode. appreciate all of you who continue to submit questions and participate and continue to allow me to do these mailbag episodes. I really enjoy it. But if you guys do not already, make sure to subscribe to Locknets on YouTube and wherever you get your podcast, whether Apple Podcast or Spotify. If you like the content, smash that like button, leave a comment, leave a fivestar review. Anything you do to engage is much appreciated. But the Nets got the Orlando Magic on Friday, then they’re in Washington on Sunday, and then they’re coming back home. So, I 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 the team’s plan for its rookies, potential trades, the NBA tank landscape, and more.

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