writing this week about Summer League for Spotrac<\/a>, noted that he had spoken with Nets insiders about the two\u2019s time in Vegas:<\/p>\nOn Egor Demin: \u201cHe\u2019s a lot more comfortable going into Year 2. I think from the pre-draft process, all the way through his rookie year, we probably over-indexed on his three-point shot too much. I mean Egor, his trainers, our front office, our coaches, everyone. You saw out here (at Summer League), that he was getting downhill more. This year is about putting him in even better spots to shine as an all-around player,\u201d a Nets front office executive said.<\/p>\n
On Mikel Brown Jr.: \u201cYou\u2019re probably going to hear this about every guy, including A.J. (Dybantsa) at No. 1, but we feel like Mikel is the steal of the draft,\u201d A Nets front office executive said. \u201cHe was a little wild here (at Summer League) and in California (at California Classic Summer League), but that\u2019ll round out with time. Having him go against Keon (Ellis) and Terance (Mann) every day in practice is going to be huge for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Nets, we hear, had Brown Jr. at No. 5 on their internal board not far behind, in their opinion, the Big Four of A.J. Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer and Caleb Wilson. (That might not have been the Nets order, just the draft order.)<\/p>\n
There\u2019s something else as well in Demin and Brown Jr.\u2018s favor. They are box-office, two smart, likeable and charismatic personalities \u2026 who know it. So do the Nets who have filled their social media outlets with images and videos that highlight them and their personalities. Might that change come the season when Michael Porter Jr. and Julius Randle (hopefully) start putting up big numbers? Maybe but at the moment they are the faces of the franchise with the second year a bit more so than the rookie.<\/p>\n
The Nets are also very high on their 28th pick, Joshua Jefferson, the sweet-passing 6\u20199\u201d, 240 pound point forward from Iowa State. Jefferson had dropped for a number of reasons. He had mid-first round mock draft vibes early in the season but fell back in part because he was a four-year college player \u2014 a consensus All-American but a player who turns 23 in November. He is in fact the eighth oldest player on the current roster! He, like Brown Jr., got hurt just as March Madness was beginning. A sprained ankle kept him out of all but the opening minutes of the opening game.<\/p>\n
The Nets got the No. 28 pick in an exchange of first and second round picks \u2014 part of the Randle\/Claxton trade. That deal didn\u2019t get approved till July 9, the first day of the Vegas Summer League. Until then, Jefferson couldn\u2019t practice with the team, couldn\u2019t scrimmage. So his three games in Vegas were not seen as any indicator of his potential.<\/p>\n
In general, a Nets executive told Smith the roster may not be done and pointed out how the y9ung players\u2019 development has been prioritized in the addition of what was described as \u201clegitimate NBA rotation players and potential rotation players.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a work in progress. Unless you are the Thunder or the Spurs or the Knicks, I don\u2019t know how you feel like you roster is \u2018done\u2019,\u201d a Nets front office executive said. \u201cWe probably still lean a little too young, to be honest. The good news is that adding guys like Julius (Randle), Keon (Ellis) and Moe (Wagner) will help these guys grow up a lot. Those are real, physical, sometimes nasty, NBA guys. I can\u2019t wait to watch them help our young guys grow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nets will likely go into the 2026-27 season without much if any difference from what they look like now, other than signing Moe Wagner and extending (or not) Michael Porter Jr. It appears the Wagner signing delay is about wanting to have a tidbit of flexibility if something arrives on the door step at 168 39th Street in Industry City.<\/p>\n
Both the Nets and MPJ are saying nice things about each other, as we\u2019ve reported, but it would appear that the Nets may want a shorter-term deal than Porter and his agent Marc Bartelstein. Teams are less and less willing to take on long-term commitments because of the onerous nature of the second apron, not just in financial terms but also in terms of flexibility.<\/p>\n
They took few risks with the signings of Day\u2019Ron Sharpe ($20 million over two with a team option in year two); Josh Minott ($8 million over two with a team option also in year two), Moe Wagner ($19 million over two with a mutual option in year two) and Keon Ellis ($18 million over two, also with a mutual option.) The mutual option guarantees the full amount of the deals, but gives both sides the right to move on. More than one pundit praised the Nets for the reasonable nature of the deals.<\/p>\n
Keith Smith pointed out that the Nets also believe they can win more now that they\u2019ve added veterans, with one Nets assistant admitting, \u201cNot to speak ill of last year\u2019s team, but we were down to rookies and non-NBA-level players by the end of the year. This year, we\u2019ve got depth and the kids are improving too.\u201d<\/p>\n
They will still likely be the youngest team in the league again this year and should have a lot of cap space, as much as $68 million, writes Smith in a separate post. That of course does not include any short-term raise MPJ may get or the still unsigned Moe Wagner\u2019s $9.2 million. Still, they\u2019re likely to once again enter the off-season in the top three of cap space.<\/p>\n
Unless, they\u2019re active now or at the deadline.<\/p>\n