I was in the middle of a debate between two friends of who is worse off, Portland or Brooklyn. Friend 1: The immediate pick is always Brooklyn. They don't have their picks, they are the league's worst team, and they have no talent. Portland on the other hand has Dame and CJ and all their picks. Easy pick right? Friend 2: Not so fast. Brooklyn will have cap room, tons of it, next year, and the year after that, and the year after that. Also, they are a bigger market team than Portland is. Portland also spent the league's second highest amount to barely make 8th place. They have fat bloated contracts and will have a hard time bringing talent to pair with CJ and Dame. Brooklyn, while poor in picks could easily take on bad contracts for picks, or just build up. Portland is stuck in the zone of mediocrity for quite a while. So who you got?
Brooklyn is so screwed that I hug my friends who support that team every time I see them. Nobody cares about Brooklyn. Seriously. Go to a game, and you will see that too. It was just... depressing.
Brooklyn's trade with Boston was so bad that it looks like collusion. Boston cleaned their clock ... may be the most lopsided trade in history. They are screwed for a long, long time. However, I do hope, somehow, someway, they add a bunch of free agents and can hurt the value of those picks.
brooklyn is worst off IMO. Yes they have tons of cap space, but who will they be able to attract to take that cap space? Meanwhile you forget Portland also has a very intriguing player in Nurkic along with Dame and CJ. The problem the nets have is, can they realistically sign two player as good as Dame and CJ or Dame and Nurkic with their available cap space in the next two years. Yes the Blazers have a problem with their cap/luxury taxes, with Crabbe making 19+ Turner making 17+ leonard making 9+ and Harkless making 9+ per year for the next 3 years. But how hard would it be for them to trade away Crabbe or Leonard and Harkless? Crabbe is overpaid, but Harkless and Leonard salaries will be about the mid level exception next year. Furthermore the Blazers have draft picks along with Denvers 1st rounder to improve their team or to use to help rid themselves of Crabbe or Turner. Not to mention the possibility of what they might get in trade for CJ.
I agree with friend 2. Brooklyn. But that's because I really believe in their GM and their coach. This year they will have two first rounders (low) and in two years they will finish their pick obligations. Whitehead, and especially LeVert have shown good potential. They can always sell their capspace for more picks or trade their good roleplayers. On the other hand, Portland has no flexibility, and their stars dont have much upside left. And then Portland is in the West while BKN is in the east. No matter the circumstances if there's a good managment any situation can be fixed. The condition ofc is that the BKN owner doesnt' get involved again in any decision.
I have not been to a Brooklyn game yet but I have been to several NJ Nets game when the Rockets would be visiting. I used to feel sorry for the Nets. Even the home crowd would cheer for the visiting team.
Do you live in nyc? Same song, different verse for Brooklyn. Except they are trying to be all hip. I never pile it on a Nets fan: they have had it really rough.
The perspective I would add to this argument is this -- Could Portland trade Lillard and McCollum right now and completely clear their bad salaries? If so, they're better off than Brooklyn.
Or, even with the cap space and assets that Nets would have, what is the guarantee that they will get talent that matches Lil + Mc + Nurkic, wich Blazers already have? If you pick Nets you are betting that they will get it all right and their talent level will surpass that trio. I consider that trio overrated but it is still a young and solid backbone for a good team for a couple years. Not a contender but certainly middle of the pack.
absolutely. But would they? no. Not with already a superstar and a star on the roster and with a filthy rich owner willing to spend to be win now. Willingness to make tough decisions that hurt is also part of the equation.
That trio can make it so far as an 8th seed in the playoffs with very bad defence. I can easily see BKN in 5 years from now have talent enough to make it as an 8th seed, while Portland is stuck in an aging core after years treadmilling. Being a bad team, allows also young players to have much more opportunities. We saw that with Vonleh that needed until now to show anything. Their coach so far has shown that he's great at player development. The NBA is very fluid. Even in 3-4 years a team that was considered to be a laughingstock could very well make it in the POs. Esp in the East.
5 years in the NBA is a VERY long time. teams can change their entire roster in that time. The landscape changes dramatically, not just for those two teams, but for lots of other teams. For immediate future, I would pick what Portland has over what Brooklyn might get. Also, judging by the team culture, I would bet on Portland making changes if they get stuck and need it than Nets doing it.
Some franchises should just fold. The Nets are one. And the Knicks too. Wait... they are from the same city. LOL.
To even have this argument is just hilarious. The Nets is a joke, its been so long since the Kidd era and there is no sign at all they can turn it around in anytime soon. On the other hand, just because Portland had a bad season and some under-performed contracts, and you would like to think they are worse than the Nets? Hey, the Rox also had a disaster season last year and also finished as the 8th seed, so that makes us worse than, ummm, the Lakers?
