Nets fire Vaughn - observe if they change directions of tanking

I understand my bias being a Rockets fan, but it seems like the Nets are bound and determined to finish as high as possible in the standings until 2027 just to diminish the value of the 1st round draft picks and pick swaps made with the Rockets in the Harden trade.

The idea of centering a team around Mikal Bridges is so idiotic. They've completely given up on building a legit contender by moving on from the Harden blunder, starting from scratch and trading Bridges and anything worth a dime on their roster for NEW draft picks.

Their franchise doesn't seem to be an attractive destination for FAs, so the draft is their best way to try and secure superstar talent.

 

The Nets don't care about winning it all, their owner just refuses to tank and rebuild.

It's pretty clear they'd rather be mediocre as a 10th-12th seed than to tank.

 

FIring your coach is not gonna do it lol Also being petty isnt gonna make your team better. The nets are a really dumb team and we couldnt have picked better trade partners if we tried.

 

I suppose. But I think they were better the season before they did that.

 

They take their chances that big name free agents want to play in NY. It’s not a bad strategy if your team is in a desirable city. The next time a star shakes loose they always have a good chance to sign or trade for them.

 

It’s literally NEVER been a winning strategy for the Knicks. They have not gotten a big time free agent in my lifetime. Teams/cities that are always in the conversation to attract free agents are the California teams (minus Sacramento), Miami, and Houston. That’s about it.

 

I no right?

 

Their debt to the Rockets is a sunk cost.

I mentioned this before the deadline - That doesn't mean that there aren't other benefits to tanking it up thru the end of a failed season.

They trade away vets for draft picks while creating future cap space.
They should have traded Dorian Finney Smith along with Dinwiddie and Royce O'Neale.

It's all about asset accumulation.

It's just a coincidence that what's best for them is also best for us.

 

I think last year they should have talked HARD after their trades. Perhaps even moved Bridges for assets last year.

They had a swap last year, so would have retained their pick, still had the Suns pick, and have the safety of us being terrible anyway so unlikely to force the swap).

I still struggle to see the benefit in fully tanking this year. They can do the 'faux tank' where they run a high octane offense and stat pad for vets they control (ie whose contracts are beyond this year), while giving exposure minutes to their younger players (perhaps even closing games).

No carrot of a pick, but at least it gives them other options.

 

Maybe don't think of it as tanking but as setting themselves up for success beyond right now.

They dumped expensive players at the deadline that had no future with the team but ate up cap space at pretty much no cost.

They've set the stage to get rid of Simmons and his albatross of a contract ... and have somewhere around $80m to spend on free agency - to add players to Bridges.

 

Problem is their roster is so far from being a contender that they need to actually acquire two stars, not one, if we're talking Donovan, Trae, Lauri level guys just to be a top 5 seed, let alone a finals favorite. And they'd have to do it without giving up their depth. Alternatively they'd have to acquire a Jokic, Giannis, Embiid, Luka, SGA level guy, and, well... good luck with that.

They are pretty f*cked.

 

So far so good. The tank is strong with this one

 

All assets are not equal. Getting low first rounders doesn't amount to much, it just looks good to say you got X amount of picks . The main benefit to tanking is you get high draft picks by being bad, the assets you get from offloading your vets are just a bonus. In that respect I can understand Nets not wanting to trade DFS and Co. They should have traded Bridges to us and gotten their picks back, and then they could have started tanking.

Nets got a bunch and of low frps from trading KD I'm gonna be surprised if they can trade those picks for a star in return.

 

Nets fans are starting to realize they lost the trade.

 

$80m in cap space & 8 first round picks, 7 of them unprotected, one with top 8 protection.

9 second round draft picks.

What can you do with that package?

Yeah, they appear to be middling picks .... but so did the picks the Rockets got for Harden.

They had Durant, Harden and Flat Earth ...... everyone was complaining that those picks would suck.

The first one was #17, the next one is going to be top 8 at worst, may end up in the top 4.


All those picks are unprotected except for the one from Philly which is top 8.

Brooklyn Nets - Future Draft Picks | Fanspo

One from Dallas - they are a Flat Earth away from Scorched Earth.

PHX is underperforming, they are a $200m play in team with no assets to improve and a KD temper tantrum or injury away from being in the lottery, they are also riddled with injuries outside of their big 3.
They only have two 2nd round picks between now and 2030 that are 2024 Protected 31-49 and 2025 Protected 31-45.

Those 8 picks aren't immediate, they are spread between now and 2030.

0 in 2024
1 in 25
1 in 26
2 in 2027
1 in 2028
3 in 2029
1 in 2030

A lot can change between now and then.

6 unprotected picks between 27 and 30 are some of the most valued assets in the league right now.

 

Remember the consecutive years rule. They can't actually trade all those picks. They can trade what, 4 or 5 of them? And picks in 2029 and 2030 are of limited value right now--if you're a GM you might not even have your current job by the time those roll around, let alone get a chance to see them develop into impact players.