Okafor Traded To BKN

Awesome! Watching Brooklyn should be even more fun now. But I think Allen is going to be a solid big.

 

The second I heard it...the word "irony" popped into my head. I will be keeping tabs on how they do here on out.

 

Nets have done a really solid job reshuffeling their team and at 10-14, they have been way better than expected too.

Okafor isn't going to be a star, that much is pretty obvious but he can contribute to a team.

 

I think their way inherently will take longer. They've got zero appeal as a destination and no easy to get money even if someone was interested. At least if we've got someone interested, we can sign them.

 

Why does Brooklyn have zero appeal as a destination? And while they might not have cap next year, they probably will in the couple years after that.

 

Because they're terrible, have been a laughing stock for years now, and have had monstrously bad luck. They haven't been relevant since they traded for Pierce and Garnett and that flamed out badly.

If the question is which path bears fruit first the Lakers or the Nets, the odds on favorites are the Lakers without question. There is nothing about the Nets that would attract a FA.

 

Got it. West coast bias.

 

Do you have any evidence that Brooklyn is a destination that FAs find attractive?

 

Yes but our history has kept us at least in the mix. Brooklyn has been radio silent in terms of a "destination".

I think ultimately they're the Clippers of the East. They may have waves of competence through a strong draft pick, but the Knicks are still the team people associate with the market and thus the brand power for themselves. I do think they've done a solid job turning their fortunes around after selling their souls for a chance at beating LeBron. I Just don't think players are going to be looking their way, not especially because they don't have enough money to add more than one decent piece.

 

"Zero appeal" is either a rhetorical move, or it's meant to be taken seriously. I returned a rhetorical move, and I'll now give the honest take on the Nets.

Recent History
The Nets have been bad for the better part of the past decade. Still, their being terrible hasn't stopped them from being in the playoffs in three of those seasons. The Lakers haven't been to the POs in five seasons, but the Nets have only missed out the last three. In terms of recent history, then, it's not at all clear that LA has an advantage over Brooklyn.

2017-18
Both teams are 10-15 this season, and one of those teams is missing arguably its two best players (Russell and Lin) on the way to that mark.

Futures
Both teams have promising young players who will need to continue to develop and avoid injuries. If they can do that, both have impressive pedigrees. Lakers have four top 8 picks over the past five seasons in Pope (8), Randle (7), Ball (2), and Ingram (2). They also seem to have drafted well in Nance, Kuzma, JC, and Zubac. The Nets have Stauskas (8), Okafor (3), and Russell (2) from the last three drafts. They've had incredibly good luck with late first, early-second round picks (and UDFAs): RHJ, Crabbe, Whitehead, LeVert, Dinwiddie, and Allen all look promising (note: they didn't draft all these players; but they have them).

Cap $
Lakers have the cap now. Nets will have it the season after that. I don't know which is going to end up being better. The market will determine that.