The NBA draft is just a few short weeks away and the Brooklyn Nets should keep their approach simple. The Nets should stay put at 29th overall this season.
The Brooklyn Nets are so close to finally being able to draft a player using their own lottery selection, they should not mess that up.
I am by no means trying to report that the Nets are trying to move up or down. I am just giving my opinion on where things stand right now as the draft gets closer.
The Nets have been in a tough spot because they are coming off some of their worst seasons record wise and have little opportunity to grow.
They are constantly making trades to improve because their draft capital has been so weak. Although a lot of their more recent trades, like literally anything Billy King did not do, have been better, it’s not an ideal way to build long-term success.
Brooklyn has put themselves in a position where they need to find the hay in the needle stack. They have done so in acquiring players like Spencer Dinwiddie and Allen Crabbe.
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But, like most of us already know, the best way to win is by building a great team in the draft. The Brooklyn Nets can still do that.
The biggest reason why I believe they should stay put is Head Coach Kenny Atkinson. His specialty is supposed to be player development.
The Nets should let him to his job and stop making so many moves. They can only work for so long. The Nets are lucky to even be in the first round they can’t afford to mess it up.
If Atkinson is going to develop players and get as much as he can out of them, then whomever the Nets go with at 29 will be in good hands. Moving up a few spots will not be as effective if that is the case.
Above all else the Nets need talent. They need to disregard position needs and just bring in whatever basketball player is going to improve the roster.
So, why should they not be anxious to move up? Because this is just simply not the year.
If the Nets want to actually have their lottery pick be for them they can make moves next year. They finally have their own first-round pick in 2019. They need to not give it away.
Plus, it is all just part of the process. The Nets should stay put in the draft. Let Atkinson work with who they draft and continue going in the right direction.
The Eastern conference is not winnable if LeBron James stays in it anyway. The Nets can finally relax and have faith in their process.
They are young but are slowly showing signs of being a great three-point shooting team while focusing on fundamentals and “next man up” mentality.
This is not the draft to make moves and give away future assets. This is not the draft to trade up for a guy who will rush what Atkinson is trying to do.
Leave Atkinson around without any pressure, have him around for the next few years when they have more draft capital. A development coach with better talent is fool-proof.
A lot of teams in the NBA are eager to move up or move back, depending on what their plan is. Some teams might even go crazy on the off-chance they sign LeBron James.
None of those things should apply to the Nets. Their current rebuild is on track and they should 100% stay with it. This includes not doing anything on draft day.
If there is a deal they can’t refuse then maybe move around but that is all circumstantial. The Brooklyn Nets are building a culture. A foundation. The timing of it working is still years away, but that actually makes the timing better with the East being in the shape its in.
Next: Spencer Dinwiddie is part of the future
Do the right thing, Nets. Do not do a single thing.