Time to worry about 2018 Nets pick?

https://www.bostonsportsjournal.com/2017/07/28/time-worry-2018-nets-pick/



Time to worry about 2018 Nets pick?



ByBrian Robb


Posted on July 28, 2017





ALLEN CRABBE, LEFT (ANTHONY GRUPPUSO/USA TODAY SPORTS)
 


The Celtics still have one more unprotected first round draft pick coming their way from the Nets in 2018, but the odds of that pick landing at No. 1 again took a hit earlier this week after Brooklyn acquired Blazers guard Allen Crabbe for forward Andrew Nicholson on Tuesday.

The swap was based around two players on inflated contracts. Crabbe took advantage of the crazy money being thrown around last offseason to get a four-year $75 million offer sheet from the Nets in restricted free agency. The Blazers matched, but quickly regretted that decision after stocking up their roster with several other players (Evan Turner, Meyers Leonard) on bloated deals. The team regressed last year and was set to pay a hefty luxury tax bill next year for a mediocre squad, so Crabbe’s deal was dumped for Nicholson.

Nicholson’s contract is terrible for his production as well but he makes an average of $6.6 million for each of the next two seasons, which is far easier to swallow for Portland than the $19.3 million that Crabbe is making.

For the Nets, acquiring Crabbe is a savvy move when you consider the circumstances. He’s overpaid, but he’s only really costing them $12.7 million per year, when you factor in that Nicholson’s useless contract was shed in the deal. Crabbe is just 25-years-old, is one of the top 3-point shooters in the league (44.4 percent for 2016-17) and will have a chance for a far bigger role in Brooklyn than he ever did alongside Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum in Portland. Crabbe only averaged 10.7 points per game in Portland but that was in limited minutes off the bench. He’ll do much more in a featured in role in Brooklyn.

Crabbe should also provide a major boost to what was one of the worst offenses in the league last year (28th in offensive rating). The Nets also ranked 26th in three-point shooting (33.8 percent), and 6-foot-6 Cal product will provide some help in that department as well, along with D’Angelo Russell.  

All of this should matter to Celtics fans because the Nets are starting to look like a competent team. Brooklyn GM Sean Marks has stayed patient this offseason with his spending, but is still managing to find talent without having much in the way of assets. He cashed out early on Brook Lopez after the big man managed to stay healthy for a full season and that helped him acquire a former No. 2 overall pick two years into his career. Russell, Jeremy Lin, Sean Kilpatrick, Caris LaVert and Crabbe is a respectable backcourt rotation for coach Kenny Atkinson to manage. If DeMarre Carroll and/or Timofey Mozgov bounce back at all from injury-laden lackluster seasons, I could actually see this Nets team clawing their way close to the 30-win mark next year, especially since so many other teams in the East have taken a step back this offseason.  

Make no mistake, this Nets team will still be bad. However, unlike last year, there may be more talent here on paper than a few other teams around the league. It’s debatable whether they have a better roster than the Lakers, Magic, Pacers or Bulls, but I’d definitely take them over the Hawks. If things turn the right way for them, they’ll drop out of the top five worst teams in the league and that’s bad news for one of Boston’s key assets for 2018.



bob


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I said that right after they traded for him.  Look at the trouble the Nets gave the Celtics last year. That darn Jeremy Lin played like he did in NY that first year. I know Lopez is gone, but they also have Young, who will never give up., and Mozgov loves to kill the Celtics. DeMarre Carroll, if he returns to his true form, can be a handful

Yes, this is going to be a very worrisome team this year. It's those tweeter teams, in between good and bad, that always give the Celtics trouble. This is were the reputation of the Celtics after the trade has brought on

I predict the third straight #3 pick for us next year.

If the east wasn't so awful the Nets pick would still be guaranteed to be in the top 7. They are no more talented than the Lakers, Suns and Kings who will likely be getting their sh!t kicked in out west and scoring top 7 picks while teams like Indiana, Chicago, Atlanta and perennial losers Orlando and New York tank away.

Unfortunately the Nets have no incentive to lose while 7 of those 8 teams above should be desperate to land in the top 4-5 of what appears to be a very top heavy 2018 lottery. Fortunately for the C's they still have the chance at the Lakers pick 2-5. The Nets and Lakers may not be 2 of the 5 worst teams, but they should be 2 of the 10 worst and plenty of teams projected to pick later in the draft snuck into the top 3 by means of ping pong balls.

Let's keep our fingers crossed that ONE pick lands in the top 5. If it is LA's then it can land 2-5 (just not #1).

Boston
Cleveland
Washington
Milwaukee
Toronto
(playoff locks in my opinion)

Miami
Detroit
Charlotte
Philadelphia
(fighting for 3 spots)

Brooklyn
(Horrible most years, still bad, but no incentive to lose and the east is overall putrid)

Orlando
New York
Atlanta
Chicago
Indiana
(Tanking)

Golden State
San Antonio
Houston
OKC
(playoff locks in my opinion)

Minnesota
LA Clippers
Utah
Portland
Denver
(fighting for 4 spots)

Grizzlies
Mavs
(Will think they can make the playoffs but won't, still better than Nets)

Kings
Pelicans
(REALLY want to make the playoffs but won't, still better than Nets)

Lakers
(No incentive to lose but the west is STACKED against them, tough to call)

Suns
(Tanking)

I still see the Nets finishing somewhere between the 5th and 9th worst record.

Brooklyn already gave us Jaylen, Tatum, and the 2018 Lakers pick.

The 2018 Nets pick is just a bonus.

Nothing to be worried about.