Sean Marks has worked wonders in Brooklyn. Taking over an organization bereft of assets, the Nets' general manager has constructed a team that is competing for a playoff berth three seasons into what was assumed to be a far lengthier rebuild.
The injury-riddled Nets managed to go 29-27 in advance of Thursday's trade deadline, placing them sixth in a very top-heavy Eastern Conference. They hold a 3½-game lead over ninth-place Detroit.
However, as I've noted previously, Brooklyn's schedule down the stretch is an absolute bear. The Nets will embark on a seven-game road trip March 13 and then immediately face a gauntlet of Boston, Milwaukee (twice), Toronto and Indiana before the finale versus Miami.
The playoffs are far from a sure thing.
Which is why I was rooting mightily for Marks to find some way to fortify the roster at the deadline. Power forward was an obvious need, as I discussed in my last post. Unfortunately, Brooklyn stood pat, save for what amounted to a purchase of Toronto's unprotected 2021 second-round pick for a reported $110,000 plus the remainder of the minimum contract due to big man Greg Monroe, whom the Nets immediately waived.
That Brooklyn's nearest competitors -- Charlotte, Miami and Detroit -- also failed to materially alter their compositions made me slightly less ornery.
There could be many reasons why Marks opted to pass on pulling the trigger on possible upgrades, including, for example, the hefty price (four second-round picks plus matching-salaried players) that Milwaukee paid for New Orleans stretch-four Nikola Mirotic. Maybe the expensive arms race at the top of the conference had an effect on Brooklyn's ultimate inactivity.
The "why not?" is only one question I hope is asked of Marks whenever he conducts his next media scrum. Here are four others:
1) Have you adjusted your expectations about how this season plays out given where the team stands now?
If I recall correctly, the stated goal for this season was for the team to continue their modest growth pattern. Barring an absolute collapse, they've already accomplished that. The 29 wins is already one more than they had all of last season (and, for the record, matched my way-off preseason prediction). By keeping the status quo, does that mean Marks is signaling that the team is playing with house money, that a 36-win season that ends in the lottery is a success? I would hope not.
2) Did you buy out the contract of Kenneth Faried too early?
Marks is known for doing players and their agents favors in this regard. Faried, a veteran big man who just did not fit in with Brooklyn's schemes, was not playing and starting to sulk. Houston presented him with an opportunity, and Marks was accommodating. However, given some of the massive contracts that changed hands in the last couple of days, it seems like having an expendable expiring contract could have come in handy. According to ESPN's Zach Lowe, the Nets and Grizzlies discussed a trade of overpaid Nets wing Allen Crabbe plus the first-round pick that originated from Denver (currently 27th overall) in exchange for power forward JaMychal Green and guard Garrett Temple. Per Lowe, the Grizzlies preferred Clippers guard Avery Bradley, simply because his guarantee for 2019-20 was only $2 million while Crabbe has a player option for $18.5 million. If Memphis' mission was merely to avoid paying luxury taxes, Brooklyn may have been able to present a better offer featuring the $13.7 million of Faried's cap space that would completely clear next season.
3) Since you've often mentioned "not skipping steps," what is the next step?
I was not among those who suggested that now was the time to gut the team in pursuit of a superstar in a trade. However, I would hope that Marks has at least moved past the strict "talent acquisition mode" stage and is now more focused on the areas of greatest need. He can do that if he's satisfied that pieces of his core (center Jarrett Allen plus guards Caris LeVert, Spencer Dinwiddie, and, if he's re-signed in restricted free agency this summer, D'Angelo Russell) are in place. I have a feeling I know what Marks would say, that he will continue to "be strategic" and look to improve the team wherever he can. That, folks, is the calling card of a never-ending rebuild.
4) How close is guard Theo Pinson to using his 45-day, two-way contract allowance?
Pinson, who has shown in flashes that he has the potential to be a prototypical Nets guard, has played in 11 NBA games. He has the physical tools (size, athleticism) and is developing a 3-point shot. Unfortunately, the 45-day rule for players on two-way contracts counts "days of service," which is more complicated and unreported. Travel days do not count, but practices do. The importance here is that once Pinson accrues 45 days, he must either be signed to the regular 15-man roster or set free. The Nets do have a spot open after the Monroe waiver and the early release of Mitch Creek's 10-day contract, but they could also opt to save that slot to explore the buyout market. I have my doubts that anyone decent (Markieff Morris, when he returns from a neck injury) will consider Brooklyn given the expected intense competition and the Nets' absence of cap space to theoretically outbid those teams. "Let's see, do I sign with the Nets or the Rockets?'
I wouldn't ask this of Marks, but I found the timing of LeVert's return from his dislocated foot caused by his fall in Minnesota on Nov. 12 very coincidental. The Nets announced at Thursday's practice that LeVert will be active for Friday's home tilt versus Chicago. The spin emanating around social media was that LeVert was the Nets' trade deadline acquisition. How farcical. It comes across like a ready-made excuse to the fans for forgoing real trades that could have improved the team in the short run. Let's not obscure the fact that the real issue that could keep this team from the postseason is still in plain sight.
For a FAN's perspective of the Nets, Devils and Jets, follow Steve on Twitter @SteveLichtenst1.
