By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)
When Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov first bought the Nets, he wanted to win at any cost; money was no object. Enter aging veterans Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, who were expected to complete an all-star starting lineup alongside the trio of Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, and Brook Lopez and dominate the East for the next half decade (in the delusional mind of Brooklyn GM Billy King). Plus, it was all for the low, low price of sending Boston their first-round picks in 2016 and 2018, plus the right to swap first-rounders in 2017. We all know what happened since then, and now, here’s all you need to know about the current state of the Brooklyn Nets.
Story going online now co-scribed with @NotoriousOHM: ESPN sources say Nets have made D-Will, Brook Lopez & Joe Johnson available via trade
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) December 9, 2014
The Nets paid a record $90M just in luxury tax payments last season, and as it turns out, money is an object for Mr. Prokhorov when it’s for a team that tops out as second-round playoff fodder even if everything breaks perfectly. Prokhorov wants out of the NBA business and to do so, he has to make the asset (his NBA franchise) more attractive to potential buyers, because no one wants to come in and assume a ton of exorbitant luxury tax payments right away.
With the team struggling along at 8-12 this year, the fire sale has already begun. The Nets just gave up a 2020 second-round pick and a 2nd-round swap right to the Sixers to unload Andrei Kirilenko, a move that will save them close to $12 million in luxury tax payments. When Prokhorov’s team is getting rid of the guy who was so suspiciously close to the owner that the NBA investigated the signing, you know you’re in an ‘Everything must go’ situation.
While everyone else on the Brooklyn roster is still around for the time being, plenty of them have been unable to make it onto the court. Brook Lopez will be out again with a back injury, and Mirza Teletovic (hip pointer) and Kevin Garnett (foot injury) are both questionable. Joe Johnson, who led the Nets in scoring when they played the Sixers a few weeks ago, is expected to be back after missing the last couple games with a bout of the flu. However, his illness was reportedly so serious he was unable to get out of bed, so you have to think he can’t possibly be back to full strength.
Throw everything together and this is a game the Sixers should absolutely be able to steal on the road. Force someone other than Deron Williams to beat you (Williams is shooting a team-high 41% from three in addition to his playmaking responsibilities), keep Mason Plumlee off the offensive glass (Plum-dog leads Brooklyn with a 15.7% offensive rebounding rate) and you should have a recipe to limit the Nets defensively. Brooklyn doesn’t have any rim protection with Lopez out and Garnett out or hobbled (the Nets are near the bottom of the league overall in blocks per game). The Sixers should have success with Michael Carter-Williams relentlessly attacking the paint, basically their formula for victory in the recent wins.
Finally, if you think this is going to be the Brandon Davies revenge game, there’s this:
Lionel Hollins on what he knows about Brandon Davies: “I know he broke the honor code at BYU.”
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) December 11, 2014
Hollins said he was joking and he likes Davies, but it’s good to know it’s not Davies’ reputation as a great locker room guy that precedes him.
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