Alex Torres

One more on this dilemma… I get it — Brooklyn fans are disappointed with a second consecutive crushing lottery fall. The hope was a homegrown superstar for the first time in forever. Unfortunately, the reality is that the Nets are very likely no longer selecting in a range where a potential superstar will be. Have to acknowledge that rather than desperately shooting for the highest upside piece like Darius Acuff Jr. that has a 1% chance of being Damian Lillard or Derrick Rose. You need a superstar to win. I believe we should all acknowledge that the Nets will have no choice but to look externally for that superstar down the road. That said, the Nets should aim to build up a core of versatile players that fits a variety of different potential superstar players, accumulating a bunch of winning versatile pieces that have value around the league. Drafting someone like Acuff, who is very polarizing and requires a very specific way of team building, could limit the Nets’ flexibility moving forward.

I have a controversial pivot for the Nets in the wake of these two back to back disappointing lotteries. My whole plan for now is maximizing future draft capital by any means necessary. To that end I’d do two things: 1. Trade Michael Porter Jr. 2. Take on Joel Embiid’s contract. The Nets have nothing but time now. Waiting out Embiid’s contract is no problem for them, their whole team is cheap and they’re not contending next year anyway short of some Hail Mary we don’t currently see. If he happens to give you some fun stretches? Cool. Bonus. Really, he’s the matching salary in my star trade(s) in two years once he’s expiring, and a path to extracting picks out of Philly now. I’m just trying to accumulate such a cartoonish amount of future draft capital that I can get outbid for whoever the guy is in 2028 or 2029 by absolutely nobody. I’m developing the young guys, seeing what I have, and trying to be semi-competitive. But the real play here is preparing to grab the next guy or guys who want to be in New York, and the best path to doing that is just shameless pick accumulation, even if it means taking on a contract that would destroy the books for most teams. I just find that a more productive use of my space than anything else immediately visible on the board.

I have a controversial pivot for the Nets in the wake of these two back to back disappointing lotteries. My whole plan for now is maximizing future draft capital by any means necessary. To that end I’d do two things: 1. Trade Michael Porter Jr. 2. Take on Joel Embiid’s contract. The Nets have nothing but time now. Waiting out Embiid’s contract is no problem for them, their whole team is cheap and they’re not contending next year anyway short of some Hail Mary we don’t currently see. If he happens to give you some fun stretches? Cool. Bonus. Really, he’s the matching salary in my star trade(s) in two years once he’s expiring, and a path to extracting picks out of Philly now. I’m just trying to accumulate such a cartoonish amount of future draft capital that I can get outbid for whoever the guy is in 2028 or 2029 by absolutely nobody. I’m developing the young guys, seeing what I have, and trying to be semi-competitive. But the real play here is preparing to grab the next guy or guys who want to be in New York, and the best path to doing that is just shameless pick accumulation, even if it means taking on a contract that would destroy the books for most teams. I just find that a more productive use of my space than anything else immediately visible on the board.

The trade I keep thinking about is the Nets for the No. 6 pick. OKC gets two extra years of cheap team control and the Nets make the same bet on a rising star backup that the Knicks did across the bridge. But TBH, if I'm OKC, I'd just keep him. Move someone else if need be.

Unless a player hits the top 1% outcome of one-way scoring guards, we’ve seen what really good fringe All-Star type one-way guards like Trae Young, Ja Morant, and De’Aaron Fox are worth on the market. This is a league where wing inflation is at an all-time high. Look at Mikal Bridges, Desmond Bane, OG Anunoby etc. Why use a premium asset on a one-way scoring guard when the pathway to that player having value is so much more narrow than the pathway for a two-way player with more size to garner value?

Lemme do a temperature check based on what I’ve briefly heard and what Siegel is reporting .. (a very connected guy Would anyone in this fanbase give a flying fuck if you had to forefit a ton of draft capital to Utah for that number 2 ? I’m gonna volunteer first Fuck no do it

Karim Lopez measured 6'8.25 barefoot and 222 pounds at the NBA Draft Combine, with a 6'11.5 wingspan and 8'9.5 standing reach. Similar to previous measurements, with ample height/length to play either forward spot in the NBA.