The National Basketball Association is just over a month away, and it is once again time to preview every NBA franchise. I will be covering the teams in the Eastern Conference and my colleague, Joel Beatton, will feature teams in the Western Conference. Today we are featuring the Brooklyn Nets.
Key Acquisition
The Nets signed shooting guard Lonnie Walker IV of Reading, Pennsylvania to a one-year contract worth $2.3 million according to spotrac.com. The Nets are the third team Walker IV has played for following four seasons with the San Antonio Spurs and one season with the Los Angeles Lakers. Last season he averaged 11.7 points per game, 1.9 rebounds per game and 1.1 assists per game, and had a field goal percentage of .448, free throw percentage of .858, and a three-point percentage of .365.
Fantasy Star
Mikal Bridges of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is fifth among small forwards and eighth among shooting guards heading into the season. In 2022-23, he had 20.1 points per game, 4.4 rebounds per game, 3.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Bridges has a field goal percentage of .468, three point percentage of .382, and free throw percentage of .895. Bridges was actually excellent with the Nets, as he averaged 26.1 points per game, including 45 points in a 116-105 Brooklyn win over the Miami Heat on February 15.
Projected Finish
The Nets were expected to be contenders for the NBA Finals over the last few years. There were high expectations with Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving in the fold. But excellence in Brooklyn among the three was simply not meant to be, as Durant is now in Phoenix, Harden is now in Philadelphia, and Irving is now in Dallas. The Nets should be competitive with their new group, but a fourth place finish in the Atlantic Division seems like the best case scenario. Expect Brooklyn to be in the play-in tournament.
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