Editor’s Note: All opinions expressed by Alex Labidou are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Brooklyn Nets or the team’s Basketball Operations staff, parent company, partners, or sponsors
The NBA Draft and offseason are almost here, which means there's plenty of questions about the draft and the team's current roster. Without further ado, here's my responses:
The one promising thing about the guards on the Nets roster is that they are all relatively tall (the shortest out of the group is Isaiah at 6-foot-4) and can play multiple positions.
Caris LeVert, for example, can play and guard positions 1 through 3. The combination of D’Angelo Russell and Spencer Dinwiddie hit some bumps on the road last season, but I’m not sure the team is quite ready to give up on that yet. There were some promising signs at times and Kenny Atkinson appeared to have high expectations for both, judging on comments in a recent interview with Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck.
“I don’t put ceilings on guys -- (it’s like) ‘Spencer, can you get to be top-50?’ or ‘D’Angelo, can you get to be top-30?’ That’s where I think you’ll see make a big jump,” he said.
With a full training camp together, that could develop into a stronger partnership. Then there’s Jeremy Lin, who has been determined to get back to his best. I think competition will bring out the best in this group.
I want to stress that this is strictly my opinion and I’m not speaking for the Nets organization. From my perspective, I think there’s three players who might be available at the 29th pick and could have an impact:
Villanova’s Omari Spellman, Mitchell Robinson, and USC’s De'Anthony Melton
We all know Kenny Atkinson loves big men who can shoot so Spellman would be a good fit there as he’s shot 43 percent from the arc in his freshman campaign at Nova. He’s a big, physical guy who is good at chasing boards – an area of need for the team.
Mitchell Robinson didn’t play in college last season, but he was considered one of the best prospects in high school just a year ago. He might be considered a project but late in the first round, sometimes those are the gambles that pay off. Plus, he’s got top level shot-blocking ability and Nets sat at 16th in that area last season.
Finally, I like Melton who some have considered to be the next Patrick Beverley. I know he’s a bit undersized at 6-foot-3, but those were the same concerns about Beverley. Atkinson often discussed wanting to improve on that side of the floor and Melton could help in that area.
To read more about potential prospects at No. 29 pick, check out our Mock Draft hub.
Questions from our followers on Weibo:
How’s D’Angelo’s summer training?
D’Angelo has been grinding and working out at HSS Training Center and elsewhere this offseason. If there’s one thing that’s been impressive about this roster, it’s the fact that participation in voluntary offseason workouts has been very good. This is a hungry group with a lot to prove and I think you’ll see that next season.
What is Spencer up to now?
Spencer is a proud new dad to a baby boy. Otherwise, he’s been working out in California and I’ve been told, adding boxing and yoga to his regimen.
Bonus Questions:
I’m assuming you’re asking me this question. I’m going with Jay Z, Kanye, Empire of the Sun and TV on the Radio. That new Pusha T album is also fire.
Ha, I’ll let our upcoming player blogs respond to that. Wink wink.