5 Reasons the Brooklyn Nets won’t be the worst NBA team

2.)  No Incentive to Tank

There’s no doubt general manager Sean Marks is in a challenging situation as the Nets will be paying off their debt to Boston for another two years. It isn’t until the 2019 NBA Draft in which the organization will have full control over its own first-round pick.

Until then, this year it’s all but certain the Celtics will exercise their right to swap picks with Brooklyn and in 2018 the Nets will have to fully surrender what figures to be their third consecutive lottery pick. As we saw this past offseason, Marks is willing to get creative in order to obtain assets when he dealt starting power-forward Thaddeus Young for a first-round pick that led to Michigan guard Caris LeVert.

The Nets have no reason to pack it in like so many cellar dwelling teams do each year over the final weeks/months of the regular season. If anything, this year presents an opportunity for many of the players on the roster to either be a part of the foundation moving forward or to land their next contract.

There are several players on this roster who’s path to the NBA has taken alternate routes via the D-League and playing overseas. Most people aren’t expecting much from this squad so you wonder if Atkinson can channel this into motivation where the Nets play with a chip on their shoulder.