Fansided

NBA Free Agency 2017: 5 offseason needs for the Brooklyn Nets

By John Buhler

Apr 4, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez (11) watches on during the second half against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. The Brooklyn Nets won 141-118. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 4, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez (11) watches on during the second half against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. The Brooklyn Nets won 141-118. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 5
Next
Apr 10, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Brooklyn Nets forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (24) controls the ball during the third quarter against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. The Celtics won 114-105. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 10, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Brooklyn Nets forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (24) controls the ball during the third quarter against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. The Celtics won 114-105. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Small forward

While the Nets don’t have a ton of talent to work with heading into next season, they do seem to have a decent young small forward in Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. He’s under contract through 2018-19, assuming the Nets extend the fourth-year qualifying offer.

Though he only averaged 8.5 points per game, Hollis-Jefferson was the Nets’ best defensive player. He led the team in Defensive Box Plus-Minus at 1.9. The offense should come eventually, but Hollis-Jefferson is the type of wing defender that Atkinson can definitely work with.

That being said, Brooklyn will have to appropriately replace the solid jump-shooting from Bojan Bogdanovic. He averaged 14.2 points in 55 games for the Nets, sinking 35.7 percent of his 3-pointers and 44.0 percent from the field. Bogdanovic now plays a rotational wing role for the Washington Wizards in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. He’ll be a free agent this summer.

Brooklyn could look to try to re-sign Bogdanovic this summer, but he may want to play for a winner now that he’s tasted the NBA Playoffs. Besides Hollis-Jefferson, the only other small forward currently on the Nets roster is Quincy Acy. He only has a non-guaranteed deal with the Nets for 2017-18.

This is not a deep free agency market at small forward, so don’t expect Brooklyn to find a reliable starter at the three there this summer. Atkinson may want to look at guys like Joe Ingles, Shabazz Muhammad, or Tony Snell. Maybe he’d want a familiar face in Thabo Sefolosha, a guy Atkinson coached for two years as Mike Budenholzer’s top assistant with the Atlanta Hawks?

Home/Brooklyn Nets