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2019/20 NBA Disabled Player Exceptions

October 29th, 2019 at 12:11pm CST by Luke Adams

A disabled player exception can be granted when an NBA team has a player go down with an injury deemed to be season-ending. The exception gives the club some additional spending flexibility, functioning almost as a cross between a traded player exception and a mid-level exception.

We go into more detail on who qualifies for disabled player exceptions and how exactly they work in our glossary entry on the subject. But essentially, a DPE gives a team the opportunity to add an injury replacement by either signing a player to a one-year contract, trading for a player in the final year of his contract, or placing a waiver claim on a player in the final year of his contract.

Because the rules related to disable player exceptions are somewhat restrictive and the exceptions themselves often aren’t worth a lot, they often simply expire without being used. Still, it’s worth keeping an eye on which disabled player exceptions have been granted, just in case.

We’ll use this space to break down the teams with DPEs available for the 2019/20 league year, updating it as the season progresses. Teams have until January 15 to apply for a disabled player exception and until March 10 to actually use them.

Teams that have been granted disabled player exceptions:

Many of the teams that have been granted disabled player exceptions have full 15-man rosters, so they would have to open up a roster spot in order to use their DPEs.

So far, only the Lakers and Wizards have used their disabled player exceptions. Now that the trade deadline has passed, the remaining exceptions are less likely to be used, since teams like the Pistons, Magic, Pelicans, Trail Blazers, Cavaliers, and Nets are unlikely to be in the market for free agents who require more than minimum-salary investments.

Teams/players ineligible for disabled player exceptions:

The Wizards applied for a disabled player exception for Wall during the first week of the 2019/20 league year. Word that the NBA had denied that request didn’t surface until October, but the league’s decision makes sense. After all, Wall underwent Achilles surgery all the way back in February.

In order for a DPE to be approved, the injured player must be considered substantially more likely than not to be sidelined through June 15 of that league year. Recovery from Achilles surgery is generally viewed as an 11-15 month process, whereas June 15 would’ve been more than 16 months since Wall underwent that procedure.

The Magic are in the same boat with Isaac. His knee injury apparently isn’t serious enough that the NBA is willing to count on him being sidelined through June 15, so Orlando’s DPE request was denied.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Poll: Which Team Will Stay Undefeated Longest?

October 29th, 2019 at 10:01am CST by Luke Adams

No NBA team has played more than four games in the first seven days of the 2019/20 regular season, but only four clubs didn’t lose during that stretch. The Sixers, Nuggets, Spurs, and Timberwolves are all 3-0.

It’s no surprise that Philadelphia and Denver are off to strong starts. Both teams are expected to finish near the top of their respective conferences this season — I had them as the No. 1 seeds in my preseason predictions.

However, the early three-game winning streaks from San Antonio and Minnesota are a little more unexpected. Neither team has had a brutal schedule to start the season, with the Spurs picking up home wins vs. the Knicks, Wizards, and Trail Blazers, while the Wolves won in Brooklyn, in Charlotte, and at home against the Heat.

Still, their hot starts have been promising. Karl-Anthony Towns is putting up MVP-caliber numbers in the early going for the Wolves (32.0 PPG, 13.3 RPG). The Spurs have had a more balanced attack, led by DeMar DeRozan (22.0 PPG) and LaMarcus Aldridge (21.3 PPG, 8.0 RPG) and complemented by players like now-healthy guard Dejounte Murray (14.7 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 6.0 APG).

The four undefeated teams have the following games on tap as they look to extend their winning streaks to start the season:

  • Sixers: vs. Min (10/30), @ Por (11/2), @ Phx (11/4), @ Utah (11/6), @ Den (11/8)
  • Nuggets: vs. Dal (10/29), @ NO (10/31), @ Orl (11/2), vs. Mia (11/5), vs. Phi (11/8)
  • Spurs: @ LAC (10/31), @ GSW (11/1), vs. LAL (11/3), @ Atl (11/5), vs. OKC (11/7)
  • Timberwolves: @ Phi (10/30), @ Wash (11/2), vs. Mil (11/4), @ Mem (11/6), vs. GSW (11/8)

The Spurs have a brutal three-game stretch on tap beginning on Thursday, though at least one of the Sixers or Wolves will have lost a game by that point, as those two teams are set to face one another on Wednesday. Even if the 76ers beat Minnesota, they have a tough Western road trip up next, with games in Portland, Phoenix, and Utah before they’d get a chance to face Denver. Of course, the Nuggets’ schedule isn’t exactly a cakewalk up until that point either, starting tonight vs. Luka Doncic and the Mavs.

What do you think? Which of this season’s undefeated teams will keep its streak going the longest and be the last to lose in 2019/20?

Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to share your two cents!

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

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2019 Offseason In Review: Boston Celtics

October 28th, 2019 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors is breaking down the 2019 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2019/20 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Boston Celtics.

Signings:

Trades:

  • Acquired the draft rights to Ty Jerome (No. 24 pick) and Carsen Edwards (No. 33 pick) from the Sixers in exchange for the draft rights to Matisse Thybulle (No. 20 pick).
  • Acquired the Bucks’ 2020 first-round pick (top-7 protected) from the Suns in exchange for Aron Baynes and the draft rights to Ty Jerome (No. 24 pick).
  • Acquired Kemba Walker (sign-and-trade) and either the Nets’ or Knicks’ 2020 second-round pick (whichever is less favorable) from the Hornets in exchange for Terry Rozier (sign-and-trade) and the Celtics’ 2020 second-round pick (top-53 protected).

Draft picks:

  • 1-14: Romeo Langford — Signed to rookie contract.
  • 1-22: Grant Williams — Signed to rookie contract.
  • 2-33: Carsen Edwards — Signed to four-year, $6.46MM contract. Fourth-year team option. Signed using cap room.
  • 2-51: Tremont Waters — Signed to two-way contract.

Contract extensions:

  • Jaylen Brown: Four years, $103MM. Includes $12MM in incentives. Starts in 2020/21; runs through 2023/24.

Departing players:

Other offseason news:

Salary cap situation:

  • Used cap space; now over the cap.
  • Hard-capped.
  • Carrying approximately $119.15MM in salary.
  • No cap exceptions available.

Story of the summer:

When the offseason began, there was no doubt that changes were coming in Boston. A 49-win season and an appearance in the Eastern Conference Semifinals might have been considered a success for some franchises, but the Celtics were widely viewed as the favorites to win the East entering the 2018/19 campaign. Chemistry issues plagued the team all season, ultimately resulting in a disappointing second-round exit.

Fairly or not, Kyrie Irving bore the brunt of the criticism for the Celtics’ struggles. While he enjoyed one of the best seasons of his career on the stat sheet, his leadership was questioned and he didn’t look good in the team’s second-round series against Milwaukee. Throughout the spring, Danny Ainge and the Celtics’ front office were still paying lip service to the idea of retaining Irving in free agency, but there was little doubt the star point guard would end up elsewhere.

The more surprising development? Irving wasn’t the only All-Star to leave the Celtics this summer. Al Horford, who was considered likely to either pick up his player option or to opt out to negotiate a new deal with Boston, declined that option, then headed to the rival Sixers. Suddenly, the Celtics found themselves not just tweaking their roster but overhauling it.

Re-signing Irving and Horford and bringing back other key role players like Marcus Morris, Aron Baynes, and Terry Rozier would’ve pushed the Celtics well into luxury-tax territory. Instead, the team was able to open up enough room below the cap to add a new maximum-salary player, which created some intriguing opportunities. Ainge and company took full advantage of their changing circumstances by pursuing and landing another All-NBA guard: Kemba Walker.

Even with Walker on board, this Celtics roster isn’t as talented as last season’s. But after what happened last year, the club seemed to prioritize chemistry over talent to some extent this summer. Boston filled out its roster with high-character rookies in the draft, and then saw four of the club’s most important players – Walker, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Marcus Smart – get the opportunity to do some preseason bonding in China as part of Team USA in the 2019 World Cup.

Heading into the fall, this was certainly a much happier team than last year’s, even if its ceiling is lower.

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NBA G League Affiliate Players For 2019/20

October 28th, 2019 at 2:44pm CST by Luke Adams

Throughout the offseason and preseason, NBA teams are permitted to carry 20 players, but that total must be cut down to 15 (plus a pair of two-way players) in advance of opening night. However, up to four players waived by teams prior to the season can be designated as “affiliate players” and assigned to their G League squads.

As we explain in our glossary entry on the subject, if a player’s NBA team has designated him as an affiliate player and he signs a G League contract, he is automatically assigned to that team’s NBAGL roster.

Here are the 100 NBA G League affiliate players for the 28 NBAGL squads to start the 2019/20 season, per the league’s official site:

Atlanta Hawks (College Park Skyhawks):

Boston Celtics (Maine Red Claws):

Brooklyn Nets (Long Island Nets):

Charlotte Hornets (Greensboro Swarm):

Chicago Bulls (Windy City Bulls):

Cleveland Cavaliers (Canton Charge):

Dallas Mavericks (Texas Legends):

Detroit Pistons (Grand Rapids Drive):

Golden State Warriors (Santa Cruz Warriors):

Houston Rockets (Rio Grande Valley Vipers):

Indiana Pacers (Fort Wayne Mad Ants):

Los Angeles Clippers (Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario):

Los Angeles Lakers (South Bay Lakers):

Memphis Grizzlies (Memphis Hustle):

Miami Heat (Sioux Falls Skyforce):

Milwaukee Bucks (Wisconsin Herd):

Minnesota Timberwolves (Iowa Wolves):

New Orleans Pelicans (Erie BayHawks):

New York Knicks (Westchester Knicks):

Oklahoma City Thunder (Oklahoma City Blue):

Orlando Magic (Lakeland Magic):

Philadelphia 76ers (Delaware Blue Coats):

Phoenix Suns (Northern Arizona Suns):

Sacramento Kings (Stockton Kings):

San Antonio Spurs (Austin Spurs):

Toronto Raptors (Raptors 905):

Utah Jazz (Salt Lake City Stars):

Washington Wizards (Capital City Go-Go):

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Special Trade Eligibility Dates For 2019/20

October 28th, 2019 at 12:06pm CST by Luke Adams

In a pair of previous articles, we took a closer look at the trade restrictions placed on two groups of players who signed free agent contracts this summer. The smaller of the two groups featured players who can’t be traded by their current teams until January 15, having re-signed with their clubs this summer on contracts that met a set of specific criteria. The other offseason signees we examined aren’t eligible to be traded until December 15.

However, there is a third group of players who signed new contracts in recent months and don’t fall into either of those categories. These players also can’t be traded yet, but they won’t necessarily become trade-eligible on December 15 or January 15 either — their trade restrictions lift on different dates.

Trade rules for recently-signed players dictate that a player becomes trade-eligible three months after he signs or on December 15, whichever comes later. So players who signed after September 15 aren’t eligible to be traded starting on December 15. For instance, someone who signed his contract on October 2 won’t have his trade restrictions lift until January 2.

Similarly, players who have two-way pacts converted to standard contracts can’t be dealt for three months after that happens. On top of that, players who sign veteran contract extensions with their current clubs can’t be dealt for six months if those new deals are for more than three years or have a salary increase higher than 5% (exceeding extend-and-trade limits).

Listed below are the recently-signed players who weren’t on our previous two lists, but still have restrictions limiting their ability to be traded. This list, which will continue to be updated as teams sign new players, is sorted by the dates that players will become trade-eligible. Players who have the ability to veto trades are marked with an asterisk (*).

December 20:

December 23:

January 6:

January 19:

January 20:

January 21:

January 30:

February 1:

February 3:

Players signed as free agents after November 6 this season won’t become trade-eligible before the 2019 trade deadline, since the deadline falls on February 6.

Additionally, players who signed veteran extensions exceeding the extend-and-trade limits any later than August 6 won’t become trade-eligible before the February 6 deadline.

Finally, any player who signs a designated veteran extension isn’t trade-eligible for a full year.

The following players fit that bill and can’t be traded during the 2019/20 season:

Gordon, Beal, and this season’s late FA signees will be trade-eligible as soon as the season ends, while Ingles (April 21) and Osman (April 25) will become trade-eligible shortly after that. Lillard isn’t eligible to be dealt until July 6.

Note: Only players on standard contracts are listed on this page. Players who sign two-way deals can’t be traded for 30 days after signing. Players who sign 10-day contracts can’t be traded.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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2019 Offseason In Review: Utah Jazz

October 26th, 2019 at 3:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors is breaking down the 2019 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2019/20 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Utah Jazz.

Signings:

Trades:

  • Acquired the draft rights to Jarrell Brantley (No. 50 pick) from the Pacers in exchange for the Jazz’s 2021 second-round pick and cash ($1MM).
  • Acquired the draft rights to Miye Oni (No. 58 pick) from the Warriors in exchange for cash ($2MM).
  • Acquired Mike Conley from the Grizzlies in exchange for Jae Crowder, Kyle Korver, Grayson Allen, the draft rights to Darius Bazley (No. 23 pick), and the Jazz’s 2020 first-round pick (1-7 and 15-30 protected).
  • Acquired the Warriors’ 2021 second-round pick and the Warriors’ 2023 second-round pick from the Pelicans in exchange for Derrick Favors.

Draft picks:

  • 2-50: Jarrell Brantley — Signed to two-way contract.
  • 2-53: Justin Wright-Foreman — Signed to two-way contract.
  • 2-58: Miye Oni — Signed to three-year, minimum-salary contract. Second and third years non-guaranteed. Signed using cap room.

Draft-and-stash signings:

  • Nigel Williams-Goss (2017 draft; No. 55 pick) — Signed to three-year, $4.8MM contract. Second and third years non-guaranteed. Signed using cap room.

Contract extensions:

  • Joe Ingles: One year, $12,436,364. Includes $1.2MM in incentives. Starts in 2021/22.

Departing players:

Other offseason news:

Salary cap situation:

  • Used cap space; now over the cap.
  • Carrying approximately $116.29MM in salary.
  • No cap exceptions available.

Story of the summer:

For a third straight season, a top-five defense helped buoy the Jazz and their middle-of-the-pack offense to one of the best records in the Western Conference. However, Utah’s 15th-ranked offense looked even more pedestrian in the postseason than it did in the regular season, as the team fell to Houston in five games in the first round.

Of the 16 teams that made the playoffs last spring, only three – the Pistons, Magic, and Pacers – had postseason offensive ratings worse than Utah’s. With Donovan Mitchell struggling to score efficiently, the Jazz had few other play-makers to turn to as they tried to keep pace with James Harden and the Rockets.

It was a pressing issue that needed to be addressed for the franchise this offseason, and the Jazz did just that, pulling off a trade for point guard Mike Conley and signing sharpshooting forward Bojan Bogdanovic in free agency.

Neither Conley nor Bogdanovic has ever made an All-Star team, and neither is the type of volume scorer who will pour in 40 points on a given night (though each player has reached that mark once in his career). But they’re reliable veterans who can be counted on to make Utah’s offense a little more versatile, taking some of the shot-creating pressure off Mitchell and giving the team a couple more players who can share ball-handling duties.

As long as two-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert is patrolling the paint and protecting the rim, the Jazz can reasonably expect to be above average on that end of the court. The club’s offensive limitations have stood in the way of a deep playoff run in recent years, but with a pair of intriguing new weapons at their disposal, the Jazz are hoping that will change in 2019/20.

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Hoops Rumors Originals: 10/19/19 – 10/26/19

October 26th, 2019 at 2:21pm CST by Luke Adams

Every week, the Hoops Rumors writing team creates original content to complement our news feed. Here are our original segments and features from the past seven days:

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2019 Offseason In Review: Denver Nuggets

October 25th, 2019 at 2:54pm CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors is breaking down the 2019 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2019/20 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Denver Nuggets.

Signings:

Trades:

  • Acquired the draft rights to Bol Bol (No. 44 pick) from the Heat in exchange for either the Nuggets’ or Sixers’ second-round pick (whichever is least favorable) and cash ($1.2MM).
  • Acquired Jerami Grant from the Thunder in exchange for the Nuggets’ 2020 first-round pick (top-10 protected)

Draft picks:

  • 2-44: Bol Bol — Signed to two-way contract.

Draft-and-stash signings:

  • Vlatko Cancar (2017 draft; No. 49 pick) — Signed to three-year, minimum salary contract. Third year non-guaranteed. Signed using mid-level exception.

Contract extensions:

  • Jamal Murray: Five years, 25% maximum salary. Projected value of $168,200,000. Starting salary can be worth up to 30% of the cap if Murray earns All-NBA honors in 2020 (full details). Starts in 2020/21; runs through 2024/25.

Departing players:

Other offseason news:

Salary cap situation:

  • Remained over the cap.
  • Currently about $979K below the tax line.
  • Carrying approximately $131.65MM in guaranteed salary.
  • $4.82MM of taxpayer mid-level exception still available ($898K used on Vlatko Cancar).

Story of the summer:

After improbably finishing at the bottom of the Northwest in 2017/18 despite winning 46 games, the Nuggets were the division winners in 2018/19, earning the Western Conference’s No. 2 seed with a 54-28 record. The club then followed up its regular season performance by winning its first playoff series in a decade.

Nikola Jokic was the driving force behind Denver’s success, earning a spot on the All-NBA First Team, but it was the Nuggets’ depth that helped set them apart from many of the other contenders in the conference.

Ten players averaged 19 or more minutes per game for the Nuggets in 2018/19, and all 10 of those players remained under contract for ’19/20. While many of their Western rivals drastically transformed their rosters, continuity was key for the Nuggets, who retained a dozen players in total from last year’s end-of-season squad. As we detailed earlier this week, no team in the West brought back more players than Denver.

Continuity isn’t inherently a good thing. A front office won’t be praised for keeping together an aging roster that just won 35 games. But in Denver, the approach makes a lot of sense.

Jokic is still just 24 years old. Jamal Murray, the second option on offense, is 22. Gary Harris is 25. Rotation players like Malik Beasley, Monte Morris, and Torrey Craig are coming off breakthrough seasons and still have plenty of room to grow. And 21-year-old forward Michael Porter Jr., the 2018 lottery pick who missed his entire rookie season due to injuries, is now ready to contribute.

With so many promising young players still on the rise, the Nuggets can realistically count on improvements from within to keep them near the top of the standings in the West. And if they want to go out and make a splash, all those young prospects – and available future draft picks – give them the ammo to do so.

The Nuggets may not have made many changes to their roster this offseason, but they didn’t need to.

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Community Shootaround: Rookie Of The Year Candidates

October 25th, 2019 at 10:02am CST by Luke Adams

A month ago, we asked in a poll whether you’d take Zion Williamson or the field in the race for Rookie of the Year. At the time, professional oddsmakers had made the No. 1 overall pick the heavy favorite for the award, and an impressive preseason only strengthened his position as the frontrunner.

However, news that Williamson would miss six to eight weeks after undergoing meniscus surgery put a damper on the start of the NBA regular season and threw some cold water on Williamson’s Rookie of the Year bid. If he comes back strong in December and doesn’t miss more time the rest of the way, the former Duke standout could absolutely still win the award, but he’s no longer the overwhelming favorite he was a month ago.

With that in mind, we want to check in to see where you stand on the top contenders for this season’s Rookie of the Year award. Are you still riding with Williamson? Or are you betting on another top pick from the 2019 draft, such as Ja Morant (No. 2; Grizzlies) or RJ Barrett (No. 3; Knicks)?

Both Morant and Barrett had promising debuts on Wednesday night. The Grizzlies’ point guard scored 14 points to go along with four assists and four rebounds, though he turned the ball over six times. Barrett was more efficient, scoring 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting while adding five rebounds and a couple steals.

Neither of those players had the best night among rookies though. That honor belongs to Hornets forward PJ Washington, who announced his arrival to the NBA by pouring in 27 points and making 7-of-11 shots from three-point range. The No. 12 overall pick had a strong preseason and looked like an impact player in his debut, as Scott Fowler of The Charlotte Observer writes.

Morant, Barrett, and Washington are all on teams expected to finish comfortably in the lottery this season, so there’s no reason they shouldn’t play big minutes as long as they remain productive, making them prime candidates for Rookie of the Year consideration.

Bulls point guard Coby White (17 points, seven assists), Wizards forward Rui Hachimura (14 points, 10 rebounds), and Heat shooting guard Tyler Herro (14 points, eight rebounds) are among the other rookies who had promising debuts this week after receiving some preseason hype and should have regular roles. Darius Garland (Cavaliers) had a more modest opening game, with eight points and five assists, but the fact that he played 32 minutes was a good sign.

What do you think? Who is your current pick for Rookie of the Year? Are you rolling with Zion or another top pick like Morant or Barrett? Or do you have your eye on a dark horse?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in!

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2019 Offseason In Review: Brooklyn Nets

October 24th, 2019 at 5:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors is breaking down the 2019 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2019/20 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Brooklyn Nets.

Signings:

Trades:

Draft picks:

  • 2-31: Nicolas Claxton — Signed to three-year, minimum salary contract. Fully guaranteed. Signed using cap room.
  • 2-56: Jaylen Hands — Signed G League contract.

Contract extensions:

  • Caris LeVert: Three years, $52.5MM. Starts in 2020/21; runs through 2022/23.
  • Taurean Prince: Two years, $25.3MM. Includes $3.7MM in incentives. Starts in 2020/21; runs through 2021/22.

Departing players:

Other offseason news:

  • Kevin Durant expected to miss entire season due to Achilles tear.
  • Joseph Tsai finalized purchase of Nets from Mikhail Prokhorov.
  • CEO Brett Yormark stepped down; David Levy named new CEO.
  • Wilson Chandler suspended 25 games for failed PED test.
  • Rodions Kurucs arrested for alleged domestic incident.
  • Lost Trajan Langdon from front office; lost Gianluca Pascucci from front office.
  • Hired Jeff Peterson as assistant GM; hired Andy Birdsong as assistant GM; hired J.R. Holden as director of player personnel.
  • Lost assistant coach Chris Fleming to Bulls.
  • Named Tiago Splitter player development coach.
  • Hired Shaun Fein as head coach of G League affiliate (Long Island Nets).
  • Exercised 2020/21 rookie scale options on Jarrett Allen, Dzanan Musa.

Salary cap situation:

  • Used cap space; now over the cap.
  • Hard-capped.
  • Carrying approximately $126.08MM in guaranteed salary.
  • No exceptions available.

Story of the summer:

The fact that the Nets somehow weren’t the only team this summer that acquired two of the top 10 players on last season’s All-NBA rosters shouldn’t diminish what they were able to accomplish.

Sure, the Clippers may have “won” the offseason by signing Kawhi Leonard and trading for Paul George, but few clubs in NBA history have had a more successful free agent period than the 2019 Nets, who landed both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant.

While the Nets may never match up with the Knicks in terms of their arena, brand, and history, they’ve clearly surpassed their New York rivals on the court and in the front office in recent years. It had to feel good for Brooklyn to secure commitments from two superstars with NBA championships on their résumés at the same time the Knicks were sending out a statement acknowledging their fans’ disappointment and insisting they were still upbeat about their rebuilding plans.

Once the free agency celebration died down and the hangover wore off, a clear-eyed look at the Nets’ roster did leave us with some questions.

With Irving replacing All-Star guard D’Angelo Russell and Durant not expected to play in 2019/20, how much better can the Nets actually be this season? Would bringing in DeAndre Jordan along with his two friends Irving and Durant interfere with the development of up-and-coming big man Jarrett Allen? And even when Durant is recovered from his torn Achilles and ready to return, will he ever be the same player he was before the injury?

As we mulled over those questions, the Nets’ offseason took a turn for the worse, as newly-signed forward Wilson Chandler was suspended for 25 games for violating the NBA’s PED policy and second-year forward Rodions Kurucs faced accusations of domestic violence.

Those developments put a bit of a damper on what should have been a victory lap for the Nets, and Durant’s absence means the team likely won’t to get to fully reap the rewards of its free agency success until the 2020/21 season.

Still, the franchise deserves kudos for the way it has reshaped its roster. After all, it feels like just yesterday that the 2015/16 Nets completed a 21-61 season with no promising young prospects on the roster and no lottery draft picks on the horizon due to that infamously lopsided trade with the Celtics.

Brooklyn still hasn’t drafted a player in the lottery since then, but general manager Sean Marks and company put together a core –  and built a culture – that two of the NBA’s top players wanted to be a part of. It should be a long time before the franchise endures another 21-61 season.

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