As teams complete their seasons, ESPN Insider's NBA team will take a look at the offseason picture and priorities for all 30 teams. Below, Kevin Pelton offers a snapshot of the Brooklyn Nets.
2014-15 record: 38-44
Pythagorean record: 33-49
Offensive Rating: 101.9 (18th)
Defensive Rating: 105.0 (24th)
Draft Picks
Atlanta first-round pick (29th)
Own second-round pick (41st)
Projected Cap Space
Maximum: $5.5 million
Minimum: $0
Likely: $0
What's returning
The Nets' backcourt of Deron Williams and Joe Johnson is the league's highest-paid and hasn't performed up to that standard. While Williams was healthier in the second half of the season as Brooklyn pushed for a playoff spot, his shooting numbers were no better, and his overall .506 true shooting percentage was far below league average. Johnson wasn't much better at .523. And the Nets struggled badly any time high-priced reserve Jarrett Jack replaced Williams; per NBA.com/Stats, they were outscored by 8.0 points per 100 possessions with Jack on the court.
Brooklyn will bring back some younger options. Mason Plumlee has been a high-percentage finisher (57.6 percent from the field) and quality rebounder, though his minutes are limited by playing the same position as Brook Lopez. Markel Brown showed defensive promise as a starter, while Bojan Bogdanovic was streaky in his rookie season.
Free agents
The Nets surged offensively in the second half of the season when they paired Lopez in the frontcourt with Thaddeus Young. Brooklyn averaged 109.1 points per possessions with the two players on the court together, a rate that would have ranked third in the league over the full season. Both Lopez and Young can opt out of the final seasons of their contracts. That looked unlikely in Lopez's case midseason, but his terrific finish to the year suggests he should grab a lucrative long-term contract while healthy. Young is scheduled to make nearly $10 million next season, and his value is unlikely to drop before the cap goes up in the summer of 2016, so his decision is a bit trickier.
Biggest Need: Consistent Wing Play
Lionel Hollins tried Bogdanovic and Sergey Karasev as starters opposite Johnson before settling on Brown, who provided energy and mostly stayed out of the way on offense. But defenses don't have to respect Brown's outside shooting -- he made just 26.6 percent of his 3-pointers -- forcing Hollins to start Bogdanovic in the playoffs. If Bogdanovic can improve on his own 35.1 percent 3-point shooting, he could claim the position long term.
Biggest Question: How do the Nets balance the next two summers?
Brooklyn is currently set up to have more than $50 million in cap space during the summer of 2016, when former MVP Kevin Durant -- who just happens to be represented by New York-based Roc Nation Sports, led by former Nets minority owner Jay Z -- hits free agency. Ideally, Lopez and Young would opt into the final seasons of their contracts, giving Brooklyn the ability to compete for a playoff spot in 2015-16 while maintaining maximum flexibility for the 2016 free agency bonanza. If Lopez opts out, however, the Nets could re-sign him to a max contract and still have enough cap space in the summer of 2016 to sign Durant outright. So expect Lopez back either way, assuming he's happy where he is.
Ideal Offseason
Lopez and Young opt in and Brooklyn essentially runs back the group that went 16-13 after the All-Star break -- albeit while still getting outscored slightly -- for another season. Because of the importance of the summer of 2016, the Nets are unlikely to be players in free agency, though they could add use the taxpayer mid-level exception to sign a veteran to a one-year contract if majority owner Mikhail Prokhorov doesn't mind paying the extra tax bill.