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Of all the positions the Brooklyn Nets have to fill, small forward might be the most confusing one.
Point guard? Yes, absolutely. Shooting guard? Without question. Power forward and center? Solid backups are on the docket. But how Nets general manager Sean Marks decides to fill small forward relies on two things: how he elects to fill the two guard spots, and what he thinks of soon-to-be-second-year swingman Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.
If Marks is confident that Hollis-Jefferson is ready to step into a starting role, than finding a starting swingman takes a back seat to other needs, and the Nets can look to the bargain bin for backups. If he prefers having Hollis-Jefferson coming off the bench, it might behoove the Nets to put big bucks into a swingman.
Here at The Brooklyn Game, we take a look at both options: who the Nets might look to as a starter, and who might fit as a backup.
Also check out: Point Guards | Shooting Guards
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Nicolas Batum — Unrestricted Free Agent
The skinny: For all the talk of bringing Linsanity back to Brooklyn, the Nets might be better served trying to secure the guy who led Lin’s team in assists!
That’s right: Batum, a 6’8″, 27-year-old small forward, led the Hornets with 5.8 assists per game this past season, nearly doubling Lin (3.0) despite playing far more of his minutes off the ball.
Batum is a smart, willing passer who often put Marvin Williams and Cody Zeller in positions to score, and is a confident in-control player with three-point range and defensive skills. He was one of just five players to average at least 14 points, six rebounds, and five assists per game — the other four being LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden.
Batum a fit? In every sense of the word. As Joe Johnson pointed out earlier this week, the Nets lacked playmakers willing to play team basketball. Batum fits the mold of a modern NBA small forward to a T: he creates for others, hits three-pointers, defends multiple positions, doesn’t play for stats, and doesn’t rely on explosiveness or quickness enough to suggest his game will sharply decline with age.
Like Barnes, the biggest question for Batum isn’t if he’ll fit on the court — it’s if he’ll price himself out of Brooklyn. Batum could potentially command a max contract in this free agent market, which would mean the Nets would be on the hook to pay Batum a salary over $30 million when he’s on the wrong side of 30. Now under Sean Marks, would the Nets want to get Joe Johnson’d again?
Worthy pursuit? Yes. Batum is in his prime and is the type of unselfish player that can make teammates better. He might not be worth a max deal, but if the Nets can get him on a big-but-reasonable deal, he’d be a great fit in their starting lineup and a consistent positive on the floor.
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Chandler Parsons — Player Option
The skinny: With the cap spike looming, Parsons is likely to opt out of the last year of a three-year contract and secure a larger, long-term deal.
Parsons fits the mold of many small forwards in this group — long, athletic wings with three-point range and on-the-ball skills. Parsons was one of the league’s best spot-up shooters (1.23 points per possession on spot-up shots, 11th in the league among players with at least 100 spot-up possessions), and ranked as the team’s most efficient scorer driving out of the pick-and-roll (0.89 PPP).
Parsons also missed the last 12 games of the season after tearing his meniscus in his right knee, which required surgery.
Parsons a fit? In some ways. The Nets would certainly welcome a player with Parsons’s scoring skills, particularly his three-point shooting — he hit a career-high 41.6 percent of his shots from outside the arc this past year. But Parsons isn’t known as a tool-flight defender, and he’d be opting out of a deal worth $16 million this offseason to get long-term financial security. Would the Nets opt to pay that for a player who was the third option on the Mavericks?
Worthy pursuit? Yes, but highly unlikely. Parsons is talented, but more importantly, there’s a good shot he’s not going anywhere — he’s even begun laying the groundwork to recruit teammates to Dallas.
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Harrison Barnes — Restricted Free Agent
The skinny: Barnes, the 7th overall pick by the Warriors that didn’t turn into Stephen Curry, has nonetheless become a valuable piece of a championship team. Barnes is a versatile, athletic defender, has developed a strong three-point shot, and though he doesn’t do much with the ball in his hands, it stands to reason that he’d put up gaudier numbers on any other team in the league.
“He has the potential to do more, but it’s tricky,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr told Grantland in September, following that up with the understatement of the century: “We have a lot of people who can really play.”
Though Barnes isn’t a primary ballhandler, he improved substantially in pick-and-roll sets from last year to this past season — from 7-24 shooting & a high turnover rate to 15-30 and just three lost balls. That improvement, albeit in a minor sample, is something Barnes and his agent will point to as a glimpse that he can take on a larger role — though his assist rate is still low enough to give pause.
Barnes a fit? Absolutely. Find a box the Nets need to fill and Barnes ticks it: three-point shooter? Check. Athletic defender? Check. Quality teammate? Check. Possibly a primary ballhandler? Check, check, check.
The question isn’t if Barnes is a fit on the court, but how he fits into the team’s plans. There’s a good chance Barnes will command a max deal this offseason — at least, that’s probably what it would take for the Warriors not to match — and the Nets only have room to offer one max. Sean Marks may not think that committing over half the team’s cap space to a player who has never had a primary role is a smart use of the money.
Worthy pursuit? Worth a phone call, at least. Barnes will probably price himself out of Golden State, but he might also price himself out of Brooklyn’s plans in the process.
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Luol Deng — Unrestricted Free Agent
The skinny: Known mostly as a small forward throughout his career, Deng made the switch to playing primarily power forward with the Heat this past season after Chris Bosh was ruled out for the year with blood clots. Deng’s ability to bang inside and shoot from outside helped unlock the Heat’s spread offense around Hassan Whiteside, and Deng produced in his role to the tune of 12.3 points and six rebounds per game.
Deng is a strong finisher and enough of a threat from deep to keep defenses honest.
Before joining the Heat, Deng was a Chicago Bulls lifer who gained the respect of Tom Thibodeau (and Bulls fans) with his tenacious defense and all-around offensive acumen.
Deng a fit? Somewhat. A team as porous defensively as the Nets could always use a player with a stopper’s reputation. But Deng might prove more useful as a power forward, and the Nets have already committed to playing Thaddeus Young at that position on a very team-friendly contract.
Deng’s also on the wrong side of 30, with over 31,000 minutes (including playoffs) on his NBA odometer.
Worthy pursuit? Probably not. Deng might command a significant multi-year commitment, and the Nets have looked to get younger in recent years. Signing Deng might make them better in the short-term, but his inevitable decline would turn any multi-year, eight-figure contract into a burden down the road.
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Kent Bazemore — Unrestricted Free Agent
The skinny: The more playing time Bazemore’s earned, the more he’s delivered. After going undrafted following four years at Old Dominion, Bazemore found his way onto the Golden State Warriors and earned praise for his bench celebrations. Teammates ooze about Bazemore’s exuberance and passion, something that he’s spoken about in the past, but he’s also turned into a legitimate NBA player in the process.
This Kent Bazemore quote on why he celebrates on the bench so hard didn’t make my Hawks feature, but man, it’s great. pic.twitter.com/TJoE95QHPk
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) May 4, 2015
Bazemore is (Baze)more than just a smile. He thrived in Atlanta with more playing time this past season, to the tune of a career-high 11.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game. He’s considered one of the primary perimeter cogs in Atlanta’s 2nd-ranked defense, and hits three-pointers at a respectable rate.
Bazmore a fit? In the sense that a wing player who doesn’t mind taking a back seat to his teammates and loves the league with a passion fits, yes, Bazemore fits.
Let’s also not discount the Kenny Atkinson effect — Bazemore’s currently playing under Atkinson with the Hawks, and gushed about Atkinson to ESPN:
“He always has this good aura and swagger about himself,” Bazemore said. “Even just how he walks around, he still stays in shape, he is out here warming up barefoot, doing push-ups. He is just as into it as we are, and he was a point guard and point guards are special. They are the kind of people you don’t come by a lot in the game of basketball. As far as how you know they can translate it from the court to off the court and put it into certain words for you so you understand. He is very good at that.
“And his workouts, a lot of ball-handling stuff, a lot of pick-and-roll stuff, which is what you need to survive in this league,” Bazemore continued. “If you can’t run pick and roll as a wing it is going to be tough for you. He has one of the most integral parts of the offense, pick and roll, down to a T.”
Worthy pursuit? At the right price, yes. Bazemore is a solid player and knows how to fit in on a successful team, but if he’s their biggest signing of the offseason, something has gone awry in the plan. He’s an excellent fourth or fifth option on the Hawks, and proved it in Game 5 against the Celtics with a 12-point second quarter. He would need to fill that role wherever he lands.
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Maurice Harkless — Restricted Free Agent
The skinny: After getting drafted just outside of the lottery in 2012, Harkless spent three years developing with the Orlando Magic, starting the majority of his games in the first two years before he could legally drink and getting banished to spot backup duty in his third year.
At the end of his third season in Orlando, the Magic sent the Queens native to the Portland Trail Blazers for… well, nothing. Technically, they traded him for a second-round pick protected 31-to-55 in 2020, but that’s pretty much as nothing as you can legally trade in the NBA.
Harkless returned to a consistent rotation spot in his lone year with the Trail Blazers, and played well, averaging a career-high in points per 100 possessions (17.1), as well as rebounds (9.6), assists (2.3), and field goal percentage (47.4%). He’s not a starting-quality small forward, but he’s also only 22 years old (he will be 23 by the start of next season).
Also:How could you be so …. pic.twitter.com/P4Mj4wU8nC
— Maurice Harkless (@moe_harkless) April 5, 2016
Harkless a fit? As a backup, Harkless can provide scoring and rebounding, and has a reputation as a solid defensive player. As a starter, he wouldn’t be an upgrade over Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.
Worthy pursuit? Only on a very team-friendly deal, which Harkless likely will not command in this market. Otherwise it’s more replication than anything, given the Nets’ commitment to Hollis-Jefferson.
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Jeff Green — Unrestricted Free Agent
The skinny: In theory, Jeff Green is the ideal small forward: 6’9″, fluid, athletic, with confidence in his shot and the ability to dunk on fools. But Green has never quite put all of his skills together; he does a little bit of everything without doing much of anything, and has frequent spacey moments on the defensive end. Another indictment of his skills is his inability to convince team evaluators he’s worth a long look: Green has never stuck around anywhere, having been traded four times in his career.
Green a fit? Again, in theory. The Nets could use an athletic, lengthy player if he can be had on the cheap. But Green’s lack of consistency would be maddening on a team that’s desperately seeking talent players can produce night in and night out.
Worthy pursuit? No. Green is a confounding talent, who can look like a top-flight small forward in one moment and totally lost in the next one. Some team will overpay for his services, and it shouldn’t be the Nets if they can avoid it.
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Evan Turner — Unrestricted Free Agent
The skinny: Turner was a classic dominant college player at Ohio State, with a lethal mid-range jumper, smarts, and enough athleticism to get by. But he never translated those skills into equivalent NBA success or lived up to his billing as the second overall pick.
For the past two seasons, Turner’s provided an all-around touch off the bench for the Boston Celtics; he was the only player this past year who averaged more than 10 points, four rebounds, and four assists per game while primarily in a bench role.
Turner a fit? Yes and no. Turner can do a little bit of everything, except for the one thing most teams want out of a wing player these days; he’s a career 30.5% shooter from three-point range, and has hit just 53 three-pointers in the last two seasons at a 26.2 percent clip.
He’s also not a strong pick-and-roll guard; his lack of a three-point shot means teams can comfortably go under screens against him, and he turned the ball over on over 22 percent of his pick-and-roll possessions this past year.
That’s not to detract from what Turner can actually do. He’s a solid one-on-one scorer with touch near the basket that makes him a surprisingly effective post-up option. His ability to create looks for others from a wing position is valuable in a league that thrives on ball movement to create 2-on-1 and 4-on-3 opportunities. Even without a three-point shot, you can find ways to slide a versatile swingman into your rotation.
Worthy pursuit? Probably not. His weaknesses mean he’s best suited to a backup role similar to Andre Iguodala in Golden State, where you can run him out there among shooters to defend wing players and take over ballhandling duties in a pinch. If the Nets can pick up a player to take the majority of those minutes, he’d be a great fit off the bench. But the Nets already have a non-shooter in Rondae Hollis-Jefferson at small forward. How many minutes can you play on the wings with two guys who can’t hit threes?
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Kevin Durant — Unrestricted Free Agent
The skinny: Do we really need one? Former MVP, one of the smoothest scorers in NBA history, led the league in points scored for five straight seasons before an injury, will still only be 28 by the start of next season, averaged 28-8-5 on 50 percent shooting this year with an effective field goal percentage of 57.3 percent, which, oh, by the way, has never been done before… He’s kind of good at this here basketball game.
Durant a fit? Duh.
Worthy pursuit? Duh x2. If Durant wants to join the Nets, for whatever reason he wants, that’s the end of that discussion. But with so many other teams in a better position to offer him a championship-caliber team, you can bet on that not getting off the ground.
(But hey, you can dream… right?)
