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*Photo via Sikids.com
Brooklyn Nets: The Nets remain at the bottom of these rankings, but for the first time in years they appear to be moving in the right direction. The Nets headed into draft night with no 1st round picks as the Celtics owned the Nets 3rd overall pick from the infamous KG/Paul Pierce trade. Desperate for young talent, the Nets traded Thaddeus Young to the Indiana Pacers for the 22nd pick in the draft, which they used to select Caris LeVert. Giving up Young for just the 22nd pick was a steep price to pay for the Nets. Young was Brooklyn’s second best player last season and is under contract on a deal that now looks very team friendly. Nonetheless, the Nets had very limited means of acquiring young talent, and many believe LeVert would have been a top-10 pick if he were healthy. The Nets don’t have any young cornerstones yet, but at least they have some intriguing pieces in LeVert, Bojan Bogdanovic, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, and Chris McCullough. The Nets free agency has been disappointing thus far considering that the offer sheets they gave to restricted free agents Tyler Johnson and Allen Crabbe were matched by their respective teams. Thus far the Nets have managed to sign Jeremy Lin, Trevor Booker, and Greivis Vasquez. All three are likely to play big minutes this season, but none are true game changers. The main reason the Nets are still in last is that they have such a poor roster AND don’t own their picks. The Celtics have the right to swap 2017 1st round picks with the Nets and own Brooklyn’s unprotected 2018 1st rounder. Unless Brooklyn makes a huge splash in free agency, expect the Nets to remain at the bottom of these rankings for another year or two.