2 weeks Ago
Ahead of his second season at the helm, Brooklyn Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez will continue to implement a true culture—something that's been absent in Kings County for quite some time. But the most important factor of culture is continuity. Keeping veterans around who know the team's identity is vital to building an organization bound for sustained success, and luckily for Brooklyn, its longest-tenured players are each under the age of 27.
Nic Claxton, 26, and Cam Thomas, 23, have witnessed a career's worth of drama throughout their professional basketball lives. Whether it be the Nets' constant coaching carousel before Fernandez arrived, failed superteams or an unwillingness to commit to a rebuild (an issue that's since been solved), Claxton and Thomas have experienced it all. While Brooklyn is an extremely young group—and its rebuild is nearly just as young—creating continuity has to be a high priority.
The best dynasties in NBA history have been built on a foundation of superstars and role players who buy into a culture—and stick with it. Think Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls, Gregg Popovich's San Antonio Spurs or Stephen Curry's Golden State Warriors. When you imagine those squads, the same three-to-five faces come to mind.
Claxton and Thomas could be who fans think of when they hear "Brooklyn Nets." Now, finding—and more importantly retaining—complementary pieces to the duo is the biggest key to identity building. Thomas is slated for restricted free agency this summer, and if GM Sean Marks is to follow the blueprints laid out by Jordan, Popovich and Curry, bringing the electrifying scorer back will be atop the offseason to-do list.
But it doesn't stop at Thomas. Day'Ron Sharpe and Trendon Watford will need new deals as well, especially if/when Thomas is re-signed. Both were high-impact pieces of Fernandez's system, and the on-court results of another offseason learning the head coach's schemes would theoretically outweigh those of external pieces learning the "Brooklyn way.
" Due to their past (the Kevin Garnett-Paul Pierce trade and failed big three of Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and James Harden), the Nets cannot settle for "chasing" anymore. They must build from within, developing players in hopes of instilling a true core..
