ANALYST: Which Brooklyn Nets ROOKIE Has Most PROMISING Long-Term Outlook? How Can Team GROW Fanbase?

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On today's show, the next five draft picks are reaching the end of their rookie campaigns.

Which player should Brooklyn fans be most encouraged about long term?

I'll answer that on today's episode of Lockdown Nets.

You are Lockdown Nets.

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Welcome in to Lockdown Nets.

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It's your team, the Brooklyn Nets.

Every single day.

I'm Eric Slater.

Brooklyn Nets.

Rest in your part of your coachpoints.com.

Thank you for making me your first listen of the day.

And on today's episode, it's part two of this week's FANTAG Friday.

I got Lucas Kaplan on the show.

We got a lot of questions about the Nets rookies.

We got some questions about the Nets fan base.

We got some questions about my lifestyle as a beer reporter.

So let's get all into it right now.

Let's go.

Next question.

All of the Nets rookies have shown flashes during stretches this season.

Which of the group are you most confident can be a long-term contributor?

from Devon Cardwell.

And I, if I'm gonna answer this question,

it might sound a little bit like a cop out,

but I would probably go in the order

that they were drafted, roughly,

like, yay, Gorsaguy, that I'm the most confident about,

just because he has that shooting,

he has the baseline, like, field decision-making

and the size defensively.

Like, I think that that should give him a floor.

And then Nolan Shore, I'd say, is next,

who's shown, you know, a lot of good things

in terms of being an advantage creator, a facilitator,

I think, will be able to hold up defensively.

But then, if you look at, you'll be on that,

you know, Drake Powell and Danny Wolf,

I think, in the next group, the next two,

and then Ben Siroth would be last.

I think that I'm more confident about Danny Wolf,

actually, at this point, than Drake Powell,

in terms of his long-term outlook.

But Drake, I think, also, could be something.

I'd go to Ben after that.

So that's kind of the order I would put it in, Lucas.

What's your take on that?

Yeah, I think that the Danny Drake,

Nolan section of the draft, is probably, you know,

they're all probably pretty calm.

I think Nolan may be a separated himself

into the next tier with Yegor.

Yegor, again, I've written about his weaknesses.

He worries me from time to time.

But the shooting being what it was this year

is pretty undeniable.

And the size, I doesn't mask all of his issues,

but gives him something of a floor.

And then I'd probably, I'd give it edge to Nolan,

just because of the production he's shown.

I'll put him in maybe a tier of his own,

and then Drake and Danny, like Danny,

I think, has had more flashes.

Drake just has the tools and the age

that I would want to buy in on more.

It's debatable.

But, you know, those middle three guys,

if you get a good rotation player out of any of them,

I'd say that's a win.

And I think Yegor has shown the best chance

to be a valuable rotation player.

And next question, also on the rookies,

do you think Nolan can be a lead point guard on an NBA team?

He was once slated as a top four draft pick.

That's from Dan Leahy.

And yeah, like I think he has the potential.

I don't think you can close the door on that,

but I think that a lot of that is going to come down to,

obviously, his development as an outside shooter.

Because I've spoken about this before,

and if you look at it, like the, you know,

him being an on-ball guy, like he's going to need

to develop a lot, obviously,

in order to demand that kind of usage.

And even then, if you're the next,

if you bring in one of these star type guys,

whether a guy threw the draft, whether you trade for somebody,

whatever, like if you have that lead usage type guy,

Nolan's going to have to be off the ball

with decent amount.

And if you can't shoot from three at all,

that kind of negates that.

So I think that Nolan has definitely shown the potential

in terms of the advantage creation, the facilitation,

you know, being a pest defensively,

which I think will get better as he adds more size.

The three point shooting is the thing for me

that is the drawback as it is with a lot of these nets prospects.

Yeah, I think that Nolan has to be kind of the high usage

ball handler in a group.

That being said, you know, the catching shoot numbers

are still not so bad.

They haven't, they weren't even bad last year.

I was really the off the dribble jump shooting

that he struggled with, which we've seen in Brooklyn.

Yeah, what did he, sorry to cut you off?

What did he shoot on catching?

What did he shoot on catching suits at St. Quentin?

It was pretty good, wasn't it?

I think it was 36, 37%.

Yeah, it was like, it was respectable.

It was low volume, but it was fine.

Yeah.

And even this year, you see, I've seen his,

it seems to me they've really focused on getting his shot pocket

a little bit higher, like this elbow all the way up.

And it's led to some good results.

Let me see.

St. Quentin last year, he shot.

Yeah.

And they don't catch the shoot.

Jumpers only 3% of his shot attempts.

That being said, or 3% percent tile rank,

but 56% effective field goal percentage.

So if you assume those are all threes, it's like 37, 38%.

Anyway, yeah, he's at, I just checked.

He's at 33.3% on like 2.3 catching shoots per game.

Catching shoot, threes per game this season.

So has dipped a little bit, but has dipped.

The kind of movement skills and ball handling

in really tight spaces, you know,

when I think about playoff projection

and facing top tier defense is still worrying me.

He has some questions there.

But the floater looking good this year was big,

is kind of a mid-scoring counter,

something in between that he can get to.

His ability to finish over the second half of the season

over the trees to blend that speed and touch

has been really encouraging.

So like, can he be a lead guard on a championship team

and like eat up like 25%, 30% usage, probably not?

Can he be a contributing point guard on a really good team?

I don't think that's out of the question.

And frankly, from where he was at the start of the season,

that is a win.

All right, next question.

I am concerned about Drake Pal.

I know numbers don't lie, combine numbers,

but he doesn't pass the eye test for me drives.

That should end with a dunk or off-balance layups

and defensive positions that should end up

with blocks or easy layups for opponents.

Am I crazy?

That's from Jesse A. Lucas, who can take the reins there.

Seems like, I'm not gonna bag him too hard,

but I don't think you're going to win.

I'm just, I'm giving, I answered lead,

I'm most of the questions

I'm giving you the reins on this.

Yeah, I don't think you're crazy.

I think it's not been a great rookie season for him.

He's so young and the usage was so low last year,

like, I don't want to put too much on his plate

in terms of what I think the expectation

should have been this year,

but no, we haven't really seen the marriage

of force and physicality and athleticism.

So I think that question is kind of getting

at the root of it.

Like, he's had some really nice, you know,

takes to the rim, but kind of driving through contact,

get some off-balance, again, he'll put on weight.

I don't think the defense of playmaking

has really been there.

We've seen flashes of it, you know,

that game in Orlando, he gave Desmond Bain some trouble,

but in terms of consistently like being a presence

on the glass or contesting shots

and in the passing lanes even hasn't been there.

So I think it's fair to be worried

that he is a combine warrior

without a ton of ways to access that athleticism

on the court.

Again, super early, he'll put on weight,

he'll develop skills.

Some of the floor reading has been cool

for a guy with such low usage,

but I don't think the concern is unfounded.

Yeah, I mean, I think you just look at it

and offensively like, you know, it's tough

because he has these like drives

and these plays once in a while

where it looks like really smooth and encouraging,

but when you take a step back,

he's shooting under 30% from three

and like he shot 38% from three in North Carolina,

but it was on really low volume.

So the three point shooting, you know, percentage wise,

wise hasn't been there this year.

And he's just like not a natural like on ball guy

at this point, like he shows flashes

and maybe he can grow into it,

but it's like I, you probably get the same questions.

I get these questions from Nets fans all the time.

They're like, why is Jordy like putting the shackles

on Drake, like he, they need to empower him to do more stuff.

Fire, they sending him down to the G league

and I'm like, look like they're not putting any shackles on him.

He's just a limited player at this point.

And like, I think that was evident last year

in North Carolina and those people will come back

and be like, well, he had these veterans

ahead of him at North Carolina.

They didn't let him do this stuff.

And it's like, if you have two coaching staffs in a row

who you're saying aren't letting him do this stuff,

like that's just, that's not the case.

So I mean, what do you say to that?

Because a lot of Nets fans ask me about that.

Like, why is Drake going to the G league?

Why doesn't he have more games where he's doing more stuff?

He has these nice flashes.

My answer is just that like the flashes

are what they are, they're flashes.

It's not like his comfortable, consistent skill set right now.

Right, if you need an ideal environment to produce

then you might not produce a ton.

That's just how basketball is.

I've kind of, in my old age,

I've become more of a hardliner.

Like, guys who produce will find a way.

And I'm not saying Drake will never produce

any will never be a good offensive player,

but I'm not, I'm not really hearing

the system or coaching staff arguments.

Like, yeah, flashes are flashes.

He's not doing it in every time.

And there's a reason for that.

And certainly he could be more aggressive.

I'm not saying that like, you know,

every three that he passes down or passes up

like that he doesn't shoot is good

or a reflection of his ability.

I think he certainly with a little bit of a mindset shift

could be shooting more.

But I don't think that he's not doing that

because the net's coaching staff is telling him to, you know.

All right, coming up.

We've got a few more questions on the mailbag.

Some about the net's fan atmosphere at Barclay Center.

Why are there more opposing teams fans?

How can the net change that and swing it back more

in their direction?

Also some stuff about just my job as a beer reporter.

So we'll get into all that and we close out locked on nets

after a quick break.

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Got a few more questions here and then we're gonna close it out.

I became annoyed going to netscames where the opposing teams

fans are louder than Brooklyn Nets fans.

MPG recently mentioned this on a podcast.

What do you think would need to happen

for fans sharing to swing more in our favor?

Do you think it will ever change?

That's from Johnson.

And I mean, simply put like the nets need to get better.

That's a big part of it.

I mean, like there is a certain aspect of, you know,

like when the Nix come to town and the Lakers come to town,

like the Celtics, some of those teams,

like they're gonna have a ton of fans there.

But I think if you go back to like the big three era

when they were really cooking, like I remember

I was out a couple of the games

when the Nets played the Celtics

in the first round of the 2021 playoffs

and they were just blowing the doors off them

and maybe that's why it seemed much more like Nets fan dominated

but they were really loud.

And like I think that they need to get better.

I also think that I've said this, like I think the path

for them to growing a sustainable fan base

is having some sustainable success

and building it with homegrown talents,

getting somebody like one of these guys in the draft

who could become a multi-time all-star

and really like create some investment into the team.

So that and being better altogether,

I think will help it obviously.

But I do think also in New York,

like the Nix I think are always gonna be

like the big brother team

and then there's just a lot of fans of other teams.

But I think that it could be much less pronounced

than it is right now.

They gotta be good and they gotta have star power.

I mean, we've done this already.

The crowd was pretty good when they were really good

and they had stars, but there's not a lot of Nets fans.

That's just kind of the reality.

The Nets fans there are though are very loud.

I'll give them that and we'll see.

I mean, like yeah, they gotta get better.

So we'll see how that goes.

The draft, like May 10th is gonna be a massive date,

obviously, in regard to that question.

Oh, Lucas is like a...

I'm already nervous.

He's a pesky nervous.

I'm already nervous.

But this ties into that.

The Lucas's fandom, I guess you could say,

hey, Eric, first I wanna say congrats

on the engagement and thanks for the content.

Thank you.

Also, as a beat reporter, do you root for the team to lose

or are you more in favor of the Nets winning

because of the rookies?

That's from Tany G.

And look, I've said like, I'm a beat reporter.

I cover this team on this podcast

where I do get a ping and eight and I give my takes

on what I think is best for them.

But I don't root for them one way or another.

Obviously, there's guys who I cover on the team

who I like and I hope that they do well.

But you're supposed to be as unbiased

as impartial as you can as a reporter.

So that's my answer to the question.

Lucas, I feel like, has a different answer probably

with what his position is.

Yeah, that was a very diplomatic answer of you.

I write for a blog site and I used to try to kind of deny

that fact, but I got that position

because I grew up a Nets fan

and I wrote very opinionated things about the team.

And my relationship to them has changed now

that I'm around it all the time,

but I still feel a lot of things about the Nets

and I want what's best for them.

And I am not yet at the point in my life

where I can suppress that urge.

If someone wants to give me a full-time job writing about them

and pay me and demand that I show nothing

about the utmost objectivity, then maybe I'll reconsider.

But yeah.

Listen, I'm not actually the fool on press row.

I'll say that.

I'll say that.

I'm not in the press box cheering.

No.

But you will, your biggest reactions are just when the Nets

or another team do something extremely stupid

and you're in like disbelief.

Like I feel like that's when you get the biggest reaction.

It's an objective basketball sort of reaction.

Yeah, exactly.

But I'm curious.

I'm curious about a bad turnover.

Lucas just hates bad basketball.

But I'm curious about what you said of your relationship

with the Nets has changed as you became doing the job

on an everyday basis.

Because that was something that I heard from people

who have kind of spoken to me, like experience reporters

and things along those lines.

You're like, I was an insane NBA fan.

This team, that team, NFL, whatever.

And then once you start doing it for a living,

that part of you kind of dies off

because it should become your daily grind.

But I guess you're fresh enough into it

that that hasn't happened, but what is your experience?

I think for me, that's just too simplistic.

It changes.

It changes a lot, at least for me, but it doesn't die.

It just evolves.

And part of it, again, is like I'm working,

I'm writing for a blog site, for a fan, for a blog site,

it's just like four fans by fans.

That's essentially the cell of Nets daily, right?

And Bob does not, my editor, Bob of Nets daily, the legend,

does not pretend not to be a fan.

Even though he might be the most comprehensive

all-in-one new source for the team.

And you know, we can get into kind of what

how the media landscape has changed.

There's a lot more people like me, like Bob,

where the line between reporter and blogger and fan

have all kind of been dissolved.

Yeah.

But for me, it would be wrong to say

that I'm not still a fan of the team.

It just would be a lie.

However, what that fandom means to me, I think,

is very unique in terms of the landscape of fandom.

It's certainly funny to have opinions about

your favorite basketball team,

and then what that means relative to your job.

And you'll have an opinion about the team,

and you'll either be carrying water

or committing subterfuge against the team.

You're like, it's a weird little spot.

Yeah, I've had the net's fans who come in,

and they're like, you want the nets to be bad,

you're ruining against them.

And then I guess maybe I do a good job of objectivity

because I haven't had too many people call me a homer,

but I've had a lot of people who are like,

you want them to be bad.

And I'm like, that's just nonsensical.

It's better for all of us if they're good in terms of...

It's better age difference.

Yeah.

It helps us a lot.

Yeah, if the nets were really good right now,

and they had a bunch of stars,

the numbers on this podcast would be better.

I'd be making more money.

It would be great.

But I digress last question from a Sixers fan

who hopped in here for some reason, Sixers fan here.

Please take George and draft compensation

off our hands this off season with all that net's cap space.

That's from Andrew Burns.

I don't see that happening.

I think you guys are stuck with that Paul George contract.

Might have to say probably the worst contract in the league,

but Lucas, what's your take on that?

What are my favorite players as a teenager?

Seems like he was everybody's favorite player.

Like NBA players think that Paul George

is like the second coming of Jesus, I feel like.

So you see it, just swag.

Just the way you move and dribble to that size.

Yeah, that's not happening.

I think they want to be...

If he was like expiry next year, two years,

it's not really that long,

but just thinking about where the franchise wants to be.

I don't think they're willing to commit that much money

to him, even for a draft column.

So sorry, man.

Also just a circle back for a second.

You can see how fandom gets funny when Eric says,

yeah, if they were better,

my professional life would be better

and it'd be making more money.

You can see how then fandom starts to take on

a little bit of a different meaning.

There you go, there you go.

But with that, that's all we got.

Lucas, appreciate taking the time as always.

This episode is gonna drop soon,

but we got the 76ers.

Are you going down to Philly or no?

Nah, not me.

Okay, Lucas will not be in Philly,

but the nets continuing to tank MPJ probably out

and it clacks them out, Drake Powell,

getting them out off for rest,

but the sixers are also short-handed.

So we'll see how that plays out,

but we will definitely have you back on next week,

but appreciate taking the time as always, man.

That's all I got for you guys

and today's episode of Locked on Nets.

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