Nuts a lottery winner … without being there

In the end, the Nets did well in the lottery without being there. With the Knicks falling in 3rd place and the Pelicans getting Zion Williamson's rights, the worst case scenario for Brooklyn was much less likely.

The Knicks will not have Williamson to tilt them into another basketball stratosphere in New York and the distant possibility of trading in New York for Anthony Davis has become even more distant.

The Nets feared that Williamson or Davis could not help the Knicks gain a competitive advantage in July when free agents would change their address. Now that they are no longer on the table, they can focus on other issues, such as the direction they will take to move forward …

Let's start with the own list of nets.

This year's team was something special. Of course, they improved 14 games and took part in the playoffs for the first time in four years. They also made their first post-season match with Sean Marks and Kenny Atkinson at the head of the ship, but it's more than that.

The Nets are an organization based on development, character, continuity and cohesion. You know, culture. You have already heard it. All of these efforts have taken us to where we are tonight, the conversations we have about the big-name free agents who regard Brooklyn as a destination of choice for this summer.

Nevertheless, some members of the Nets organization have a bittersweet feeling.

It was special in that they not only changed the story of the organization, but they all got closer and built something from a list filled with players to looking for a second chance.

"It's a double-edged sword," Kenny Atkinson said in the Black and Drew podcast. "I liked the team we had this year and that's the type of team you want to continue coaching, but we know it's a company. So we know that our list will change, we will add new players, hopefully support a good group of guys who were here this year. "

There is a lot to that. Some of the team's biggest players are the free agents this summer, especially D'Angelo Russell and the three veterans who helped the Nets keep their heads when everything else is lost.

DLo is of course a story in itself, complicated by limited space and superstar desires. Set it aside for one minute. And look at the veterinarians that Atkinson likes and what it means for the team.

Jared Dudley comes to mind first. He was not as productive as Ed Davis, DeMarre Carroll or Ed Davis, but it was a strength. He initiated a movie session for players after the Nets started the season 8-18 and they responded with a series of seven-game wins that pushed them to a 20-6 record in the next 26 games. In the playoffs, following a blatant second foul by Joel Embiid at Jarrett Allen, Dudley rushed to defend Allen and the Nets as a whole.

Davis was as crucial on the field as he was off the field. Davis led the Nets in terms of defensive score (101.3), net score (3.9) and rebounds per game (8.6), while becoming the first player in NBA history to record an average of over 8.5 rebounds per game in less than 20 minutes per game. He put his ego aside and helped mentor Jarrett Allen, who played in front of him throughout the season. He came closer to Russell, to whom he helped to keep a positive spirit when Russell found himself on a bench late in the games.

DeMarre Carroll had another good year with an 11-point average and five rebounds in 25 minutes per game. Carroll has been with the Nets for two years. He has helped to serve as a player-coach, able to relay messages from players to coaches and vice versa. He, too, helped Russell grow as a person and as a player. He remained on his case during the off-season and ensured that the two children grew up together in the gym.

It would be difficult to see these guys leave if the free agents chose Brooklyn, but as Atkinson said,

"We know it's a business, we know our list will change."

So, what is the last. There is a lot to unravel.

Last summer, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times reported that Kyrie Irving and Jimmy Butler were intrigued by the idea of ​​playing side by side in the Eastern Conference. Rumors have risen, but rumors about collaboration have faded since. Now it's the couple Kevin Durant and Irving. It is the rumor that they will individually or together be the first target of several teams, including the Knicks and the Nets.

As of May 7, Vegas gave the Nets the best chance of landing Irving, even though he already had a 23-year-old All-Star playmaker.

After the Philadelphia 76ers were eliminated in the second round, Vegas ranked the Nets second on their list of likely destinations to land at Butler.

The chances of Las Vegas change almost every day and Tuesday, Marc Stein said the couple KD and Kyrie was as likely to occur in Brooklyn as Manhattan. "They will watch the nets as hard as the Knicks."

There is still a month and a half before the start of the free competition on July 1, but as the days get longer, signing one of these two duos does not seem so complicated.

Irving camp likes what the Nets did from a cultural perspective and they think it could be a good starting point for him.

And it would not be a surprise if the Nets have their eyes on Butler, especially if Irving is inclined to sign elsewhere. It would be an emergency plan, a good plan in particular, if he decided to leave Philadelphia. And if you need more information about the interest of the Nets, note this: Marks is not a strong supporter of trading for players he can pursue in free mode.

As the rumblings continue out of season (and change), do not forget this when you hear these names as well as others. Nets give value to players for specific reasons, be they veterans like Dudley, Davis and Carroll or free agents. Now, it's just a question of how other players attach importance to Brooklyn nets.

Atkinson would like to bring back the group. He also confided to the Black and Drew Podcast that he felt that the constant priorities should be: 1) internal development; 2) the NBA project; and 3) be opportunistic in free will.

And Joe Tsai also seemed to insinuate last Thursday that even if the Nets did not hit a home run, the team would be fine because of the culture created by Marks and Atkinson.

"You must have patience when you are rebuilding. You are looking for all the pieces and you are trying to put them in place. The second thing to do is that players improve, so you do not need to go out and bring in someone. He told NetsDaily.

As a coach, you will never want to see your players leave, especially after such a special season. But, as Atkinson admitted, he realizes that it's a business and new players will be added. Their success of last season was the bridge they needed to be players in the summer of 2019.

Now it's a question of who will be added and who Will be back.

But after tonight, the situation is clearer, which gives more flexibility to the Nets. And that's all you can ask.