Finding a power forward who can score from the perimeter won’t be a concern for the Nets during the 2020-21 season, but they’ll need someone to contribute until Kevin Durant recovers from an Achilles injury. Jason Max Rose of NetsDaily examines Brooklyn’s options, with the focus on Rodions Kurucs and Taurean Prince.
Kurucs, 21, is a holdover at the position after starting 46 games last year. He averaged 8.5 PPG and put up shooting numbers of 45/31/78 in what was essentially his first full professional season. He excels at passing and cutting, Rose observes, and works hard on defense. The biggest concern about his game has been rebounding, but reporters who saw him at Summer League said he has added weight and looks stronger.
Acquired in a July trade with the Hawks, Prince’s rebounding numbers last season were even worse than Kurucs, but he makes up for it with a better offensive game. He shot a career-best 39 percent from 3-point range and should get more opportunities to score from long distance under Nets coach Kenny Atkinson.
There’s more out of Brooklyn:
- This week’s rookie scale extension for Caris LeVert is more evidence that the Nets are willing to spend big to build a winner, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Ownership gave LeVert $52.5M over the next three years and pushed its summer spending past $400M after landing Durant, Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan in free agency.
- LeVert’s extension almost guarantees that the Nets will be a taxpaying team in 2020-21, salary cap expert Albert Nahmad writes for SNY.tv. Brooklyn already has $122M in salary committed to nine players for that season, and Nahmad estimates the team will be about $15M below the tax when deciding whether to re-sign Prince and Joe Harris. He adds that Nets are unlikely to pay the tax this season, meaning a repeater tax won’t be a concern until 2023-24. They are likely to exceed the apron in 2021-22 when an expected extension for Jared Allen would take effect.
- Stefan Weissenboeck, who serves as Brooklyn’s unofficial shooting coach, will be back for another season, according to Yanir A. Rubenstein of NetsDaily. Weissenboeck is an assistant coach in the German league, but provides tips to the Nets through videos and occasional trips to the United States. “I’m happy about the trust they put in me, and I love the job,” he said.
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