The Brooklyn Nets' Youth Movement

After the Brooklyn Nets’ 2014-2015 season ended in unimpressive and sudden fashion (another first round exit), general manager Billy King decided that the roster needed to be shaken up. It seems that King, and the Nets franchise as a whole, realized that owner Mikhail Prokhorov’s “Five Year Plan” to win a championship was both nonsensical and unrealistic.

The Miami Heat blueprint of three superstars that propelled them to four straight NBA Finals and two consecutive championships was not one that could be easily copied. The Nets learned that the hard way. And after months of trying to move at least one member of their “Big Three” the first domino has fallen, and so begins a new era in Nets franchise history: Life After Deron Williams.

The last game of Brooklyn’s season took place on May 1st, 2015. That roster included the following players:

Deron Williams, age 31

Joe Johnson, age 34

Bojan Bogdanovic, age 26

Thaddeus Young, age 27

Brook Lopez, age 27

Jarrett Jack, age 31

Mason Plumlee, age 25

Alan Anderson, age 32

Mirza Teletovic, age 29

Jerome Jordan, age 28

Darius Morris, age 24

Markel Brown, age 23

Earl Clark, age 27

Average Age: 28

Currently, on July 13th, after a myriad of trades, waives and signings, the roster looks like this:

Jarrett Jack, age 31

Joe Johnson, age 34

Bojan Bogdanovic, age 26,

Thaddeus Young, age 27

Brook Lopez, age 27

Shane Larkin, age 22

Wayne Ellington, age 27

Sergey Karasev, age 21

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, age 20

Thomas Robinson, age 24

Willie Reed, age 25

Andrea Bargnani, age 29

Average Age: 26

At the end of last season, there were three glaring needs: youth, athleticism, and heart. With the new influx of youth, the average age of the team drops by two years, only having three players above the average age (28) from last year. The Brooklyn Nets are now a team mostly composed of raw athletes, providing hope that the team will be solid on the defensive side of the ball. There’s also a sense of camaraderie, and leadership, as Joe Johnson and Jarrett Jack (the two oldest and most experienced players on the team) reportedly joined the team in Las Vegas for Summer League.

Although the Nets entered the 2015 NBA Draft with the 29th overall pick, and don’t own their own pick until 2019, things are looking up in Brooklyn. They finally have a young core that their fans can watch grow. There are a few veterans to lead the way, but not so many that it would inhibit the growth of the newcomers. They have what seems to be enough talent to make it to the postseason. They have an exciting and athletic new rookie for the fans to get excited about.

Finally the Nets have begun to rebuild with youth, rather than trying to fix their problems by throwing money at past-their-prime veterans. This is the start of a team that can grow and thrive with one another. They’ll suffer together as well as celebrate together. These are the beginning blueprints of a good team. Nets fans should be excited for the start of next season.