With holes to fill, Nets to dig deep overseas
The Nets’ NBA-worst season mercifully ended Wednesday, but the makeshift lineup they fielded in their 112-73 loss to the Bulls was a reminder that general manager Sean Marks started focusing on next season a while ago
With two first-round picks and up to $33 million in cap room to spend, this will be a huge offseason for the Nets. And while they’ll certainly chase restricted free agents such as Otto Porter and Detroit’s Kentavious CaldwellPope, their reinforcements could have a foreign flavor.
Marks wasn’t at the season finale, but he spent over a week scouting in Europe last month, and is expected to head back soon. And two previously heard names that have resurfaced in new reports are free agents Milos Teodosic and Nicolò Melli.
Watching Brooklyn’s turnover-plagued offense struggle with Jeremy Lin and Brook Lopez on the bench was a reminder of how badly they need another point guard and scoring option.
Brooklyn’s interest in Teodosic is well-known. The 30year-old point guard was voted the best player outside the NBA by league GMs earllier this year, leading Serbia to a silver medal in Rio and CCSKA Moscow — Nets owner MMikhail Prokhorov’s old team — to a Euroleague title.
Teodosic’s passing has brought comparisons to former Nets great Jason Kidd.
Marks scouted Teodosic on March 22 in Moscow, with Israeli writer David Pick tweeting out pictures of the Nets GM and team chairman Dmitry Razumov watching the game with CSKA president Andrei Vatutin. Teodosic had 20 points and 10 assists, and Pick tweeted Wednesday that Marks is going back to watch him again, presumably in the Euroleague playoffs which start Tuesday.
Brooklyn had scouted Teodosic on Nov. 19, and Brose Bamberg’s Melli also played in that game. Now three separate European outlets recently reported on the Nets’ interest in the stretch-four tabbed in a recent European GM survey as the best power forward in Europe, and the player most primed for a breakout.
“I don’t rule out any possibility but I don’t like to talk about the future,” Melli said in Tuttosport. “It will depend on the offers, because I love too much being on the court and playing.”
Playing time shouldn’t be an issue for the Nets, who took the fourth-most 3-pointers in the league but finished 23rd in 3-point percentage. Melli could help that, hitting a career-best 45.3 percent from deep last season, and 43.4 percent this season.
Brooklyn also has two firstround draft picks, currently No. 22 and 27, and at least one of those could end up as an international player as well.
A source told The Post that Brooklyn is high on three prospects, including Syracuse stretch-four Tyler Lydon and Louisville guard Donovan Mitchell. The third is another international prospect: 6-9 Latvian small forward Rodions Kurucs from Barcelona, whom Marks personally scouted during his European trip.