What's Next for the Brooklyn Nets?

How the franchise should rebuild this off season.

How the Brooklyn Nets Should Rebuild This Off Season - Call it a $180 million-plus bust for the Brooklyn Nets. The upwards of $180 million in salaries and luxury tax that billionaire owner Mikhail Prokhorov spent on this year’s squad was supposed to spell an NBA championship or at least a trip to the Finals. Instead, the Nets fell 4-1 to LeBron James and the two-time defending champs the Miami Heat in only the second round of the playoffs. Now Brooklyn's general manager, Billy King, and head coach, Jason Kidd, are left with many questions to answer. So, what’s next for the Brooklyn Nets? Read on for some ideas the franchise should roll the dice on to rebuild during the off season.  (Photo: REUTERS/Mike Segar)
Trade Deron Williams, Explore Detroit Option - Brooklyn, let’s keep it funky — Deron Williams just hasn’t cut it for the Nets and doesn’t seem to be worth the $100 million contract that the franchise signed him to back in July 2012. It’s time to cut ties with the point guard, who pocketed nearly $18,500,000 this season alone but only averaged a paltry 11.2 points and 6.2 assists per game during Brooklyn’s 4-1 playoff series loss to the Heat. We say trade D. Will — and unload on his awful contract — to the Detroit Pistons for Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings. The players made a combined $21,155,503 million during the 2013-14 season, signaling that the Nets would at least get more bang for their buck. But would newly-hired Pistons coach and team president Stan Van Gundy bite on such a deal? Brooklyn should hope so.(Photos from left: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images, Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Pierce Says Brooklyn Needs to Be Tougher in Playoffs - Paul Pierce ripped into his Brooklyn Nets following their 100-95 road loss to the Toronto Raptors in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night. "We gave them everything they wanted, 50 points in the paint and [19] offensive rebounds," Pierce told ESPN after the Nets loss, which tied the series 1-1. "We were a soft team tonight." Brooklyn allowed Raptors shooting guard DeMar DeRozan to drop 30 points, 17 coming in the fourth quarter, Tuesday.(Photo: Claus Andersen/Getty Images) Kevin Garnett Likely to Return - According to the New York Post, Kevin Garnett will likely return to the Brooklyn Nets for the 2014-15 season, the final year of his contract of which he’s owed $12 million. Playing 54 games during the regular season, Garnett averaged a career-low 6.5 points per game. (Photo: Elsa/Getty Images)

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How the Brooklyn Nets Should Rebuild This Off Season - Call it a $180 million-plus bust for the Brooklyn Nets. The upwards of $180 million in salaries and luxury tax that billionaire owner Mikhail Prokhorov spent on this year’s squad was supposed to spell an NBA championship or at least a trip to the Finals. Instead, the Nets fell 4-1 to LeBron James and the two-time defending champs the Miami Heat in only the second round of the playoffs. Now Brooklyn's general manager, Billy King, and head coach, Jason Kidd, are left with many questions to answer. So, what’s next for the Brooklyn Nets? Read on for some ideas the franchise should roll the dice on to rebuild during the off season.  (Photo: REUTERS/Mike Segar)

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