Well, Durham is much greener` than Brooklyn this time of year.
No team may have more eyes on them this preseason than the Brooklyn Nets, who went out this summer with a “luxury tax be damned” attitude and added Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Jason Terry and Andrei Kirilenko to a roster that already had 49 wins (but was bounced in the first round by a more disciplined, tougher Bulls team).
To get out of the glare of that spotlight a little, the Nets are moving the start of their training camp to the Duke University campus in Durham, North Carolina, the team announced. They will be there from Oct. 1 to 5.
If you’re wondering the connection, Nets GM Billy King played for Duke (he was the captain of a Final Four team). Well, unless you think the Nets are doing this just to make Mason Plumlee happy.
“With many new players and a new staff, going on the road for training camp will offer a unique opportunity for our players to bond and focus solely on basketball as they prepare for this season,” King said in a released statement.
But it makes some sense, the university has world-class facilities and it lets them get out of some of the spotlight glare that will be on them this season.
The Nets went to great expense to put together a roster they think can compete for a title — they have a current payroll of $102.2 million (according to SHAM Sports), which means under the new escalating luxury tax they will owe $87.2 million on top of that. It’s a grand total of $189.4 million for just the roster.
A roster that is on the edge of contention but needs a lot of things to go right (I would still have them a step behind at least the Heat, Bulls and Pacers). It really comes down to how much Garnett can help turn the defense around (and if he can stay healthy to do it). The Nets are going to score plenty — they had the ninth best offense in the NBA in points per possession last season — and guys like Garnett will be a big upgrade on that end over Reggie Evans. The Nets will have a top five offense.
But their defense was 18th best in the NBA. Can KG, playing less than 30 minutes a night with a number of days off, lift that defense to the top 10 in the league or higher? Can first-year coach Jason Kidd put in a system that can lift the defense way up the ladder? If so, the Nets are dangerous. If not… wow that’s a lot of money to spend to make the second round (at best).
Whatever happens, it all starts at Duke.