Brooklyn Nets Roster Preview: The Frontcourt Rotation

The Brooklyn Nets are another year further into the Sean Marks and Kenny Atkinson vision of the rebuilding aftermath of the Celtics Trade Gamble. Despite beginning the rebuild bereft most of the assets a rebuilding team can count on, Marks and Atkinson have found intriguing value to add to the Nets roster by this point of the 2017 NBA offseason. However, much of the attention paid to the current Nets roster has been given to the guards and wing rotations of the team — to an extent where spectators may be underestimating the potential impact of the beefy behemoths Atkinson will be deploying. The Nets do not have the makings of the next Parish/McHale/Bird frontcourt, but contributions from Trevor Booker, DeMarre Carroll, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Timofey Mozgov, Jarrett Allen, Quincy Acy, Tyler Zeller and Jake Wiley could all surpass expectations.

Trevor Booker

Perhaps the most unsung solid player in the NBA currently is Trevor Booker. Just the thought of Booker probably conjures images of lunch pails and elbows for most fans. Yet, Booker’s adapted utility for the modern NBA game has gone overlooked. Booker has done a great job to keep up with the influx of small-ball 4s and perimeter bigs in NBA offenses. An above-average athlete with great strength and proactive rotation anticipation skills, Booker unquestionably served as one of Brooklyn’s two best defenders during the 2016-17 NBA season. Not a label that will win boatloads of plaudits as the Nets finished 23rd in defensive rating in 2016-17 (via Basketball-Reference), but a very succinct phrase to demonstrate Booker’s value to the Nets.