Billy King: Road to Redemption

The rumblings have only grown louder as the team watched Jason Kidd‘s successful first season in Milwaukee. While the criticism is warranted, King has quietly been atoning for his mistakes. After mortgaging the future for veterans well past their time, King has been accumulating young assets to lay a foundation for the Nets.

Following the Celtics/Nets blockbuster trade, the Nets were left with only one first round draft pick (2015) until 2019. The scarcity of draft picks makes it difficult for the Nets to get younger and undergo a true “rebuilding” phase. However, Billy King has still managed to make the best of the draft pick situation in the past few years. He drafted defensive-minded guard Markel Brown, traded for a promising young star in Sergey Karasev, and picked up three gifted players in the 2015 NBA draft. Chris McCullough, a potential lottery pick, fell to the Nets due to injury and the addition of Rondae Jefferson-Hollins puts the team in a better position to improve their defense. RHJ gives the Nets a defensive presence on the wing, something the team has lacked since the move to Brooklyn. Wing defenders are more valuable than ever as the NBA game becomes faster and coincidentally smaller. The Nets’ summer league roster is also filled with talented high-energy players, who will compete for the last few roster spots for Brooklyn. That’s a far cry from the aged roster of just two years ago.

One under-appreciated aspect to King’s decision-making is his ability to bring in players with a defined role. The reason that King has been so successful with castaways in Brooklyn is because they are asked to do something specific. It gives the players something to focus on and not get too overwhelmed. Having veteran players to do the heavy lifting enables these young guys to get acclimated to the NBA game. Consequently, these players are able to find their niche in the NBA and develop into role-players/starters. With a strong veteran presence, not only do the Nets provide young players with mentors and leaders, but also an atmosphere where they can thrive.

Billy King has helped make the Nets younger and more athletic with limited resources. While he is to blame for the handicap, he should be commended if this process is successful. If he can work some magic with a couple of these young players, it may be just enough to turn the Nets and his future around.