Nets on ‘Plan C’ as Summer League heats up
Failing to Land Johnson and Crabbe Doesn’t Deter Marks from Long-Term Vision
The Nets struck out twice in their pursuit of restricted free agents Tyler Johnson of Miami and Allen Crabbe of Portland earlier this week, meaning new Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks’ vision of adding a pair of 24-year-old building blocks has been smashed to bits.
Marks, who was unable to land or even get close to signing big-time, buzz-inducing free agents like Kevin Durant, Dwyane Wade or Dwight Howard this summer, offered Johnson and Crabbe a combined $125 million in the hopes that they would buy in and be a part of new head coach Kenny Atkinson’s much-ballyhooed “player development” program.
But the Heat and Trail Blazers matched both lucrative offers the Nets put on the table, forcing Marks to look elsewhere for players who could actually aid former All-Star Brook Lopez in returning Brooklyn to the playoffs next season, or even in the next several years.