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Brooklyn Nets
Overall: 111
Title track: 109
Ownership: 104
Coaching: T88
Players: 120
Fan relations: 106
Affordability: 105
Stadium experience: 78
Bang for the buck: 81
Change from last year: -35
With Russian billionaire owner Mikhail Prokhorov's five-year championship plan ending in failure, the Brooklyn Nets have decided to change course. And a new direction is a wise choice, most Brooklyn fans would say, given that the franchise has slid 40 places over the past two years toward the bottom rung of our rankings.
What's good
According to Nets fans, not much. There is the arena, the $1 billion Barclays Center, which might be a bigger draw than the team itself. Perhaps the best news is that the franchise has decided to end its strategy of reckless spending, superstar chasing and asset hemorrhaging. The Nets could have upward of $40 million in cap space heading into free agency next summer. Meanwhile, the team's motto for the 2015-16 campaign -- "We Are: Continuity/Core/Youth/Commitment" -- is decidedly more modest than the franchise's former ambitions.
What's bad
Almost everything, but it starts on the court, where the players are ranked 120th among 122 franchises in sports. Gone are Deron Williams, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, the cornerstones of a would-be contending roster. Brook Lopez is back, but as the leader of a team that would likely land in the lottery if it hadn't given up multiple draft picks to acquire a fading KG and Pierce from Boston. That move, now viewed by the Nets themselves as a massive mistake, is emblematic of the problems that have the franchise downgraded in every single category by its unhappy fans.
What's new
Belief in Prokhorov's regime has hit a low, as high hopes have crumbled. Meanwhile, there are mixed signals about his future investment in the team. Prokhorov is in talks with minority partner Bruce Ratner about acquiring 100 percent stakes in both the team and Barclays Center. Whether such an acquisition would then lead to a sale of the Nets while NBA franchise valuations skyrocket has been a matter of much speculation. Earlier this year, Prokhorov reportedly put the team on the market and sought offers, but more recently he has said he expects to sell only a minority portion of the franchise.
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