The strategy was sad, but sound; anathema to competition, but reason to believe.
There were no franchise-altering trades on the table, no free agent(s) who could rapidly transform the Nets into contenders, a la 2019.
Brooklyn would punt on one more season, placing its hopes for the future on the kindness of pingpong balls, which could hand the franchise one of the jewels of the much-hyped 2026 draft class.
But the plan was inherently flawed: Sean Marks hired the right coach at the wrong time.
