GM Rizzo's Press Conference

[Rizzo]

Any and all questions can be directed towards the General Manager and Director of Basketball Operations for the Brooklyn Nets, Adam Rizzo.

"Thanks for coming everyone. Glad to be here with all of you. I'm sure you all have a ton of questions for me as we are going into the season. I will say that the excitement in and around our facility is palpable right now and hope that the fans and league-wide media take notice that we are building a winner here in Brooklyn.

With that said, who's got a question for me?"

[Andrewu91]

What's your plans for this season? Similar to last season or try to make playoffs?

[Rizzo]

What's your plans for this season? Similar to last season or try to make playoffs?

"The plan last season is the same as this season: push for the playoffs. The difference between last year and this year is that last year we had a core of players that had been to the postseason. The expectations were higher than they have been for a couple years entering the 2021-2022 season. After nearly half a season of play, it was apparent that the group of players weren't going to get it done so we had to hit the reset button.

This year is only different in the fact that we are breaking in a bunch of younger players, or heaping heavy responsibilities on players who have yet to prove their worth in this league. I'm talking about players like DeAndre Ayton, who's going to be a phenomenal player, are going to be expected to be a double-double threat from Day 1. A guy like Jonathan Isaac will need to pick up the speed of the game faster than maybe we had hoped if we are going to make the post season.

The goal is to win games and make the playoffs. If that doesn't happen because we don't have the experience just yet then so be it.

[blackice]

Where do you see yourself and your team finishing within the division?

[hardenwithnod]

How are you going to manage that deep front court rotation of yours?

[Andrewu91]

What's your plans for this season? Similar to last season or try to make playoffs?

"The plan last season is the same as this season: push for the playoffs. The difference between last year and this year is that last year we had a core of players that had been to the postseason. The expectations were higher than they have been for a couple years entering the 2021-2022 season. After nearly half a season of play, it was apparent that the group of players weren't going to get it done so we had to hit the reset button.

This year is only different in the fact that we are breaking in a bunch of younger players, or heaping heavy responsibilities on players who have yet to prove their worth in this league. I'm talking about players like DeAndre Ayton, who's going to be a phenomenal player, are going to be expected to be a double-double threat from Day 1. A guy like Jonathan Isaac will need to pick up the speed of the game faster than maybe we had hoped if we are going to make the post season.

The goal is to win games and make the playoffs. If that doesn't happen because we don't have the experience just yet then so be it.

Gotcha

[Rizzo]

Where do you see yourself and your team finishing within the division?

”I think right now we are positioned well enough to be better than the Knicks, but the rest of the division is pretty damn tough. No knock against Phil and his team but he’s being patient with his rebuild.

Boston, in my opinion, is the class of the division. They are just like us with a ton of young talent, except their young talent is better and more experienced. I think that deal for Tristan Thompson is a sneaky good one. Add on that Dennis is great with strats and Boston should push to be tops in the East.

Philly has great talent but with TJ being M.I.A. most of the time, the talent doesn’t achieve as much as it should. If there is any team in the division we could perhaps surpass, it would be Philly.

Toronto has got plenty of talent and while I like the shakeup they have made this season it remains to be seen how the pieces all fit. I think they are going to miss having Cousins, making them a completely perimeter based scoring squad. Their defense should be pretty stifling though.”

[Rizzo]

How are you going to manage that deep front court rotation of yours?

”Well with Ayton being just a rookie we are going to have to manage his minutes early and often. I love Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner and think they compliment each other very well. Then I have Jakob Pöltl who is a defensive specialist that slots in at the backup center position nicely.

What will most likely happen is Siakam/Turner start with Ayton/Pöltl off the bench. We will then have to expirtment with different combinations at the PF & C position to see who fits together the best.

In the end, we probably have one too many high-caliber big men to get playing time for and will need to make a trade to alleviate the log jam and even out the roster.”

[Marcos_Beck]

Where do you see the Bulls in this crowded yet unpredictable Eastern Conference this season?

[Stockton12]

How disappointing was it to have so many players reject Brooklyn as a destination ...is there any issues why they would do that ..is there turmoil in Brooklyn we don’t know about ?

[rh0xxy]

Not a fan of Poelti being just a back up. He should be starting, just send him back here!

[Rizzo]

Where do you see the Bulls in this crowded yet unpredictable Eastern Conference this season?

"Chicago is a very, very good team and I think with Detroit making seismic changes by moving Kemba Walker could see some chemistry issues. If Chicago starts the season hot I think they could push for the division title. Regardless, I think Chicago is perhaps the 4th best team behind Detroit, Boston and Miami.:

[Rizzo]

How disappointing was it to have so many players reject Brooklyn as a destination ...is there any issues why they would do that ..is there turmoil in Brooklyn we don’t know about ?

"Very disappointing. I mean Otto Porter was a pipe dream to begin with but it was encouraging to see him at least entertaining the offer for a few days. After that, to lose out on Demarre Carroll, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Evan Turner all when we were offering more money on a better deal really, really hurt. On top of that we had Russell Westbrook on a 2+1 max deal that he considered for quite a while. I believe if we had just jumped on that deal from Day 1 we would have been able to steal him from Sacramento.

I guess we are learning that how we handled free agency this year was not ideal for landing any of our targets. Luckily we have another ~$28m in cap space for next offseason so we will get a second crack at it."

[Rizzo]

Not a fan of Poelti being just a back up. He should be starting, just send him back here!

"I guess you could say our depth at power forward and center is quite the luxury then. If DeAndre Ayton proves he can play power forward then it should open up minutes for Myles Turner and Jakob Pöltl to play all 48 minutes at center. If not then it's definitely a log jam we need clear up a bit.

If you have any trade offers, you've got my phone number and know how to reach me!"

[Marcos_Beck]

Another Q.
We are / were both rebuilding, yet we're ready to make a push for something a little bit bigger than another trip to the lotto hopefully.

How do you think the Nets are compared to a team like Chicago who made the postseason with a stablished yet young core last year?
And how do you feel about Hezonja and Markkanen, even though both play very different positions? Who's the best, who's readier and are they both legit cornerstone at around 77-78 SCR potential or is someone at over 80 potential needed to dominate the ball and put 25 a game?

[Rizzo]

Another Q.
We are / were both rebuilding, yet we're ready to make a push for something a little bit bigger than another trip to the lotto hopefully.

How do you think the Nets are compared to a team like Chicago who made the postseason with a stablished yet young core last year?
And how do you feel about Hezonja and Markkanen, even though both play very different positions? Who's the best, who's readier and are they both legit cornerstone at around 77-78 SCR potential or is someone at over 80 potential needed to dominate the ball and put 25 a game?

"I think the Nets and Bulls have moved in similar directions but Chicago has gotten out of the cellar of the league much, much faster. In all fairness, we just hit the reset button last season at the mid-way point while Chicago started collecting assets for their rebuild before the season began as the tear down happened earlier in the year, so the Bulls have a bit of a head start on us on their return to prominence.

Hezonja and Markannen are both terrific young talents and are going to make a name for themselves in this league for a long, long time. I think a player like Mario is an alpha scorer, someone who's going to push for the league lead in points per game and force a defense to stop him on every single possession.

Lauri, to me, is a different cat. He's a terribly efficient scorer and scores from everywhere on the floor. If he put his mind to it I bet he could be a 50/40/90 shooter in this league. Unlike Hezonja, Markannen's game is not just built on scoring the rock but he's also a solid rebounder, which he needs to be to play his position well.

In the end if I had to give both players a grade as young prospects in this league, they would both receive an A. I can see the merits of believing that Lauri Markannen is the better prospect but here in Brooklyn we truly believe that Mario Hezonja is the best young prospect for this franchise right now."

[GreenBear]

How's it feel to jump up in the lottery and snake Ayton away from the Suns? I mean he plays for them IRL and everything. Here I thought you were a nice guy, Adam...

[Rizzo]

How's it feel to jump up in the lottery and snake Ayton away from the Suns? I mean he plays for them IRL and everything. Here I thought you were a nice guy, Adam...

"First off, let's get this straight. I'm not a nice guy. I'm the NICEST guy and this type of jump in the lottery couldn't have happened to a better person!

How did it feel to steal DeAndre Ayton from the Suns? Felt amazing to grab the next Andre Drummond that should play for another 12-15 seasons. Now I see that all this bitterness came into play when Phoenix snaked Terrance Ferguson from us in the 20s. That one really, really hurt."

[emplep7]

How do you think the Nets would look with Denzel Livingston at PG? Probably pretty good, right?

[Rizzo]

How do you think the Nets would look with Denzel Livingston at PG? Probably pretty good, right?

"Our roster is pretty loaded already so I don't think we would have room for Denzel Livingston at this time. Bringing in a point guard like Ty Lawson should provide us more than a steady hand at point guard. We also really like what Fred VanVleet, Chris Tang and Frank Jackson bring to the table. Livingston is a fine young player but the Nets will be alright without him."