Brooklyn Nets 2015 roster: Brooklyn strives for mediocrity with retooled rotation

The Brooklyn Nets are a team in transition. An expensive, aggressive attempt to quickly build the franchise into a contender after its arrival at Barclays Center completely flopped over the past couple years. Now the Nets are trying to remake themselves on the fly with a dearth of draft picks or high-level young players.

The centerpiece of the Nets' roster is now 27-year-old big man Brook Lopez, who will be joined by a cast of aging veterans and discarded young players hoping to establish themselves. Familiar faces like Joe Johnson, Thaddeus Young and Jarrett Jack will play big roles under coach Lionel Hollins, although the team may try to begin implementing a youth movement sooner rather than later.

First-round pick Rondae Hollis-Jefferson leads a group of young Nets that also includes point guard Shane Larkin, wing Sergey Karasev and former lottery pick Thomas Robinson. There's also 26-year-old Croatian forward Bojan Bogdanovic, who likely will start at small forward for Brooklyn and could be the breakout candidate the team needs.

RECORD: 38-44 (eighth in Eastern Conference)
PLAYOFFS: Lost to Atlanta Hawks, 4-2, in first round
OFFENSIVE EFFICIENCY: 101.9 (18th)
DEFENSIVE EFFICIENCY: 105.0 (24th)

Coach: Lionel Hollins
Assistant coaches: Paul Westphal, Tony Brown, Joe Wolf, Jay Humphries

IN: Andrea Bargnani, Thomas Robinson, Shane Larkin, Wayne Ellington, Willie Reed, Ryan Boatright
OUT: Deron Williams, Mason Plumlee, Mirza Teletovic, Cory Jefferson, Jerome Jordan, Darius Morris

The buyout of Williams' maximum contract shows where this franchise was over the summer. The team is hoping to find some value out of fliers on former first-round picks like Bargnani, Robinson, Ellington and Larkin.

Through all the Nets' turmoil, Lopez has managed to be one of the better big men in the league. He's averaged 17 points and seven rebounds on 51 percent shooting from the field through his run with the Nets. He's a great scorer in the low post, has a nice set jumper and is a very capable pick-and-roll partner. Lopez has received lots of criticism over his rebounding totals over the years, and there's something to it. Lopez's rebounding rates have never been near the top of the league and he's never averaged double digit rebounds a night in his career. But in last year's playoff run, playing next to Thaddeus Young, he upped his rebounds and rebound rates, with four 30-and-10 games in two weeks.

He does a great job of snatching rebounds in traffic. Four of his seven rebounds were of the contested variety, good for seventeenth highest in the league. He also does a good job of protecting the rim, so having Lopez close to the basket will pay major dividends for Brooklyn.

Now that Deron Williams is gone, Lopez is the face of the franchise. He's clearly their best player and the person they will need to play like an All Star if they want to get into the postseason. With concerns about the effectiveness of big men in today's NBA, having a player like Lopez is a luxury for Brooklyn. He'll need to give them at least 70 games of 20+ points a night along with some improved rebounding and passing if they want to have a successful season. Brook has tons of talent, and the Nets are going to need it to shine very brightly if they want to avoid a disaster this season.

-Brian Fleuratin, Nets Daily. Read the full preview here.

BEST CASE: Breakout seasons from Lopez and Bogdanovic power the Nets to another postseason trip, where the team pulls off a first-round upset. Hollis-Jefferson, Robinson and others begin tapping into their potential.

WORST CASE: The young guys falter, the season goes in the tank and the Nets watch as the Celtics win the 2016 draft lottery with their pick.