X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

Fantasy Basketball Breakouts, Busts, and Locks - Brooklyn Nets

fantasy basketball offseason trades free agents NBA sleepers

Justin Carter looks at one fantasy basketball breakout, bust and lock from the Brooklyn Nets for the 2022-23 NBA season.

Welcome to a new series here at RotoBaller where we look at a breakout, a bust and a lock candidate for each NBA team. We did this for the NFL this past offseason and these pieces were a lot of fun to write, so I thought we'd bring it to the NBA.

Today, we'll be looking at the Brooklyn Nets. After an eventful offseason, the Nets have ended up looking largely the same as last season. So, what can we expect from this team when it comes to fantasy basketball?

Below are the breakout, bust and lock picks for the 2022-23 Brooklyn Nets.

Upgrade To VIP: Win more with our NBA and DFS Premium Pass, get expert tools and advice from proven winners! Jamie Calandro and Dan Palyo lead the RotoBaller team in 2024-25 with exclusive DFS picks, Prop picks and more. Gain VIP access to our Lineup Optimizer, Research Station, DFS Cheat Sheets and VIP Chat Rooms. Go Premium, Win More!

 

Fantasy Breakout: Nicolas Claxton

I'm really excited to see what Nic Claxton can do as the full-time starting center for the Nets this year, especially when you factor in that he doesn't have a veteran backing him up who could end up surpassing him on the depth chart. Claxton should be set to stick in this role as long as he's healthy, because while Day'Ron Sharpe is an intriguing player, he doesn't have the talent of Claxton.

Last season, Claxton played a career-high 47 games, making 19 starts. Overall, he shot 67.4% from the floor and averaged 8.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. If we filter it down to just those 19 starts, we start to get a sense of what Claxton can ultimately do, as he averaged the same number of rebounds as a starter but jumped to 10.8 points per game. He averaged 23.0 minutes per game as a starter.

Claxton should surpass that mark this season, barring the Nets getting weird and running more lineups with a Simmons/Durant frontcourt than anyone expects. Claxton brings a lot of energy to the floor and should get a lot of open looks at the basket, as defenses will be trying to account for the rest of the players on the floor, which will often leave Claxon in one-on-one situations.

Of course, a Claxton breakout isn't a guarantee. Per NBA.com, Claxton averaged 1.1 points per possession as a pick-and-roll roller last season, which was sixth on the team but was below guys like Andre Drummond and LaMarcus Aldridge. You'll want to see him get a little more efficient there. Drummond, for example, shot 74.4% on those plays. Claxton shot 57.5%, which is still good but is also an area he can improve on.

And there are also concerns about his free throw shooting, as he shot 58.1% from the line last year. Can he stay on the court late in games? Being teammates with Ben Simmons, who also struggles from the line, makes that risky for the Nets. Should you have two poor FT shooters on the floor together?

However, if you're punting free throws, there's definitely a lot of upside with Claxton.

 

Fantasy Bust: Ben Simmons

It's not so much that I think Simmons will be bad this year, but in 12-team fantasy basketball leagues, he's a sixth-round pick right now despite not having played in an NBA game since June 2021.

There's a wide range of outcomes when it comes to Ben Simmons this year. He could, theoretically, thrive on this Nets team. Surrounding him with shooters might open things up for Simmons to get downhill and make plays at the basket. There are just a few too many limitations when it comes to Simmons. There is, of course, the obvious one, which is that he doesn't shoot the ball. He has five career threes. He shoots 59.7% from the free-throw line. Yikes.

Now he joins a Nets team that has Kyrie Irving at point guard. Will this mean fewer assists for Simmons? Will he be used off the ball more often? Can Ben Simmons contribute offensively when he's not on the ball? I can see a scenario where Simmons's whole offense is him being the backup ball handler and a roll man, and I just don't know how much fantasy value there is in that role when you factor in his cost.

 

Fantasy Lock: Kevin Durant

Well, duh. This one is a no-brainer. Durant requested a trade at some point in the offseason, but somehow the Nets worked it out with their star, and he's set to return to the team this season.

We can talk all we want about whether or not Durant wants to be in Brooklyn. but Durant isn't your average guy who wants out of a place. He's not going to sulk. He's not going to sit out. He's going to lace up his shoes, go out on the court and play some basketball. Durant's a baller.

At some point, Durant probably starts to lose a step, considering he's 34 and has a torn Achilles in his history, but last season showed that he's not ready to take a step back yet. Durant averaged 29.9 points per game, his best mark since 2013-14. He almost had a 50/40/90 season, but missed it on the threes, as he shot 38.3% from there on 5.5 attempts per game.

Durant also added 7.4 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game. The addition of Ben Simmons and the full-time return of Kyrie Irving could impact that assist number, but it's hard to see Durant's numbers dropping too much. Even with Irving and Simmons, I can't imagine Durant averages under 25 points per game, considering he's averaged at least that many every season he's been in the league except for his rookie campaign when he averaged 20.3.

This is about as close as you can get to a lock. Durant is one of the NBA's best players and shows no signs of slowing down.

 



Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App

Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy basketball mobile app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, lineup notifications & DFS articles. All free!




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Griffin Conine

To Have Shoulder Surgery On Tuesday
Luke Keaschall

Twins Prospect Luke Keaschall Suffers Broken Forearm
Logan Gilbert

Leaves Friday's Start With Forearm Tightness

Vikings Select Tai Felton To Finish Day 2

Seahawks Select Quarterback Jalen Milroe With The 92nd Pick Overall

Browns Select Dillon Gabriel 94th Overall

Packers Pick Savion Williams At No. 87 overall

Steelers Snag Kaleb Johnson In Round 3

Broncos Select Wide Receiver Pat Bryant With The 74th Overall Pick

Texans Select Jaylin Noel With 79th Pick

Lions Select Wide Receiver Isaac TeSlaa With The 70th Overall Pick
Jack Leiter

To Start On Sunday

Patriots Add Wide Receiver Kyle Williams In Round 3

Browns Draft Harold Fannin Jr. With 67th Pick
Garrett Mitchell

Makes Early Exit
Luke Keaschall

Removed Early On Friday
Blake Snell

Likely Avoids Major Injury
Cole Ragans

Dealing With Mild Groin Strain

Broncos Add RJ Harvey To Backfield With 60th Pick

Raiders Select Jack Bech With 58th Pick

Chargers Add Wide Receiver Tre Harris In Round 2
Detroit Lions

Lions Acquire 57th Pick From Broncos

Seahawks Draft Elijah Arroyo 50th Overall
Carolina Panthers

Panthers Acquire 51st Pick From Broncos
Arizona Cardinals

Cardinals Snag Will Johnson At No. 47

Jets Add A Pass-Catcher With Mason Taylor At No. 42

Rams Select Terrance Ferguson With 46th Pick
Houston Texans

Texans Acquire 48th Pick From Raiders, Draft Aireontae Ersery

Saints Snag Tyler Shough At No. 40
Brenton Doyle

Out For Personal Reasons On Friday
Brandin Podziemski

Not On Injury Report For Game 3
Jimmy Butler III

Warriors Optimistic About Jimmy Butler III Playing Saturday
Jae'Sean Tate

To Remain Out Saturday
Jock Landale

Unavailable For Game 3
Terry Rozier

Out On Saturday
Jrue Holiday

Ruled Out For Friday Night's Game 3 Against Orlando
Kevin Love

To Miss Saturday's Game
Jaylen Brown

Available For Friday Night's Game 3 Against Magic
Gary Payton II

Iffy For Saturday's Action
Jayson Tatum

Officially Available On Friday For Game 3 Against Magic
Will Smith

Back From Injury On Friday
Luke Kennard

Questionable For Game 4 On Saturday
Darius Garland

Listed As Questionable For Game 3
Ja Morant

To Miss Game 4 On Saturday
Rui Hachimura

Available For Game 3 In Minnesota
Aaron Ekblad

Available To Return Saturday
Erik Swanson

Ryan Burr Progressing
Daulton Varsho

To Return On Tuesday At The Latest
Max Scherzer

Takes Positive Step On Friday
Aleksander Barkov

Questionable For Saturday
Gabriel Landeskog

Set For Larger Role In Game 4
Calvin Pickard

To Start Game 3 For Oilers
Randy Arozarena

Resting For First Time This Year
Jonas Siegenthaler

To Play Limited Minutes In Game 3
MLB

Red Sox-Guardians Game Postponed On Friday
Luke Hughes

Remains Out On Friday
MLB

Tigers-Orioles Postponed On Friday
Patrik Laine

A Game-Time Decision Friday
Yainer Diaz

Out On Friday Against Royals
Iván Herrera

Ivan Herrera Hopes To Start Rehab Assignment Next Week
Salvador Perez

Sitting Out For First Time This Season
Jaylen Brown

Questionable For Game 3 On Friday
Brendan Donovan

Back In Action On Friday
Jimmy Butler III

Could Miss Game 3 On Saturday
Coby Mayo

Getting On A Roll At Triple-A
Carlos Prates

Looks To Remain Undefeated In The UFC
Ian Machado Garry

Set For UFC Kansas City Main Event
Cade Cunningham

Collects Double-Double In Loss
Jalen Brunson

Drops 30 Points In Game 3
Karl-Anthony Towns

Leads All Scorers In Game 3 Victory
Zhang Mingyang

Scheduled For Co-Main Event
Anthony Smith

Set For His Final UFC Bout
David Onama

Set For Featherweight Bout
Giga Chikadze

Looks To Bounce Back
Abus Magomedov

Looks For His Third Consecutive Win
Michel Pereira

Returns To Action At UFC Kansas City
Nicolas Dalby

An Underdog At UFC Kansas City
Randy Brown

A Favorite At UFC Kansas City
Andre Muniz

Set To Open Up UFC Kansas City Main Card
Ikram Aliskerov

Looks To Get Back In The Win Column
Sergei Bobrovsky

Shuts Out Lightning In Game 2
Cam Fowler

Finishes Thursday's Win With Five Points
Robert Thomas

Posts Four Assists In Game 3 Win
Pavel Buchnevich

Celebrates Hat Trick During Four-Point Performance
Dylan DeMelo

Battling An Illness
Marcus Johansson

Exits Early Thursday
Aleksander Barkov

Hurt In Game 2
Jrue Holiday

Tagged As Questionable For Friday
Jayson Tatum

Likely Out Again On Friday
Anthony Cirelli

Good To Go Thursday
Andrei Vasilevskiy

Looks To Bounce Back In Game 2
Rasmus Ristolainen

To Miss Training Camp
Jonas Siegenthaler

Returns To Practice
Aliaksei Protas

Traveling With Capitals
Gabriel Vilardi

Still Out On Thursday
Max Pacioretty

Set To Join Maple Leafs Lineup For Game 3
Cam Davis

Looking For Better Fortunes At TPC Louisiana
Adam Svensson

Making Third Apperence At Zurich Classic
Max Greyserman

Aiming For Similar Success At TPC Louisiana
Lee Hodges

A High-Upside Player In New Orleans
PGA

Nico Echavarria Looks To Ride Off Of Elite Putting In New Orleans
Gary Woodland

A Player Worth Watching In New Orleans
Max McGreevy

Returns To The Zurich Classic Of New Orleans
Rasmus Hojgaard

In Search Of Consistency Ahead Of Zurich Classic
Sam Stevens

A Boom-Or-Bust Candidate In New Orleans
Nicolai Hojgaard

Looking To Turn Season Around At Zurich Classic
Christiaan Bezuidenhout

Looks To Sway A Hot Putter In Teams Favor At Zurich Classic
Akshay Bhatia

Looking To Bounce Back At TPC Louisiana
Carson Young

Looks To Turn Things Around At TPC Louisiana
Erik Van Rooyen

Looking For Momentum In Louisiana
Andrew Novak

Making Start At TPC Louisiana After Near Miss At Harbour Town
Ben Griffin

Making Third Career Start At Zurich Classic
Taylor Moore

Competing With A New Teammate In New Orleans
Wyndham Clark

Making Return To New Orleans
Kurt Kitayama

Teeing It Up Again In New Orleans
Collin Morikawa

Back At Zurich Classic For Fifth Time
Thomas Detry

Making Third Appearance At New Orleans Team Event
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF