The lottery is over. Now for most teams — the Nets included — it’s on to next month’s draft. And to the offseason.
In a league that values 3-and-D wings, the Nets haven’t quite cornered the market, but they certainly head into the summer with a surplus.
It’s a good glut to have, but the Nets are almost certain to move at least one of their wings.
Dorian Finney-Smith is well aware he could be that one.
The veteran forward arrived in Brooklyn along with Spencer Dinwiddie in February in the Kyrie Irving deal.
The Post reported the Nets rejected an offer of two first-round draft picks to flip Finney-Smith before the trade deadline.
Now, any thoughts of building chemistry this offseason come with the caveat that he might be gone before training camp.
Sean Marks’ offseason agenda for the Nets will come into focus around next month’s NBA Draft.Noah K. Murray for the NY Post“Everybody here knows what’s going on, we know the pieces we have and you just never know in this league,” Finney-Smith said. “So I guess we’re going to see after the draft. See what’s going on and go from there.”
The draft — on June 22 at Barclays Center — is likely to be a weather vane for how Nets general manager Sean Marks intends to proceed this offseason.
The Nets have the Suns’ No. 21 overall pick and their own No. 22 and No. 51 selections.
Many throughout the league who spoke with The Post believe the Nets are likely to move one of those picks in a trade to find either a proven scorer or rebounder.
But others have suggested the team could pare down their stock of 3-and-D wings to help balance out their roster.
Who’s on the block?
In addition to Finney-Smith, the Nets have veteran Royce O’Neale, acquired from the Jazz last summer for a first-round pick.
O’Neale’s trade value is believed to be roughly the same this offseason.
Royce O’Neale is another Nets trade candidate. Would he return a first-round pick?USA TODAY Sports via Reuters ConThe Nets also acquired Cam Johnson at the trade deadline. Johnson came from Phoenix with Mikal Bridges, Jae Crowder, four first-round picks and a first-round swap in the seismic deal for Kevin Durant.
The Nets immediately flipped Crowder for two second-rounders.
And they rejected an offer of four first-rounders for Bridges, largely seen as untouchable.
Johnson is an interesting case, though.
The 27-year-old four-year pro is a restricted free agent. He turned down a four-year, $72 million contract offer from the Suns before being included in the Durant trade.
Johnson easily could get an offer sheet of $80 million, according to agents who spoke with The Post, but the way he played this season (15.5 points in 28.5 minutes, 40.4 percent shooting on 6.1 3-point attempts per game), an offer sheet approaching Bridges’ $90 million pact is possible.
The Nets are in good position to retain Cameron Johnson, who is a restricted free agent.APNets coach Jacque Vaughn started Finney-Smith, Bridges and Johnson essentially every game after the reshaping of the roster with O’Neale sliding into a sixth man role.
Bridges is the face of the franchise. Johnson is not only his best friend — they were called “The Twins” in Phoenix — but would hard-cap any team receiving him in a sign-and-trade, so he seems unlikely to be moved.
That leaves Finney-Smith and O’Neale as the most likely of the Nets’ player assets to be moved to acquire needed pieces.
Finney-Smith had to handle that uncertainty down the stretch of the regular season — and as the offseason gets underway.
“You’ve still got to come in every day and do what you’re asked: That’s be a pro on and off the court,” Finney-Smith said. “Regardless if I’m here, if I’m not, got to keep it professional.”
Behind Finney-Smith’s shooting slump
Finney-Smith’s reputation as a professional preceded him from Dallas, and he lived up to it.
Jacque Vaughn used Dorian Finney-Smith as a starter down the stretch, and even deployed him as a smallball 5.NBAE via Getty ImagesBen Simmons — who preceded Bridges as the Defensive Player of the Year runner-up in 2021 — struggled health-wise and was not at his best on either end of the court.
Finney-Smith, listed at 6-foot-7, stepped up to give the Nets solid defense in the paint. He even frequently guarded much bigger star centers such as Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid, letting Nic Claxton float around and hunt weakside blocks.
But after Finney-Smith had worked on his jumper to develop from a banger to a 3-and-D wing, his 3-point shooting took a step back this season — and a headlong stumble after the trade to Brooklyn.
After shooting 39.4 and 39.5 percent from deep the past two seasons, he regressed to 35.5 percent in his first 40 games this season in Dallas. That figure plummeted to just 30.6 percent in 26 games with the Nets.
Finney-Smith finally hit 17 of his 34 3-point attempts over his last eight games, including the playoffs.
Dorian Finney-Smith struggled with his 3-point shooting with the Nets, though it ticked up in the team’s first-round playoff sweep by James Harden and the 76ers.NBAE via Getty ImagesA noted gym rat, he said his offseason regimen had been disrupted last summer, but expected to rectify that over the next couple of months.
“I mean, I had a funny couple years with all the COVID years, so some of my offseasons were only a month, two, three weeks, and I had some funny offseasons,” Finney-Smith said. “It’s just: That’s when you get better. You don’t get better in the year. You get better in the offseason. I’ll probably take three weeks off and get back to it.”
As a 30-year-old veteran with three years and $44.2 million left on his contract, it’s uncertain whether he fits into the Nets’ rebuilding timeline.
The Nets — 32-22 before the trade deadline — were a wildly inconsistent 13-15 afterward.
Finney-Smith played all but two of those contests, and hopes to be back next season for more, seeing room for improvement in both his shaky shooting and the team’s cohesion.
“We learned a lot about each other,” Finney-Smith said. “It was great being with them guys. Watching Mikal and Cam blossom, in my eyes, was amazing to see.
“I feel like I’ve got to get better. I didn’t have a great 26 games, but I felt like I started playing better towards the end, started making some shots. But it’s going to be a great summer. Got to get better.”
