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SI: "Brooklyn’s roster is the worst kind of depressing"

Sports Illustrated does not think much of the Brooklyn Nets' off-season, in which they tried to rebuild but couldn't snag some middling restricted free agents:
Forget about Jay-Z. Memphis Bleek and Amil wouldn’t be caught dead sitting courtside at a Nets game this year. Brooklyn’s roster is the worst kind of depressing: it’s loaded with veterans but lacking in star power. Simply put, there’s not much to cheer for in the short term and there’s not much to dream about in the long term, either.
Unfortunately, that was going to be the case no matter what new GM Sean Marks did this summer, as Brooklyn’s previous regime will be shouldering the bulk of the blame for the state of the Nets roster for at least the next two or three seasons.
Brooklyn’s guiding principle this off-season seemed to be: “Avoid making the type of big mistakes that got us in this mess in the first place.” As such, the team failed to acquire any players that generate true excitement or optimism. Jeremy Lin is likely to be a fan favorite and he’s set up for success thanks to an established relationship with new Nets coach Kenny Atkinson, but he’s not cut out to be a franchise savior.
Then again, the Nets' "boring" summer got only a C- grade.

And the Knicks...

SI gives even lower marks (D) the Knicks, suggesting that their expensive upgrades, signing former Chicago stars Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose, are very high risk:
The only things standing between the Knicks and an “A” for their off-season grade is a time machine and an invincibility cloak. Unfortunately, Phil Jackson’s major additions are living in 2016, rather than 2011, and they are burdened by years of accumulated health concerns.
Sounds a little like the Nets' unsuccessful acquisition of aging Paul Pierce and creaking Kevin Garnett, though the Knicks didn't mortgage the future in the same way.

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