Brooklyn Nets: 3 Players that disappointed this season

Following a 28-win season, the Brooklyn Nets turned out to be the most surprising team this year around. They finished with a 42-40 (win-loss) record and bagged a postseason berth as a respectable 6th seed in the Eastern Conference. Also, this was the first time in five years that the Brooklyn Nets ended a regular season with a winning record.

Led by a future superstar in D'Angelo Russell who averaged 21.1 points per game across the 81 games he started, Brooklyn showed considerable promise to continue the upward swing in the coming seasons.

Moreover, nobody expected the Nets to even remotely come close to winning a game against the Sixers in the postseason. However, yet again, this young team showed resilience and poise strong enough to take Game 1 of the seven-game series and more importantly, beat Embiid and his Sixers in their home court.

With the current big three in Russell, LeVert and Dinwiddie going forward, all they have to be concerned about is Joe Harris'(who led the league in three-point percentage) contribution from the three-point line.

While the young and talented unit in Brooklyn had numerous positives to take from the season, there were some players who didn't really chip in enough. Let's take a look at the three most disappointing individual contributions from the Nets' 2018-19 season.

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#1 Jared Dudley

Jared Dudley provided a veteran touch to an otherwise young team.

The 33-year-old was traded to the Nets along with a protected second-round pick back in July of 2018. His defensive intensity and energy on the court often provided a spark that went well beyond the box scores.

However, for a prolonged period in time this year, Dudley didn't have the numbers to back up his trash talk. In the 59 games he played for his team this year, Dudley averaged just 4.9 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game in over 20 minutes of playtime.

For someone known to possess sizeable defensive abilites, Jared averaged an abysmal 0.6 steals and 0.3 blocks per game. His outside shooting conversion stood at 35% but he took less then 3 three-point attempts per game, making his scoring impact next to negligible.

#2 Rondae Hollis-Jefferson

This is Rondae Hollis-Jefferson's fourth straight season in Brooklyn.

Hollis-Jefferson is one of those undersized power forwards who make up for their length with elite athleticism. After being picked 23rd overall by the Blazers in 2015, he was traded to the Nets and has been wearing their jersey ever since.

Last year, he recorded career-high numbers like 13.9 points along with 6.8 rebounds per game on a respectable 47% shooting conversion from the floor all season long. However, he tampered all expectations that were set against him coming into the 2018-19 campaign when he ended the year not even averaging double digits in scoring.

Having once averaged 1.3 steals per game in his rookie year, Rondo's defensive presence was lackluster this year. He was hindered by a hip injury early on the season, and saw decrease in his playing minutes and could never shine enough to get back into his natural flow and rhythm.

#3 Allen Crabbe

Allen Crabbe was the Pac-12 Player of the Year in 2012.

Without a doubt, Allen Crabbe had his worst year of the last four seasons to say the least. He slid to just 9.6 points and 3.4 rebounds per game on an unimpressive 36% shooting from the field and had issues being consistent all year along.

Troubled by a sore knee followed by an arthroscopic surgery on April 4, Crabbe played just 43 games this season, which is the lowest since his rookie year. Despite being in and out, Allen played a comprehensive 26+ minutes per game but to no good avail.

With the Nets in full reinforcements mode, the franchise might look to get rid of Crabbe's contract as it might mean more flexibility going into the offseason. His decreasing value was exacerbated by his disappointing performance and injury which is eventually rumoured to result in him being traded to the Cavaliers in return for JR Smith's expiring deal.