The Nets may not have a full team yet, but MarShon Brooks is working hard on improving his game in the offseason.
While both Deron Williams and Gerald Wallace are expected to test the free agent market this summer, Brooks is prepping for his second season with the Nets whether or not Williams and Wallace make the move to Brooklyn.
“We don’t really have a team right now,” Brooks told The Post at a Sprint NBA Nation event at the South Street Seaport. “I’m just working as hard as I possibly can to be ready for whatever role they give me. I’ve been doing a lot of lifting, trying to get stronger. I think that will help me with my defense, my long-range shot.”
Brooks admitted that even he doesn’t have any inkling as to what the two all-star free agents will do when the signing period begins July 1.
“I haven’t talked to Gerald [Wallace] in a while, but [Deron Williams] he’s still around lifting and things like that at the practice facility,” Brooks said. “[Deron] is a tough guy to read. I really can’t control [whether or not they come back], that’s between them, their family and their agent.”
In his rookie season, Brooks averaged 12.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.3 steals in 56 games and was named to the league’s All-Rookie second team. Brooks credits the veteran leadership of Williams and Wallace as part of the reason why he experienced success early on in his NBA career.
“Of course I would like to see them come back,” Brooks said. “[They mean] everything. They taught me how to handle myself. Deron at the beginning of training camp always looked at me as a talented scorer but I didn’t always make the right play. I had the opportunity to watch him, see him make the right play every time, learn defenses, see where the help is coming from.”
Playing in his first season in the NBA was not a simple task for Brooks, who was unable to maintain his workout schedule as nagging injuries built up throughout the lockout-shortened season. Brooks plans to change that and hopes to benefit from being able to have a more traditional training camp for the first time in his career.
“I think last year one of the things that happened to me, during such a tight schedule, I wasn’t really able to lift and maintain my body mass like I wanted to and you know the little nagging injuries that you have they had a real big influence on the game,” Brooks said. “I’m looking to come into training camp in the best shape possible and lead the team.”
The on-court improvement is not the only thing Brooks is looking forward to next season. The former first-round pick is excited to move into New York and the fans are showing their support for the Nets.
“It’s really surprising to see so many Brooklyn Nets hats already,” Brooks said. “There’s a great fan base and it’s New York, you can’t do much better than New York, it’s exciting.”
Brooks also expects the Knicks-Nets rivalry to be at an all-time high next season.
“It’s going to be crazy,” Brooks said. “It was already crazy right across the river, but I feel like it’s territorial at this point. They’ve been in New York, we’re coming to New York. We’re the newcomers.”