The Brooklyn Nets are off to a dreadful start this season, as they have lost their first four games. The biggest problem people saw with the Nets coming into the season was the point guard position where they are extremely weak, and so far this season the point guards on the roster haven't done anything to prove those doubters wrong. The Nets will have a lot of cap space heading into 2016 free agency, and they are expected to heavily pursue Mike Conley next summer, according to Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.
The Nets thought they had a franchise point guard in Deron Williams, but that didn't work out for a variety of different reasons and they agreed to a buyout with him this offseason. Now, the Nets have Jarrett Jack as their starter and Shane Larkin as their backup. Jack is not a starting-level point guard at the NBA level, as he was the worst player in the NBA last season in terms of plus/minus, and he has not gotten off to a good start this year. Larkin has played well to start the year, but his minutes have been low and he is likely not the long-term answer either.
With the Nets not controlling their first round draft pick for the next three years they will likely have to fill holes through free agency, and that's where Conley comes in. Conley is in the final year of his contract with the Memphis Grizzlies, and he is expected to be a highly coveted free agent. The Nets think they have a chance to sign him because they are a big market team, as opposed to Memphis, and he has a history with head coach Lionel Hollins, whom he has even called "a second father."
Despite the fact that the Nets think they have a good shot at signing Conley, it still seems highly unlikely he leaves Memphis. The Grizzlies have been very good since Conley has been there, as they have been in the playoffs and competed for championships consistently, and they also have one of the best players in the league in Marc Gasol.
Chris Herrington of the Memphis Commercial Appeal compares Conley's free agency to Gasol's this past summer. Herrington said the Nets will be to Conley what the Knicks were to Gasol, and that is the big market team he is connected to. In Gasol's case he never even considered the Knicks, as he never took a meeting with any other teams and ended up signing a max deal with Memphis. Almost everybody expects Conley to stay with the Grizzlies after this season, but there are connections between Conley and the Nets, so maybe it isn't all that unreasonable to think he could move to Brooklyn. It's still extremely early for that kind of talk, but just know that the Nets need a point guard in the worst way, and they will do everything they can to lure Conley away from Memphis.
