The Brooklyn Nets are spiraling. Losers of 6 in a row, including a dreadful loss to the Kings, the Nets have not played good basketball as of late. This is partially due to the absence of Kevin Durant, who has missed the last 9 games due to a MCL sprain. It also shines a light that Brooklyn has a lot of issues, Joe Harris has been out since November 14th with a left ankle injury that may require a 2nd surgery, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, and Kyrie Irving is only eligible to play in road games due to New York City’s vaccination mandate. This team needs to make moves ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline, the question becomes how can they do it?
One Brooklyn needs to make is to trade Paul Milsap, Milsap has only played in one game since December 27th and has been inactive since January 15th. It would be preferred to move Milsap without taking back another player to open a roster spot so they can sign two-way player Kessler Edwards to a standard contract, therefore making him eligible for the playoffs. They also have a $11.4 million traded player exception (TPE) which allows them to take back a player without sending out any future salary. They could make a 3 team trade with the Bucks and Pacers that sends Paul Milsap to the Bucks, Jeremy Lamb to the Nets, and Javon Carter and 2 future second round picks to the Pacers (one from each team). This deal would open up a roster spot for Brooklyn while not having to waive a player while also adding shooting in case Harris does not return this season. Now, this trade would cost Brooklyn around $70 million in luxury tax bills so there is a real chance ownership does not want to pay that but if they are, this is a way to add to the roster. Are there other deals the Nets could make, yes, Bruce Brown is a player who makes $4.7 million that they could use in a trade among other things, however if Brooklyn is going to win a championship they need to have at least 2 of their stars on the court, while the third plays in about half the games.
The Nets are currently sitting 6th in the Eastern Conference at 29-22, 3 games out of first place and 1.5 games up on the 7th seed, aka the play-in tournament. They need Durant to be healthy and they need James Harden to play better. He was awful on Wednesday night scoring 4 points on 2/11 shooting and 0/5 from 3. He did have 12 rebounds and 7 assists but the shooting numbers are horrendous and he looked disengaged throughout. They lost to the Sacramento Kings, who had lost 7 in a row entering Wednesday, including 3 double digit losses, a 53 point loss, and 2 losses to teams with 15 or less wins in the current moment. They are horrible and the Nets lost by double digits. The Nets were my preseason pick to win the championship, I’m not sure they even win the East this season right now.
Brooklyn has a ton of issues, injuries, drama, and rumors of a lack of chemistry. Why should you or I believe that team is gonna beat the defending champs, or the Heat. Those teams have proven they win in big moments, those teams have proven they can come together and win 3 series in the playoffs, the Nets beat a depleted Celtics team that was missing key players throughout the series. Now, does anyone else have Kevin Durant, no they don’t but will that matter if Brooklyn can’t put the pieces together and get the ship right, no it likely won’t. Again if the Nets were fully healthy and New York City did not have a vaccine mandate, yea Brooklyn likely would be the favorites, but they are not healthy and there is a mandate, so here we are.
The Bulls, Heat, 76ers, Bucks, and Cavaliers all sit over Brooklyn in the Eastern Conference standings, while the Hornets, Raptors, Celtics, and Hawks are all sneaking up, watch-out for the Hawks they are 8-1 in their last 9 and just beat the Suns, who have the best record in the NBA. Should the Nets panic, no not yet, but should they be worried, yes I am worried about the Brooklyn Nets at the present moment.
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