What a quiet trade deadline means for the Brooklyn Nets — and what’s next

The Brooklyn Nets made nary a peep at the NBA Trade Deadline, cementing another season of half-measures for the franchise.

For the first time in four years, the Brooklyn Nets were not active at the NBA Trade Deadline. Not a peep. Maybe that’s a good thing considering the last two deadlines saw them lose James Harden, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant.

Cam Johnson, who was once the potential prize of the deadline, is still in Brooklyn at 3:01 p.m. ET on Thursday, February 6. Not only that, he also returned from six straight absences with an ankle sprain in Wednesday night’s loss against the Washington Wizards. It appears he’s alright.

Nic Claxton and Day’Ron Sharpe — who was initially tagged as questionable with hamstring tightness — played too. So did every other Net who, in theory, had the slightest chance of being moved. All available reporting, including NetsDaily’s own, supports what Wednesday’s game suggested: Sean Marks and the Brooklyn Nets were never close to making a deadline deal.

Of course, Marks pulled the trigger on two deals before the calendar flipped to 2025, but this has not been the teardown season many expected for the Brooklyn Nets. (Hell, they probably improved the roster in the Dorian Finney-Smith/D’Angelo Russell swap.)

So what does an inactive deadline mean for the Nets?

Brooklyn won’t make the Play-In Tournament, but it appears they’ve waved the white flag on Operation: Tank. (No, not the White Flagg. Rim Shot.)

A recent three-game winning streak has vaulted Brooklyn to five wins clear of the true dregs of the NBA, and thus, five wins clear of those precious, flattened top-three odds. That’s just not happening for the Nets this season, as a closer look at the standings reveals…

They’ll likely clear Toronto, who actually improved at the deadline by acquiring Brandon Ingram. Alas, that means the Pelicans got worse, and so too did the already-terrible Charlotte Hornets. Plus, who could expect Danny Ainge’s Utah Jazz to put together a late-season win streak?

Even if Brooklyn tore it down to the studs and found suitors for one or both of their centers, Cam Johnson, and others, they’d still likely have the fifth-best lottery odds come May. (Really, Operation: Tank died before Christmas time.) Facing that equation, Sean Marks decided not to sell players for what he perceived to be pennies on the dollar.

Take a look at what the Cleveland Cavaliers surrendered for De’Andre Hunter, a decently similar player to Cam Johnson, though likely a tier below, whose contract also runs through 2027…

Not one first-round pick exchanged!

That exact deal was not feasible for Cam Johnson; it would have put Brooklyn over the luxury tax for this season. Some maneuvering could have been done, sure, but the gap between the Nets’ valuation of Johnson and the rest of the league was just too big for Sean Marks to engage on a potential deal.

All this supports what Brian Lewis wrote last summer: The Brooklyn Nets are serious about expediting this rebuild. If the market isn’t right for Nic Claxton or Cam Johnson, it’s not worth selling low, because they’ll be part of the next competitive team Brooklyn fields.

Only time will tell if that’s a prudent mindset, or if we are headed for more Dorian Finney-Smith situations. When the Nets acquired the 3-and-D wing, he reportedly could have fetched two first-round picks. Alas, Finney-Smith was traded two seasons later for a batch of second-rounders; he never played any high-stakes ball in Brooklyn.

Of course, the trade market will re-open in the summer. Cam Johnson will still have two more seasons left on his deal, Claxton will have three. Both are declining deals against the rising cap. We will see what restricted free agency brings for Cam Thomas, Day’Ron Sharpe, and Ziaire Williams, and what cap space brings for Sean Marks.

But for now, the Brooklyn Nets are still hedging most of their bets.

What’s next?

Immediately on the docket is a potential buyout for Ben Simmons. What started as an eyebrow-raising rumor appears to be more serious than that, as Shams Charania reported on Thursday afternoon…

If Ben Simmons indeed craves a buyout to play postseason basketball this spring, the Brooklyn Nets should oblige. Always good business to help out high-profile players when you can, though Simmons’ options are restricted by the new CBA, as he cannot sign with any apron teams.

On the Brooklyn side, This is another half-measure in regards to Operation: Tank. Simmons has helped the Nets on the court this season more than many expected. Per Cleaning the Glass, which filters out garbage time, Brooklyn has been 6.1 points/100 better with the Australian on the court.

When/if he departs, the backup point guard will be offensively challenged rookie Reece Beekman unless they decide to bring up Killian Hayes from Long Island … Enough said.

After Simmons’ buyout, Brooklyn will be pretty quiet until the NBA Draft Lottery on May 17, then the NBA Draft on June 25-26. They will, of course, have an open roster spot to fill. Either Tyrese Martin or Tosan Evbuomwan could see their two-way contract converted into a standard one.

Then, it’ll be the season of free agency, more trades, and the NBA Draft again. Will Brooklyn go all-in on a star trade, commit to a proper tank in 2026, or bring us back to 2016 and throw out some crazy offer sheets?

Those questions will be answered in due time. For now, the Brooklyn Nets’ next game is on Friday evening against the Miami Heat. Tip-off from the Barclays Center is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.