Quoting a “source”, Brian Windhorst says he expects Nets to seek trades and Tim Bontemps doesn’t rule out a Cam Thomas move.
They “own” the West, having the most wins among Eastern Conference teams against Western Conference teams. The Cavs have only four.
They just completed a grueling road trip, beating, in order, the Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns despite a injury report that goes on for pages, forcing them to use journeyman wing Ziaire Williams at center (19 points, 10 rebounds vs. the Warriors) and a two-way player as their sixth man (30 points on 8-of-10 shooting from deep vs. the Suns.)
The toughest part of their schedule is basically at an end. Hell, they’re only a game and a half behind the Knicks!
Has Jordi Fernandez not gotten the memo?!?
No worries, tanking fans. Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps of ESPN write in their NBA Intel column that the tank is still on, the 2025 draft is still the bright light in Joe Tsai and Sean Marks’ eyes, plans have not changed and so expect a lot of trades … as long as the trades doesn’t harm the Nets big asset other than their draft picks: a league-leading cache of cap space.
Windy quotes a “source” not further described.
During June’s draft, the Brooklyn Nets made a deal with the Houston Rockets to reacquire rights to their 2025 and 2026 first-round picks, a trade that made clear to all the world they were entering a potential tanking season. Then, they traded away star wing Mikal Bridges for future draft picks to hammer home their intentions.
“Just about everyone on their roster is available as long as they don’t take back long-term money,” one source told ESPN of Brooklyn, which also could have up to $70 million in cap space next summer.
“They’re not giving anyone away. At least not yet.”
The ESPN veteran reporter also suggests that Fernandez’s success in the weak East might cause the Nets to fall back in the lottery.
But under new coach Jordi Fernandez, who has found success playing bigger lineups, Brooklyn has been winning, even despite injuries. The Nets will probably not stay in the top 10 in the standings, but ending up in the back end of the lottery isn’t out of the question in the weak East.
But under new coach Jordi Fernandez, who has found success playing bigger lineups, Brooklyn has been winning, even despite injuries. The Nets will probably not stay in the top 10 in the standings, but ending up in the back end of the lottery isn’t out of the question in the weak East.
Bontemps hints that the Nets desire to do deals for the future might even motivate them to seek offers for Cam Thomas, saying how the Nets fare without Thomas over the next month could determine his trade value.
it will be fascinating to see how Brooklyn responds to losing leading scorer Cam Thomas, who will miss the next few weeks with a hamstring strain.
No one has ever denied that Thomas, who can be a restricted free agent next summer after he and Brooklyn didn’t come to an extension last month, is a walking bucket. But even after significant jumps in shooting efficiency (46.1% overall, 38.9% from 3) he still is a very ball-dominant player who is a limited passer and questionable defender.
Brooklyn is several points better defensively with him sitting — and actually has a positive net rating (2.9) in his 354 minutes on the bench, compared to a minus-4.5 net rating in his 568 minutes on the court. Brooklyn began its stretch without Thomas Wednesday with a stunning win in Phoenix. For years, rival scouts and executives have had trouble determining Thomas’ value. The next month could help shape that.
Of course, the win over the Suns was largely dependent on Martin’s ability to take up the scoring slack left by Thomas but no one can expect the two-way (or someone else at the end of the bench) to score like that consistently. Right? Right?
As we’ve noted ad nauseum, the unofficial start to trade season is December 15 when the 80 players signed over the summer first become eligible to be moved. With the new CBA complicating trade talks, the more players in the trade pool the better. Indeed, there have been no trades in the NBA since the Knicks and Timberwolves carried out their blockbuster on the first day of training camp.
At this point, the punditry is that the Nets are looking to move, probably in order, Dennis Schroder, Dorian Finney-Smith and Cam Johnson and possibly depending on the market, Bojan Bogdanovic and Ben Simmons.
Schroder and DFS are the easiest to trade, the thinking goes, because Schroder has a very reasonable $13 million expiring contract and Finney-Smith is on a $14.9 million deal with a player option of $15.3 million (he’s not expected to exercise) next year. He’s also extension eligible four days after the trade deadline in February.
Also, Friday, Evan Sidery, national NBA reporter for Forbes, tweeted that the Nets have recently lowered the asking price on DFS, but provides no additional details…
The Nets have lowered the asking price on Dorian Finney-Smith to one first-round pick in early exploratory trade talks.
Finney-Smith is essentially on an expiring contract holding a $15.4 million player option for 2025-26.
Expect significant interest from plenty of contenders. pic.twitter.com/QS3BkiO2rk
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) November 29, 2024
Johnson on the other hand has two years left after this one on a complicated contract and is 28. Bogdanovic is on an expiring ($19.0 million) as well, but there’s no clarity on when he’ll return to play after foot surgery and he turns 36 in April. Simmons situation is well known and his $40.3 million deal, again an expiring, would be tough to move under any circumstances.
There have been other indications that the Nets are not changing course despite the team’s relative success. Sean Marks has seen the Rutgers duo of Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper (maybe it’s time to reverse that order) three times along with draft guru and assistant GM B.J. Johnson. He’s also traveled to Australia to scout a particularly solid class of NBL players, presumably for consideration when the Nets picks in the late teens through mid-40s.
Ownership and management are thrilled with Fernandez’s coaching job in large part because he has proven he is not just the master of x’s and o’s but because he’s building an identity, which is critical to every rebuild.
As Windhorst & Bontemps’ ESPN colleague Bobby Marks tweeted Wednesday…
19 games in and it’s safe to say that Brooklyn has a good one in Jordi Fernandez (and his staff).
It doesn’t matter who the Nets roll out each night, they are organized and compete.
Next man up mentality.
Tonight’s it’s 30 points from Two-Way player Tyrese Martin.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) November 28, 2024
Bottom line? It’s going to get interesting soon enough.
- NBA intel: Draft pick protections, franchise decisions to watch ($) – Brian Windhorst & Tim Bontemps – ESPN