The Brooklyn Nets endured perhaps the rockiest start to the 2022-23 season of any team in the league. They fired their head coach Steve Nash after just seven games, suspended star guard Kyrie Irving for eight games after he promoted an antisemitic film on social media and refused to apologize, and have dealt with concerns about the production from supposed third star Ben Simmons.
And despite all that, the Nets recent hot stretch of basketball has seen them emerge as a legit Finals contender in the Eastern Conference. Brooklyn currently sits in fourth place in the East, and with Kevin Durant leading the way alongside Irving, they have a chance to win every time they take the court.
That’s not to say the Nets are perfect, because they aren’t. Their roster still has some holes that need to be fixed if they want to make a serious playoff run this season, and the best avenue to take to accomplish that would be through the trade market. Let’s take a look at a couple of early predictions for the Nets when it comes to their work at the upcoming NBA trade deadline.
2. The Nets will unload some excess guard depth
While Brooklyn has some holes on their roster, their backcourt is not one of those areas. The Nets have a ton of excess depth at the guard position right now, and in order to shore up some of the other areas on their roster, it makes a lot of sense to get rid of some of their veteran guards who aren’t playing. much for them right now.
While Irving obviously isn’t going to be moved, pretty much every other guard should be on the table for a potential deal. Some are more likely to be moved than others, but that group includes Royce O’Neale, Seth Curry, Edmond Sumner, Patty Mills, Joe Harris, and Cam Thomas. Unloading some of these guys to add frontcourt depth seems like a must for the Nets.
Of this group, it seems unlikely that O’Neale and Curry would be dealt. The team probably wants to keep Harris around, as he’s a strong three-and-d wing player, but his three-point shooting has taken a pretty big step back this season. Mills and Thomas have fallen out of the rotation, but both guys, especially Thomas, could have a lot of value on the market.
The most likely guy to get moved would seemingly be Mills, but it may not be surprising to see Thomas get dealt too, as he has a lot of potential that isn’t being used right now. Brooklyn probably doesn’t want to do that, but it may simply be the price of making a bigger move at the deadline, which leads us to our next prediction.
1. The Nets will pick up John Collins
Brooklyn has emerged as a surprise suitor for John Collins, who is once again finding himself subjected to trade rumors. Despite the fact that Collins signed a five-year, $125 million extension with the Atlanta Hawks during the 2021 offseason, he has continued to be the subject of nonstop trade rumors with the Hawks.
Atlanta’s offense has struggled to include Collins now that Trae Young and Dejounte Murray are both taking at least 18 shots per game. Collins has seen his involvement in the offense become primarily limited to a spot up shooter at the perimeter, which just isn’t his game. As a result, Collins’ numbers have taken a pretty sizable step back (12.3 PPS, 7.5 RPG, 1.3 APG, 48.4 FG%, 21.9 3P%).
While Collins isn’t really a fit in the Hawks offense anymore, he would be just what the Nets need on both sides of the ball. Collins loves to play above the rim on both sides of the court, which has led him to develop a pretty long highlight reel of dunks throughout his career, while also making him a strong rebounder.
Collins can be a floor spacer when the shots are there, but leaving him at the perimeter to collect dust isn’t going to work. That’s why the Hawks are looking at Harris as a potential trade target in return for Collins, which the Nets don’t seem to be too willing to accommodate. But as mentioned before, that may simply be the price of doing business if they want to land Collins.
Right now, Brooklyn is a bit short on interior help on both sides of the ball, which makes Collins a really logical trade target for them as they continue to rocket their way back up the Eastern Conference standings. It may cost them a bit more than they want to give up, but picking up Collins at the trade deadline would likely be a good bit of business by Brooklyn.
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