With the February 8th trade deadline approaching, an extended cold stretch has plummeted the Brooklyn Nets to 10th-place in the Eastern Conference. Head coach Jacque Vaughn's squad has lost 13 of its last 16 games, ranking 26th in offense and 21st in defense during that span.
Brooklyn's growing struggles have led many to believe general manager Sean Marks could cash in on the team's veterans ahead of the deadline. Dorian Finney-Smith, Royce O'Neale and Spencer Dinwiddie should be enticing to contenders as rotation pieces with extensive playoff experience. Fifth-year center Nic Claxton has also been floated as a trade candidate ahead of his unrestricted free agency this summer.
However, with the Houston Rockets owning control of the Nets' first-round picks until 2027, the team is unlikely to enter a full rebuild. If Brooklyn hopes to regain a competitive edge in the second half of the season, Marks must address the team's glaring hole at point guard by the trade deadline.
Nets must address point guard problem at trade deadline
The Nets named Ben Simmons their starting point guard ahead of the season. However, as has been the last for the last two seasons, the former No. 1 pick has been unable to stay on the floor for an extended period. Simmons appeared in six games to start the year, averaging 6.5 points, 10.8 rebounds and 6.7 assists, before exiting with a nerve impingement in his back that has sidelined him for over two months.
While the three-time All-Star is trending toward a return, he's proven notoriously undependable from an availability standpoint over the last two and-a-half seasons, appearing in 48 of 203 games.
Dinwiddie was initially productive as the Nets' lead ball-handler upon Simmons' injury, ranking towards the top of the NBA in assists and assist/turnover ratio. However, the 30-year-old's production has fallen off a cliff in recent weeks amid questions about his future in Brooklyn. Over his last 11 games, Dinwiddie has averaged 9.4 points and 4.5 assists on 33/28/74 shooting splits.
His lack of involvement has been particularly glaring amid the Nets' offensive struggles during their last three games. Dinwiddie has averaged 3.3 points and 3.0 assists on 20.0 percent shooting while attempting 5.0 shots per game during that span. Vaughn benched him down the stretch of each game in favor of Dennis Smith Jr.
“That’s just where we are as a team is we’re gonna put guys out there who are gonna perform,” Vaughn said Monday of Dinwiddie's benching. “And it’s gonna make tough decisions on me to finish the game and that’s just a part of it. Hopefully that encourages our guys to be ready to go at the beginning of the game and play four quarters.
“We have a pretty open offense where the ball-handler can attack and be aggressive on a nightly basis, which is unselfish and is for the benefit of the group. There’s no blockade from allowing that to happen by individuals on the team.”
With Simmons sidelined and Dinwiddie underperforming, Brooklyn has a glaring deficit of on-ball creation. The Nets have posted the NBA's third-worst offensive rating over their last nine games (1-8). Mikal Bridges has struggled for an extended period while attempting to fill a feature role, averaging 19.1 points, 3.3 assists and 2.3 turnovers on 39/29/82 shooting splits over his last 16 appearances.
Cam Thomas has continued to flash his elite scoring ability but remains a subpar passer. The 22-year-old has the highest usage rating on the Nets but has posted a 0.41 assist/usage ratio, the worst in the NBA among combo guards, per Cleaning The Glass.
Beyond that, Smith has provided a spark off the bench, but his lack of shooting (27.1 percent from three on 2.0 attempts per game) often neutralizes him while handling in the pick-and-roll or playing off the ball.
The Nets have several players with trade value and seven tradable first-round picks should they attempt to address their need at point guard. Several insiders have linked Brooklyn to Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray, whose failed partnership with Trae Young seems on the verge of ending.
Murray is averaging 21.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.4 steals on 47/39/82 shooting splits this season. The 27-year-old is entering the first year of a four-year, $114 million contract next season and views Brooklyn as an “ideal” landing spot, according to Yahoo Sports' Jake Fischer.
The Nets are in a precarious position after trading Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving at last year's deadline. While they'll likely look to cash in on veterans ahead of the deadline, their desire to remain competitive underscores the need to re-create at least a fraction of the offensive firepower they lost with Durant and Irving's departures.
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