What an offseason it has been for the Brooklyn Nets so far. Everything is on the table now that extension talks between the team and Kyrie Irving are becoming “acrimonious” now. The NBA offseason will be focused on how the Nets maneuver their increasingly tense situation and bring in new players.
Brooklyn is on the verge of spoiling the dream-come-true offseason from 2019. Kevin Durant and Irving have achieved nothing together and their attempts to make a big three have not panned out. Their time is not yet done but it is running out.
Not all hope is gone in Brooklyn but the Nets have to act now. Although Durant may look for ways out of town, the Nets have him under contract into the near future. They have the chance to make the team that Durant will be happy to play with. They must start now by commencing two key trades this offseason.
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2 players Nets must trade in 2022 NBA offseason
2. Joe Harris or Seth Curry
The Nets should trade one of their sharpshooting guards. Brooklyn doesn't have many ways to retool their roster and has tons of free agents to re-sign, such as Nic Claxton and Bruce Brown. To reshuffle the deck, they should trade Joe Harris or Seth Curry.
Trading Harris, who is owed nearly $40 million over the next two seasons and missed all but 14 games of last season due to ankle surgery, is the most sensible option for the Nets. But for other teams, it doesn't make sense. All that money for a soon-to-be-31-year-old coming off a major injury does not make for a great addition.
Curry, who is healthy and on a cheaper, expiring deal, makes more sense as a trade chip but could also be super helpful for Brooklyn next season. Moving on from him makes sense if Harris is ready to go again. Brooklyn could find themselves a strong center option or a defender on the wing by trading one of them.
Although the Nets would benefit from having both Harris and Curry in the offense, they have too many holes elsewhere on the roster to have this redundancy. Brooklyn has to trade away one of them to balance out the roster.
1. Kyrie Irving
Yep, it's time. Just do it. Whether it's a trade following his potential opt-in to his player option or a sign-and-trade should he decline it, the Nets have to trade Kyrie Irving.
The writing is all over the wall. Irving's displeasure with the organization is growing and any other ending to his Nets tenure that isn't a trade seems unlikely. Letting Irving be a part-time player showed how unserious and shameless the organization is. They can't change that but they can change how they handle the situation moving forward.
Since Irving will have a ton of suitors, trading him should not be hard. Brooklyn will miss the offensive spark he brings to the court. However, moving off of him to get more dependable players is a must. Trading Irving can be the move that makes the Nets a real contender in the Eastern Conference again. It's a long shot but at least it exists if the team doesn't have to keep waiting around to see what he does.
The Nets could genuinely improve this upcoming season. Ben Simmons should be ready to go after missing all of last season and Durant is still very, very good. With the right trades, they can make up for the mess they have had the last year.
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