The 2023 NBA trade deadline is quickly approaching, and the Brooklyn Nets could be major players. After a disastrous 6-9 start to the season, the Nets have become the hottest team in the NBA right now, winning the last 12 games in a row. The ideas of trading Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are now gone, and the Nets' trade deadline strategy now involves getting more pieces that can help put during the playoffs and maybe even the NBA Finals. With that as the objective, here are the 2 best trades Nets trades the team can make before the 2023 NBA trade deadline to bolster their lineup with size, shooting, defense, and toughness by trading for San Antonio Spurs center Jakob Poeltl and Phoenix Suns forward Jae Crowder.
Jakob Poeltl for Cam Thomas, Patty Mills
One of the 2022-23 Nets' biggest issues heading into the 2023 NBA trade deadline is size, rebounding, and rim protection behind Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. Center Nic Claxton and big defender Ben Simmons only match up well vs. a certain type of center due to their slighter frames, and Day’Ron Sharpe isn’t ready for big minutes in his second season.
That creates a problem when the Nets have to face big, bruising centers like Joel Embiid, Brook Lopez, or someone like Nikola Jokic in the Finals.
In Spurs center Jakob Poeltl, the Nets get a player who is 7-foot-1, 245 pounds and is averaging 12.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.1 blocks per game. He also operates well without the ball on offense. His relatively low 18.2% usage rate is right in line with what Nets rotation players like Seth Curry and Patty Mills currently get.
Speaking of Mills, he would be in the deal along with 21-year-old guard Cam Thomas. The Spurs are rebuilding, so in addition to getting a young prospect like Thomas, the Nets trade deadline deal would also include a first-round pick.
The Nets have a 2027 Philadelphia 76ers pick and their own 2027, 2028, and 2029 first-rounders to use as trade fodder or pick swaps. And with one of those, Thomas, and Mills (reuniting the latter with Gregg Popovich), the Nets get better for their postseason run.
Jae Crowder for Joe Harris
In addition to size and rebounding — which the Nets are 28th in the league in at 40.6 per game — the team can also use a true 3-and-D wing with some strength, toughness, and ideally playoff experience for the postseason at the NBA trade deadline.
There is a player out there on the block who checks pretty much all of those boxes, and that’s disgruntled Phoenix Suns wing Jae Crowder.
The 6-foot-6, 235-pound, 11-year NBA veteran doesn’t have ideal length or size, but he’s made his decade-plus-long career in the league by playing bigger than his program height indicates. He also hasn’t officially stepped on the court for his 11th season yet, as he and the Suns decided to part ways in the preseason, but a deal hasn’t materialized yet.
At 20-18 and in 8th place in the Western Conference, it is time for the Suns to pull the trigger and get something from the $10 million in salary cap space Crowder is taking up. That’s where the Nets trade deadline deal comes in.
The Nets can send Joe Harris and his $18 million contract to the desert for Crowder and little-used veteran forward Dario Saric and his $9 million pact. This gives the Suns a playable body and a pretty good one at that in Harris.
As for the Nets, now that Seth Curry is nearly back to full health, he can take a lot of those Harris minutes, as can Crowder.
Jae Crowder is the perfect 3-and-D wing to take his turn guarding the likes of Jayson Tatum and Giannis Antetokounmpo in the playoffs. He also loves to spot up in the corner and is a career 34.6% 3-point shooter (with multiple seasons over 38%).
And more than skill or physical ability, a Nets trade for Crowder ahead of the NBA trade deadline would give the team a much-needed injection of toughness. Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and (especially) Ben Simmons aren’t known for their physical or mental toughness.
Brooklyn does have the (possibly too) tough Markieff Morris, but there is only so much he can do to affect the game, playing just 11.4 minutes per contest. Crowder has just the right blend of skill and scariness that will make opponents think twice before taking liberties with Durant, Irving, or Simmons in a tough Eastern Conference playoff series.
And another bonus for trading for another team's problem, like Crowder, is that the Nets will not need to give up any more draft capital to do it, which is a huge plus for a pick-strapped team like the Nets.
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