Wednesday is Dec. 15, and by now you've probably heard why that date is key. Newly signed free agents from last summer will become trade eligible, adding a major crop of names who can be included in deals between Wednesday and the Feb. 10 trade deadline. The Brooklyn Nets are 19-8 and in first place in the East, but they don't appear a finished product by any stretch. Kyrie Irving is still out with no return in sight, even amid rumors and cryptic videos of a possible return. They're now dealing with a COVID outbreak despite being fully vaccinated other than Irving. So, Nets GM Sean Marks figures to be a very busy man over the next two months.
The latest Brooklyn Nets rumors
Tuesday morning brought us some several updates via Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report:
Yet Brooklyn appears eager to upgrade its roster ahead of the trade deadline and Harden’s impending free agency.
Brooklyn has been open to discussing trades for Irving, sources told B/R, although none of those calls have seemed to generate significant traction. But Brooklyn has expressed a surprising willingness to discuss sharpshooter Joe Harris, according to league sources, though he would surely require a pricey offer. “It’s crazy to me; he’s their only real three-and-D player,” said one assistant general manager. “But his name keeps popping up.”
Brooklyn has been cobbling it together with a platoon of bigs. But not all of those role players figure to be dependable come playoff time. It makes sense they'd work the phones. They do possess two trade exceptions ($6 million from DeAndre Jordan and $11.5 million from Spencer Dinwiddie), and you can bet they'll explore any and all ways to help Kevin Durant win a championship.
James Harden isn't going anywhere … this year
The Bleacher Report piece first discusses the possibility that the Philadelphia 76ers could not trade Ben Simmons at all this season, in hopes to sign-and-trade him for a superstar like James Harden next summer. That seems rather farfetched at this point, so we won't discuss that in depth here.
But the key takeaway is that the ongoing Sixers situation is worth monitoring. The ideal scenario for the Nets is that Simmons goes nowhere (and continues to limit a division rival by not playing) or lands on a non-contender out West (the Oklahoma City Thunder have been linked to Simmons and are harmless to Brooklyn). If the Sixers net a paltry return leaving them out of contention in 2022 and taking them out of big-game hunting next summer, that would also be beneficial for Steve Nash and company.
Kyrie Irving
While there may be a vague sense of renewed optimism for an Irving return, it makes much more sense to make and take phone calls on the seven-time All-Star who hasn't played a possession for the Nets this season. We've already heard rumors that the Nets have fielded calls on Irving. Trading Kyrie would, in essence, be a hedge. Given an acquiring team's understandable hesitation (Would Irving even play for them? Would he re-sign with them next summer?) to offer fair value, trading Irving ahead of the deadline would simply be a way to avoid losing him for nothing in free agency next summer.
If the season comes and goes without the 2016 champion suiting up to play, it seems inevitable Marks would not offer him a hefty contract by July. Checking the temperature on Irving's trade market now allows Brooklyn to explore ways to avoid that worst-case scenario — even if it makes them want to throw up listening to offers for Russell Westbrook, Tobias Harris or Julius Randle.
Is there nothing to lose by shopping Irving? Not exactly. Given the nature of NBA superstars, it's always possible that putting a player's name out there on the market makes him feel a certain way. It might even make Kevin Durant feel a certain way, if he still wants things to work out with his friend. It's a rather delicate situation, and the Nets should make sure they have at least Durant's blessing before they make calls on Kyrie.
That necessary diplomacy is likely why we've heard reports like this from SNY's Ian Begley:
“To that end, it’s worth noting that, as of late last month, Brooklyn remained open to talking trades involving Irving, per SNY sources. ESPN reported in late October that the Nets were taking calls on potential Irving trades, but not making them. In the weeks following that report, several teams said Brooklyn has continued to take that approach with the All-Star guard.”
Stay tuned as the Kyrie Irving saga continues.
Joe Harris
The other player who makes some sense to shop is sharpshooter Joe Harris. Let's face it, Kevin Durant and James Harden are not going anywhere this season. The rest of the non-Kyrie Irving Nets have little trade value. Sure, plenty of teams would love to get their hands on Patty Mills, but making $5.8 million annually, there's little chance of returning someone more valuable than Mills himself in a deal. And shrewd GMs might be keeping an eye on freshman guard Cam Thomas or third-year big Nic Claxton (the latter is also named as a trade candidate in Fischer's piece), as both have flashed recently.
But given Harris's plug-and-play value as one of the NBA's best shooters, given his current injury situation (recovering from ankle surgery, out at least another few weeks), and given the size ($17 million) of his contract, it does make sense or them to check the temperature there.
The Nets have had major floor-spacing issues this season. When they determine to get stops, they've turned to a cadre of names like James Johnson, DeAndre' Bembry, and Bruce Brown. But pair any of those names together or throw in one of Blake Griffin (15.8 percent from deep) or Nic Claxton (doesn't take 3s), and suddenly a defense is doubling way off to key on Kevin Durant and James Harden.
Losing Harris would make those problems only grow. But still, the franchise's all-time leader in made triples is really the only salary on their books that opens up the possibility for a major shakeup without involving any of the Big Three.
It's maybe not nice to say, but since Harris isn't a superstar, they probably don't have to worry as much about hurting his feelings by putting some feelers out there for trade. It seems unlikely it would come back to bite them the way it might if Irving (or Durant, by association) felt miffed or not included in a major decision.
For now, it's trade season, so it makes sense to use discretion but field a million calls. The Nets are in first place, but they're far from a finished product with the ongoing Irving saga. They'll need to exercise discretion while doing some due diligence. That's not easy, but being in first place takes some of the pressure off.
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