Inside The Nets

Why the Brooklyn Nets are unwilling to hit the reset button

Despite a rough patch, the Nets will keep fighting with minimal changes.

Marin Gabric

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The Brooklyn Nets are in a challenging part of the season. Jacque Vaughn's team has lost 13 of their last 16 games, leading the supporters to ask for changes to the roster.

While a clean reset might be the best move for Brooklyn, general manager Sean Marks and Nets owner Joe Tsai are unwilling to hit the reset button. The organization doesn’t want a full-scale rebuild that the Oklahoma City Thunder or the Portland Trail Blazers did to their rosters.

The Nets do not have their picks in the next two years

A big reason why the Nets want to compete for a Playoff spot is the organization’s lack of first-round draft picks for the next years. This is a big blow for Brooklyn because they can’t choose a promising player in the Draft or involve the picks in a beneficial trade.

Brooklyn is paying for what happened with the James Harden trade, as they shipped out multiple first-rounders to the Houston Rockets. With Harden gone, the team is left without a pick to work toward or a star-caliber player that would lead them deep in the post-season.

The Nets must make the Playoffs because that’s the only way their moves will make sense. Unfortunately, the team is struggling to do that this season, losing more games than usual and failing to score consistently.

Trades are the best way to retool the team

Retooling will be the best path for the Nets because they can build on their current squad and improve through trades. The hottest rumor involving the Nets is a potential Dejounte Murray trade.

Getting the former All-Star back in a trade will be a massive acquisition because Murray solves Brooklyn’s problems this season. They’ve needed a playmaker at the point guard position ever since Ben Simmons’ injury.

Murray will also provide solid defense, which he can do when surrounded by good defenders like Mikal Bridges and Nic Claxton. The former Washington Husky’s trade value lines up with Brooklyn’s assets. It makes sense for Brooklyn to pull the trigger on this trade because Dejounte pairs well with their core.

Aside from the Murray trade, Brooklyn can also capitalize on some players’ value. Dorian Finney-Smith and Royce O’Neale can fetch a first-round pick or two in trades. By getting that kind of haul, the Nets have a bright future with a solid foundation and more talented players incoming.

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Marin Gabric
MARIN GABRIC

Marin's love for writing developed in high school but was furthered in college when he took a number of creative writing courses. Doing sports writing felt like an extremely natural continuation, as it furthered his passions in both writing and basketball.  Marin loves the feeling of looking at stats after a game and analyzing what each team could've done better or what they excel in compared to the rest of the league. And the ability to do so for his favorite team, the Brooklyn Nets, is quite special in itself. 

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