The Brooklyn Nets did not make the playoffs this season and from the way it looked throughout the year, they were not close to being a playoff-caliber team either. Due to that fact along with the notion that Brooklyn is not expected to be very good with this roster, most in the NBA space believe that they should tear everything down and build from scratch.
What some in the Nets fanbase have been lamenting about the organization is that they have not chosen to enter to full rebuild and seem like a team in the middle. According to Matt Moore of Action Network, many around the NBA believe that Brooklyn wants to pick a direction, but is willing to go either way.
“There is, however, a sense from teams that have talked with Brooklyn that the Nets want to choose a direction,” Moore wrote. In Moore’s piece that served as his primer for all 30 teams ahead of free-agency, he spoke on the fact that the Nets have been unwilling to trade away Mikal Bridges, even to the Houston Rockets for the opportunity to get their own picks back from the James Harden trade.
“There have been conversations about moves for draft capital and young players, and conversations about existing win-now pieces,” Moore wrote. “Brooklyn would love a star to pair with Bridges. This isn’t remarkable, every team always wants another star to pair with their guys, even when they have two. (Looking at you, Suns.) The only thing notable here is that Brooklyn isn’t only looking at a long-term future. The Nets are trying to figure out a clear direction to take.”
What is clear here, and something that has been said on Nets Wire multiple times, is that the Nets are willing to go in either direction as they could make a move or two to enter a full rebuild. However, with the draft capital Brooklyn has, they could also trade for a star this summer and they sign another one in free-agency next season when they’re flush with cap space.
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