Should the Brooklyn Nets have let Sean Kilpatrick go?

The Brooklyn Nets acquired a young center with potential, but may have parted ways with offensive-minded guard Sean Kilpatrick much sooner than expected.

Sean Kilpatrick was the unfortunate roster casualty as a result of the blockbuster trade that saw the Brooklyn Nets acquire Jahlil Okafor from the Philadelphia 76ers. In the deal that had Brooklyn send away forward Trevor Booker, they also received guard Nik Stauskas, causing the eventual roster jam and forcing Kilpatrick out.

The debate now is whether this was the correct player to release considering the amount of untapped potential. The 27-year-old Yonkers, New York native had been receiving sporadic playing time this season filled with plenty of “Did Not Play – Coach’s Decision” labels in the box scores.

His 4.9 points and 2.2 rebounds in 11.4 minutes per game on dismal .287/.256/.947 shooting splits were a far cry from the 70 games he played during the 2016-17 season, averaging 13.1 points per game including 24 starts.

The excuse for the drop-off in playing time could be tied to the Nets acquiring scoring point guard D’Angelo Russell from the Los Angeles Lakers this past summer. The added depth at the guard position also included the emergence of Spencer Dinwiddie taking plenty of playing time as a reserve and now starter due to Russell’s injury. The 6’4″ Kilpatrick was undersized at the shooting guard position and lacked the necessary decision-making skills to play at point guard, causing his value to drop on the team’s depth chart.

The former Cincinnati Bearcat spoke with reporters at the beginning of the season regarding his roster depth chart status.

"“You’ve got to always make sure, as my assistant coach Bret [Brielmaier] would tell me, to keep your knives and your utensils sharp. The only thing I can continue to keep doing is being me. Everything else is coach’s decision or, if not, Mr. Marks’ [GM Sean Marks] decision. It’s hard sitting here every day, coping with the same thing and not knowing what’s going to happen. I just continue to come in and do my job.”"

The rarely used Kilpatrick will garner plenty of attention from other teams looking for a scoring guard to be effective immediately off the bench. As often as a score-first mentality is criticized, it is an important factor for teams lacking offensive punch. Players such as Lou Williams and Jamal Crawford have made very successful careers off the bench as scorers and are consistently in consideration for the Sixth Man of the Year Award.

A team that could possibly interested in Kilpatrick’s services in the short-term is the Golden State Warriors after the ankle injury to star Stephen Curry, though they’d have to clear a roster spot somehow. Kilpatrick has made it no secret that he is close with Warriors forward Kevin Durant, as the two have been seen training together during the offseason.

Kilpatrick shared with the New York Post last season his thoughts on being close with Durant and the influence the former MVP has on his career.

"“[He told me] just come in every day working like you never had anything, That’s something that I’ve always done, but to hear it from an All-Star, it was something that’s actually pretty interesting. He constantly tells me it doesn’t matter what’s going on, or even with our record it doesn’t matter how the record is.“You go in there and you make sure you continue to keep supporting your teammates and you make sure that you work hard, and watch: You’ll see that at the end of the tunnel, that light is going to be bright. So it’s pretty good that you have somebody in your corner that’s constantly praising you and talking to you about what’s going on in your game.”"

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The team that will eventually pick up Kilpatrick will get a highly motivated player seeking a real opportunity to shine in the league. Brooklyn still has some scorers on the roster, but in regards to instant offense they will be lacking until Russell is back from injury.