Brooklyn Nets: Expectations for 2019 NBA Trade Deadline

With the Brooklyn Nets in the midst of a playoff push, they may face several difficult decisions at the 2019 NBA Trade Deadline.

In previous seasons, fans were accustomed to the Brooklyn Nets being sellers at the annual trade deadline, especially given their desire to make up for a lack of draft assets as a result of their infamous trade with the Boston Celtics.

In the past two seasons, the Nets have focused on trading away veteran players in exchange for draft picks, which was the right approach given the team’s place in the standings at those respective times.

However, the 2019 NBA Trade Deadline will likely see the Nets involved in a tough playoff race, as the team currently sits in the seventh seed, one game behind the Miami Heat in the sixth spot and just two games ahead of the Orlando Magic, who occupy ninth place.

This current version of the Nets includes several young players about to hit restricted free agency mixed in with several veterans that could certainly fetch some draft assets from stronger playoff teams. Let’s go through some possible options the Nets will have in the coming weeks as the trade deadline approaches.

Selling on pending free agents

One of the tougher decisions general manager Sean Marks will have to make in the coming weeks and/or months is what the future has in store for D’Angelo Russell and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson when it comes to their places on the Nets. While Russell has shown steady improvement this season, Hollis-Jefferson’s development has stagnated, with his defensive contributions rarely making up for the offensive limitations he brings to the table.

The Nets are better off without Hollis-Jefferson, especially on the offensive end, which makes it more important that the team looks to get something of value in return for him before potentially letting him walk in free agency.

While Hollis-Jefferson’s lack of shooting and throwback shot chart don’t fit in with what the Nets are looking to do offensively, other teams around the league may be intrigued by his defensive potential and feel comfortable surrounding him with more talented offensive players and shooters.

One idea I threw around on Twitter would be swapping Hollis-Jefferson and Trey Lyles (with the Denver Nuggets sending a second round pick in the deal). Such an exchange would provide the two teams with forwards that better fit their respective needs. Regardless, it shouldn’t surprise anyone if there are reports of a trade involving Hollis-Jefferson in the coming weeks.

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The other pending restricted free agent on the roster is D’Angelo Russell, but a trade seems less and less likely with each passing game. Not only is Russell playing very well over the Nets’ strong stretch (23.1 points, 6.6 assists, 3.8 rebounds per game in his last 10 games), he has become vital for the team’s success as a result of all the injuries key rotational players have suffered, not to mention Spencer Dinwiddie going through a slump in recent games.

While the Nets have to avoid the trap of overpaying Russell in free agency, they will likely hold on to him and continue to rely on him to generate enough offense to get the team to the playoffs.

What to do with older veterans?

The other question Sean Marks must answer is what the Nets should do with the aging veterans on their roster that could help other playoff contenders. This group includes DeMarre Carroll, Ed Davis, Kenneth Faried and Shabazz Napier.

Each of the aforementioned players has a different role on the team and varying amounts of trade value. For example, Faried is not in the rotation and has appeared in just 12 games this season, making it hard to envision a path where the Nets get more than a protected second round pick in exchange for his rebounding services.

On the other hand, Carroll, Davis and Jared Dudley all hold important spots in the rotation when healthy, with Carroll providing shooting, defense and energy on the wing, Dudley providing a high basketball IQ and floor-spacing at the 4 and Davis being one of the best rebounders in the entire league (he leads the league in offensive rebounding percentage and total rebounding percentage).

While neither player would get a first round pick in return on their own (one or two seconds is more likely), the Nets could look to take on money for next season in exchange for a first round pick. Again, that remains very unlikely because Brooklyn has plans to use its 2019 cap space to attract high-level free agents.

Finally, Napier has also carved out a nice spot in the rotation, especially when the Nets are shorthanded in the backcourt. He would really help teams desperate for quality point guard play, and with Caris LeVert expected back in March, it’s possible that Marks jumps at the opportunity to ship Napier out to a team that overpays for his steady services.

However, in the end such trades involving these veterans (except Faried) are unlikely because they represent key parts of the Nets’ rotation. With Brooklyn in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race, it is hard to see a scenario where they sell off a regular rotation player, barring a complete overpay from a desperate team.

Possible thrift shop buyers?

Of course, the opposite of being a seller is to become a buyer at the trade deadline, and the Nets certainly have the draft assets to acquire some short-term help for this playoff run (that’s a sentence you surely haven’t heard in a long, long time). In addition to owning their first round picks moving forward, the Nets also have the Nuggets’ 2019 first round pick, a 2019 second round pick coming from the New York Knicks and the Nuggets’ 2020 second round pick.

The Nets could look to use the Knicks 2019 second to pick up a cheap wing player or floor-spacing 4 to help the playoff push while Caris LeVert continues to rehab.

The other direction is to use the Denver 2019 first (and likely one of the extra second-rounders) to get out of Allen Crabbe‘s 2019-20 salary. This could come in the form of simply getting back players on expiring contracts or taking back 2019-20 salary that is smaller than Crabbe’s, thereby helping out the team’s free agency plans.

Marks should be looking into what rebuilding teams would charge for taking on Crabbe, as he has struggled mightily this season and is the big impediment from the Nets opening up two max slots for this summer’s free agency crop of players.

While it’s unlikely that the Nets are buyers or get Crabbe’s deal off the books, they certainly have enough draft asset ammunition to make a small win-now move this deadline or continue to focus on the 2019-20 season.