Nets Predictions For The Trade Deadline…And Beyond

Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

The countdown to the NBA Trade deadline is in single digits, which means the various Trade Machine websites are about to get overloaded. Yes, folks, silly season will get sillier until the actual deals, if any, get done.

In that vein—and since there is nothing more relevant to the Nets in these miserable days to talk about—here are some predictions as to what’s about to go down:

1) A trade

As much as these moves sting, Nets General Manager Sean Marks, from his words and actions, seems to be embracing the tanking strategy a large chunk of fans have clamored for. Cam Johnson’s presence on the court, however, has acted like an anti-tank land mine. Brooklyn is 14-21 when he has suited up and 0-12 when he’s been inactive. Since Christmas, the records are 3-4 and 0-11, with ankle troubles forcing Johnson to the sidelines for all but five January games (in his press conference prior to Monday’s tilt versus Sacramento, Nets Head Coach Jordi Fernadez said Johnson will be reevaluated next week, so there’s a fair chance he might never wear a Nets uniform again). Despite the dearth of offensive playmakers on Brooklyn’s roster, Johnson owns the NBA’s second-best true shooting percentage among high-volume three-point hoisters. Perhaps because he has two more seasons on his contract at reasonable salary cap hits, Johnson’s value may never be higher. Ergo, I envision Marks waiting this out to the final hours and taking the best offer. It could be Sacramento, which extended Brooklyn’s losing streak to seven games by running away in the fourth quarter for a 110-96 victory, The Kings have space under the first apron to absorb Johnson’s unlikely bonuses plus tradeable assets. Marks, however, seems to be adamant about not wanting to roster players with multiple seasons remaining on their deals like Kevin Huerter, who was a DNP-CD on Monday night. I foresee a third team getting involved to complete a Johnson trade. Readers of this forum know my view on this: Having the 2025 lottery pick coming to a barren wasteland isn’t ideal, so keeping Johnson around wouldn’t be the worst outcome in my mind. But nothing in this Nets season is ideal. A fair trade is probably the best Nets fans can hope for.

2) Buyouts!

At some point, Bojan Bogdanovic will be cleared for duty. He hasn’t played a second for the Nets since arriving from the Knicks in the summer’s Mikal Bridges trade after undergoing surgeries on his foot and wrist in April and any chance at a near-term clearance isn’t looking good. No one is trading for him now. Maybe Bogdanovic gets in a few games after the deadline to show a playoff contender he isn’t damaged goods. If his wind and stroke are within reasonable proximities of his past standard, then a buyout seems optimal for all parties. In addition, D’Angelo Russell will grow weary of playing amidst this trash and will ask for a buyout. He may not be a starter on a playoff team, but filling some lesser role in meaningful games beats this.

3) Simmons shutdown

Recently, Simmons admitted he was close to giving the game up due to all the pain in his back and the intense work needed to get back on the court after a second major surgery. He made it to 30 games while avoiding back-to-backs this season, but throughout the past 10 days, he’d be listed as “questionable” on the injury report only to be downgraded each time to “out.” At first, an illness was the underlying cause. It wasn’t long before the diagnosis was replaced by “lower back” management and soreness. That’s code for “uh oh.” Because we’ve seen this movie before. It’s a shame because he was showing marginal improvement earlier this month to the point where I thought he might have some value, even if his expiring $40.3 million contract would be nearly impossible to move in a trade. With this latest setback, he needs to get a head start on thinking about his future beyond this season.

4) Two-way conversions

An annual rite of Spring is Marks rewarding some two-way players who have contributed significant NBA rotation minutes with standard NBA contracts. They’re usually guaranteed for the remainder of the current season and nonguaranteed for the following campaign. The buyouts will open up roster spots. Congratulations, Tyrese Martin and Tosan Evbuomwan.

5) Unlucky lottery

I hate to remind the pro-tanking crowd, but the NBA holds a lottery. And the league flattened the odds tremendously in 2019 such that the worst three teams each have about a 1-in-7 shot at the No. 1 overall pick. To reiterate, that’s worse than a dice roll. The Nets will tank their way to No. 3 in the reverse standings with 19 wins, but it will be for naught, as the drawing gets them No.5 overall. And then they can do this again next season. What fun.