Nets Should Be Hunting For A Point Guard This Summer

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As a Nets fan, I’ve been grinding my teeth watching the NBA Playoffs proceed following Brooklyn’s four-game sweep to Philadelphia in the first round. That’s when I feel like watching at all.

It’s still hard to believe that when the season began only six months ago, the Nets were supposed to be in this mix, with the superstar tandem of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving leading the way.

Of course, all that has changed, and the subsequent events required a pivot in this forum as well. Instead of exploring potential matchups in an ongoing series, the analysis now has to be focused on where Brooklyn goes from this lower echelon.

We can obviously dismiss with blowing it all up and tanking given that Houston owns the rights, either outright or through swaps, to Brooklyn’s first round draft picks through 2027. Still, I believe major changes are in order, though some in the media who parsed the remarks from General Manager Sean Marks’ exit press conference a few days ago concluded that drastic measures could just as easily be deferred.

“Running it back” would be a mistake, from my perspective, since this post-trade configuration’s flaws, which can’t be fixed solely by familiarity, will doom it to a wasted, sub-.500 season, the last place any serious franchise wants to be. You can’t win in this league without players who can score in isolation when games get tight in the fourth quarter (Note: That eliminates Ben Simmons, even in the unlikely event he can return next season with his back in pristine condition—you first have to want the ball during crunch time.)

The most logical place to begin the search for such a player is at point guard. Spencer Dinwiddie will always have a special place in the hearts of many Nets fans for being a poster child, along with Joe Harris, of Brooklyn’s old development program. Unfortunately, the playoffs exposed Dinwiddie’s shortcomings as an inefficient scorer and inaccurate passer when given the keys to the offense. He could be a satisfactory backup/off ball secondary playmaker on a good team like he was on Dallas, but with an expiring salary cap hit of about $20.3 million for 2023-24, it makes him prime trade bait (when eligible) in this situation.

Here then are some other options based on purely speculative availability:

1) Trae Young

Um, no.

The man has skills. His handles and shot range make him lethal with the ball in his hands, as Boston found out on Tuesday night when Young carried his Hawks into a Game 6.

He’s also the worst defensive guard I’ve seen all season, and that includes Cam Thomas. My understanding is that his Hawks teammates aren’t exactly fond of playing with him and the refs absolutely despise him for his antics in trying to draw fouls. The trade rumors are swirling in Atlanta.

Young, though, still has about $178 million remaining over the next four seasons of his max contract, so unless Atlanta wants Simmons (please take him—please!) the Nets would be overpaying in terms of matching contracts before they even can get to offering the draft picks Atlanta would surely demand.

2) Russell Westbrook

Hell, no.

It will be interesting to watch the free agent market this summer for a player who once sported one of the worst contracts in the NBA. A buyout pickup by the Clippers in February after being waived by the Jazz, Westbrook is currently playing for the prorated league minimum.

He clearly gave shorthanded L.A. everything he had in their first round series loss to Phoenix and was even shooting the ball at a decent clip (46% from the field, including 40.9% on 22 three-point attempts prior to Tuesday night’s Game 5, when he severely regressed). Unfortunately, he hasn’t bested 31.5% from deep in any season since 2016-17. In a league where teams increasingly hunt three-point shots, Westbrook’s inefficiency throws a major wrench into offensive game plans (imagine Nets Head Coach Jacque Vaughn giving him the green light from behind the arc).

On certain teams, however, Westbrook at, say, a midlevel exception, can be a valuable asset. I just don’t believe the Nets are one of those clubs.

3) James Harden/Kyrie Irving

Next.

4) Fred VanVleet

Now it’s getting interesting.

VanVleet is coming off a down year in Toronto, which was untimely given that he is considered likely to opt out of the final season of his contract that would have paid him about $22.8 million in 2023-24 to become an unrestricted free agent. He only converted 39.3% of his field goals overall and posted a career-worst 34.2% three-point percentage this season.

I still like him as a player, especially his toughness. However, he hasn’t really been much of an isolation scorer, according to NBA.com’s points per isolation possession metric. Plus, I do worry about his size—he’s listed at an even 6-feet—when it gets to postseason play.

Multiple media outlets indicated that the Nets were interested in acquiring Van Vleet in advance of the February 9 trade deadline, but it didn’t happen. It will be significantly harder now since Brooklyn will be over the salary cap.

And if they’re targeting a smaller point guard, I’d rather the Nets look into…

5) Damian Lillard

As I mentioned in a previous post, a lot has to happen before the Nets would even get to take a swing here. Lillard, who has been a loyal Blazer for 11 seasons, would have to first put in a trade request, as he is signed to a max contract through 2026-27. Not only would Portland have to accommodate the request, Lillard would then have to direct the organization to work out a deal specifically with Brooklyn, for there would probably be multiple teams who could be willing to outbid the Nets in terms of offering young players and draft picks for his services.

Lillard induced intrigue when he sat courtside for Brooklyn’s Game 3 loss to the Sixers at Barclays Center. He had previously been overly complimentary toward Nets rising star Mikal Bridges, so, naturally, the story grew wings.

If it’s really possible, the Nets must consider it, even if it costs them multiple picks they acquired in the KD and Kyrie trades. I understand the risks—Lillard will be 33 in July and hasn’t eclipsed 67 games played since 2018-19. His clutch games numbers have slipped over the last two seasons, despite averaging over 32 points per game before he was shut down with a calf injury after 58 games.

Still, Lillard is exactly what the Nets were missing in the Philly series--a professional bucket getter with a record of big-time performances. With many of the Nets’ core in the 27-30 age range, Lillard would fit into their timeline for the next few seasons.

So in my view, unless some point guard better than a seven-time All Star opens up, the summer options come down to one question for Marks: Why wait?