“I’m sure for next season we’ll be, I hope, [a] championship contender.” Brooklyn Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov said during a press conference on Monday morning, just a day after head coach Lionel Hollins was fired and General Manager Billy King was reassigned.
Prokhorov has been in the win-now mode since he took his reign of the Nets in 2010. He has continually made moves that have hindered the Nets’ future for the foreseeable future. He has given away numerous young players that have created a future for themselves in the NBA. Picks have meant nothing to Prokhorov in his tenure, and that is why his team is without a first round draft pick in the 2016 and 2018 NBA Draft. The trade that brought Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to Brooklyn also gave the Boston Celtics the ability to swap each team’s first round pick with each other in the 2017 NBA Draft. But, let’s not look past the trade that brought Gerald Wallace to the Nets for a 2012 first round pick that would become Damian Lillard. These types of mistakes by Prokhorov and his staff have destroyed the Nets future, and he has not been able to comprehend what this will do to the Nets future, as he continues to make careless trades.
Under the reign of Prokhorov the Nets have gone 187-244 to the date of January 10th 2016, a 43% winning percentage. The moves by Prokhorov to make the Nets a championship contender have only translated to one playoff series win. The blame for the limited Nets’ success cannot only be put onto Prokhorov, but his win now attitude and aggressiveness has not paid of for Brooklyn. The Nets are at an important juncture as a franchise as of right now. Prokhorov must decide wether or not he wants to stay on his unsuccessful path of attempting to win now by being aggressive in the trade market, or hold back and rebuild the Nets over the course of the next few seasons.
As much as Prokhorov wants to build a contender in the Nets for next season, he will not be able to do so. He must come to a compromise. He can continue to explore options in the trade market, but when he attempts to make moves, he must acquire young pieces that can help build a future for the Nets, or bring in draft picks.
There are numerous players Brooklyn should look to move, but first, it would be easier to look at players the Nets should withhold from trade talks.
Rookies Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Chris McCullough should be considered untouchable for the rest of the season. While both rookies are currently sidelined with injuries, both could be key players down the line. McCullough has not played yet this season, as he continues to rehab from a torn ACL, but was recently cleared for contact drills, according to the Nets Public Relations. Hollis-Jefferson however, has played 19 games already this season, but he did go down with an injury of his own. He has given the Nets a slight amount of hope for the upcoming seasons. He is an athletic 6’7 wing who has averaged 5.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.4 steals in 22.1 minutes per game this season. Hollis-Jefferson is already a good defender in the NBA, and his offense will continue to develop. It would be smart for the Nets to hold onto these two players and see if either of them can become a household name in Brooklyn.
Now, the dilemma. Brooklyn’s frontcourt holds their two best players. Brook Lopez and Thaddues Young are the centerpieces that have brought the Nets to their 10-27 record. Who knows how many wins Brooklyn would have without them. But, winning games this season is not the priority in Brooklyn. It is safe to say that the Nets are out of playoff contention in the much improved Eastern Conference. While losing will help the Celtics receive a better pick in the 2016 Draft that the Nets traded to them in the Garnett and Pierce trade, it is the smarter thing to do. The Nets will lose more by trading away either Lopez or Young, or possibly even both. While I doubt Lopez is moved this season after being the franchise player of the Nets the past two seasons, testing the market for Thaddues Young would be Brooklyn’s best option. Young is having the best season of his career. At 28, he is averaging 15.6 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game.
The Nets could likely bring in a good haul for Young. As I worked out a trade scenario on the ESPN Trade Machine, I concocted a deal that would help the two teams involved.
This trade gives Brooklyn a replacement for Jarrett Jack in scoring combo-guard Rodney Stuckey and a pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, which they currently possess no picks in. While Solomon Hill is mainly a salary cap filler, maybe he could find some minutes in Brooklyn and peace together his career. This trade is ideal for Indiana because it gives them a scoring big who can spread the floor and run the floor. Young would fit perfectly with Indiana’s offense scheme as well.
The Nets can then turn Young’s minutes over to forwards Thomas Robinson and Willie Reed, who are both putting together respectable seasons. This trade then opens up playing time for McCullough when he returns to action. Stuckey certainly helps fill the hole that Jack left in scoring and playmaking.
The main reason Brooklyn completes this trade is that it gives them a draft pick in a draft that will hold some promising prospects at all positions. Whether it is a first or second round pick, it gives them a chance to bring in a young prospect.
Brooklyn will still need to try to move Joe Johnson and his ridiculous contract for something before the season ends, but the chances of the Nets doing so seem slim.
Mikhail Prokhorov must swallow his pride for the remainder of this season and the 2016-2017 season, and build a young roster that can develop over time. Making trades like the one talked about above and giving the young players currently on the roster a substantial amount of playing time will be key to developing a future for the Nets in Brooklyn. Can this happen, or will Prokhorov continue to deteriorate the future of the Nets by trading away young players and draft picks.
