The Brooklyn Nets signed veterans Jamal Crawford and Michael Beasley on Wednesday.
It unsettles us to report that the Brooklyn Nets, despite losing seven players to either injury or positive coronavirus tests, plan to move forward with participating in the NBA restart later this month.
On the heels of both Spencer Dinwiddie and Taurean Prince being declared out for the rest of the season, the Nets dipped into the feeble free agency market and came out the other side with a pair of seasoned veterans.
Within of a span of a few hours on Wednesday, Brooklyn inked deals with Jamal Crawford and Michael Beasley.
Breaking: Jamal Crawford agrees to a deal with the Nets, per @ShamsCharania pic.twitter.com/Ji3vS6Aj1b
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 9, 2020
Are these awful signings? Absolutely not, but they won’t do anything to help the Nets’ chances at advancing beyond the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. We would much rather have seen J-Crossover, who was easily the best player available, sign with a legitimate championship contender — not a side that is desperate to field a competitive team in Orlando.
Are we supposed to throw a party that Brooklyn might not lost every game by 20 points now? This doesn’t change the fact that the current No. 7 seed is going to be swept in convincing fashion. Anything but a first-round exit makes these transactions a waste of time.
Last season with the Phoenix Suns, Crawford posted a measly 7.9 points per game on 41% shooting. The three-time Sixth Man of the Year winner would be a good signing for an elite squad that’s looking to add depth on its bench. On the Nets, however, he’ll provide a few highlight reel dribble sequences and average close to 15 points per contest in a losing effort.
Michael Beasley is “moving toward” a deal with the Nets, per @ShamsCharania pic.twitter.com/Cj47lhL9r4
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 9, 2020
As for Beasley, well, he appeared in 26 games (two starts) for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018-2019 before LeBron James became fed up and saw to it that he was traded. All the former No. 2 overall pick is good for is scoring around the rim, and he doesn’t even do it on a consistent basis.
We get that the Nets are severely shorthanded and are desperate to give Caris LeVert, Joe Harris and Jarrett Allen some reinforcements, but you can’t sit there and tell us that this is more logical than them choosing to sit out and get ready for next season.