The Brooklyn Nets not only benefit from the on-court wizardry of Kevin Durant and James Harden, but they can also lean on the fact that both of them might be able to entice ring-chasing veterans to fill out the rest of Brooklyn’s bench.
Durant’s ability to network has already been proven to work, as the additions of Jeff Green in free agency and Blake Griffin via buyout shows the pull that KD has. Harden might not be quite that magnetic, but there are plenty of former teammates of his that could be looking for a new home.
During Harden’s time in Houston, he was surrounded by players that were able to perfectly fill a role on some Rockets teams that were inches away from getting to the Finals before running into a buzzsaw in Golden State.
In order to help the Nets retool with the goal of taking down a Milwaukee team that could throw a major wrench into Brooklyn’s plans to dominate the conference, the Nets should try to sign one of these three former Harden teammates in order to get some depth on the bench.
These 3 former James Harden teammates could sign with the Brooklyn Nets.
3. Trevor Ariza, Miami Heat
While Ariza has quite literally been traded more times than any player in NBA history, there is a reason that he stuck around for so long in Houston, as his ability to shoot the lights out and defend basically any position on the floor made him valuable in a Mike D’Antoni offense that emphasized both of those traits.
D’Antoni is helping Steve Nash run the show in Brooklyn, meaning that he could help Ariza assimilate into the rotation. Even after he turned 36, his skills from beyond the arc were still as good as ever during his time with Miami.
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Trevor Ariza would give the Brooklyn Nets shooting and defense.
Ariza’s refusal to play for Oklahoma City before ending up with the Heat proves that he is clearly in ring-chasing mode. With the Nets a lock to be among the favorites for the title, Ariza might be intrigued enough to become Brooklyn’s small forward of choice off of the bench.
For all of the criticism of D’Antoni’s style of play, which Nash has almost copied and pasted in Brooklyn, Harden and Ariza have both played some of the best basketball of their careers in that system. Brooklyn represents the perfect confluence of statistical potential, playing time, and championship prospects for Ariza.