3 burning questions for Nets ahead of the February 8 trade deadline
By Jed Katz
The Brooklyn Nets have been left with disappointment above all else this season. At 17-27 and on the outside looking in at a Play-In Tournament slot, they're still trying to find a real identity in their first full season without Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
It wouldn't look so bad if the team owned a pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, but, unfortunately, they don't.
If the season were to end today, Brooklyn would not only fail to have a chance to compete for the playoffs, but they would go into the offseason with no draft picks. The team would stay stagnant.
The Nets have a lot of good players, but nobody on the roster is a star, which is a death sentence for mediocrity -- the recurring phrase is "good, but not great."
Mikal Bridges is having a solid season, averaging 21.7 points -- "Good but not great."
Cam Thomas is alsohaving a impressive campaign, averaging 20.4 points -- "Good, but not great."
Fans can only watch as a team of third and fourth options (at best) limp into the second half of the season barely treading water. The fact of the matter is that one burning question needs to be answered before any move can be made before the deadline, and it's a pretty obvious one.
Is it still worth it for the Nets to continue to compete for the playoffs?
Above all else, GM Sean Marks needs to assess the direction in which the franchise should be headed. They're floating somewhere in between playoff contender and lottery team, which is quite possibly the worst position to be in.
At least bad teams get compensated with high draft picks. In this case, however, the Nets don't even have one, and with the number of role players they had on their roster heading into 2023-24, they had no choice but to try and see how many games they could win.
Whether or not you think this team can be great is irrelevant, because the Nets are nothing more than average at best with their current personnel.
That being the case, you can either go all in once again and make a playoff push with a blockbuster trade, or get assets for the future and embrace the tank.