Brooklyn made two trades that sent Spencer Dinwiddie to Toronto and Royce O’Neale to Phoenix. Those two players were expected to get traded, because of their expiring contracts, but Nets general manager Sean Marks opted to keep Dorian Finney-Smith since the 6’8'' forward has more time left on his deal.
Both trades were not groundbreaking moves, as they were only incremental improvements. However, Marks reassured the fans that Brooklyn has a bright future and that making these trades was vital to those future big swings.
“I have the utmost faith in this group, this group of players and this staff, to go out there and put a sustainable product on the floor,” Marks said to the media at halftime of the Nets vs Cavs game. “That’s going to be a goal here, that we can compete night in and night out, something that the fans can get behind, and play the right brand of basketball.”
The future remains unclear
Despite his reassurances, there are still some question marks surrounding the Nets. The team lacks direction even though they have good players. Cameron Thomas and Mikal Bridges are the Nets’ two best players, but the team lacks opportunities to draft new stars.
The Nets still miss their first-round picks over the next few years because they got traded to the Houston Rockets in the James Harden trade. Now, the Nets must make do with the current roster and develop them to become stars.
Thankfully, Thomas and Nic Claxton are homegrown players and will look to factor into plans. Marks has said he wants to be flexible with the roster, which can open the floodgates for future trades since they can’t build through the draft.
The new pieces could impact Brooklyn’s second half of the season
Dennis Schroder , Keita Bates-Diop, and Thadeus Young were the three players who arrived from the trade deadline. They are all superb players in their roles, which could be a good development for Coach Jacque Vaughn and his staff.
Moving forward, this might seem like a fantastic trade, but that depends on the new acquisitions’ growth for the Nets. Schroder and Young are not the youngest players, but they can leave a lasting impression for the second half of the season.
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