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NETS BUY STOCK IN FUTURE
This just in, the Brooklyn Nets are making calls and getting picks.
Short of a Brook Lopez trade, there hasn’t been much discussion during this trade deadline. Then the Nets shocked the world and made a trade sending Shooting Guard/Small Forward Bojan Bogdanovic and Power Forward Chris McCullough to the Washington Wizards. In return the Nets will receive Power Forward Andrew Nicholson, Shooting Guard Marcus Thornton and a 2017 first round pick.
In addition, the Nets were able to pick up 24 year old K.J. McDaniels from the Rockets. The agile guard had his best seasons with the 76ers. In an effort to dump his salary the Rockets essentially gave him over to the Nets for free.
With nothing to lose the Nets should have every inclination to give McDaniels a shot this year. McDaniels will have a team option for next season and this stretch will show what McDaniels has left. After not fitting in with the Rockets scheme, he will have an opportunity to get some playing time. Considering Jeremy Lin is still out, McDaniels will get an opportunity to play he didn’t have in Houston.
At this point in the process of rebuilding, any trade they can get as a draft pick is a win. Even with lottery protection applied, their pick will most likely be in the twenties or at worst late teens. This trade now gives the Nets twoNets are rebuilding, the WizardsJohn Wall and Bradley Beal. In prime position to make a push in the playoffs, both players have had bounce back seasons. After a summer where Wall had surgery on both Knees, he’s playing better than ever. He’s vastly improved over where he was last year, along with players Bradley Beal and Otto Porter who are also stepping up their games. Wall even got selected as an All-Star this year. The Wizards are playing for now and they hope Bojan is the answer.
At 27, Bojan is averaging 14.2 points per game and not much else. The Wizards will be looking to use Bojan as offense off the bench. He’s not a great defensive option but he’s serviceable in the role they need him to play.
The Wizards were forced into this trade by the lack of offense off their bench. This trade will not only give their bench a boost but will allow coach Scott Brooks to give Wall and Beal a chance to rest ahead of the playoffs. They did a similar move last year when they traded their first round pick to Phoenix Suns for Markieff Morris. While that move did not get them into a playoff spot, they will undoubtedly have better luck this April.
With Bojan out of Brooklyn, the Nets will waive veteran Marcus Thornton. As for Andrew Nicholson, he just started a 4-year deal and will likely stay with the team for at least the rest of the year. His minutes have steadily dropped since his rookie year, hitting a low this year of 8 a game in just 28 appearances. Although, Nets coach Kenny Atkinson will be continuously developing Nicholson and rest of the Nets.
