Brooklyn Nets will have Trade-In Option at 2024 NBA Draft

The door is not shut for Brooklyn in the 2024 NBA Draft despite not having a draft pick.

The Brooklyn Nets struggled in 2023-24 despite a clear path towards an NBA Playoffs run.

Tanking was not a option for the Nets in the 2023-24 campaign, but the Houston Rockets didn't mind Brooklyn's shortcomings at all considering they own the team's 2024 first round pick. The blockbuster trade Nets GM Sean Marks made to acquire James Harden from the Rockets came at the expense of a village. Rodions Kurucs, Taurean Prince, Caris LeVert, a surging Jarrett Allen, three first round draft picks (2022, 2024 and 2026) and four first round pick swaps (2021, 2023, 2025 and 2027) was given up on Brooklyn's end.

As the middle-of-the-pack Rockets look at the Nets from the outside looking in, not only do they not see Harden in a Nets uniform anymore, but they see a team that will contribute to their decent rebuilding process at this upcoming draft. After acquiring key players in the 2023 free agency window, finishing with a record of 41-41 is not so bad considering the amount of youth that is on that team. Houston has not made the playoffs since the Bubble in 2020 so you can bet on them to find a potential missing piece for their team at the draft with the Nets' first round pick that could help them get over the hump.

Former Nets Kyrie Irving, Harden and Kevin Durant left huge messes in Brooklyn since their departure, while also adding insult to injury when already gone, and this franchise is still cleaning it up. The best way to move on from that is to find another underrated player from the draft to bring on over that could perhaps change the trajectory of the team after finishing 32-50, good enough for only the 11th seed in the Eastern Conference.

It could be done through a trade that involves cash considerations on the Nets' part for another team's drafted player or pick at the 2024 NBA Draft. The Nets would also most likely find a good bargain with a second round pick or a player drafted in the second round. Marks will just have to be very careful. Keep in mind, Nets center Nic Claxton and the 2023-24 NBA MVP were both second round picks.

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