Bleacher Report Lists Surprising 'Untouchable' Brooklyn Nets Player

Who is the Brooklyn Nets' untouchable player heading into the offseason?

Apr 10, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets center Day'Ron Sharpe (20) talks to forward / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

This is going to be a very defining offseason for the Brooklyn Nets. Do they want to be buyers? Sellers? Sit on their hands and move forward with a similar roster?

Evidently, there doesn't seem to be that wrong of an answer, as long as they don't jeopardize their future, which is depleted of their own draft picks from acquiring James Harden in 2021. Surely they'll course-correct and learn from their mistake.

Either way, moves will likely be made. So, who is untouchable for the Nets, no matter the direction?

Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley listed each of the 30 NBA team's "untouchable" player this offseason. For the Nets, it was quite a shocking answer.

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"Scoffing at this selection is a totally understandable reaction," Bluckley wrote.

The answer wasn't Mikal Bridges, who the team has done everything to retain, turn down substantial trade packages and try to turn into a No. 1 option within the team.

"Noah Clowney, last summer's No. 21 pick, averaged just 5.8 points and 3.5 rebounds across 23 NBA outings as a rookie. He'd be a (distant) afterthought in untouchable talks on virtually any other team," Buckley wrote. "In Brooklyn, though, he just might hold that status, which honestly says less about his potential than it does the dearth of realistic candidates around him."

Buckley then wrote about two other Nets candidates to potentially hold this title, though neither makes as much sense as Clowney.

"The Nets have tried positioning Mikal Bridges as untouchable, but that just doesn't pass the smell test. Not when he's a 27-year-old non-star on a team that nearly finished 20 games below .500," Buckley continued.

Bridges seems like a player who could be targeted by plenty of competitive teams this offseason, which would drive his value up again. The Nets could get a solid return on his production, which could make moving him well worth it.

"Cam Thomas feels like the only other possibility, yet if Brooklyn takes a big swing on a scoring guard like Donovan Mitchell or Trae Young this offseason, Thomas would almost certainly be involved in that exchange," Buckley said.

Again, given the Nets' current situation in terms of roster building, maximizing the value from Thomas could make the most sense should they be buyers or sellers, rather than letting his stock deteriorate over time.

Clowney averaged 12.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game in April. There's potential for the Alabama product who has yet to turn 20-years-old, even if he isn't untouchable. Should the Nets move on from Claxton, rather than re-signing him to a long-term deal -- likely worth somewhere around $100 million, Clowney would be worth holding onto and developing.

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