Ex-Net Trendon Watford Drops Triple-Double, Raising Questions About Brooklyn’s Call

The Brooklyn Nets' point guard situation has plagued much of their 2025-26 campaign. While rookie facilitators Ben Saraf, Egor Demin and Nolan Traore continue adjusting to the NBA level, the team doesn't have a true veteran to lean on through the growing pains.

But they could've, had they re-signed the talented and versatile Trendon Watford, who experienced the best season of his professional career with the Nets last season. Jordi Fernandez experimented with Watford at point guard numerous times in 2024-25, often garnering excellent results.

Last night, the Philadelphia 76ers got a glimpse of what Watford can do when commanding an offense. In Philly's 130-120 win over the Toronto Raptors, Watford exploded for a 20-point, 17-rebound, 10-assist outing, far exceeding the expectations for his $2.46 million base salary this season.

Yet, this is what Watford has been—at least since last year. Putting the ball in his hands typically generates favorable outcomes, as the 76ers realized last night. His 6-foot-8 frame combined with superb court vision and and endless motor combine to produce a highly-valuable player, and one Brooklyn could certainly use right now.

While Watford may not have had much of an impact on the Nets' 1-8 overall record, he could be doing wonders for Demin's development at the moment, specifically because the former knows what it's like to hover in that "point-forward" category. Demin, who has struggled in an admittedly small sample size, would have benefitted from a Watford-esque player to help alleviate some of the immediate pressure.

“I’m having fun, just being able to play on-ball and do different things and use my skill set to the best of my ability. Starting this year off with some injuries and now being able to pick it back up, man, it’s fun,” Watford told Brian Lewis of the New York Post last season. “So I’m just glad. We put in a lot of work, I put in a lot of work, and now it’s just good to see it paying off.”

Watford's departure from Brooklyn was part mass roster turnover this summer, becoming just the latest decision made by the front office which appears to be a mistake. As the Nets continue struggling with guard play—which is hindered even more now by Cam Thomas' hamstring injury—the Watford choice gets worse, especially considering Fernandez was the one to truly unlock his skills as a guard.

It's still likely that at least one of Brooklyn's rookie guards will go on to have a very successful NBA career, but if Watford's dominance becomes consistent, fans will be left wondering what could've been.