Nets' Day'Ron Sharpe Linked to Raptors as Potential Trade Candidate

The Brooklyn Nets may have two starting centers on their hand with Nic Claxton and Day'Ron Sharpe both in the fold.

As long as Claxton remains in Brooklyn, he'll likely remain the Nets' starting center, but it doesn't make Sharpe any less important to this team.

Sharpe has made great strides since entering the league as the No. 29 overall pick in 2021, improving his strength, conditioning, and mobility to become a difference maker on both sides of the floor.

"We can see Day'Ron, he's been able to play longer stints," Nets coach Jordi Fernandez said. "He's trusting everything he's done, and you see from his efficiency, his defense, his playmaking, and everything. That maturity doesn’t come overnight, but he’s been willing to work and willing to be the best player for the team he can be."

The North Carolina product usually plays between 20-25 minutes per contest, but he makes the most of each and every second he's out on the floor, whether he's finishing strong at the rim or aggressively playing the passing lanes.

However, centers like Sharpe don't usually get stuck in a bench role for long. If the Nets end up making him available, there could be at least one team ready to make a call, and that is the Toronto Raptors, according to TSN's Josh Lewenberg.

"They’ve already checked in on another Mavericks centre, Daniel Gafford, per a source, while Orlando’s Goga Bitadze and Brooklyn’s Day’Ron Sharpe are other names to monitor," Lewenberg wrote. "That way, they could see how this group holds up in meaningful games during the spring before reassessing in the off-season, when it’s easier to make significant change."

Sharpe almost wouldn't bring the Nets a king's ransom in any potential deal, but he could be worth at least two second-round picks, as it's hard to expect a team being willing to part with a first-round pick in this apron era.

Sharpe has a club option for $6.25 million for next season, which will almost certainly be picked up, assuming he's with the team past the trade deadline.

If the Nets decide they want to move on from Sharpe to address another area of concern, they'll have the chance to find a suitor in need of a big man in the offseason, when trades could be easier to make.

Sharpe could be a great fit in Toronto, given his ability to run the floor and finish at the rim, but it's unlikely he heads there at this time.