The One Deadline Move the Nets Should be Prioritizing

The NBA’s trade deadline is nearing, and with it rumors are starting to pick up as teams search for upgrades.

The Brooklyn Nets, armed with a scoring talent in Michael Porter Jr., a host of growing 2025 draftees and a cache of draft picks, have been involved in several league-wide rumors already.

The team has been thought of to be sellers, potentially offloading Porter and others for value and opting for a full-scale rebuild. They’ve also been noted as potential buyers, too, moving into a new era by trading and signing talent, and developing their young players.

Ultimately, it likely won’t be known what path Brooklyn wants to take until they actually do it. But one deadline move is worth it regardless of whether the Nets are buyers or sellers: acquiring a young, low-cost player with plenty of upside.

We’ve seen plenty of these deals in recent years, even from the Nets, who bought low on former No. 15 pick Kobe Bufkin. The latest example was Washington trading two second-round picks in exchange for high-flying wing Cam Whitmore.

One might be wary of deals such as these due to the simple fact they haven’t worked out. Bufkin was eventually waived by Brooklyn, and Whitmore’s Wizards era isn’t turning out the way many thought. Still, the buy-low is among the lower-risk, higher-reward moves in the league, and certainly something Brooklyn should be prioritizing in its current state.

Brooklyn has a solid roster made up both veterans and young players. Porter, Nicolas Claxton and Day’Ron Sharpe have been standouts. And rookies like Egor Demin, Danny Wolf, Nolan Traore, Drake Powell and Ben Saraf have all shown growth in a short time.

Still, the Nets are in need of future star-power, and while the rookies have shown glimpses, it’s certainly not a given they’ll blossom into that.

It wouldn’t have to be as flashy as Golden State’s Jonathan Kuminga, likely the highest-profile of these options. Players such as Oklahoma City’s Ousmane Dieng, Minnesota’s Rob Dillingham and Charlotte's Tre Mann all fit the bill.

Dillingham likely has the most value having been drafted in 2024, though it wouldn't take a haul to pry the others away. And all three could benefit from fresh starts, seeing as they've been phased out of their current situations in various ways.

Again, trading for players who haven't yet exhibited vast NBA skills is risky. But the reward for further developing such players, paired with the low cost, is more than worth it for the Nets.