Brooklyn Nets Trade Rumors 2016: Who Should the Team Let Go Before the Trade Deadline?
The Brooklyn Nets may not be a decent team right now, but they still have time to make the necessary player movements to be able to give themselves the last push they need this season. But there are two very unfortunate things they have to deal with: There's no one in this team who can be rightfully called a franchise player and they don't have any pick in the draft up until 2019.
So with those two things in mind, there really is no such thing as a rebuilding process in Brooklyn since they don't have the pieces to start in the first place. The only way for them to get out of this awful mess is to find a good coach, general manager, and then trade those players who don't really quite fit in the system.
The question is who should they let go before next month's trade deadline?
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First of all, they have to decide which road to take. Are the current players really up to the challenge of taking them to the playoffs? We bet not. Hence, it's best for them to get young talent and figure out a way to get a pick in the next draft. To do that, they'll have to deal the most valuable player in the team — Brook Lopez.
Lopez is the only one who will fancy the interest of other teams because of his offensive abilities and the fact that he has shown he can recover from a serious injury. The Nets can certainly get a couple of very good young talents in exchange for Lopez, but the challenge is finding where and who that team is. The 27-year-old is currently playing for a three-year contract worth $60 million. A contender in the West should be more than willing to consider him if the offer is right.
Aside from Lopez, another player who they can unload in exchange for young talent or draft picks is Thaddeus Young. The power forward/center is athletic enough to be considered by teams who lack defensive presence inside the paint. He easily can average double figures in scoring and rebounding if placed in a better system other than the Nets.
Yes, the Nets are struggling mightily and that's not because the roster is filled with bad players. It's just that everything fell apart from day one. The mistake was trying to bring together veterans and players who are past their prime in the hope of winning a championship right away. Instead, the team is stuck with Joe Johnson's ridiculous contract and a bunch of players who seem to have difficulties playing for and with each other.
