Getty General Manager Sean Marks of the Brooklyn Nets speaks at the podium during a press conference at Brooklyn Nets Media Day at HSS Training Center
Going into the season, the Brooklyn Nets were said to be interested in adding a veteran center to their rotation. However, they quickly changed their tune to giving an opportunity for their developing young big men Nic Claxton and Day’Ron Sharpe a chance to prove themselves. While Claxton has made the most of his opportunity, Sharpe has left some to be desired. One NBA executive identified to Heavy Sports one big man that could be the ‘perfect’ acquisition for them. That big man is the Harlem-born Orlando Magic big man Mo Bamba.
“If they could somehow get Mo Bamba, for example, from the Magic, that would be the perfect situation for them. He is going to have a lot of suitors, though, when the Magic are eligible to trade him, and the Nets do not have the first-round picks to make a deal work. They could get a third team into the works, a team like Dallas, where they send out Patty Mills to the Mavericks, the Mavs send Josh Green and another guy, Frank Ntilikina or someone, to Orlando, and the next send Cam Thomas to Orlando with Bamba going to Brooklyn. But again, the Magic will want picks for Bamba, most likely, and they’re probably going to be able to do better than that for him,” an Eastern Conference executive told Heavy Sports.
Nets Still Seeking Young Big Man
Bamba was named as a potential center that Brooklyn could target in a discussion about the Nets’ frontcourt with Heavy Sports’ Sean Deveney. The executive noted the strong play of the Nets’ current starting center Nic Claxton, but that they could still be looking for a young big man to develop in the franchise.
“Claxton has been really solid, they have to be happy with him and what he has done, but (Day’Ron) Sharpe is disappointing. He does not look ready for the moment—he hacks too much on the defensive end—and Markieff Morris has struggled. They have been going with a lot of small-ball, with (Kevin) Durant or (Ben) Simmons getting run at center. That is probably not sustainable, though.
I am sure they’d like to find a young big guy they can start bringing along, but that is not going to be easy, not with the trade assets they have on hand. There’s still talk that maybe something happens with DeAndre Ayton from the Suns for Kevin Durant, a framework like that. But that is a pretty big plunge for both teams to take,” the executive told Heavy Sports.
After mentioning the possible Ayton talks is when the executive named Bamba in the quote above. Targeting young big man is a welcome alternative to their pursuit of an aging veteran that they were considering this offseason.
Old Reports That Nets Were Targeting Veteran Big Man
At the end of the offseason, Kristian Winfield, the Nets beat reporter for the New York Daily News, reported that the Nets were seeking a big man in trades or with their available mid-level exception on a September episode of The Athletic NBA Show.
On the podcast, he cited Myles Turner as a potential trade target for the Nets. Dwight Howard has also been a name circling around Brooklyn since the beginning of the offseason. Then there was Hassan Whiteside and DeMarcus Cousins. Both have been talked about less than the others but are available. However, now the executive speculates that the team is looking for a younger big man, and Turner is the only potential fit in that criteria.