Getty The Bucks might've made a big pick up.
The Brooklyn Nets made a blockbuster trade that shipped superstar James Harden out of town in exchange for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry and Andre Drummond.
For the time being, Simmons is still away from the team, but Curry and Drummond helped the Nets snap their losing streak in a big way with a win over the new-look Sacramento Kings.
There was a casualty on the Nets as a result of this trade and it came with DeAndre Bembry. The 27-year-old forward was released by the Nets following the trade in order to free up a spot for all of the new players.
With the Nets, he was averaging close to 20 minutes per game, so he was a big part of the rotation, but they didn’t have a need for him following the Simmons-Harden deal.
It didn’t take long for Bembry to find a new home as ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports he is closing in on a deal that will have him going to the defending NBA champs Milwaukee Bucks.
Bembry to Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks are closing in on signing free agent G/F DeAndre Bembry for the rest of the season, sources tell ESPN. The Nets waived Bembry to create roster space for the blockbuster trade with Sixers.
The deal isn’t official as of yet, but signs are pointing to the Bucks picking up Bembry to add to their roster.
Milwaukee is currently sitting at 35-23 on the year, which is good for fifth in the Eastern Conference. With Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton leading the way, the Bucks are poised to make another deep playoff run and Bembry will only help them with that.
The Bucks will have two more open roster spots after this signing, so they could also pursue a player like Goran Dragic if they’d like. Dragic is also a target for the Nets, and they could use his talents considering Kyrie Irving is still a part-time player and Ben Simmons isn’t joining the team right away.
Will the Nets Miss Him?
GettyDeAndre’ Bembry guarded by Draymond Green.
With the trade bringing in Drummond and Curry, the Nets definitely have enough firepower to fill in the void left by Bembry.
In the game against the Kings, it didn’t look like they missed him at all, and the Drummond-Curry duo can definitely bring more to the table on the offensive end.
Once Kevin Durant returns from his injury, it was likely that Bembry would have his minutes cut in a big way, and that could have been why he was looked at as expendable.
There’s still no timetable on Durant’s return, but he has said the injury has been getting better.
“I’m feeling better. Much better as each week passes. It’s slow, but I’m looking forward to ramping things up,” Durant said earlier in the month.
It’s tough to tell exactly how good the Nets will be with Durant still out, but the same could’ve been said of the failed Big 3 of Durant, Irving and Harden. The trio barely played together, and they are destined to go down as one of the biggest “what ifs” in all of sports.
Perhaps the new trio of Irving, Durant and Simmons could bring Brooklyn a championship. Only time will tell if that’s the case.
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Former Nets Forward Finds Home With NBA Champs: Report