Getty Images Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler is fouled by Indiana Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon.
The Brooklyn Nets went the majority of the 2021-22 season without having their sharpshooter Joe Harris available. On November 12, Harris suffered an ankle injury that required him to have surgery, and he was expected to return later on in the season. Harris and the Nets decided that having surgery and returning during the season was his best option so that the injury wouldn’t linger throughout the year. But several setbacks required Harris to get a second surgery which held him out for the remainder of the Nets season.
While there is no doubt that Harris fills one of the Nets’ needs as an extra knockdown shooter, the biggest hole Brooklyn needs to fill on their roster is defense. In a recent trade proposal from Kristian Winfield of the “New York Daily News,” the writer suggests a trade proposal that has the Nets part ways with Harris to acquire Malcolm Brogdon, a noted lockdown defender, from the Indiana Pacers. Brogdon is currently in the final year of a 4-year/ $85 million deal.
The Full offer:
Pacers Receive:
Joe Harris
Cam Thomas
Second Round Pick
Nets Receive:
Malcolm Brogdon
“In what projects to be an NBA offseason period mirroring a game of musical chairs, Brogdon is the most interesting trade target in all of basketball. As talented as the veteran guard is on both ends of the floor, all indications point to the rebuilding Pacers dealing Brogdon to a playoff contender this summer. He has three more years left on his contract worth $67.6M, but entering age 30, does not fit into Indiana’s ostensible rebuilding timeline,” Winfield writes per the “New York Daily News”.
“Brogdon fits for any team, however, that needs a player who can do three specific things: run the offense, hit open threes, and defend multiple positions. If it sounds like a dream come true, here’s Brogdon’s nightmare: injuries. His games played sheet looks more like a lottery ticket (36, 56, 54, 64, 48) than a player available for a full 82-game season.”
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Brogdon Could Share Point Guard Role With Ben Simmons
With the acquisition of Seth Curry in the James Harden, Ben Simmons trade, to go along with the scoring of Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving, Brooklyn has more than enough shooting on their roster, making Harris an even more expendable trade piece. Although Brogdon has garnered a reputation as an elite wing defender, Winfield notes that the Nets could use him to alleviate some of the point guard responsibilities from Ben Simmons.
“James Harden’s quick exodus from Brooklyn exposed one of the Nets’ biggest flaws: Harden was their point guard, and without that floor general on the floor, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving were forced to both feed themselves and their teammates,” Winfield writes per the “New York Daily News”.
“Ben Simmons could be the point guard in Brooklyn, but don’t be surprised if the Nets pop up in Brogdon trade rumors, either. A lineup with both Brogdon and Simmons sharing point guard responsibilities and defending the opposing team’s best perimeter scorers makes life easier for both Seven and Eleven to focus on what they’re best at: supercharging an offense and hitting big shots.”
Knicks Could Also Be in Mix for Brogdon
Although the Nets just moved to Brooklyn In 2012, they already have a budding rivalry with their cross-town nemesis, the New York Knicks. Despite failing to make the playoffs for the eighth time in the last 10 seasons, Winfield says that the Knicks could also be in the mix to make a deal for Brogdon if the Pacers make him available.
“If the last two seasons under head coach Tom Thibodeau told you anything about the Knicks, it’s that they, like many other teams, need a stable answer at their point guard spot. The Knicks have been eyeing incumbent Mavericks free agent Jalen Brunson, but Brogdon brings more size with a 6-foot-5, 220-pound, 6-foot-10 wingspan versus Brunson’s diminutive stature,” Winfield continues.
“The Knicks have been monitoring Brogdon since last season, but he was ineligible to be traded because he signed a contract extension last offseason. A home-run deal with the Pacers also includes Myles Turner in a Brogdon deal, but it’s unclear if the Knicks have the assets to pull off such a move.”
The Nets and Knicks have been vying for supremacy in New York City since the Nets arrived in 2012. Brooklyn already won the KD and Kyrie sweepstakes. If they beat the Knicks out for another star player, it would make the rivalry that much more bitter between the two sides.
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