Getty Jae Crowder and Mikal Bridges fight to wrestle the ball away from Josh Hart.
The Brooklyn Nets are the hottest team in the NBA, as they extended their win streak to eight games after defeating the Milwaukee Bucks in their last contest. But in the eyes of many, the Nets still have a lot to prove before they can be named contenders because many of their wins have come against lackluster opponents or teams whose best player was on the injury report.
With the trade deadline approaching, some believe the Nets are still a player away from being able to compete with the NBA’s cream of the crop in the playoffs. David Vertsberger of Yahoo Sports says one move the Nets should consider, is a trade for Phoenix Suns 3&D specialist Jae Crowder.
“While many of Brooklyn’s points of improvement lie up-front, there’s never enough big three-point shooting and defensive wings on a true contender,” Vertsberger said of a potential Crowder trade via Yahoo Sports.
“Harris, T.J. Warren, Yuta Watanabe, and Royce O’Neale have held down the fort well, but adding another weapon who can make big defensive plays as well certainly doesn’t hurt.”
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Vertsberger: Jae Crowder Could Bring ‘Nastiness’ to Nets
Crowder is a bit undersized for the forward position at 6’6. But his under-the-radar strength has made him an asset. He has been the top defender on most of his teams and is also an above-average three-point shooter. He shot a career-high 44.5% from beyond the arc during the 2019-20 season to help lead the Miami Heat to the NBA Finals in 2020.
Vertberger believes that Crowder could bring a “nastiness” to Brooklyn that could pay dividends for the Nets in the later rounds of the playoffs.
“If there’s a weak point to Brooklyn’s roster when it comes to wings, it’s that they could use someone to throw at the bigger, elite wings of the league. O’Neale and Harris are 100% sound, but a playoff series against Giannis Antetokounmpo or Jayson Tatum requires a little more size and nastiness,” Vertsberger added.
“Crowder won’t solve the Tatum issue for Brooklyn, or win them a series, but having that one extra guy in case of injuries or bad matchups certainly helps. He’s also extremely experienced with late postseason runs and is capable of knocking down the open three.”
Kyrie Irving Sounds off on Nets Winning Streak
The Nets making a trade right now would satisfy many fans who still believe the team is lacking something. But the reality is that they are playing arguably their best basketball of the Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving era, even better than when James Harden was on the roster.
The Nets’ impressiveness during this stretch is much bigger than their current win streak. The team is making an effort to show fight, battling on the offensive boards, diving on the floor for loose balls, and a plethora of other things that won’t necessarily show up in the box score.
Irving says that “doing the little things” has contributed greatly to the team winning consistently.
“I think we’re just putting together a consistent game plan right now. Guys are filling their roles at a high level no matter who’s in the lineup,” Irving said after their win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
“This is our group, we’re just rocking, having fun playing a great brand of basketball, doing the little things, and it’s resulting in some wins. But we just want to keep it up. We don’t want to take our foot off the gas pedal,” said Kyrie Irving. “It’s a long season, but this is a great place that we’re at right now, and we feel good.”
The Nets can increase their winning streak to nine games in their next contest against the Cleveland Cavaliers.