Getty Could the Nets have a new target?
The Brooklyn Nets fizzled out in the playoffs in brutal fashion by being swept away from the Boston Celtics.
Aside from a Game 1 buzzer beater, it was a pretty convincing sweep that left the Nets with a lot of questions to answer in the offseason.
The Celtics have since moved on to face the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round, and even managed to tie up the series in Game 4 without the services of Robert Williams.
In a list of ambitious free agent targets from Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale, the Nets are urged to target Bucks sharpshooter Pat Connaughton. With Khris Middleton out for injury, Connaughton is one of the team’s most important players. This would make stealing him from the Bucks even more sweet if the Nets were able to pull it off.
While it’d make the Bucks weaker, the 29-year-old is no slouch and he’d make a great fit on the Nets and improve them as well.
NBA Champ to the Nets
GettyPat Connaughton of the Milwaukee Bucks.
Connaughton was actually selected by the Nets back in 2015, but he was subsequently traded to the Portland Trail Blazers where he got his career started.
With the Bucks, he has primarily come off the bench but he has provided deadeye shooting while he’s done it. This past season he started 19 games, a career high, and also posted his career high in averaging 9.9 points a game while shooting 39.5 percent from three.
While those aren’t eye-popping numbers by any means, if he were to find himself on a roster with Ben Simmons, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, there’s really not much more to ask for. Outside of his shooting, Connaughton can also provide something on the defensive end, and that’s part of why Favale thinks he’d be a good fit.
“Pat Connaughton would add some much-needed defensive depth without compromising the offensive structure,” he wrote. “The Milwaukee Bucks have used him to guard four positions, and he’s shooting 38.5 percent from deep over the past two years while showcasing intuitive off-ball movement.”
Players like this are very important to have, and the only hangup for the Nets in getting him is his player option. He could pick that up and stay with the Bucks, or he could opt out and get a bigger contract elsewhere.
Nets Can’t Afford Much
Getty
With lots of money tied up in their Big 3, the Nets can’t exactly afford to go out there and throw big money at a star.
This is where players like Connaughton would come in handy because he’s not on a massive contract and he’d be able to contribute to a championship team. Looking at it from the Bucks’ point of view, there’s no way they’d want to lose him, especially when you look at how valuable he has become.
He is beloved in Milwaukee, and that’s what comes with the territory after winning a championship. Offseasons can be quite wild in the NBA, so he won’t be a lock to stay, especially if the Bucks are able to find a big name to replace him with.
READ NEXT: Proposed Trade Turns Nets’ Ben Simmons Into $125 Million Big Man