Getty Seth Curry #30 of the Brooklyn Nets warms up
The Brooklyn Nets have put the drama that has plagued them this offseason behind them and they are now moving forward and filling out their roster with players who’ll help them compete for a championship.
They’ve added both Yuta Watanabe and Markieff Morris in recent days, so the signings are coming and they appear to be targeting veterans to replace the ones they have going out the door like Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge.
The Nets don’t have a lot of cap space available to make big signings, not there are many big names left on the market, but they do have some appealing contracts that can used to land impact players.
One such contract would be Seth Curry’s as he’s on an expiring deal this season that pays him $8.5 million in the upcoming season. The guard has bounced around quite a bit during his NBA tenure, but he’s proven he’s a consistent shooter wherever he lands.
Because of those reasons, The Athletic’s Alex Schiffer calls him the team’s most tradable asset and deemed him to be the “odd man out” in the event a trade is made with one of the veterans on the roster.
Curry Moved?
If there’s something the Nets have an abundance of at the moment, it’s shooters. With Joe Harris returning from injury, the Nets have Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, Patty Mills, Curry and Harris all as possible options in the starting lineup that are above-average shooters.
Ben Simmons will factor in somewhere as well as Nic Claxton, both players not known for shooting, so sacrifices will have to be made.
“Have touched on this already but I think Seth Curry is the odd man out because of the bevy of shooting and the one year left on his deal,” Schiffer said. “The Nets could roll with three shooters in Harris, Mills and Curry, but there is some redundancy there.”
At this point, it’s tough to say what role Curry will play and if he’d even be a starter. Lost in the shuffle of the Kevin Durant trade saga is the fact the Nets acquired Royce O’Neale, and considering they gave up a first-round pick for him, he seems like he’d be a starter. In projecting the lineup, Schiffer agrees, and here’s what he predicts.
- Durant
- Simmons
- Irving
- Harris
- O’Neale
If this ended up being the case, Curry would come off the bench, and while that’d be perfectly fine, it might also make him more likely to be traded since he’s not as essential as that bench unit would also have Mills, T.J. Warren, Cam Thomas, etc.
Will a Move Happen?
As of right now, it’s tough to imagine anything happening before the season kicks off, but once it begins then all bets are off. A slow start to the season could lead to an avalanche of moves, but a hot start might mean the team stays together.
“He’s still on a great deal though and I see no reason not to keep him if there isn’t a deal that makes sense,” Schiffer concludes on Curry.
Despite all of the turmoil this offseason, the Nets have a championship caliber team put together, and they expect to compete for a title. A healthy Durant and Irving paired with Simmons should be a good enough Big 3 for a deep playoff run.
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