HSS Training Center is locked up tighter than a drum. Not the practice courts. They ring with the sound of squeaking sneakers and encouraging applause from coaches. Reporters can get limited access to
the courts on practice days, but in the corner offices and conference room, there’s no access. That’s the way Sean Marks likes it. He doesn’t like leaks — hates them in fact, particularly now with a little less than a month left before the February 5 trade deadline.
So, for the most part, reporting on the Nets has been limited to speculation about who might be interested in Michael Porter Jr. having an All-Star season (not official yet) but very little about the Nets side of the trade equation other than Marks & Co. are “listening” to offers or inquiries.
What might the Nets want? One first round pick? Two? A young player? No specifics. They won’t accept “scraps,” says Brett Siegel of Clutch Points. Both he and Jake Fischer of The SteinLine say the Nets are planning big “moves” next summer once they see who they get in that lush 2026 Draft, expecting to put Brooklyn in contention for 2026-27. So would it be smart for Marks to wait till the Draft when he’s the most active anyway? Again, no one at HSS is saying.
Typical of the speculation was a Fischer report last week. Fischer wrote about teams “evaluating” or “monitoring” Porter or having “internal discussions” about him or are candidates to be a “team to consider” or one to “keep our antennae up.“ Not much there.
Ramona Shelburne of ESPN called MPJ, “the guy a lot of teams are talking about…”
Not much there either, but there’s a lot of smoke.
On a slow Saturday, John Hollinger added a bit of kindling, but just a bit. In a report on The Athletic, Hollinger, the former Memphis Grizzlies executive, suggests that with ESPN’s reporting about Ja Morant being available, a lot of teams may be interested and describes the Nets a “deep dark horse.” In that context, here’s how be connects MPJ’s availability with Morant’s.
[L]et’s talk about one deep dark horse: Brooklyn. With one trusted league source telling me that Michael Porter Jr. is a lock to move by the deadline so the Nets can sell high on his career year, it makes sense for the Nets to figure out who will be the centerpiece of their franchise a year from now. Remember, Brooklyn owes a pick swap to Houston in 2027 and thus has no incentive to tank next season. They need some players.
Dealing Porter for Morant and picks would allow the Nets to have their cake and eat it, too. They could sell high on Porter, buy low on Morant, and fill their most glaring roster weakness ahead of the 2026-27 season. In the meantime, Brooklyn could follow Washington’s lead post-trade and have Morant’s calf injury “linger” into April so they can collect more ping-pong balls. Let’s just say that Porter’s fantastic season is colliding with other organizational objectives in Brooklyn.
The closest thing to news in those two paragraphs is that MPJ is “a lock to move by the deadline,” but he provides no details on the “trusted league source.” One might assume that whoever it is is close to the Nets. Hollinger is a credible enough source that he wouldn’t be quoting just anyone.
As for the Nets possible interest in Morant, that doesn’t sound plausible … and we’re being kind. Publicly, over and over again, as well as privately, Marks and Joe Tsai have spoken about “high character” players being the foundation stone of the rebuilt Nets. And Morant, the 26-year-old who not that long ago was seen as the future face of the league, has had one issue after another, two suspensions for waving firearms, forced to enter counseling, issues with his coaches and teammates, etc. Not to mention sustaining one injury after another. At this point his trade value is low.
Of course stranger things have happened. Indeed if you look for the first reference to Sean Marks mentioning “high character” players was at Kenny Atkinson’s press conference … 494 weeks ago. That was before the Big Three debacle. But there’s every indication that Brooklyn, the owner and GM take it very, very seriously.
As B.J. Johnson, Marks’ No. 2, told SCOUT, the Nets docu-series, “Regardless of who comes in here, we’re not going to change. They’ve got to adjust to us. Overall, that’s what it’s about here.”
It should also be noted that Porter is not the only player on the Nets roster who has been rumored to be headed elsewhere. Los Angeles Lakers fans think Nic Claxton would be an excellent addition. Boston Celtics fans like Day’Ron Sharpe and his very reasonable contract. Moreover, the Nets have all the trade pieces needed to make most deals, with 32 draft picks, including 10 tradeable firsts, $15.5 million in cap space through June, most in the league, then as much as $50 million next season, and a lot of young players.
Sunday, the Nets will play the Grizzlies which will no doubt lead to more rumors, more discussions. And just to make matters even more interesting, Michael Porter Jr. won’t be playing. He’s “resting.”
