If the Brooklyn Nets beat the Golden State Warriors Monday night, with or without Steph Curry flashing shots from half court or beyond, the Nets will have won eight games out of 10 in December and likely secured their reputation as one of the NBA’s best defensive teams. Going into the 7:30 p.m. ET contest they are the best defensive team in the year’s final month. Heady stuff.
Also expect that the national media will begin wondering what’s going on in the borough. After all, the team was supposed
to tank to help them (but not guarantee them) one of the top picks in a draft that some have compared to 2003 when LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dywane Wade along with Darko Milicic were given brightly colored caps. A.J. Dybantsa, Darry Peterson and Cam Boozer seem to carry that kind of weight among scouts.
What will the theme be when these stories are written or produced? Will it be how Jordi Fernandez is one of the great young coaches in the NBA? Or how about Michael Porter Jr.’s all-star season and how trading for him and an unprotected first rounder in 2032 was not “among the worst trades of the decade?” The progress of the rookies. maybe? Nope. We think the national media will focus on the tank, whether Joe Tsai and Sean Marks will abandon or modify what both, in various iterations and commentaries, have said is needed to find the holy grail of “sustained success.“ Not to mention more draft assets!! In other words, the inflection point!
First of all while Nets tankers and anti-tankers go at it on social media there is no indication that the Nets are abandoning their plan. They are committed to, as one insider put it, the “probabilities,” meaning getting the best draft pick possible in the lottery.
Every move they have made since changing coaches two years ago has been directed toward that g0al. At the moment, the day after the coach of tonight’s opponent admitted his team is a “fading dynasty,“ the Nets are at the other end of things: the nadir of a multi-year rebuild. They have 1) the youngest roster in the NBA at around 23 years old; 2) the most picks — 32 total, including 13 firsts — over the next seven drafts; 3) the most cap space, about $15.5 million; and 4) can we emphasize this again? they have Jordi Fernandez.
Sure they also have flexibility to move in various directions as more than one NBA decision-maker has mentioned to us, but turning a battleship on his axis in mid-ocean isn’t so easy. It might lead to sea sickness, a loss of equilibrium.
Already, we are seeing some stirrings in the national media about Brooklyn’s enigma Monday morning, The Ringer whose founder Bill Simmons coined the phrase “among the worst trades in a decade” while discussing MPJ for CamJ, discussed how things have changed.
Michael Pina, whose previous work on the Nets going back to the summer has provided some of the the more optimistic takes, extolled their strategy and particularly the acquisition of Porter. He laid out video of MPJ’s best work pointed to these data points:
No player has seen their true usage percentage leap higher compared to what it was last year. Right before our eyes, MPJ has transformed from an overpaid and overqualified role player to a trajectory-altering All-Star. More importantly, for the purpose of this column, he’s become a creative muse for Nets head coach Jordi Fernández amid a season that’s steadily shifting from dark to light.
There are 20 players currently averaging at least 25 points per game, and the only one who has the ball in their hands less than Porter is Markkanen. (For reference, MPJ’s on-ball percentage is 12.8 percent, and his former teammate Jamal Murray is at 36.0 percent; Porter is averaging more points per game.)
Pina’s advice to the Nets is try to find some sort of half way strategy: be ready to deal when the offers come in but be patient. Let the “game come to you!
After watching the Oklahoma City Thunder recently lose four games in a two-week stretch, several teams probably feel reinvigorated about their chances at a meaningfully deep playoff run. If I were one of their GMs, I would strongly consider making a weighty offer for Porter. And if I were Sean Marks, I’d be in zero rush to move on from a 27-year-old who can accentuate my young core and fit beside the more established and talented pieces we bring in over the summer. If somebody comes along and decides to make the Mikal Bridges offer look like child’s play, so be it. But until then, there’s no reason to settle just so the Nets can move up a few spots in the lottery.
Similarly, Bill Simmons, Pina’s boss and the author of the “one of the worst trades” narrative (we don’t forget,) and ESPN analyst Tim Legler spoke last week about Porter’s renaissance. Simmons nodded at Legler’s assessment. Said Legler:
“I really believe in just conversations that I’m having, I think the guy’s completely changed his trade status. In terms of attractiveness to teams. I think people thought, ok, you kind of knew what Michael Porter was. The fact that he can do this offensively… I do think now there’s probably more teams that would look at him that are sort of those middle-of-the-road playoff teams, and go, man, that would be nice to add that kind of scoring punch.”
It would be smart for Sean Marks to keep his counsel on what he’s thinking, not let anyone outside HSS Training Center (and only a few inside) know what his plans are. It’s also generally the way the Nets GM, who abhors leaks, approaches things, showing patience and waiting till the last possible moment to shake hands either in person or digitally. It can be risky and there have been exceptions to the rule, but in this instance, it won’t be just his personality that dictates patience. There should be multiple suitors for Porter and there’s plenty of time left … six weeks to 3:00 p.m. ET on February 5. Moreover, two of the teams currently with higher lottery odds, the New Orleans Pelicans and Los Angeles Clippers, owe their first rounder to other teams. They have no incentive to tank. They want to win.
One risk is the fragility of MPJ’s health. Although he’s missed only 10 games in the last two plus seasons — not all to injury — he has had three back surgeries in his pro career and still has lingering issues, among them wearing a brace more commonly fitted on stroke victims…
At the moment that doesn’t seem to be an issue but you can be sure any suitors for his services will be sure to mention it to Marks during negotiations. There was a report over the weekend that three teams had called the Nets about Porter’s available which Brett Siegal of Clutch Points summarily shot down…
Too soon! (Also too soon: talk of an extension for MPG. Despite reports that he could get extended as early as next month, Yossi Gozlan of Third Apron tells ND that he won’t be eligible till July 6 at the earliest. The max, in case you’re interested is four years and $234 million.)
Porter’s relationships with the NBA fanbase may also have taken a turn for the good. Monday morning, the NBA released the results of the first tranche of All-Star voting by fans and Porter pulled up with the 10th highest number in the Eastern Conference. They can’t all be Nets — or Nuggets — fans. Also, two days ago, Porter was shown gifting his mother a brand new BMW. Merry Christmas indeed.
That’s quite the antidote to the bad publicity he received over the summer when he was active on podcasts and stirring up controversy with his positions on dating, the WNBA and his quasi-endorsement of the cover boy for toxic masculinity and pure unadulterated misogyny. Marks has said the organization sat MPJ down last summer and told him he isn’t in Colorado any more. Since then, we haven’t heard much.
Making a deal for Porter before or at the trade deadline on February 5 won’t be easy. He’s owed $38.3 million this season and $40.8 million next season. The Nets would like to stay above the salary cap floor. Making up the loss of that level salary during the season would be the issue and maybe not the only one. There are others like teams not wanting to give up too many first round picks when we’ve seen their value … particularly in the upcoming draft. The Nets want more picks in 2026. That’s a certainty.
So, we wait and perhaps enjoy the kind of basketball we’ve seen of late: gritty on defense, fun on offense and hope that whatever decision the ownership and front office make will be the smart one. At least in the case of MPJ, they seem to have done well. There are a lot worse problems in the NBA.
