A relatively low cost trade to address almost all of the Nets issues

It’s no secret this is a deeply flawed roster. There’s a reason projections all have the nets going roughly 37-45 in some order I would say the nets are lacking in the following areas

– rebounding

– rim pressure

– playmaking

– a stretch big

Ben + claxton without KD/Kyrie will be a disaster. Last year they had an 88 offensive rating with those 2 without the stars, which is comically bad.

Kelly Olynyk is the stretch big this team desperately needs. He can start at the 4 alongside claxton or work as the backup center next to Simmons. He’s also an elite passer for a big man, averaging 6.2 assists per 100 which was 4th among bigs behind Jokic, Sabonis, and just behind Sengun (5th if you count Giannis as a big) This number would rank 3rd on the Nets behind Ben and Dinwiddie. He also averaged >10 rebounds per 100 which is better than anyone besides Ben and Claxton on this roster. He’s also a weirdly good ball handler. He is the rare big who can dribble, shoot, and pass. He is a limited defensively, but claxton is a perfect compliment to him on both ends of the court.

He is a 32 year old on an expiring contract so I don’t think he’ll have a crazy high cost in a trade. The jazz just added 2 power forwards this summer and their 2 most important players in Lauri and Kessler play the 4 and 5 so I think they’ll move on from him this summer.

Cole Anthony is an ELITE rebounding guard. Only Westbrook rebounded more per possession than Cole Anthony last year. Despite being just 6’2” he averaged more boards than DFS, Royce, Mikal, CJ per possession last year. The nets last season were dead last in shots at the rim. Anthony is an athletic guard who can provide rim pressure. I prefer him strongly to Tyler Herro.

Anthony is the more efficient scorer, has a higher assist %, the lower turnover %, the higher reb %, and most importantly doesn’t make 30 million dollars a year going forward. His shot has improved every year and he has elite FT% which indicates great shooting touch. The nets don’t have anyone who can run pick and roll and Anthony ranked in the 84th percentile last year in the pick and roll

Cole will be a RFA next summer, and Jake Fischer reported that the Magic don’t want to pay him and Suggs and 1 or both of them is likely available this summer. The Magic had interest in Grant Williams this summer, so I would think they would like DFS, who is like a deluxe version of Grant. They cut Isaac this summer too because he’s due 2 years 34 million, but they can just pay him 7 million now and be done with him, as he’s played 11 total games in the last THREE years.

I would run a rotation of

Anthony-Mikal-Johnson-Olynyk-Claxton

Dinwiddie-Cam T-O’Neale-Simmons

Then Ben is basically your super 6th man as the first sub for claxton with Kelly moving to center. Anthony is great in the pick and roll so he ties his minutes to claxton. Dinwiddie struggles there, but is elite in isolation and on catch and shoots, so he plays most of his minutes with Ben, who functions as the primary playmaker.

The nets in this trade give up just DFS and 2 seconds and address all of their biggest weaknesses and improve the team substantially.

by AdviceEuphoric4852