One of the biggest prerequisites for being a fan is fanaticism, and fanaticism doesn’t always breed patience.
But that’s what the Nets need right now.
After weeks of being linked in rumors for wantaway Portland star Damian Lillard, and days of being talked about in three-team talks to bring back Tyler Herro, it’s obvious the Nets could bring back some significant names. But could doesn’t always mean should, especially if it undercuts your future.
Herro is a good player. Lillard is a great one. There’s not a team in the world that they wouldn’t make better. But the question the Nets have to ask — and for their sake, answer correctly — isn’t just how much either player would help but how much they’d truly cost, not just today but a year or two down the road.
Because the Nets are nowhere near contending for a championship. Adding Herro doesn’t change that, and — as dominant as he is — neither does dealing for Lillard. For that they’ll need patience.
The Nets were just 10th in the Eastern Conference after the All-Star break at 11-13. It underscores how far they have to go, and shortcuts aren’t the way there.
After being spoiled by Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving — and the title aspirations that go with them — it’s easy to see why fans are thirsting for an All-Star like Lillard or a young scorer like Herro. But general manager Sean Marks would be wise to consider the cost — in terms of salary, assets and lost opportunity.
Lillard, who turns 33 on July 15, has four years and $216 million left on his contract. The Nets went into last season as the NBA’s sixth-oldest team, and ended it the 10th-oldest, per Elias Sports Bureau. They got even younger this week after dealing away Patty Mills, 34, and Joe Harris, 31, and are now middle-of-the-pack in age.
Their three oldest players recently turned 30, with two of them — Royce O’Neale and Dorian Finney-Smith — having both drawn offers of first-round picks recently. Core players Cam Johnson, Mikal Bridges and Nic Claxton are 27, 26 and 24 respectively. Additionally, Brooklyn’s two first-round draft picks this season — Noah Clowney and Dariq Whitehead — are just 18, the two youngest players they’ve ever drafted in franchise history.
Forget what the Nets have said about contending. Don’t listen to the mouth, watch the hands. Everything they’ve done since the trade deadline points to a much different timeline, and Lillard doesn’t fit into it as well as he would into the lineup.
Meanwhile, everybody from Yahoo! Sports to the Miami Herald, Bleacher Report and SNY have reported that the Nets are in the mix for a three-team deal that would land Lillard in Miami and bring Herro to Brooklyn. And while the cost in first-round picks would be far cheaper, what is the cost in lost opportunity?
The Eastern Conference has an upper hierarchy, and right now the Nets are not in it. The Heat are fresh off the NBA Finals, and that deal would add Lillard to their winning mix. Milwaukee had by far the best record in the league. Add in Boston, the 76ers and Knicks, and ask just how many of those teams are the Nets leapfrogging?
While Herro, 23, fits Brooklyn’s timeline, there are reasons Portland doesn’t have any interest either. Actually about 120 million reasons, with a hefty four-year extension that kicks in this upcoming season.
Beyond the outgoing picks, a contract as big as Herro’s might necessitate using Ben Simmons to match, and selling low on a depressed asset is unwise. If the chatter from both the Nets and his camp about Simmons’ offseason recovery are accurate, selling for pennies on the pound would be bad business.
More to the point, Herro is solid but he’s no star; and he would clog up the Nets’ salary cap when they’re ready to take their next swing at a difference-making one.
In two years — when Simmons is either rehabilitated to All-Star form or gone — the free-agent class could include OG Anunoby, Anthony Davis, Brandon Ingram, Kawhi Leonard, Lauri Markkanen and Jamal Murray. And that doesn’t even include Brooklyn keeping its powder dry in case superstars Giannis Antetokounmpo (who can opt out in 2025) or Luka Doncic ever decide to ask out.
But that’s only if the Nets keep their powder dry.
That’s only if they’re patient.
