After a December that saw the Brooklyn Nets have a strong 7-4 record over the 31-day stretch, the team followed that up by winning only three of 17 games in January. The Nets are 13-36, 13th out of 15 teams in the Eastern Conference when they face the Orlando Magic tonight on the road after Tuesday night’s 125-109 home loss to the Los Angeles Lakers at the Barclays Center.
With 33 games remaining in the regular season for the Nets and little hope for even a play-in berth, as they are 10 games behind the No. 10 seed Chicago Bulls (24-27), the rest of this campaign is about developing the team’s young core, with some soon-to-be-answered questions about the roster.
One is what moves will they make before today’s 3 p.m. ET trade deadline. Will the team trade Michael Porter Jr., who has had a noteworthy season thus far? The 27-year-old, seven-year veteran forward is averaging career highs in points (25.6), rebounds (7.3), and assists (3.2), all while shooting a solid 48.2% from the field playing in 38 of the team’s 49 games.
At the time this article went to print, Porter was still a member of the team. Brooklyn’s general manager Sean Marks cannot expect to get a haul similar to what the Nets received when the franchise traded forward Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks in July of 2024, the centerpiece being five first round picks.
Brooklyn may keep the 6’10” Porter Jr. who has one more year remaining on the five-year, $179.3 million deal he signed with the Denver Nuggets before they traded him to Brooklyn last summer for forward Cam Johnson. He will be an unrestricted free-agent after next season, so his expiring contract could be an appealing asset for the Nets heading into this offseason.
Guard Cam Thomas, who will be an unrestricted free-agent after this season, also may garner interest in the trade market. The 24-year-old, 6’3” guard is the Nets’ second leading scorer at 16 points per game.
Regardless of whether Porter Jr. remains on the team after today, developing young talent, like third-year pro Noah Clowney, will be the main focus of the team the rest of the way.
“We’ve all seen the next steps that he’s taking with his drives, getting to the free-throw line, being an impactful player almost everywhere,” said Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez of Clowney. “His defense, his size, making winning plays, driving, free throws, threes, all that stuff, and as a young player, I always keep telling Noah, ‘I’m never going to use the excuse that you’re 21.’
“I’m going to always ask you to be consistent and more and more and more in a good way. Because I believe he can do it. That’s how much we believe in him.”
After the Magic tonight, the Nets return to the Barclays Center to host the Washington Wizards on Saturday. The Bulls and Indiana Pacers visit Brooklyn on Monday and Wednesday respectively before the NBA All-Star break begins next Thursday.
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