Brooklyn Nets Trade Talk: Play Or Go Away?

The NBA trade deadline is coming real soon and it’s time to have a real important Brooklyn Nets trade talk. With all of the uncertainty surrounding the Nets front office and future, it’s hard to figure out what to do to get this franchise out of the dark ages.

Well the Brooklyn Nets have made it to the All-Star break, and I don’t think anyone saw the chaos that the Nets has caused to themselves and indirectly to other franchises. First let’s talk about themselves.

The Nets came out losing for about two weeks straight. The miscommunication between Lionel Hollins and basically everyone in the Brooklyn Nets organization. The bad defense from the guards, especially Jarrett Jack. I have tried to confirm this but there is no evidence that opposing guards sent limos to make sure Jack showed up to games. The three-point shooting that was so bad, the bricks that were thrown up was used for the new building for the D-league affiliate, the Long Island Nets. The Forbes report stating that the Nets are in the red on their financial ledger, the low attendance at the Barclays Center, low ratings have given the Nets this description…

BORING! BORING! BORING!

Sorry, folks, the Brooklyn Nets have been far from it. Whether you paid attention to Hollins’s antics on the bench or the way in which the Nets have found ways to lose games, they have been interesting to say the least.

Including Lionel Hollins, five NBA coaches have been fired. The other four coaches that have been fired have been linked indirectly to the Brooklyn Nets. When their teams played the Nets, peculiar circumstances got them fired. Yes that includes David Blatt and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Now after the total blowup of the front office, The Brooklyn Nets are six days (and counting) until the NBA trading deadline and they still…

DON’T HAVE A GENERAL MANAGER!

Are they still boring? Hardly.

With this season over basically at 14-40 and virtually no chance realistically that the Nets can make a move, Brooklyn’s Finest wanted to have some fun.

Brooklyn’s Finest is going to walk through the Barclays Center (in our minds) and make the theoretical decisions on every player on this roster. We are going to play our own version of Russian Roulette. It is called…

Play or Go Away!

Jarrett Jack: Go Away!

Jarrett Jack will probably never be seen in a Brooklyn Nets uniform again. Let’s be clear here. Jack is a journeyman point guard that never had the ability to lead an NBA team. For the record, he didn’t do the job here either. Joe Johnson will be criticized for his bad shooting and inconsistency on offense. Some of it is warranted but it’s hard for a shooter to get his rhythm when the point guard is looking for his shot 20 times a night. I could rant about his defense, but why beat a dead horse?

I will give Jarrett Jack a lot of credit though. In his last game against the Boston Celtics, he was the only one that stood up and defended Brook Lopez when Lopez was roughed up. It was then I knew why Jack was penciled in as starting point guard every night. The Boston players tried to confront Jack and he did not back down. Unfortunately, Jack suffered a season-ending knee injury in the same game.

The Nets probably tried to sell that Jack would be a proper fill in for Deron Williams, but the one thing New York fans aren’t is stupid. New York fans are amongst the most knowledgeable basketball fans in the world. Jack looked at times like he was padding his stats for his next contract. The last year of his contract is only partially guaranteed so look for Jack to be gone next year.

Shane Larkin: Play!

Shane Larkin does have a player option at $1.5 million next year. The only question is if he exercises it. The Brooklyn Nets better hope that he does. Shane Larkin has had some positive moments this year backing up Jarrett Jack to the point that he outplayed the incumbent at times. The Nets did not know what they were getting bringing Larkin in from the crosstown Knicks. All they had was Phil Jackson’s opinion on his hand size.The franchise is starting to speed up the tempo on offense and that is the offense that Shane Larkin will thrive in. When Larkin was successful, he was coming off the bench to provide the spark and change of pace. The Nets made a mistake putting him in the starting lineup where he would be exposed with a dysfunctional offense going through changes. Then throw in the fact he might be the best shooter out of all of the guards, I say keep him.

Donald Sloan: Go away!

Look, I realize that Sloan is playing well (considering this is the Brooklyn Nets) but something about this dude I just don’t like. Oh that’s it, Donald Sloan can’t shoot a lick. Shooting coach David Nurse can’t help this dude. A regular hospital nurse can’t help this dude. The Brooklyn Nets brought him in because he was cheap. Sloan has hit the ceiling with what he can bring to this team. Brooklyn does not need steady at this point, they need upside. Shane Larkin has potential to get better, Sloan is about tapped out.

Joe Johnson: HE needs to Go Away!.

I know Joe Johnson did not sign up for this. The Brooklyn Nets are notorious for messy goodbyes (Deron Williams, Lionel Hollins, Jason Kidd, Avery Johnson, etc., etc.) but this goodbye should be done with class.

Does anyone remember former Brooklyn Net Kevin Garnett when he was in Minnesota the first time? He was miserable and he wanted to win a championship. The problem was he would never demand a trade or force his way out. Joe Johnson is the same stand-up guy. The Nets got what they asked from Johnson and that includes this season. He could have easily blasted Lionel Hollins through the media. He didn’t. He could have a ball complaining about the state of the franchise. He hasn’t. Johnson has brought the only shred of excitement to the Barclays Center this year with a buzzer beater against the Denver Nuggets. He almost beat the New Orleans Pelicans with a buzzer beater a few days earlier.

Here’s what needs to happen. Joe Johnson will not be traded. The contract is too big and it will not work out for either side. After the deadline is gone, Johnson and the Nets brass need to sit down and work out a buyout. According to the Miami Herald, the Miami Heat would be interested in picking Johnson up for the rest of the season. If that is the case, work out something and let Johnson chase the ring before he retires. If Johnson stays, he will miss the playoffs for the first time in nearly a decade. Understand that Deron Williams is well on his way to the playoffs in Dallas. Considering the backstory between the two, do you think this is right? No. I didn’t think so.

Keep it locked to Brooklyn’s Finest for the rest of the roster over the days ahead.