ANALYSIS: It’s all about the “T” word

If you’ve been wondering at all what direction the Brooklyn Nets are going and how serious they are about getting a top pick in the 2025 draft, stop it. The trade with Dennis Schroder completed on Sunday finally clarified this.

The Nets didn’t trade Schroder to simply get two second-rounders, but rather to get a better chance at a higher first-round pick. You want to lose more, Panzer.

Sean Marks spoke to the media before practice on Sunday about the Nets’ trade mindset. He did not use the “T” word, but rather the organization’s most commonly used code word: “sustainable success.”

“First of all, I think we have to deal with the fact that we’re going to miss Dennis, the person on and off the field,” Marks said. “I think what he did for us in the locker room, his leadership, he exemplifies the Brooklyn courage that we’re talking about. So it’s difficult to miss him. But these are the decisions you must make if your ultimate goal is long-term, sustainable success.”

“So we are weighing up a lot of factors here. It is never easy to see one of your own people go; But when you look at the bigger picture, this is what’s best for our organization in the long run.”

The final trading collapse was largely as reported on Saturday…

However, there were other details.

• They crafted the deal to include a $13.0 million trade exception at the end, giving the Nets two of the league’s largest trade exceptions, this one and the TPE generated by the Mikal Bridges trade $23.3 million.
• Jacky Cui, out for the season with his own torn ACL, was released so Beekman could fit in a two-way slot. Cui’s future with the organization remains uncertain. Theoretically, the franchise could re-sign him in the summer, and if he’s healthy, he’ll be ready for the NBA China Games, which Brooklyn will play in Macau next October. Cui was the only Chinese player in the NBA.
• If the Nets don’t waive Melton, they can trade him and his $12.7 million contract again over a two-day period in February, with the trade deadline ending on Feb. 6 and a day earlier, as Hoops Rumors reported on First reported Saturday.
• The Nets are allowed to apply for a disabled player waiver for Melton because he was injured as a Warrior.

The bottom line is that the Nets have been more successful under new head coach Jordi Fernandez than anyone imagined. Right now they are 10-15 and have the 9th worst record in the league according to Tankathon, but they are only 3rd ¹⁄₂ Play away from the fourth-worst record and 4th ¹⁄₂ Games from the third, 57 games and trades to go.

No one is saying what the target is in terms of the bottom line, but with the top of the 2025 NBA Draft looking like it could produce more than one generational player, going 3rd and 4th in the lottery seems like a good target to go. One could argue that the Nets season has been ideal so far. Fernandez has proven that he is a solid young coach, outperforming even experienced coaches. Fans have had some victories and can now focus on draft position.

The loss of Schröder is crucial for this. Not only is he a boxscore leader, but he is also a recognized leader in the locker room, beloved by both his teammates and fans. Jordi Fernandez also spoke about it on Sunday.

“We are excited for (Dennis) to have the opportunity to play for a team that will compete for a championship,” Fernandez said. “Will we miss him here? Yes, because he is a great guy and has done great things for us. But we have assets and further development will be beneficial for our future.

“Our vision from ownership to the front office to the coaching staff is aligned and we will continue to do so.”

The 15-man roster now features a natural point guard in Ben Simmons, two players who have been pressured to step in recently, Shake Milton and Keon Johnson, and now a two-way in Beekman, who is a natural point guard Guard – and one with an outstanding college education as a defender – has only played two minutes in the NBA.

Both long-term and short-term, the Nets’ draft position was strengthened, even if they didn’t land a first-rounder as some had hoped. After the trade, they keep 15 first-rounders, all but two unprotected; two first-round draft swaps, both unprotected; and 13 second-rounders. All but three first-rounders are tradeable. That’s it. They now compete quantitatively with the legendary Oklahoma City Thunder squad and may have a quality advantage.

Although they passed up the second-rounder protected by Miami (31-37) in this year’s draft, Brooklyn took a second-rounder in the 2026 draft, which is also considered a very good and deep draft. Brooklyn now has five picks in 2025 – four firsts and one second – and three picks in 2026 – one first and two seconds. And that’s right now, before any other trades.

As far as cap space goes, they are probably still the only NBA team with significant cap space, with estimates hovering at at least $60 million.

ESPN’s Kevin Pelton, in giving the Nets a trade grade of B+, argued that getting rid of two seconds was “a great deal for Brooklyn.”

The departure of veterans, most notably Schroder, should make it easier for Brooklyn to accumulate losses and land in a strong lottery position.

Furthermore, Schroder’s value may soon have peaked based on his play this season. Remember, the Nets acquired Schroder and Thaddeus Young at the 2024 trade deadline for Spencer Dinwiddie in a deal that did not include any draft picks. Getting two second-round picks in return for Schroder is a great deal for Brooklyn.

Next up? One has to assume that trade talks for Dorian Finney-Smith could accelerate if the Nets can handle the new CBA as deftly and quickly as they did with Schröder. Like Schroder, he’s essentially an expiring contract — he has a $15 million player option that he’s expected to decline — and that hurts the Nets in some ways. The two 31-year-olds are essentially loan players, and opposing teams are unlikely to trade away a future asset – a first-rounder – for a loan player.

What about Cam Johnson? As everyone who owns a copy of the new CBA has written, there are certain difficulties in getting a deal done – primarily due to its incentives – and it is both younger (by three years) and with a longer contract (by two years) as Schröder and DFS. Is it possible that Brooklyn’s braintrust wants to keep him until free agency, when deals get easier…or beyond?

Sean Marks & Co. could also cause a surprise. For example, there have been rumors that teams are interested in Day’Ron Sharpe, who becomes a restricted free agent in July. Bojan Bogdanovic still has no date for his return and it is becoming increasingly unlikely that he will be able to showcase his performances before the deadline. Could he be a buyout candidate?

The circumstances of the Schroder deal were also a blessing for the Nets in many ways. The Warriors desperately needed a backup point guard with Melton out for the season. Additionally, Schroder and Melton’s salaries were nearly identical to those in the NBA. Schroder’s term is $13.0 million and Melton’s term is $12.7 million. Even under the new CBA, that’s a pretty straightforward deal.

This also helped the Nets work out the trade exception. They were able to trade his contract to the MLE, which is conveniently worth $12.8 million this year. The rest of the deal — Schröder and the Heat second-rounder for Beekman and the three seconds — created an exception worth Schröder’s salary. Two-way players can be traded, but their salary – $578,000 – does not count against the cap or for trade purposes.

In the end, the deal also confirms what every discerning Brooklyn fan understood: There was never a chance that the Nets would deviate from their straightforward path of making the best possible choice with their own pick. None. Always. There was no temptation. Sean Marks attended four Rutgers games to personally scout Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey. They only played 12 times, including a public scrimmage with St. John’s that he also took part in! As we also noted, Marks was in Australia in September, which has a solid group of mid-first to early second-round prospects. It was all about the future.

Ultimately it’s also about flexibility. As one league recently told NetsDaily, the Nets can “move in any direction,” and that includes tanking.