Brooklyn Nets

Entering the season, the Brooklyn Nets were one of the favorites to contend for a championship with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving healthy, but it was the supporting cast that filled out the rest of this team that made them a heavy betting favorite. Guys like Caris LeVert, Spencer Dinwiddie, Jarrett Allen, Jeff Green and Taurean Prince all were key role players for Brooklyn last season and entering the year, had a lot of expectations on them to be great off-the-bench. 

Now, Jeff Green is the only player left from that group of role players and the Nets have a depth and defense problem on their hands. Brooklyn is near the bottom of the league in opponent’s points per game, giving up about 117.7 points a contest, and their philosophy is to just straight up score more points than their opponents.

With DeAndre Jordan and Jeff Green as their only two frontcourt players minus Kevin Durant, since he can pretty much play anywhere, Brooklyn could greatly benefit on both ends of the court by adding another reliable frontcourt option, which is why Aaron Gordon makes a ton of sense. 

Aaron Gordon is under contract through the 2021-22 season, lining his contract up with the Nets’ “Big 3” contracts up to their player options. Trading for him would not be easy financially, but would definitely give the Brooklyn Nets an even better shot at lifting the Larry O’Brien Trophy at the end of the season.

He is not a traditional center, but could spend some time playing the “5” for the Nets in a smaller, more athletic lineup. They could even opt to bring him off-the-bench in their second-unit playing with either James Harden or Kyrie Irving.

The possibilities with how to play around with the Nets lineup after making this trade are endless, but they could potentially look at a closing lineup of Kyrie Irving, James Harden, Joe Harris, Kevin Durant and Aaron Gordon. Not only is that an extremely athletic lineup, but a very strong offensive lineup as well that will outsource virtually any other team in the league.

Aaron Gordon’s athleticism and versatility is what could make him a special player for the Nets and with him not having all the pressure to be one of the top guys on him, he could thrive in his new role. If Brooklyn truly wants to give themselves the best chance to win a title without giving up too much, then Aaron Gordon is the guy they should strongly consider trading for near the NBA trade deadline.