Are The Nets Rebuilding Around The Wrong Player?

Are The Nets Rebuilding Around The Wrong Player?

 

The Brooklyn Nets are starting from scratch again after firing head coach Jacque Vaughn on Monday.

A report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski indicates the franchise is looking to rebuild its roster around 6-foot-1 shooting guard/small forward Mikal Bridges.

 

The Nets replaced Vaughn with interim coach Kevin Ollie and are 21-33 and 11th in the Eastern Conference entering Thursday’s game in Toronto.

 

Brooklyn is also 8-22 in their last 30 games.The speculation that Bridges will be the center forward has raised the question of whether he is even the best player on the team right now.

Another thought would see 6-foot-6 shooting guard Cam Thomas as a player to focus on moving forward.Thomas is one of the best young scorers in the NBA, with LSU’s third-year player averaging 21.2 points this season despite being constantly in Vaughn’s doghouse on defense.

 

Entering his seventh season, Bridges is averaging 21.7 points.Brooklyn GM Sean Marks called Thomas personally to tell him that Vaughn had been fired and replaced by Ollie.

 

“You see (Thomas) get his teammates involved; you see him make the right reads and really try to make plays with his teammates,” Marks told the New York Post shortly before Vaughn’s hit.

 

“It’s exciting to see where Cam can take his game.”The Nets are on track to be a major player in the offseason with Ben Simmons’ $40.3 million contract expiring and the first four picks acquired from the Phoenix Suns in the Bridges trade last season’s round pick.

 

The Nets also have two more first-round picks from trades with the Sixers and Mavericks, including a protected top pick in 2027 and an unprotected first-round pick in 2029.

 

The Nets have already claimed Thomas. $4 million option for 2024-25, but could offer him a contract extension this summer. Bridges is due $23.3 million in 2024-25 and $24.9 million in 2025-26 before becoming an unrestricted free agent.