Nets passed on opportunity to acquire former finals MVP

 

On the latest episode of Nets Fans You Know, I broke down a report from Brian Lewis of the New York Post revealing that the Brooklyn Nets rejected the opportunity to trade for former Finals MVP Jaylen Brown in the offseason, and why the organization's reasoning raises some serious questions.

According to Lewis, the Boston Celtics were looking for as many as four first-round picks in exchange for Brown, who was reportedly willing to play in Brooklyn. However, the Nets weren't interested in even discussing a deal, largely because they wanted to avoid another situation like the one they experienced with Kyrie Irving.

So did the Nets make the right decision?

I’ll explain in the episode I believe that they did, but not necessarily for the right reasons.

However, what concerns me was the organization's reluctance to even entertain trade talk with the Celtics. Whenever an All-NBA type player is on the market, you have to at least entertain the idea of making a deal.

After everything that happened with Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden, it feels like the Nets have swung too far in the opposite direction, prioritizing character and avoiding potential controversy over acquiring talent. Think about their draft picks of Mikel Brown Jr and Egor Demin. In each’s respective post-draft press conference the team constantly repeated how much character is an important virtue to them.

Building a strong culture is important, but talent ultimately wins basketball games. The Nets can't allow the failures of the Big Three era to dictate every decision moving forward.

Passing on Jaylen Brown was probably the right move, but the reasoning behind it might be a bigger problem than the decision itself.

Watch the latest episode of Nets Fans You Know for the full breakdown.