No team was more active last summer than the Nets, who signed two maximum-salary players and traded for a third in the span of a week. So it only seems appropriate that the club would be busy again at the trade deadline. Brooklyn has been linked to multiple possible trade targets this month, including Ben Gordon of the Bobcats and Josh Smith of the Hawks.
However, according to Mitch Lawrence and Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, the Nets aren't overly optimistic about landing Gordon or Smith. The Daily News report indicates that Brooklyn has "cooled" on Gordon, who the club doesn't view as a good fit defensively. Lawrence and Bondy also suggest that the Nets are pessimistic about their odds of landing Smith, since the Hawks are seeking a more attractive package than Brooklyn's, which would include Kris Humphries and MarShon Brooks.
While talks with the Bobcats and Hawks may not be progressing, the Nets are still hoping to land a big man. Brooklyn is focusing on a group of power forwards that includes Paul Millsap, according to the Daily News report. Nearly a month ago, we heard that the Nets might try to make a play for Millsap, though a deal wasn't considered likely.
As trade rumors continue to swirl around the Nets, GM Billy King insists that he likes the current roster, and that a move isn't necessarily in the works. Even though he's in the last year of his contract, King wants to avoid making a desperation move, telling reporters yesterday that he won't shake things up for the sake of it.
"Are we going to make a trade? We may, we may not,'' King said. "I'm not going to make a trade just to make a trade. Do I believe this group can regroup and play well? Yes."