Mock trade has Nets trading Royce O’Neale for Tim Hardaway Jr. and second-round picks
The Brooklyn Nets have done what they could in the 2023 NBA Draft and in free-agency to improve the team as much as they could to make a possible playoff run next season. At this point in the offseason, it’s fair to wonder if a trade could be made to make Brooklyn even better.
While the Nets have to wait for the Damian Lillard trade to happen in order for them to potentially get Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro, something that could take months to happen, there are other trades to ponder in the meantime. Throughout the summer, Brooklyn reportedly is open to trading Royce O’Neale and/or Dorian Finney-Smith in order to address other positions.
While the Nets addressed their guard spot considerably with the additions of Dennis Smith Jr. and Lonnie Walker IV, it stands to reason that they could continue to bolster the guards on the roster, especially for the playoffs. In this mock trade suggested by Tyler Watts of The Smoking Cuban, Brooklyn trades for a guard who can light up the scoreboard off the bench:
The Mock Trade:
Brooklyn Nets receive: Tim Hardaway Jr. and three second-round picks
Dallas Mavericks receive: Royce O’Neale
Should the Nets do this trade?
This trade would give the Nets a player in Hardaway Jr. who can score with the best of them in terms of guards coming off the bench. The one thing that he has been able to do since he came into the league as the 24th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft is score and shoot the basketball. Hardaway Jr. is not the most efficient shooter overall (42% from the field for his career), but he is one of the better shooters in the Association (38.2% from three over the past four seasons) and the Nets could stand to get more shooting on the team. Getting three second-round picks doesn’t hurt the cause either.
On the other side, Brooklyn would be giving up O’Neale, a player who could still make an impact on almost every team in the league. Last season was a down one for O’Neale in terms of efficiency, but he still brings a lot to the table including his long-range shooting and versatility on the defensive end of the floor. It should be noted that O’Neale’s role changed after the trades of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving as he went from being a starter to a sixth-man in order to accommodate all of the new players that came to the team as a result of those trades.
This trade comes down to whether adding Hardaway Jr. is a net-positive move. He improves the team’s ability to score the ball, but hurts the overall defensive performance of the squad. One could argue that with all of the departures of guys like Joe Harris, Patty Mills, and Seth Curry that Brooklyn needs to add more scoring if it wants to be competitive in the Eastern Conference next season.
Verdict: Yes, the Nets should do this trade.
