The Brooklyn Nets have had an impressive start to the 2024-25 season. Brooklyn possesses a 4-6 record, which ranks them seventh in the Eastern Conference standings. Despite the promising young talent on the roster, the Nets find themselves caught in trade rumors, and early developments are centered around Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Nets beat the 2021 NBA champion Bucks 115-102 on Oct. 27. Antetokounmpo scored 22 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, and dished seven assists. The two-time MVP is committed to winning with Milwaukee, but ironically, at 2-8, his squad maintains a worse record than the Nets.
Could Brooklyn's setup entice Antetokounmpo? One experienced NBA writer thinks so.
Bill Simmons shared his thoughts on why the Nets would be a good trade spot for Antetokounmpo on an episode of his podcast, via The Ringer on X (formerly Twitter):
"The Nets are like, pretty good. I think they should just go all in for Giannis. They have just an [expletive] load of picks. They have Cam Thomas... Cam Johnson, they have Nic Claxton, Schroder's playing really well. I like them. I actually think they're a Play-In team at least," Simmons said.
Brooklyn definitely has strong pieces to surround Antetokounmpo, but is the franchise willing to take such a risk after what happened with its last star experiment?
Nets must trade carefully with Antetokounmpo idea
During the 2019 offseason, the Nets landed Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in what was arguably the franchise's best free agency class in history. Brooklyn could not pass up the opportunity to have two of the NBA's biggest stars be a part of the team's quest to win a championship. However, things did not quite work out according to plan.
The Durant-Irving-led Nets never escaped the second round of the playoffs during their three-year tenure. But that was not the only thing that went wrong. To further capitalize off its championship window, Brooklyn traded promising players and assets for James Harden, who eventually parted ways with the team. That move might be the Nets' biggest regret of the past five years.
Giannis Antetokounmpo would certainly reopen the Nets' title window, but at this point, it may be too risky to pursue. Brooklyn is very early in its rebuild and is already showing that it is one of the most competitive teams in the NBA. The Nets do not want to stunt the chemistry and growth of their young talent for a move that could worsen the team's future.
Brooklyn should keep their eyes on what they already have in the borough and continue looking forward to the 2025 and 2026 NBA Drafts. Eventually, the Nets will return to the top of the Eastern conference, and they do not necessarily need Antetokounmpo to do it.