It is Time for the Nets to Sell

Last night I was wondering why the Nets would even think about trading there two best players. I, like many Nets fans, were hoping that they could turn this thing around next summer by signing top free agents. But today reality struck and in all honesty it will be hard to find a player to sign with the Nets.

With the Celtics owning the Nets picks through 2018, the Nets have no reason to tank. The only problem is the Nets aren't good enough to win either. It's almost like the Nets demolished a decent building before realizing they didn't have the materials to build a new one. And this is why the Nets should trade Thaddeus Young and Brook Lopez.

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Lopez and Young are both having career years and many teams that want to make a run at the playoffs are looking at these two guys. Now the Nets shouldn't do anything drastic either. They need to get back at least a first round pick back for Young. And for Lopez they need to get back a high first round pick and other good assets.

Recently there has been talk about the Nets trading Thaddeus Young to the Raptors for Patrick Paterson, Delon Wright and the Knicks 2016 first round pick. This trade benefits the Raptors who need a major upgrade at the 4 and the Nets get a young point guard with potential and a lottery pick. The Nets should pull the trigger on this because they have a number of power forwards on the team and this would allow to develop Chris McCullough. McCullough was a potential lottery pick last year until he got hurt. He slipped all the way to the back of the draft and the Nets were able to get him at 29. No one knows how well he will do in the NBA, but the Nets really don't have a choice at this point. If the Nets want to get younger this is the trade they need get done.

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Lopez is 27 and is in his prime. That being said now is the time for the Nets to sell on Lopez. Lopez has been healthy all season and has played in all 54 games. He averaging 20.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. Lopez would be a great contributor to a playoff team or he could also speed up the rebuilding process of many teams around the NBA. The Nets have to be smart about trading Lopez though. Giving him away for too little will not be worth it. If the Nets just can't get a high enough value for Lopez they should just hold on to him. Having a 20 and 10 guy on your team is never a bad thing and maybe having him on the roster this summer will attract a fee agent.

The flip side is the Nets don't want to hold on to Lopez to long. If they strike out in free agency they should start to find Lopez a new home before training camp begins. The reason being is Lopez has a 3 year deal that will finish up in 2018. If he decides to skip town the Nets will have lost there most valuable player for nothing. And if Lopez decides to stay he will be 29 going on 30. Around this time Nets will finally have there own pick in the draft in 2019. The problem is the by the time the player they drafted develops, Lopez will be 32 or 33. That's assuming that the Nets draft top 5 in 2019.

In all honesty now might be the time to just let go of these two guys. It isn't something Nets fans or the organization wants to accept, but it has to happen. It's like pulling off a bandage, it should be done quick so it is only a sudden rush of pain rather than having this franchise suffer.