RUMOR: Are the Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics DESTINED To Make An Anfernee Simons Trade?

RUMOR: Are the Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics DESTINED To Make An Anfernee Simons Trade?

On today’s show, NBA trade season is around the corner and the Nets and Celtics are at the center of rumors involving Anthony Simons. I’ll tell you why there’s a good chance a deal could be on the horizon right now. [Music] You are Locked on Nets, your daily Brooklyn Nets podcast, part of the Locked On Network, your team every day. Welcome in to Locked on Nets right here on the Locked On Podcast Network. Now the number one sports podcast network. It’s your team, the Brooklyn Nets, every single day. I’m Eric Slater, Brooklyn Nets beat reporter for clutchpoints.com. Thank you for making me your first listen of the day. The show is 100% free on all those great platforms. Today’s episode is brought to you by Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, and use code lockdown NBA for $20 off your first purchase. And on today’s episode, I got Hoops Hypes Michael Scott joining the show to talk about some trade rumors that he posted and that he reported on involving Anthony Simons and the Nets and the Celtics. Also going to touch on some trade speculation surrounding Nick Claxton and Michael Porter Jr. and how do the Nets handle Cam Thomas’ situation with him returning from his hamstring injury and the uncertainty surrounding his future with the team. And joining the pod now, we got hoops hypes Michael Scott. and Scott, it’s almost trade season. We’re like knocking on the door of trade season. That December 15th date is right around the corner. So, we need to get the resident insider on the Lockdown Nets podcast on here. So, appreciate taking the time, but we’re here today and we’re going to focus on some rumors involving the Nets and Boston Celtics and some stuff that you put out about the Celtics involving Anthony Simons and the Nets. And this is a rumor or a transaction that I’ve been talking about going back to before the season started. And I said entering the season that if there was one specific transaction that I was the most confident in happening or I said had the highest likelihood of happening, it was going to be some kind of Anthony Simon salary dump involving the Nets because the Celtics are around $12 million over the luxury tax. From things I’ve heard, they’re going to be motivated to get under that to reset the repeater tax on some of those things. And the Nets are the only team in the NBA with significant cap space. They have $15 million in cap space. So you put those two things together, the Celtics have assets. They’re motivated to get off some money. The Nets have cap space. They’re willing to take it uh take deals in return for assets. It seems like there’s something there that makes sense. And you put out a report with some rumors and uh some reporting about that. So, what what you put out, you know, what have you heard about that? And what do you think about the likelihood of something happening there? Yeah, Eric. I mean, basically predominantly a lot of the talks between the Celtics and the Nets happened over the summer uh regarding Anthony Simons because the Nets had the most calf space in the league. They still do now going into the season as you touched on. Um but essentially Boston wasn’t looking to just straight up salary dump him and give up a first round pick. That’s not their preference ideally and to my understanding and as I have reported that remains the case now. they don’t just want to give up a first round pick um to get off of his salary. Uh the other thing I thought that was interesting, they also regarding Boston looked at Dron Sharp over the summer in terms of whether he could be a guy that would come to their team in free agency, but they only had minimum contract available to them. And so that wasn’t something that was going to happen then. But uh had he been willing to, he would have been competing for a starting center spot with Boston. I think that’s something interesting now that maybe we could circle back on now as Danny Wolf is getting more playing time. But regarding Anthony Simons in Boston, um financially with ownership, new ownership I should say, they have budgeted for this that um they got below the second apron with all the Chris Sporzingis trades and the Drew Holiday trades. So now they’ve budgeted for it, but as you mentioned, in an ideal world, they would completely get out of the tax and completely reset the clock. The two ways that they have to do that ideally are trading either Anthony Simons or you can trade Sam Hower, who has multiple years on his deal, and another minimum contract uh or two to duck below that luxury tax. Yeah. Yeah, and the Nets could be involved in either of those, you know, frameworks, whether it’s an Anthony Simon, whether it’s a Sam Hower. The big question in regard to this is how motivated are the Celtics to get under the luxury tax and what price are they willing to pay? Because if I’m the Nets, let’s start with the Anthony Simons thing. I mean, he’s an expiring contract, which should make the price a little bit less to get off of him as opposed to if he had multiple years left on his deal. But he’s still making, you know, between 27 and $28 million. So, it’s a sizable salary. It would use up pretty much the most of the remaining of the Nets cap space. So, if the Nets are going to do that, I would think they would be pushing for a first round pick. Are they gonna get the Celtics 2026 pick like unprotected? Some Nets fans want that. That That’s not going to happen. I would No, that would be malpractice by the Celtics to give up that pick. But the Celtics have picks beyond that. They have their 2027 pick and beyond. And if I’m the Nets, I’m holding out for one of those picks. You can haggle over protections and all that stuff. And from what you’ve reported, the Celtics don’t want to give up or they’ve been unwilling to give up a first round pick, which makes sense because it’s December 1st and you don’t need to, you know, go off something like that now. You wait until until the trade deadline. But from things that you’ve heard, how motivated are the Celtics going to be to get under the luxury tax because it seems like to me the year where you know Jason Tatum’s out with an Achilles injury, they’re not going anywhere. this I mean you don’t want to give up future assets if you don’t have to but like this would be the year to get under the tax and reset that repeater and give yourself kind of a runway to build the team out moving forward. So, while the Celtics are saying right now that they don’t want to give up a first round pick, which I believe that they don’t want to, we’ll see, you know, as we get closer to the deadline, how much of a priority is that to get under the tax and what are they willing to give up? What is your feeling around that? I mean, look, it’s certainly a gap year for the Boston Celtics. Like I said, in an ideal world, they want to get below the luxury tax. What I would say that I think maybe some people don’t necessarily think of when they think of the phrase salary dump instead of just trading completely all of his salary uh which is around I want to say 25 million maybe a little more off top my head but instead of just trading all of an Anthony Simons’s salary and completely getting it off the books Boston can take back salary um at a lesser number get below the tax and have a guy with years on his deal beyond this year. That’s something I think that is a possibility for Boston because then uh you’re accomplishing two things, two birds of one stone. Um in that sense, to me, I think that’s probably the most prudent way because if you’re just trying to get off such a large chunk, you are going to have to give up a larger asset and that’s not what they want to do. But if you’re taking something back, a player um who has money beyond this year, then you can lessen that and maybe it’s a win-win for both sides, whoever they end up dealing with. Because then you can keep that acquired player salary slot, use it for a trade, and go from there while still achieving their ultimate desired goal of going below the luxury tax. Yeah. Yeah. And I mean they’d have to they’d have to take back some salary because Anthony Simons is making I think the number is 27.7 million and there’s no team in the NBA who has that much cap space. I mean the Nets have the most and they’re at like 15 million. And I actually like I just did this because I took questions on this for a fan take Friday and the Nets are at like just over 15 million in space. Anthony Simons is making 27.7 million and for about 12 12 million above the luxury tax. So if you work out all those numbers together, there’s like a window. It’s 12.4 million to 15.9 million for the Nets to send out that amount of salary. If they send out salary between 12.4 million and 15.9 million, they were they’re going to be able to do the deal because they’re going to stay below the salary cap and then that’s also going to get the Celtics below the luxury tax. I see like the equations are So what you’re asking So what you’re asking me unofficially is like could Terrence man be in that? Yeah. I mean, yeah, I’m just saying through uh when I was putting those numbers out, I could see you’re like the equations like that Allen hangover meme. If you ever see that where all the equations are running around, it took me a second to figure it out. I’m no math Savon either, but um yeah, I mean, if you look at that window, like I said, it’s it’s 12.4 million to 15.9 million. Yeah. Um the Nets have uh or I think it’s 15.6. The Nets have, like you said, Terrence Mans 15.5. Do I think that that’s as likely? probably not cuz he was involved in that three-team trade with the Celtics and they have they kind of essentially salary dumped him to the Nets. So, are they going to take him back now when he has, you know, two years left on his contract beyond then? Probably not. But like it’s a possibility. But that’s one player. And then you look, the Nets have four other players making around $6 million in Zire Williams, Cam Thomas, Don Sharp, Haywood Highmith. Don Sharp was the one you just hit on. That’s I mean they had interest and Boston had legitimate interest in him in free agency. So that was the first guy I would be thinking of in that $6 million category for sure. Yeah. And if you put two of those guys together and you send Boston, you know, salary in the like 12 to 13 million, $14 million range and you take back Anthony Simon’s contract and maybe you get a protected first round pick alongside it, like that’s a deal that to me just makes sense. You know, it makes a ton of sense for both sides. And I’ve I was kind of tinkering with it. And I don’t know the specifics of a trade, but like you know just a rough trade idea if you know the Nets I think we’ll talk about Cam Thomas later but it seems like we’ve reached the end of the Cam Thomas road in Brooklyn and he’s a $6 million aspiring and if the Celtics need a center and they like Dron Sharp you put Cam Thomas and Dron Sharp together, you take back Anthony Simons and then you get whatever draft compensation the Nets hold out for. That works financially. It, you know, gives the Nets an expiring contract. So, you would actually add $6 million in cap space this summer because DRON, you know, has $6 million after this season and then maybe you get back a draft asset. Like, that’s a deal to me that makes a lot of sense for both sides. The question is probably going to be, are the Celtics willing to part with a first round pick or like a a good asset, I would say. The other thing is this in that scenario, does Cam Thomas approve the trade? We’re we’re going to talk about Cam Thomas later and this is something I keep seeing. Cam Thomas doesn’t have any leverage. He has no leverage. Like because the Nets, he’s in a contract season. Like we’ll do a whole segment on this, but if he says, “Ah, I don’t want to go to Boston.” Okay, like sit on the bench and don’t play during your contract season. I mean, like this idea that Cam Thomas has leverage to me is just completely off base. But beyond that, like I just think that deal, whether it’s Cam Thomas, whether it’s Zire Williams, whether it’s Haywood Highmith, if the Celtics like Dron Sharp and they like him as a cheap center option, you get him alongside one of those other midsize contracts and you send back Anthony Simons, you get out of the luxury tax and you have to give up an asset. That’s an appealing deal to me for both sides. I just don’t know if the Celtics are going to be willing to part with a first round pick to make that happen. Yeah. Again, I mean, I they’ve been reluctant to do that. Could it be maybe multiple seconds? Sure. But then at that point, does that really move the needle either? Um, there’s got to be some form of middle ground there. And I don’t know if it would be a protected first or anything like that, heavily protected. I don’t know. We’d have to we’d have to see. Again, we’re we’re a ways away from that a little bit. They don’t have an urgency to do it now. They could wait till February. Um, but it’s definitely on their to-do list ideally if they can. Did you hear anything about them having talk I mean know the Nets were the only other significant team with Capsace. Were there any other talks with other teams involving Anthony Simons or did you really just hear the Net Celtics stuff entering the season? I heard the Nets talk the most loudly and confidently that was that was confirmed to me. Other teams uh I mean Milwaukee the Milwaukee Bucks had done due diligence on Anthony Simons as well. I did report that. Um, but you know, with Milwaukee, they’ve got guys with like future contracts that you’d have to look at, whether that’s a Kyle Kosma or, you know, Bobby Poris, etc. But I don’t know if that’s going to get any type of structure that they would have. I don’t know if that’s going to get Boston ideally where they want to be. Um, on paper, certainly Brooklyn is the logical path when you’re trying to duck below that luxury tax as you touched on. Yeah. Yeah, and I just, you know, last thing on this, what with the midsize contracts the Nets have, with the calf space they have, with the, you know, draft capital that the Celtics have and them being motivated, I would think, to get off this Anthony Simons contract, which I think they’d much rather give up than Sam Hower, who’s on a pretty good deal and has been an impactful player for them. I just think that there’s a lot working there where a trade makes sense. And I think that the two sides should be able to come to an agreement. Whether or not, you know, one side holds out for too much, we’ll see. But I think that there’s a lot working for them there. But that isn’t the only trade conversation surrounding the Brooklyn Nets right now because we also have Michael Porter Jr. playing at an all-star level, a career best level, and Nick Claxton uh having the best offensive start of his career this season. And both of those guys with the Nets being in this rebuild are going to generate buzz leading up to the trade deadline. So, what have we heard about those guys and are they likely trade candidates? We’ll get into all that and we continue locked on Nets after a quick break. The World Cup is coming back to North America for the first time since 1994. And with 48 teams for the first time ever, it’s going to be massive. But let’s be honest, getting tickets is usually the hardest part. That’s why the Game Time app is clutch. Finally giving fans a real advantage when it comes to snagging seats. 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Coming back from the break, continuing today’s Locked on Nets episode, talking with Hoop types, Michael Scott and Scott, Nick Claxton, and Michael Porter Jr., the trade buzz is starting to grow as we approach that December 15th date because MPJ is frankly playing out of his mind over these last 12 games. I mean, he’s averaging like 25 points per game on near 50, 40, 90 splits. Like very high level efficiency. He’s not turning the ball over. He’s just been been really efficient in this Jordy Fernandez offense. And then Nick Claxton, a player who there’s been trade buzz around for a while because the Nets have some other center options. He’s a little bit older. He’s their longest tenure player. They’re going into this rebuild. He’s having a career best offensive start. So, you know, the trade buzz is growing. My stance on this is I would be fairly surprised if either of those guys got traded at this year’s deadline just because MPJ I think would probably have more value this summer when he’s expiring and then Nick Claxton the Nets are probably going to be trying to or not probably they’re definitely going to be trying to compete next season because they don’t have their pick. So Nick Claxton has two more years left on his deal. It’s descending. I’m not sure how much sense it makes for them to move off him now unless they get an offer that really blows them away. But with those guys, have you heard anything around the league about what the, you know, any trade market or like what the expectation is surrounding those guys, whether you know the Nets motivation to move off them or whether other teams interest? Well, I I think you kind of hit the nail on the head, but from my sense as far as talking to people around the league, Michael Porter Jr. has been very efficient this year and when he’s the clear number one guy on this team and getting all the attention, the fact that he’s still been that efficient has um definitely caught the attention of other people around the league, other talent evaluators. With that said, I think in my opinion, the only way Michael Porter Jr. is getting moved now is if you’ve got a real playoff team that feels they’re a third or fourth option away from legitimately competing. Obviously, OKC has run through the West thus far. Um, I think, like you said, it’s easier next year when he’s expiring and at that point, anytime a guy’s expiring, you can always make trades more easily configured. With Nick Claxton, look, teams that certainly need a center, um, you know, that may be in the background behind me, ironically, um, could could look at a guy like Nick. But I to your point, I think for example, like Indiana, they’re not necessarily trying to win. This is a gap year with Tyrese Hallebert and they know there’s a ceiling there. Does it make sense to go for a guy like him now? You could probably wait a little. Um, you know, and same thing, sorry to cut you off, but same thing with the Celtics. Like we didn’t mention that with the conversation. There’s kind of been some, you know, people speculating like Net Celtics, Claxton, you have Simons and Claxton make similar amounts and like would I rule that out? No. But I think the Celtics are more interested in ducking below the luxury tax as opposed to giving up assets for Claxton during a non-competing season. Correct. And then you also have, you know, like Charlotte, the Charlotte Hornets behind me. Coming into the year, people were wondering, well, what are they gonna do at center? and Ryan Caulk Brener has stepped up for them ever since the preseason. Won the starting job and they’re confident with him right now. Um when he’s not getting dunked on by Noah Clowny that that throw that in. He got he got he got baptized yesterday. That was pretty That’s exactly the phrase I texted somebody. Clowny sent him back to Kraton. Um for sure. But I mean, big picture, like again, I don’t know if anybody right now is like itching for a center and for example, like if you’re going to be in the West and you’re going up against like Nicole Joic and whatnot, that’s a tougher guard for anybody, but you need a guy with more size and strength. Um, Nick is more of a great perimeter switch defender, shot blocker, help kind of defender like that. Um, you know, could he go up against Chad Homegrren in theory? Yeah, sure. But it’s a different beast when you got a guy with more size and mass. Um, so to me, his his his salary is gonna decline over the next two years. But if you’re also the Nets and you are trying to compete because you have no incentive to tank afterwards after the season when you don’t have your pick, is it better to have him than not? We’ve seen Nick when he’s with guys around him that are really good where he can make an impact. right now that’s not the case because the team is in a complete rebuild mode and they’re focused on development. But something where they they could wait. Yeah. And what you said about like if you look at West like the things that Nick is it Nick’s settling at, you know, doing some of these things offensively with the ball in his hands this year and is he like not going to do that on a contender? Are they just going to completely phase that out? Like no. I think that that’s still valuable, but I think it I would say his usage and his role is going to be, you know, scaled down if he’s playing for a team that has legitimate perimeter threats. And then you look at the things that he struggles with in terms of defensive rebounding size bulk matching up with some of those guys. And like you look out west, you have two teams at the top that have Nicole Joic and the on the the Nuggets and then you have Alpurn Shengun and Steven Adams on the Rockets. If you’re a Western playoff team who has to go through those guys, are you giving up a significant asset to get Nick Claxton? Probably not. Even if you look at the East, you have guys like Carl Anthony Towns and Jaylen Duran who have give Nick given Nick big problems this year. So, I don’t know how much that’s going to limit his market. You know, something that I’ve just been throwing out that I see like I think you’re block your head’s blocking the logo a little bit right now, but that Chicago Bulls logo, the horn is like sticking out of your head a little bit right there. But I I thought that that um they’re an interesting team to me because I think you’ve reported and you know that they poked around the trademark on Nicoolous just because he’s older. He’s an aspiring guy and if you’re the Nets and the Bulls and the the Bulls have a lot of a lot of draft assets. They have expiring contracts whether you talk about Vousvich or John Collins or you know whoever you want to talk about and I just feel like there could be something there where they are one of the worst teams on the interior in terms of scoring. You have Vousvich who like has had some moments this year but they’re pretty bad when he’s on the court overall and he’s inspiring. He’s older. Like something swapping those guys where the Nets get an asset. They, you know, add a huge chunk to their cap space next year. If the Nets aren’t keen on keeping Clark Claxton and moving forward, I think that that’s something that would make some sense to me at least. That’s an interesting theory. I mean, I think the thing you got to remember about Nicole is that Arturus gave up a lot to get him. Carnosov to GM of the Bulls and big picture. I I would say that I’m almost wondering now with all the the trade talks they’ve had that what they’ve wanted back for him previously, whether it was a first round pick or not. Um they’ve never been able to get that. You know, previously Golden State last year at the deadline was, you know, considering maybe multiple seconds, but given where they are, that wasn’t going to be anything spectacular. But, um I mean, we’ll see. We’ll see what shakes as far as that. I just don’t necessarily think they’re in this weird like middle ground. The Bulls have always been honestly for a while. Um but and Vu actually called them out. He said that the other day that the team was soft and yeah, I I saw that and I like I understand like Vu is this veteran leader, but like is Vu lighting the world on fire this year? Like I I I don’t know. I mean, I just I feel like they’ve kind of like they’re this middling team. Like, they’re clearly trying to get better. Vu is older. I think like he’s pretty close to getting over the hill. I know they gave up a lot for him. That deal has is pretty universally viewed as an awful trade and we’re what, like three years removed from that. It’s just it’s overdue for them to move on from him in my opinion. closing this out this segment. MPJ um I think the Warriors are a team that I think Kevin O’Connor and some people have thrown out as potentially a fit for him. Like they have that Jonathan Kaminga salary that they signed him to pretty much with the it seems like with the intention of flipping him in a trade for a bigger piece kind of like what the Rockets did with Jaylen Green and MJ and that Warrior system. You know, I I don’t hate that idea for them. I don’t know. Here’s here’s the problem with that. The Nets don’t want Jonathan Kinga. I that was that was going to be my next point is yeah I I don’t think they’re not they’re not as high on him and like I remember going into restricted free agency people will ask me oh well would the Nets come with an offer sheet. They weren’t trying it was it was not the right timing and I don’t think going forward necessarily it’s it still is for them. Uh regarding him and some of the other guys that are kind of in his tier. Um, I get I get why you would ask and I know why people would float it out. Um, but I also don’t know like if you’re Golden State, yeah, sure. Michael Porter Jr. I’m sure would be great for them, but not for for the Nets side. It’s got to be then you have to put Kaminga. Are you going to do something else? Yeah. What other assets? I mean, you I they need more money to make the deal work. Like I think the the idea that KOC threw out was like Kaminga, Moses Moody, Buddy Healed, whatever other like you know draft stuff if they have to give up anything. But yeah, I mean I talked about this briefly on a prior pod and I just think Kaminga like I the Nets have been all about flexibility and all this stuff and like if they really like a young player I think they’d go after him, but I don’t think Kaminga is that guy with some of you know the three-point shooting concerns with some of the ways that he’s struggled to fit into Golden State system. the Nets and Golden State don’t play the exact same system, but I feel like a lot of those issues would remain issues with the Nets and I don’t think they’re looking at him as like, oh, this guy’s going to come in and be like our centerpiece as it seems like Kamingo wants to be. He definitely wants a bigger role. I mean, that there’s no question there. He’s been frustrated being in Steve Cerr’s dog house at times over the years. Um, and even now, once he got benched, then he got hurt. It took a little while to come back. Steph Curry goes down. Hey, he’s ready to go. comes right back in. I thought that, you know, interesting timing certainly. Um, yeah. Well, uh, we’ll see. I mean, there’s I think there’s other teams that could be involved in the MPJ clocks and trade conversations, but ultimately both those guys have years beyond this. The Nets are going to try to be competitive next season, and that means that they don’t necessarily have to move off of them now unless they get an offer that they just feel is too good to pass up. But there’s one other player that I think is probably the most likely Nets player to be traded and that is Cam Thomas. He’s, you know, been out for a month with this hamstring injury. We’re about to get some clarity on his timeline. But with the way the Nets have been playing, there’s a lot of questions about how does he fit him fit in moving forward or does he fit in at all throughout the rest of this season. So, we’ll get into all that. We close out Locked on Nets after a quick break. Guys, what if sports were traded like markets? 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Jordy Fernandez uh said last night that he’s getting uh CT is getting a a MRI at the end of this week after which the Nets will have some clarity on his timetable, but we know that Cam’s Net’s future I think is beyond the point of Murky after they failed to agree to the contract extension this summer. He signs the Qo and I just thought I think that it’s the end of his Nets tenure. And with this this injury and the timing of it, the Nets were 0 and seven prior to the injury. They’re four and nine since. Their offensive rating has remained about the same before and after the CT injury. Their defensive rating has improved like 10 points and a lot of guys have shown promise. Whether you talk about Jory, Drake Pal, Tyrese Martin, Noah Clowney, now Danny Wolf, the list goes on. With the Nets playing a more evenly distributed brand of basketball, a lot of these guys are showing pro uh showing promise. So, the idea of bringing CT back into the mix as a player who posts a plus 30% usage and just dominates the ball doesn’t seem to make any sense to me for a guy who doesn’t seem to be in the Net’s long-term plans. So, have you heard anything about the CT trade market or trade rumblings around the league? And how do you en view this envision this conversation uh or this situation playing out because it’s it’s kind of a weird spot that both sides find themselves in? Well, the first thing I want to ask you was if it’s if it’s beyond murky, what is it hailing? Is it raining? Like, what’s I don’t know. Yeah, it’s you can’t you can’t see the the forest through the trees or it’s it’s it’s reached a bad place. No, I know. I’m just busting your chops. But I think big picture with Cam, um I wouldn’t say overly heard stuff on the trade market as of now, but what I would say is uh there’s not a rush to bring him back in terms of getting him on the court. Some of the young guys have played well, particularly Drake Powell has been very good for the Nets, especially defensively. He He’s finding his rhythm offensively, shooting the ball better. Uh eventually through the first quarter of the season, I think I had touched on this with you before, they weren’t just going to play the rookies right after that, but after the first quarter of the season, and Jordy kind of did this a little bit last year, even when they were kind of like in this in between stage, then they focused more on other guys and that’s kind of what we’re seeing now. So for Cam, again, I I can’t say I’ve heard a ton on him on the trade market. I think if he’s going anywhere, it’s part of something with other salaries going in and and he’s used to fit and maybe a team takes a shot if they need some scoring off the bench or anything like that. Uh but big picture, let’s let’s not make any mistake about it. The rest of the season is about the development of guys like Noah Clowny, Claxton that they have and then it’s about the Flatbush five period. Yeah. And I think that I mean you you talk about like the CT trade and I think you made a good point there of it’s probably a part of a bigger trade because from the people that I’ve talked to you know around the league just when I ask people who come around Barclay Center about the Cam Thomas trade market the response most of the time is what trade market there there is no market it seems like for him in terms of teams giving up anything of significance. So, with that, I mean, is there a team that in, you know, just taking on his $6 million salary would maybe send back a minimum or two and maybe give up like a second round pick? Like, I can’t I can’t rule that out, but I think that there could be a good good chance that with the trades that we’re talking about, like that Celtics trade, for example, Cam being used more as a salary filler in a deal like that. And then, you know, gets into the conversation when I’ve floated this a lot of people are like, you know, as you said before, like they have he CT has to sign off on the trade. And my retort, as I said before, is I just I don’t think that Cam has any leverage. I mean, do I think that the Nets want to be like the bad guys and just bench him or completely limit his role during a contract season? Not really. Like, they don’t want to, but at the end of the day, like the Nets got to worry about the Nets. And as you said, the rest of the season is about rookie development. So, I just don’t see how you really bring him back. And then if if that if that’s the case, any going anywhere else where he’s going to have any role would be better than sitting on the bench during a contract season. I mean, look, from the Nets perspective, they can say, “Well, we offered you more money than the QO.” And I know they would have had a team option the following year, but it’s not like they totally did wrong by Cam in that regard. I know it wasn’t the money he wanted, but um you know, ask Quentyn Grimes if he would have wanted an extra $4 million compared to the offer that he got when he only got offered an extra $300,000 to wave his uh no trade clause. So, and I mean, again, they’re kind of like hinting to you if if they’re telling you they want to wave your no trade clause, it’s implicitly implied, well, you’re probably not going to be here. So, instead, he felt like he’d rather have the control fine of the next destination. Either way, he’s going to have it now after the season because it’s it’s the end of his uh contract. But again, even if you would had the team option, some some are wondering now if he should have secured some money or not, neither here nor there. Um again, I think it’s just about him being as a part of a bigger trade. I don’t think necessarily anybody, unless there is an injury to a playoff team that says, “Ah, you know what, the market is what it is. We can get them on on a discounted rate. Why not? We desperately need scoring. Sure. But that’s the pathway. Like nobody I don’t think out there is saying we’re building something around him as the main piece. Not as of now and not from what I’ve heard. All right, closing this out. Last thing. Has Cam Thomas or does Cam Thomas play another game for the Brooklyn Nets or has he has he played his last game with them? What do you think? I mean, I think he’s gonna play another game. Yeah, I think he’s gonna bring it back. Yeah. What are you gonna do? How long is this hamstring injury going to knock him out for the rest of the year? Like he’s gonna you you he’s got to come back. I think he has to come back and play because first of all, if he’s getting re-evaluated towards the end of the week, once the MRI comes back, unless the MRI shows something that is completely egregious, um I don’t see the benefit of him just continuing to like sit out if he’s healthy. They’re going to want to like showcase him, get him some minutes out there. And he’s going to do what Cam Thomas does. He always has. He always will. That’s not changing. Even when you asked him before the season, said he’s not changing the game. So, you’re going to get what you’re going to get. But I I think he’s going to come back. I think I think he is going to play another game uh with the Nets. Does he finish the season with them or not? Circle back with me in a little bit. Maybe after the GLeague Showcase when I talk to more people there around the league about stuff going on. Usually after that December 15th timeline, uh, more talks kind of pick up from there. Yeah. I mean, I wouldn’t be shocked if he came back, but I would also say that if he’s coming back, what’s the role? I mean, are you putting him in the starting lineup over I mean, you’re not taking Jaor out of the starting lineup. I don’t think I don’t think you can, you know, put Is he Is he going to go in for Tyrese Martin? Is that what you’re asking? I mean, Terrence man is has been the starter. They’re like, “Yeah, sure he could, but like with the way that the Nets have been playing, if you’re going to bring Cam Thomas back, you better, you know, have the conversation with him of Cam, we’re not playing the way that we were playing in the beginning of the year where it’s guys standing around you and watching and you’re posting a 35% usage rate on a lot of nights.” Like, we’re playing this other style of basketball. You can fit into that or you’re not going to play. Like, that just seems like the path to me. And we’ll see. Like, it’s December 1st right now. Could Cam be out for two more weeks with this hamstring injury? I think that that’s very plausible because we haven’t heard anything about him being close to coming back. And then you’re at that that December 15th date at which point we’ve seen like last year the Nets traded Dennis Shruder at that date. The Nets could move off Cam Thomas. They could, you know, work a deal together with him at that date and we’ll see how it plays out. But I wouldn’t be shocked if he came takes two to tango, brother. It takes two to tango, but at the end of the day, like like I said, like I think there’s some team out there who would probably take Cam Thomas if you’re getting him for nothing. So whatever. But we’ll see how that plays out. It’s going to be a conversation for the coming weeks. But Scott, appreciate you taking the time. If you guys do not already, make sure to follow Scott. His Twitter’s there. Follow all of his work at Hoops Hype. Does a great job. Had a really great story on the Indiana Pacers and their coaching staff and some of those things. So, go check that out if you haven’t. And really great work, Scott. But appreciate taking the time as always. And trade season’s coming up and I’m sure that uh we’ll have you back on soon. That does it for today’s episode of Lock. Net. Hope you guys enjoyed the talk with Scott hitting on all the trade speculation involving the Nets. If you do not already, make sure to subscribe to Locked on Nets on YouTube and wherever you get your podcast, whether Apple podcast or Spotify. If you enjoy the content, take a second, smash that like button, leave a comment, leave a fivestar review. Anything you can do to engage is much appreciated. But then it’s got a backtoback on Wednesday and Thursday and then they got a few days off and coming back to Barlay Center. So have coverage of all that and more when I’m back tomorrow talking more Brooklyn Mets basketball.

Erik Slater and National NBA insider Michael Scotto analyze all the latest trade rumors surrounding the Brooklyn Nets, including a potential trade with the Boston Celtics, Michael Porter Jr. and Nic Claxton’s markets, and Cam Thomas’ future.

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