NBA Trade Rumors: Nets heading into season as big sellers; eyeing Cooper Flagg?

NBA Trade Rumors: The Brooklyn Nets are open to clearing out their roster heading into the start of the season. There may be one big reason why.

With the way the narrative had been forming for the Brooklyn Nets heading into the start of the offseason, it was a bit shocking to see them throw all of that out the window by trading Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks. However, I do suppose it was an offer they couldn't refuse. Nevertheless, at that point, it quickly became apparent that the Nets were pivoting toward a rebuild of their roster.

In a short three years, the Nets went from featuring a roster of Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving to having none of them on the roster and in the very early stages of a completely new roster build. That said, the argument could be made that it's probably in the best interest of the team to be here. The Nets clearly needed to rebuild and it's healthy that they finally realized that.

However, if Brooklyn is going to completely lean into the rebuild, there are a few more veteran players on their roster that they could explore trades for heading into the start of the season. And according to a recent report, that's exactly where the Nets find themselves. Per the New York Post, Brooklyn is open to making more bottoming-out trades this season. A few of the names the Nets could move are Cameron Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Bojan Bogdanovic.

Three of those players are in the final years of their contracts with the team and, with the way the Nets are pivoting, it would be surprising if a couple of them, if not all, weren't moved at some point before the NBA Trade Deadline.

The Brooklyn Nets could be eyeing Cooper Flagg?

There may be one big reason the Nets are open to the idea of completely emptying out their roster before the end of the season, and that's the projected No. 1 pick of the 2025 NBA Draft class. For as "underwhelming" as the 2024 NBA Draft class was, the opposite could be said about this upcoming class.

At the top of the class is Cooper Flagg, who appears to be a player who is going to enter the league and make an immediate impact. The Nets could be preparing to position themselves in a way where they'll have one of the best chances to earn that No. 1 overall pick. At this point, how can you blame them?