The Brooklyn Nets are 6-17, sitting at 13th in the Eastern Conference and very much in “pivot” territory rather than “push for the play-in” mode.
They just spent a summer using their cap space to absorb big contracts like Michael Porter Jr. and Terance Mann, and Shams Charania has already framed them as a team ready to take on more money, flip veterans, and even shop Cam Thomas in his latest Inside Pass.
If Sean Marks really leans into a reset around his five first-round rookies, these are the four Nets who feel most likely to change teams before the February deadline.
1. Michael Porter Jr.
Potential Trade Destinations: Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns, Detroit Pistons
Michael Porter Jr. has been playing like the guy the Denver Nuggets always hoped he would become. Since landing with the Nets in a cap-space deal, he is putting up 25.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game on 49.6% from the field and 39.2% from three.
He just ripped off three straight 30-plus outings, including 35 points in a blowout win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
That is the good news. The other side is obvious. Porter is owed well north of $30 million per year, and the Nets used roughly $40 million in cap space to take on his contract, along with Mann and Haywood Highsmith.
For a team that started the season 1-11 and still profiles closer to the lottery than the playoffs, that is luxury-scorer money on a roster that is nowhere near contention.
On the floor, Porter gives you exactly what desperate contenders crave. The Clippers could slide him next to James Harden as a pure scoring forward who punishes defenses and switches.
The Suns badly need another big wing who can space, cut, and actually stay healthy more often than their current stars.
The Pistons, resurging as the No. 1 team in the East, may be willing to overpay in picks to finally get a 25-point-per-game option on the wing and give Cade Cunningham a grown-up scorer beside him.
The question is what the Nets want. Porter is still only 27; he is clearly comfortable as the first option, and he already has real two-man chemistry with Nic Claxton, who has found him over and over on cuts and flare-outs during his recent scoring binge.
If they decide this is a long rebuild built around rookies like Egor Demin and Danny Wolf, Porter becomes the obvious “cash out” piece. Two first-rounders and a young rotation player are a realistic ask. Given how explosive he looks right now, it is hard to believe some contender will not talk themselves into paying that price.
2. Cam Thomas
Potential Trade Destinations: Orlando Magic, Atlanta Hawks, Sacramento Kings
Cam Thomas has barely played this season, but he is still right in the middle of the rumor mill. Before a left hamstring strain shut him down on November 5, he was averaging 21.4 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in eight games, shooting 40.2% from the field and 35.6% from deep in 28.3 minutes.
Shams Charania recently reported that the Nets are “positioned for potential moves,” including possibly trading Thomas as they use their cap space to absorb money and collect assets.
On top of that, Thomas is playing on a one-year qualifying offer of about $6 million after he declined a longer deal, and multiple insiders have emphasized that he will be an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Because he signed the qualifying offer, he also has the right to veto any trade, which complicates things but does not kill the idea.
The selling point is obvious. Thomas is a microwave scorer. He has already shown he can drop 30 or even 40 on any given night, and he gets to the line at a high rate for a guard. Efficiency is streaky, the defense is shaky, and the hamstring history is more than a little scary, but if you need pure shot creation, he brings that in bunches.
The Orlando Magic make a ton of sense. They are loaded with length and defense around Paolo Banchero, but still lean on ugly half-court offense after Franz Wagner’s recent injury. Thomas, as a sixth-man gunner who can actually create his own look, would fill a real need.
The Atlanta Hawks could explore him as a Trae Young insurance policy or as a bench scorer. He gives them an extra on-ball option without a long-term money commitment.
The Sacramento Kings might be the sneaky best fit. Their offense is built to let guards play out of handoffs with the injured Domantas Sabonis. Thomas flying off screens and attacking bent defenses could be terrifying, and the Kings really need a young guard to steer the ship.
If Thomas wants a bigger role and the Nets want to clean up their books while opening minutes for their rookies, it is hard to imagine he finishes the season in Brooklyn.
3. Nic Claxton
Potential Trade Destinations: Golden State Warriors, Indiana Pacers, Chicago Bulls
If you had to bet on one Net to move, it might be Nic Claxton. Bleacher Report placed him on their Trade Block Big Board, and another piece pegged him as the single most likely Net to be traded this season.
On the court, he is having the best all-around year of his career. Claxton is scoring 13.6 points with 7.7 rebounds a night while dishing a career-high 4.5 assists.
He already has two triple-doubles on the season, including a 14-11-10 line in the same Pelicans game where Porter dropped 35, and coach Jordi Fernández has praised how much more comfortable he looks as a playmaker.
Contract-wise, Claxton is in year two of the four-year, $100 million deal he signed in 2024, which runs through 2027-28.
That is a big number for a team that might be several years away from contending, but it is exactly the kind of controllable salary rival front offices want for a 26-year-old center who protects the rim, switches on the perimeter, and now creates offense for others.
That is why his name keeps getting tied to real teams. Many have reported that the Golden State Warriors are monitoring Claxton as a possible center target as they search for a long-term answer in the middle.
The Warriors can sell the Nets on a package built around Jonathan Kuminga and picks, and multiple outlets have already floated those kinds of frameworks.
The Indiana Pacers have also been connected to him as they try to replace Myles Turner and find a “center of the future” next to Tyrese Haliburton.
The Chicago Bulls are another logical suitor. With Nikola Vucevic aging and their defense constantly springing leaks, writers have already pushed the idea of using their assets to chase Claxton as a long-term Vucevic replacement.
From a Nets perspective, moving him would hurt. He is their defensive backbone and one of the few vets who actually raises their ceiling when healthy.
But in a deep rebuild, a non-shooting big on a nine-figure deal is exactly the sort of player you trade while his value is sky-high. If a team finally puts real picks on the table, the Nets might not be able to say no.
4. Terance Mann
Potential Trade Destinations: Toronto Raptors, Cleveland Cavaliers, Milwaukee Bucks
Mann does not have the star shine of Porter or the stat-sheet pop of Thomas, but front offices love his archetype.
After arriving in a multi-team deal that sent him from the Atlanta Hawks to the Nets this past summer, he has settled in as a steady starter and secondary ball-handler.
This season, he is averaging 8.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in 26.3 minutes per game, shooting 44.2% from the field and 33.9% from three.
He defends up and down the lineup, can bring the ball up, hits open threes, and generally makes lineups function. On a Nets team that is increasingly leaning into a youth movement with Demin, Nolan Traore, and the rest of the rookie class, a 29-year-old combo guard on a mid-sized contract is classic trade-deadline glue.
The Toronto Raptors jump out right away. They are always shopping for versatile wings who can defend multiple spots and keep the ball moving around Scottie Barnes. Mann’s ability to guard both backcourt positions and swing to the three would fit right into their “positionless” identity.
The Cleveland Cavaliers could use him as a stabilizing force on the second unit and as an insurance policy on the wing. When Donovan Mitchell sits or if one of their small guards goes down, they desperately need a bigger guard who can defend and make basic reads. Mann is pretty much built for that role.
The Milwaukee Bucks might be the sneakiest fit. They have chased two-way complementary pieces around Giannis Antetokounmpo ever since Jrue Holiday left. Mann’s defense at the point of attack, his willingness to cut, and his low-usage playmaking would check several boxes without demanding touches that belong to the stars.
Mann is exactly the sort of professional you want around young guards, but his timeline does not really match the rest of the roster. If a team waves a late first or a good young role player, it would not be surprising at all to see him moved as part of a larger multi-team trade.
In short, the Nets are finally in asset-management mode. Porter is the swing piece, Thomas is the wild card, Claxton is the big prize, and Mann is the glue guy every contender talks itself into. If the Nets lean all the way into a rebuild, at least one of these four should be wearing a different jersey by the time the deadline buzzer sounds.
