The Brooklyn Nets are having plenty of trouble on the defensive end of the ball. The New Yorkers have tried to improve their performances on D but after they parted ways with Jarrett Allen in the blockbuster James Harden trade, the Nets have struggled to stop rivals, losing two of their last three games in the NBA.
Even though they beat the Miami Heat on Saturday night behind Kyrie Irving’s 18 points in the 4th quarter, they still allowed the Heat to score 124 points. Only the Minnesota Timberwolves and Sacramento Kings are allowing more points than the Nets in the league, so this is a problem they need to address and fix if they want to compete in the Eastern Conference.
That has led the Nets to engage in trade talks with one of the teams involved in the James Harden trade, the Cleveland Cavaliers, to try to land big man JaVale McGee, according to Sam Amico of FortyEightMinutes.
Nets and Cavs meeting for second time tonight, and sources tell @FortyEightMins to expect Nets to make a run at acquiring Cavs backup center JaVale McGee soon. Brooklyn has 2 available roster spots and looking for another veteran presence in the middle.
— Sam Amico (@AmicoHoops) January 23, 2021
The Nets need to improve their defense or they will have a very hard time trying to compete in the postseason. After they formed the Big 3, everybody put them as one of the favorite teams to win the championship this season but their lack of defense is a major issue for them. McGee could help them fix that with his presence at the paint. DeAndre Jordan doesn’t seem to be comfortable right now and the 2x NBA champion could be the response to the Nets’ struggles.
They were given a $5.7 million trade exception after Spencer Dinwiddie went down with a season-ending injury and they’re already trying to land a player that can bring a lot of value to the roster. McGee was linked with the Lakers in recent times but the Nets could be getting the player from the Cavs, who have a lot of big men on the roster.
