Nets head coach Steve Nash is doing his best to try and keep any trade speculation at bay ahead of Thursday’s NBA Trade Deadline. Whether that’s working is another question.
Nash told reporters ahead of Tuesday’s game with the Boston Celtics that he was not expecting the Nets t make a trade before the 3 p.m deadline on Thursday. The Nets, of course, have been at the center of trade chatter around the NBA with everyone waiting to see if James Harden is still on the team after the deadline.
The Nets also trying to move Paul Millsap and they have reportedly explored the idea of trying to move Nic Claxton and Joe Harris. But ask Nash and he expects the roster to look the same as it did on Tuesday.
“Honestly I think we’ll be exactly the same,” Nash said. “I think the chances of trades or deals happening before the deadline are so slim, especially for our group. My mind and attention is on this group and putting this thing together as guys become healthy again.”
The Nets have been dealing with a number of injuries this season, including an MCL sprain to Kevin Durant that will keep him out until at least after the all-star break. Nash said his focus is to get everyone ready for when the team is healthy and in the thick of the playoff push.
“Trying to build for the stretch run so that we can continue to improve, but also find that cohesion before we hit the playoffs given that we have limited time now,” Nash said. “By the time Kevin (Durant) comes back, James gets healthy, hopefully we see more of Kyrie and you go down the line. LaMarcus (Aldridge) as well, Nic (Claxton) as well and Joe Harris. Right now five or six of our top rotation guys are not in the lineup tonight.
“They’ll trickle back into the lineup and it’ll give us a certain amount of time, hopefully, more, but it could be a short window to gain that cohesion. We went through that last year as well. Hopefully, we can find that common experiences and cohesion with whatever period we have left with everybody.”
