It’s been a big week for the Brooklyn Nets, with NBA trade season officially upon us. On Dec. 15, players with recently signed contracts were officially eligible to be traded, sending through the Dennis Schroder-Golden State Warriors deal that brought back De’Anthony Melton, Reece Beekman, and three second-round picks.

The Nets, who are 10-15, have begun to offload veteran talent to stay firm in their rebuild. Expected to follow Schroder in departing via trade are Cameron Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, and a few other players. Brooklyn has made it clear that anyone on its roster can be traded.

Perhaps the Schroder trade is what bumped the Nets down in NBA.com’s latest power rankings, written by John Schuhmann. Ranking 22nd last week, Brooklyn only moved down one spot this week to 23rd. Schuhmann first mentioned the Schroder trade and then followed that with the Nets’ impressive offense.

“The Nets’ offense, which ranked in the top 10 just two weeks ago, has been at its best with Dorian Finney-Smith on the floor,” Schuhmann wrote. “But it’s scored just 107.1 points per 100 possessions in 102 minutes with Finney-Smith and Cam Johnson on the floor without Schröder.”

“Starting Ben Simmons at point guard (and assuming that Nic Claxton remains the starting center) would mean having two non-shooters on the floor. Simmons hasn’t made a shot from outside the paint since Feb. of 2023 and has played just 85 (19%) of his 447 minutes with Claxton or Day’Ron Sharpe.”

Brooklyn will play the Cleveland Cavaliers and Utah Jazz at home this week. Its only road game will be in between those two games, taking on the Toronto Raptors in Canada.

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