The Nets are in dire need of players who can play as starting centers behind Nick Claxton, with veteran free agents like DeMarcus Cousins, Hassan Whiteside and Dwight Howard in the league considered ideal candidates to fill the position.
In the American media Shannon Sharp show, Dwight Howard said that he has contacted the Nets about the possibility of joining the Nets this season:
"I wanted to join the Nets, I talked to them. They said they needed a big man who could shoot from the outside," Howard said.
Howard played 60 games for the Lakers last season, averaging 6.2 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, and the 36-year-old Howard said of the Nets that he still believes he can contribute to the Nets:
"I think it's going to be a great choice, I'm a big man who can protect the basket, play good blocking and defend well," Howard said, "and to be able to execute blocking tactics with Durant, Irving and Simmons, I think it's a very good choice for me." ”
"And I think I still have a need to be on the defensive end," Howard said.
Even if Howard does have a good value player, the Nets' need is very clear: the need to strengthen interior players with the ability to open up space. After all, the Nets already have players with no shooting ability, such as Ben Simmons, Claxton and Dironne Sharp, and the lack of offensive end of the Nets, especially the three-point threat, is also the team's biggest problem so far this season.
In the last four games, the Nets have played at Claxton or Sharp, and Simmons has been very efficient on both the offensive and defensive ends when he is on the floor. In addition, the Nets had a net efficiency of +20.12 in the 41 minutes Simmons was off and Claxton was present:
Coach Nash has staggered Simmons and Claxton's playing time as much as possible, and even putting Simmons at No. 5 is already a better option on the Nets' offensive end. Because of this, Howard's type of interior won't be a good fit for the Nets, but the Nets can try to push inside players like Miles Turner, Laurie Markkanen, Kyrie Olynyk and P.J. Washington with consistent outside shooting ability.
The Nets still have several mid-range contracts, young stars and future first-round picks to be chips, although it remains to be seen whether general manager Sean Marks can push for a trade and bring back such an inside player for the Nets.