NBA Rumors: Ben Gordon Coming to Brooklyn Nets?

 

Rumors are starting to surface that the Brooklyn Nets and Charlotte Bobcats are in the early stages of discussing a trade that could send Ben Gordon to the Nets in exchange for Kris Humphries. If the Nets add Gordon it would open up the court and allow them to spread the ball more with Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Gordon, Gerald Wallace and Brook Lopez.

Humphries, while an integral part of the Nets the past couple of seasons, has become somewhat redundant on a team that features Wallace, Andray Blatche and Reggie Evans. Adding Gordon would also give the Nets a legitimate threat from beyond the arc. So far this season Gordon is shooting .471 from three-point land, nailing 70 threes in 168 attempts. The Nets as a team are shooting .348 from beyond the arc this season.

Humphries’ play has tapered off a bit this season. He is averaging just 6.0 PPG, and 6.4 RPG as his minutes have come down from almost 35 per game last season to just under 20 minutes this season. With Brook Lopez looking healthy, the Nets don’t need to rely on Humphries as much and with Reggie Evans giving them almost 9 RPG in just over 22 minutes they don’t really need Humphries as much.

The Nets have also seen Blatche emerge as a legitimate option for them at power forward, earning seven starts this year and averaging 10.4 PPG and 5.5 RPG.

Adding Gordon would give a much needed boost to an offense that struggles at times with spreading the floor. Johnson has been a nice addition but he is not meeting the higher expectations that came with the promise of him teaming with Deron Williams to form a formidable backcourt. The backcourt has been good but it hasn’t been as elite as many fans had hoped. Johnson is averaging just 16.8 PPG (Lopez leads all scorers with 18.9) on .420 shooting.

If Gordon were traded to the Nets it would be a homecoming for him as he played high school basketball in Mount Vernon, NY before going to Connecticut where he helped UCONN win the 2004 national title.

This trade won’t grab headlines in the basketball world but it is one the Nets should make.