4. Brooklyn Nets
While the Brooklyn Nets do appear headed for a playoff berth in the Eastern Conference this season, it wouldn’t hurt to have help getting there. The Nets are by no means in a very safe position heading into the back half of the regular season, constantly bouncing between the seven and eight seeds in the standings in the East.
Landing a solid outside shooter to bolster the depth on the wing and at the two guard position could help to ensure that the Nets are secure at one of the most important parts of their rotation. Valentine would also help one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the NBA this season (33.0 percent clip from beyond the arc, good for 28th best in the league).
And if the Nets decide that Valentine shouldn’t be part of their future plans heading into next offseason, then they can just let him walk in free agency. This will be a summer where the Nets have a lot of important future decisions to make since superstar forward Kevin Durant should return from that Achilles tear next season.
Adding Valentine seems like a move that has very little downside on the Nets end of the deal. The Chicago Bulls could also take one of the pieces away from the Nets that is underperforming, or maybe a future draft asset. The Bulls aren’t likely to land in a playoff spot this year, so stacking future draft assets is a good move.