Nets left with host of questions after half-measure approach to deadline

The Nets could have sold more. 

If made available, Mikal Bridges would have brought back a treasure trove of draft picks.

As an agile, defensively excellent center, Nic Claxton would have had a strong market.

Dorian Finney-Smith and Cam Johnson could have been dangled. 

The Nets’ actions at Thursday’s trade deadline — in essentially swapping Spencer Dinwiddie for Dennis Schroder and landing three second-round picks plus forward Keita Bates-Diop for Royce O’Neale — represented a half-measure in keeping one eye focused on the future with the other trained on the present. 

This leaves a 20-31 team that is on the outside of a bloated playoff picture still with a shot — and a goal — of cracking into the play-in, which would mean playing meaningful games in April.

After tweaking the roster rather than tanking it, the Nets are showing they will care about the rest of the season. 

“I think it’s really important that we go out there and compete. That’s the No. 1 thing,” GM Sean Marks said Thursday. “Our goal here is to play in the postseason. … They’re a competitive, young group, and they want to prove to people they can do it.” 

Entering action Friday, the Nets had the fourth-easiest remaining schedule.

They were two games back of the Hawks (10th in the conference) and 4 ¹/₂ games back of the Bulls (ninth,) and they would need to jell quickly to, in any way, salvage the season. 

Four more things to watch for during the final 31 games of the Nets’ season after a quiet decision day: 

Build around Bridges? 

In sticking by a valuable role player who has not yet taken a leap, the Nets certainly hope so. 

Bridges has continued his run of excellent durability and has yet to miss a game in Brooklyn, but he has not yet developed into a star who can carry a team without significant help. Without much assistance in shot creation, Bridges is shooting his worst (45.4 percent) since his rookie season. He might already be a solid No. 2 or 3 option, but the 27-year-old has not yet proven to be a No. 1. 

Mikal Bridges Corey Sipkin for the NY POST

Bridges’ game, though, has trended up in the past three weeks, an 11-game span in which he’s averaging 23.9 points on 42.5 percent shooting from deep. If his shot continues making strides, pairing Bridges with a more bona-fide star, as soon as this offseason, would make more sense. 

“Who fits our timetable?” Marks said in looking at his young roster. “When you’re in that 22- to 25-, 27-year-old [age range], you know you’ve got three or four years to sit there and go, ‘OK, it’s going to be fun to see what Mikal looks like when he gets to his prime.’ ” 

Also worth watching will be whether the Nets back off Bridges’ playing time. Consider: He is shooting 36.3 percent from deep after games on zero or one day rest and 45.7 percent from 3-point range on two days rest. 

Can Simmons stay healthy? 

After missing nearly three months with a nerve impingement in his lower back, Ben Simmons stepped back on the court — for one game before a knee contusion cost him another. He returned again but sat for Monday’s loss to the Warriors on the front end of a back-to-back. 

Ben Simmons AP

A full two years after the James Harden trade, Simmons has played in 52 total regular-season games with the Nets. When healthy this season, Simmons — while still resistant to shooting — has elevated the play of the whole team. 

The Nets are bigger, faster and better when Simmons is on the court. Can he remain there for the final two months of the season, which would offer hope for the 2024-25 Nets? 

“The big thing for [Simmons] is going to be health,” Marks said. “As we build up his minutes and take off minute restrictions and so forth, I hope for the next [31] games you see a Ben that can go out there and really contribute at a high level.” 

Is Schroder the PG solution? 

The largest cause for hope for a Nets bounce-back this season lies with Schroder, a journeyman who the Nets hope can run their offense. 

Dennis Schroder Getty Images

Coach Jacque Vaughn’s group has lacked a true point guard all season, in part because of Simmons’ injuries and in part because of Dinwiddie’s struggles.

Can Schroder — a 30-year-old playing for his seventh team and signed through next season — be the orchestrator the Nets have sought? 

If so, next season’s Nets would be stronger, too.

They are woefully thin at the spot, a fact that has been consistently highlighted through Simmons’ absences. 

What else can Cam do? 

Is ball-dominant guard Cam Thomas simply a microwave scorer — who has gone off for 40-plus points three times this season — and nothing more? 

Cam Thomas Getty Images

Or can Thomas, a polarizing player who has nonetheless emerged because of his scoring prowess, develop into a more well-rounded player? 

With Simmons and Schroder running the show, Thomas’ development will be critical.

His assists have been ticking up as the season has gone on. 

“You see him involving his teammates, you see him making the right reads and really trying to play with his teammates out there,” Marks said, “and that’s some growth there that we’ve seen.”

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