What do the Brooklyn Nets do with their three solid point guards?

Going into the 2017-18 NBA season, if you had told Brooklyn Nets fans that Jeremy Lin would be lost for the season after just one game, and D’Angelo Russell would miss large amounts of time to injury as well, the reaction would likely have been one of panic and rage. Lin was likely the Nets best player with Brook Lopez gone, and Russell was the man meant to give the team hope for the future. When both were lost so early, it looked like the Nets would be doomed to yet another year in the Eastern Conference basement without their own draft pick to show for it.

Admittedly, that’s still somewhat true; at 15-26, the Nets have the fourth-worst record in the East, and are unlikely to make a playoff run. That being said, the Nets are a lot friskier than they’ve been in recent years, and much friskier than anyone would have reasonably expected after they lost their top two point guards. How have the Nets avoided falling all the way into the gutter? A lot of it has to do with the surprising play of Spencer Dinwiddie, the fourth year point guard who was thrust into a starting role after the injuries to Lin and Russell.

Instead of being a mere placeholder, Dinwiddie has raised his game to a much higher level and has established himself as a viable candidate in the Most Improved Player race. The breakout of Dinwiddie is great news for the Nets, but it does leave them with a conundrum: they have three viable point guards now, and a lack of talent in other areas. Where do they go from here?

When looking at the 12 games Russell has played for the Nets season, we have to be careful about getting too excited over a small sample size. Still, he looked a lot better than the player who failed to stand out in Los Angeles. Russell has averaged 20.9 points per game, and perhaps more importantly, he led the Nets in Box Plus-Minus. He also asserted himself far more with a usage rate of 35.9 percent, compared to 25.2 over two years with the Lakers. If we’re being honest, that’s probably a little high relative to his actual production, but it shows that he’s become less timid since leaving Brooklyn is ready to be an offensive leader. Russell is getting better, and he has the potential to evolve into an All-Star.

That leaves us with Lin. His unfortunate injury history since joining the Nets have robbed us of the Linsanity revival we were so ready for when he moved back to New York. Still, when Lin has been healthy, he’s played as well as usual. Lin is the oldest of the Nets point guards, but he’s still just 29, and barring any further serious injuries, will likely still be able to contribute for years to come. Lin has a player option for next season that, considering his inability to stay on the court, he will almost certainly exercise. Where all of this heading is that of the three Nets point guards, Lin is the most likely to be traded in the offseason. Whereas Russell and Dinwiddie are reaching their full potential, Lin is a known quantity.

So, will teams will be willing to trade for Lin considering his recent injuries? Well, his newfound fragility will likely limit the Nets haul for him, but not to as severe degree as you might guess. There will be contenders looking for a backup point guard/sixth man type, and there will be lottery teams looking for a solid spot starter. Lin could fit the bill  quite well in either of those situations (I’ll just throw it out there that if Frank Ntilikina isn’t ready to start next season, Linsanity could make its way home to MSG). This summer, look for the Nets to remove Lin’s contract from the books while supplying a point guard-needy team with a capable scorer who can put fans in seats.

That leaves us with Russell and Dinwiddie. Each are under contract through the end of the 2018-19 season, and their performance between now and then will go a long way in dictating the Nets future. The Nets would likely like to keep both going forward, but depending on how they both perform in 2018-19, that may not be feasible. If Russell stays healthy, averages over 20 a game, and continues to hone his game, the possibility of him being offered a max contract — by the Nets or otherwise — is not out of the realm of possibility.

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If Dinwiddie keeps this up, he’ll likely be deemed worthy of a deal well into eight figures. While the Nets cap is flexible, it might not be so flexible that they can take on two large contracts for two point guards. At some point, the Nets may have to choose between Lin and Russell. In this case, I would argue that the smart money is on Russell, simply because he was the blue-chipper coming into the league, and you never want to relinquish someone with that high of a ceiling (well, unless you can draft Lonzo Ball, I suppose…..). For now, though, the Nets can enjoy having three quality point guards, and two who could have incredibly bright futures ahead of them.