The Brooklyn Nets hit the jackpot on June 30th, 2019, as they signed free agents Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant to max contracts. 3 years later and it is all falling apart after just 1 playoff series win and a trade that sent out all of their draft capital, Durant has asked for a trade, which will lead to an Irving deal. What should the Nets do now and is the future as bad as it was when they owed all their picks to the Celtics?
Let’s start with the disaster that was this past season. After being inches away from heading to the East Finals and likely the NBA Finals in 2021, the Nets were sitting in first place of the Eastern Conference on January 22nd however their season began to fall apart when Durant got hurt a week earlier. After sitting 29-16 the Nets began to slip and by March 6th, the Nets were 8th in the conference at 32-33, in that span All-Star guard James Harden forced his way out of Brooklyn demanding a trade to Philadelphia. Harden would get his wish being traded with Paul Millsap in exchange for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, and 2 first round picks. It did not work out the way Brooklyn hoped it would as Simmons, the centerpiece of the deal, would not play a game all season for Brooklyn. The Nets would enter the Play-In Tournament as a 7 seed, defeating the Cavaliers to advance to the playoffs before being swept by the Boston Celtics in round 1. They were missing Joe Harris and Ben Simmons but Durant and Irving played, and yet they got swept, they did not win a single game in the series. Entering the season, I picked the Nets to win the championship and they got swept right out of the first round. This was a disaster situation none of us could have seen coming, mostly because Durant signed a 4 year contract this past summer with no player option. However, it has happened, so the question everyone is asking is: what comes next for Brooklyn?
Let’s start with a Kyrie trade. The Lakers seem to be the only team with real interest in making this trade. However, the only way to make a deal like this happen is with Russell Westbrook because of the need to match salaries in the NBA. What could a deal look like, well the Lakers cannot trade picks until 2027 due to the trade with the Pelicans to acquire Anthony Davis, they also need to take back another player with the $11 million more Westbrook makes than Kyrie. So a trade of Kyrie and Seth Curry to the Lakers for Westbrook and the Lakers 2027 and 2029 1st round picks makes a lot of sense for me. Now, you may be wondering why the Lakers have to give up 2 first round picks that far into the future if no one else wants Irving. Well, there is a reason the Lakers need Irving, who left the Cavaliers, Celtics, and now the Nets in shambles due to various reasons including this time in Brooklyn not playing due to not getting vaccinated, because they are desperate. After arguably the worst season in franchise history where they did not even qualify for the Play-In tournament after being some people’s pick to win the championship, they need to win next season. With a duo of a 37 year old LeBron James and an often injured Anthony Davis, the Lakers title window is closing and if I am Nets GM Sean Marks, I would threaten to place Irving on the bench all season to see if the Lakers hand me the offer I want, which I think they will.
We have talked about Kevin Durant offers already that include the Raptors offer built around Scottie Barnes, other players and picks, and the Suns offer built around Deandre Ayton, Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and picks. (My exact fake trades were Barnes, Gary Trent Jr., Thad Young, Khem Birch, unprotected picks in 2024, 2026, and 2028, and pick swaps in 2025 and 2027 and Ayton, Bridges, Johnson, unprotected picks in 2024, 2026, and 2028, and pick swaps in 2023, 2025, 2027, and 2029). The issue is I do not think Toronto gives up that many picks and swaps in a deal that includes Barnes and I think that Ayton is coming off of the board in the coming days when he either signs an offer sheet with the Indiana Pacers or the Pacers and Suns workout a sign and trade so now it gets complicated and opens up the field to some other teams. Those other teams that I think make sense for a trade include the Miami Heat, the New Orleans Pelicans, the Boston Celtics, and the Golden State Warriors. The Miami deal still feels like an uphill battle to me because they do not control all of their picks and the Nets cannot acquire Bam Adebayo due to CBA rules that do not allow him and Simmons to be on the same team, but the other 3 teams control all of their future picks, (the Pelican own more than just their own) and have the young talent to get a deal done.
The Brooklyn Nets are a mess, their 2 best players want out, they do not control any of their future picks, and they do not have a lot of young talent on the roster. However, these Durant and Irving trades will decide the fate of the franchise for the next several years, can they get the collection of picks and players needed to rebuild a roster that includes Ben Simmons on it. I think Joe Harris should be kept out of any deals, and they should try and retool this team rather than a full fledged rebuild. These are dark times for the Brooklyn Nets, their fans, and especially Team Governor Joe Tsai, who reportedly did not enjoy the superstar life over the past few years the Nets lived. Even though the days are dark now, I do think that, based on the return of these trades, there is light at the end of the tunnel for the Brooklyn Nets.
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