Rockets acquire Suns picks, return Nets picks to Brooklyn

Agree buddy. I don’t hate the trade BUT I’d have rather maximized our chances for Flagg. Or a high 2025 pick to flip for a star.

 

The Nets plans were to add to their roster and to keep Makil Bridges if they could not acquire their picks from the Rockets. And since they were an 11th Seed last yr, who's to say they could not have been an 8th or 9th next yr?

 

They are screwed more than people realize because on top of all of the roster construction issues you mentioned, they are about to start hitting those luxury tax repeater punitive measures for being above the 2nd tax apron which will make it even harder for them to repair in the short term because it will put limits on how many players they can put in trades, they will lose future picks, they lose the MLE exception, and I believe they can’t sign buyout players - basically all the things that teams willing to pay the tax have used to field more complete rosters in a soft cap system.

 

This is why they went to team captains picking players to fill out the rosters of the All Star games

 

The statistical probability of getting Flagg is/was better banking on the Nets (with whatever improvements they made) pick compared to the suns.

 

Sure, but it’s minimal either way. 14% if they finish with the worst record in the league. 2% if they finish where they did last year.

By far the most likely scenario if the Rockets kept the pick was a 9-15 range pick next year - adding yet another very good but non-star kid to a roster with oodles of very good but non-elite kids. Flagg was a 1/7 chance in the dream scenario and a 1/50 in the likely scenario.

Letting this group mature, then using farther out picks to either supplement with cheap talent when the roster is expensive or consolidate for a trade when you still have unused picks (vs rookies rotting on the bench) is a far better move than a low odds roll of the dice more likely to give you something you don’t need or want.

 

the nets were gonna be a bad team this coming season with or without Bridges. How bad is up for debate, but we know they were going to be bad and that the next 2 drafts are really good. So I really like that floor. And Brooklyn didn’t have anywhere else to go. No one was going to Barclays and some marginal upgrade wasn’t gonna change that.

I’m not against trading those picks; just thought we should have gotten a better return. The Nets changed their entire fortune in one night. They should have had to pay out much more for that than they did. And I believe they would have. They were desperate. Brooklyn fans had the pitchforks out.

Stone just isn’t good at this.

 

Yeah. I'm still not seeing it even now. Hope we are wrong down the line...

 

You can make a case that it’s not a terrible deal for the rockets. What you cannot argue is that it was an A++++++ for the nets, and that alone means it can’t be amazing.

 

The Jersey Nets had more success than this sorry version, sometimes you stick with tradition.

 

Amazing post…

 

I don't think so. The Nets had a lot of injuries last year and the odds of that happening again are low. They have assets to improve enough to be more competitive than all of the teams that will be clearly tanking in the East. The Suns are better but will have a harder time making the playoffs in the West, where hardly anyone is tanking.

 

Outstanding. The podcasters talk about the dreaded second apron but I didn't realize it screwed up your trade flexibility and cost you the MLE.

 

We don't know that. I'm having a hard time figuring out how they were going to be worse than these teams in their own conference, all of whom will clearly be tanking for Flagg:

Pistons
Wizards
Hornets
Raptors
Hawks
Bulls

The Nets would have been a potential play-in team based on two things alone:

1) They had no incentive to tank and the ability to add some pieces.
2) The above teams clearly won't be trying to win.

 

They had neither the cap space nor the assets to improve without some kind of dark wizardry.

 

I broke down their cap situation in a detailed post not too long ago - they not only had a pile of picks to work with they also could have created max cap space.
They wouldn't have had a whole lot of trouble getting rid of Simmons contract either, at worst they use the stretch provision and he's a much smaller cap hit (Tho on the books for 3 years). At best, they sent him out as matching salary bringing back a quality player.


They could have easily been a play in team in the East ....

 

maybe but the odds of Bridges games is ever increasing.

I’ve come to think of it simply like this. If the nets were to get the 3rd pick in the draft, Would they trade that to us for the Suns/Mavs picks?

 

Have resident capologists confirmed that the second apron penalty causing FRP to automatically drop regardless of record doesn’t apply to previously traded picks?

 

Good breakdown and I do agree though at first I was on the fence about the trade. The Rockets recognize that the Suns are in trouble and will wait patiently in the meantime to see if the picks can net them Booker.

 

Not a resident capologist, but the automatic drop only happens to picks that were frozen. Picks that are frozen are frozen before they are eligible to be traded. As such, traded picks can never be affected by second apron penalties.