Think of them as a unit: Brogdon-Smart-Tatum-KD-Timelord Boston immediately become the favorites to win it all. If I'm Boston, I would also consider trading Tatum over Brown. Brown is more switchable and the more consistent player. But KD is a legit game changer if added to that Celtics unit.
I don't understand everyone saying so many trade proposals for the Nets are bad because it wouldn't help them to be contenders. There is NO trade that will help them be contenders. At this point the franchise is better served with trying to be actually relevant by getting to the playoffs and causing some noise in the next few years and build an actual Brooklyn fan base.
I would consider any trade bad that puts the Nets as playoff fodder without making them legitimate contenders or without drastically increasing their draft capital.
My point is that no team is going trade them a better player than Durant to be a title leading star player or even a collection of players who will do that. Even if a team trades a bunch of picks, the Nets won't be able to control where those picks end up by tanking. So, how good that draft capital actually ends up is up in the air and is not that likely to help them in swing a big trade or getting star in the short term. There is no plan out there for them to be a contender in the next 3 or so years, so that should not be the barometer by which to judge the current offers.
Nets just need to decide what they want most. Good young All Star caliber player in return OR a ton of picks. Not likely to get both.
If they aren't going to be a contender, they should go pure draft capital. Any middle of the road trade basically will likely make them irrelevant until draft obligations to Houston are over and likely at least 2-4 years after that unless they get insanely lucky. 2029-2031 is a long time away for relevancy. They are in a bad position and shouldn't act like they aren't. If contender isn't an option, the option that makes the rebuild even longer is bad.
I don’t think there is anything to do other than convince Durant and Irving to give it their all to be a contender. For the Rockets benefit I hope they go in full re-build mode, but more than likely they are going to go the mediocre route with a Siakim or Jaylen Brown plus picks. Nobody is going to give them the haul they are asking for. My guess its Siakim and 3 picks and filler or Jaylen Brown, White, filler and 2 picks.
If the Nets trade for Brown, there is no guarantee he won't leave in two years for a team with cap space like Houston. What would Nets twitter be like in 2 years if the Rockets signed him as a free agent such that all they have to show for Harden and Durant is three draft picks (1 from Philly and 2 from Celtics)?
The Nets is facing the same problem as the Rockets when Harden forced his way out (or pretty much any team with their franchise guy wanting out). When you trade a top 10 guy to a team, that team's draft picks aren't going to be good picks that will land you a franchise player back. If you try to get a star player back, it's not going to be close to the guy you are trading away (or why would that team trade with you?) Most team would just try to get a bunch of futures (young promising players and/or draft picks) and tank for a while. The difference now is that the Nets don't have their own picks for a long time. So they can't rebuild by sucking for a while. In other words, the Nets aren't going to be a contender in the foreseeable future no matter what they do now. Once Kyrie went AWOL and Harden wanted out, they were screwed, big time.
If KD goes there and wins one, it'd be somewhat ironic because KD would do what Kyrie couldn't with the Celtics.
Man, Iove Jaylen Brown. Not saying this would happen but I'd love Nets Usman Garuba All picks back other than 2026 first Gordon(maybe to 4th team) Mil first Boston First Boston Swap Boston KD Houston Jaylen Brown Sengun Smith Brown Green KPJ
I get this, but even if they don't get the benefit of tanking, other teams' draft picks are worth a lot more towards a rebuild than wasting talent as playoff/playin fodder. If they wait until 2028 to begin a rebuild, it is going to be rough for Nets fans. To me, the Nets best plan would be to ask Stone what he wants (edit: thinking 1 pick and removing 1 swap option or removing 2 swap options).
I respectably disagree on Tatum. Tatum can completely take over at times, Brown can’t dribble for sh*t. I agree that Boston should not include Smart in the trade. Brown, White and 2 FRP’s maybe a swap or 2 should eventually do it. If not, no big deal they are still contenders. I think the real idiots here are the Lakers. They should do Westbrick and AD for Durant and Irving. Nets would get their superstar with the same injury risks as Durant, but younger. The Lakers would definitely be the favorite to win it all next year, but will probably suck in a couple of years.
Brown and a first may be the best offer they get. I wouldnt trade Brown and multiple firsts/swaps for KD but maybe that is just me loving JB so much.
My point is that title chasing is NOT the only option for a franchise. And given the Nets position, it is not an option that they can plan for in the foreseeable future. They are still relatively new in Brooklyn and need to build a better fanbase there. Yes winning a title helps solidify a fanbase, but you can be watchable and relevant and do the same thing. Especially in Brooklyn where the Knicks have been horribly run for decades. That is the problem. The Nets haven't been watchable since Jason Kidd was on their team, aside from a few seasons with Durant. I'm thinking long term. Plus if they show they are a well run franchise, maybe they can attract stars again in the future like they did with Durant in the first place. It is extremely rare for a 2nd tier star or a young all-star to attract a MVP level star to their team.
I find it hard to believe Brooklyn would scoff at KD for Brown but I could see how they would say no as a way to see if they can increase the offer but I don't see a scenario where Boston ups the offer much more than White and Brown and picks because it starts to impact their ability to compete. This isn't prime KD, this is 34 year old KD who has played in roughly 1/3 of available games in the last 3 years and is coming back from an achilles injury. Yeah, he is still a very tall shot maker of the highest order but he is definitely NOT prime KD. If Brooklyn thinks they can get more, then they must think they have OKC MVP KD who is NOT this version of KD. Lebron James is perhaps the greatest athlete of all time and dropped off noticeably over the last 2 years starting around age 34/35 and KD brings more injury history and less physical specimen-ess than Lebron. So sick of this narrative that the Legend version of KD exists when they just got swept in the first round of the playoffs this year.
I agree that Tatum is the more talented between the two. Tatum is so much better offensively, especially when he's "on". Keeping Tatum to pair with KD should be Boston's #1 goal. I just like Brown's ability to play 1000% both ways and every game. And that KD + Brown instead of Tatum (as well as Smart-Brogdon-Timelord) still has Celts in championship contention.
