While the NBA is shut down, there will not be any transactions made. But plenty of teams are making statements, and a big one was made by the Brooklyn Nets today. One that may not sit too well with their budding stars. They said that they will likely look to trade their younger assets to acquire a third star.
By “young,” they likely mean Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert and Spencer Dinwiddie. Their No. 2 point guard has a lot of value and was looked at as a possible All-Star by many fans.
LeVert was playing the best ball of his young career prior to the stoppage, including his first-ever 50-point game. Allen, meanwhile, had lost his starting role.
He has proven to be a solid rim protector, rebounder and lob-finisher. But with DeAndre Jordan on the team and under contract for three more years, there was a slight conflict of interest there.
Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are both proven superstars in this league. The two of them combined to play just 20 games this year, however, as Kyrie was in and out of the lineup, and KD recovered from his re-aggravated Achilles injury during the NBA Finals.
The team was heading to the postseason, where they will likely be the #7 or #8 seed whenever the season resumes.
It Takes Three
The way the league works nowadays is that it takes three stars to truly build a team capable of running the conference gauntlet. It is hard to say just how good their current group would be with the dynamic duo, but getting more help is never a bad thing.
Their biggest hole this season was the power forward spot, a position that is not necessarily fixed by plugging in Durant. So if anything, they should be pursuing a guy who can knock down the three and defend at a high clip for that position.
It is no secret that Brooklyn is still trying to get out of the Knicks’ shadow. Even though they have had far more success in recent years, they have not made it past the second round of the postseason. And there are always going to be those bringing that up.
Similar to the Clippers over in LA, they are trying to show they belong in the city. They get good attendance and put up a good fight every night. But having been in NY for only eight years, it is still an adjustment. Getting that third star to go with KD and Kyrie would be the ultimate move here.
It is not clear which players specifically are piquing the team’s interest, and it would be tampering for any such statements to be made at this time. But it will be interesting to see who they would ultimately move.
Allen is the most likely piece to be included in a deal, Dinwiddie and/or LeVert certainly touchable as well. But they should not move two of these guys if the gain is not significant. Joe Harris is another candidate to potentially be dealt, perhaps with a sign-and-trade as his contract comes off the books this summer.
One thing is for certain. The Nets will be a contender next season, no matter how this pans out.
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