As I anticipated earlier this week, the Nets will be trading away the No. 19 overall pick, sending that selection (Villanova forward Saddiq Bey) to Detroit in a three-way deal that will bring Clippers shooting guard Landry Shamet to Brooklyn.
Instead of developing Bey, who could have been a nice fit for Brooklyn down the line, the Nets officially turned the page to the next stage of their plan, looking to maximize the team's present value through the acquisition of Shamet – a career 40 percent three-point shooter and average defender in his two NBA seasons.
Such a go-for-it mentality makes it an exciting time to be a Nets fan, though with a side effect of anxiety since the job is not done. To me, the draft day deal, combined with Monday's reported Dzanan Musa-for-Bruce Brown trade with Detroit, must mean the Nets have to be set up for something more. Something big – really big, like James Harden big.
Otherwise, the current guard glut makes no sense for a team with the highest aspirations for this season, as echoed by Brooklyn's rookie head coach Steve Nash during his interview on ESPN's Draft coverage.
There are just not enough minutes for Kyrie Irving, Caris LeVert, Spencer Dinwiddie, Shamet, Brown, and, assuming the consensus opinion that he will be re-signing as an unrestricted free agent when the market opens on Friday proves accurate, Joe Harris to share in the 1-through-3 positions.
In a separate report in Front Office Sports, Anthony Puccio's sources indicated on Tuesday that the Nets and Rockets have "a verbal agreement" whereby Brooklyn will be sending Houston a massive package to add Harden, the NBA's leading scorer for the past three seasons and the 2018 MVP. Harden is supposedly enamored with reuniting with Kevin Durant, his former Oklahoma City teammate, in Brooklyn, even turning down a two-year, $103 million extension offer from Houston.
For those who worry that the Nets would then have too many superstars and too few basketballs to go around, let me remind you that unless Nash is asleep on the bench, Irving and Harden will have their minutes staggered. In addition, Durant has not played since he tore his Achilles in June 2019, which might force him to evolve into more of a finisher as opposed to a facilitator. Therefore, besides the games the injury-prone Irving, whose shoulder surgery ended his first season in Brooklyn after just 20 games, will surely miss, you are really talking about approximately 16 minutes per game where he and Harden will have to share the rock.
Also, remember that all three stars are excellent passers who, more often than not, make the right basketball play when it calls for ball movement, and when it comes to fourth-quarter crunch time minutes, they tend to be iso-heavy anyway, since that's when opposing defenses focus harder on shutting down initial actions.
As is always the case, however, the devil will be in the trade details. Nets general manager Sean Marks has to be wary of reprising predecessor Billy King's infamous 2013 blockbuster with Boston for Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, a deal that set Brooklyn back for a half a decade after one good season. Marks must make sure that traded picks in later years have fair protections and it would be helpful if the Nets weren't forced to absorb the remaining three years and $54.5 on Eric Gordon's contract. Even better would be the inclusion of forward P.J. Tucker, who is on an expiring $8 million deal.
Otherwise, send Houston the store – LeVert, Dinwiddie, Jarrett Allen, Taurean Prince, and picks galore. This is why you built up the asset cupboard; Harden will be worth emptying it.
Of course, Houston doesn't have to trade Harden, as he's under contract for the next two seasons, nor are they forced to deal him to Brooklyn. I'm confident that other clubs – like Philadelphia, where former Rockets general manager Daryl Morey is now in charge – can put together superior compensation packages if given the opportunity.
In that case, Marks better have Plans B, C, and D ready to roll. Unfortunately, Washington's Bradley Beal is probably staying put. As for other options, I know I got some pushback from fans when I first recommended this, but I think the Nets should check in on Detroit forward Blake Griffin given the Pistons' new timeline. While a possible target like Indiana's Victor Oladipo won't have nearly as high a price tag, the Pacers surely noticed that Jrue Holiday fetched three first-rounders and two pick swaps in his trade from New Orleans to Milwaukee. These type of deals are almost always prohibitively expensive.
Still, this is the time for Brooklyn to make a massive gesture. Durant and Irving have the next two seasons together before they can each opt out of their contracts. As currently constructed, with the roster so imbalanced, you're looking at a team with a ceiling of a third-or-fourth seed in the East and a playoff exit after one or two rounds.
Think bigger.
For a FAN's perspective of the Nets, Devils and Jets, follow Steve Lichtenstein on Twitter: @SteveLichtenst1
