Nets Fans Urge Team to Trade for 24-Year-Old NBA Champ

Getty OG Anunoby could be on the move.

The Brooklyn Nets fizzled out in the playoffs against the Boston Celtics, but that doesn’t mean their championship window is shut.

Instead, it’s looking like the Nets are retooling for another run at a championship and for this one they will have Ben Simmons. When Simmons is back, Brooklyn will have a new Big 3 consisting of him, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. This is certainly a formidable lineup, but the team will need more than just those three if they want any chance of winning.

There are some Nets fans out there who want the Nets to make a trade for an up-and-coming 24-year-old talent in OG Anunoby. The 2019 NBA champ with the Toronto Raptors has rumors swirling all around him. Although he didn’t suit up for the team’s championship run, Anunoby certainly knows what it’s like being on a winning team.

Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer says Anunoby hasn’t expressed a desire to leave the Raptors, but that hasn’t stopped the rumor mill from churning. The Nets don’t appear to be frontrunners to acquire him by any means, but that doesn’t mean fans can’t dream.

On the Nets subreddit, fans have cooked up a variety of ways that would see the NBA champ wearing a Brooklyn jersey next season.

Could the Nets Do It?

GettyThe Nets need help.

With Simmons, Irving and Durant tying up so much of the cap space, any trade to acquire another player will be difficult. Another hurdle would be finding the right batch of talent to lure the Raptors into a trade because trading away a young cornerstone piece isn’t something you see happen often.

For what it’s worth, the Nets do have some lucrative pieces in Cam Thomas and Nic Claxton, so one of them, or perhaps both, would have to be dangled in a potential trade. Reddit user DembouzzuobmeD suggests throwing Joe Harris into the mix as well.

“They’d probably want Harris for the size and shooting. Maybe Harris, Clax, Cam and the 2023 (first round pick),” they wrote. “They’d have to send back some salary filler though to take in whatever Clax’s contract looks like this summer.”

Those are some key pieces the Nets would give up in a trade to get Anunoby, and Brooklyn is already short on depth as it stands.

“2 firsts cam and sign and trade Bruce for OG? Not sure how the salaries work though,” said Infamous-Steak-6854.

This second idea would give up less assets, but it’s still a tough pill to swallow. There’s no telling if the Nets have an idea for a trade brewing, but it’s clear they do have assets to pull off something. Whether the Raptors are interested in what Brooklyn has is another thing entirely.

What’s Realistic?

GettyKyrie Irving #11 of the Brooklyn Nets

A realistic scenario for the Nets is they don’t acquire Anunoby in a trade, but that doesn’t mean they won’t make a move.

It’s clear they’ll need to do something to compete for a championship, but that’s what the NBA Draft and free agency is for. Since the offseason still hasn’t officially kicked off, the Nets have plenty of time to get something figured out.

The team knows how important it will be to capitalize on their championship window, so we might be seeing a lot of roster turnover.

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