Getty Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
The Brooklyn Nets have a lot of decisions to make this upcoming Summer regarding their roster.
Bruce Brown, Nic Claxton, Blake Griffin, Andre Drummond and more are all free agents, and not everyone is a lock to return. Ben Simmons underwent back surgery shortly after the season concluded and there’s no way of knowing how he’ll look after spending over a year away from the game.
Something that became abundantly clear during the Celtics series where the Nets were swept is that they need a lot more than just their two stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant.
Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale pitched a 4-team trade that would have a lot of moving pieces, but it’d result in the Nets landing veteran forward Torrey Craig and pair of second round picks. It’s definitely not an earth-shattering trade for the Nets, but it would add some depth to a position of need for Brooklyn.
Let’s take a look at the full proposal.
Blockbuster Lands Nets Needed Depth
GettyAlfonzo McKinnie blocked out by Torrey Craig.
The headliners of this proposed deal are Jerami Grant and Deandre Ayton, but the Nets could get in on the action and land an impact piece.
With Durant, Simmons and Irving tying up much of the team’s cap space moving forward, finding valuable players for cheap will be of vital importance. This trade would let them do just that. Here’s what Favale lays out:
- Phoenix Suns Receive: Jerami Grant, Jakob Poeltl, Josh Richardson
- San Antonio Spurs Receive: Deandre Ayton (sign-and-trade), Dario Saric
- Detroit Pistons Receive: Cameron Payne, No. 9 pick (via San Antonio)
- Brooklyn Nets Receive: Torrey Craig (into DeAndre Jordan trade exception), No. 46 pick (via Detroit), 2024 second-round pick (via San Antonio, top-55 protection)
Craig, perhaps best known for his 3-year stint with the Denver Nuggets to start his career, still has productive years ahead of him, and if he can play a valuable role coming off the bench for Brooklyn this move makes a lot of sense for them, especially if they aren’t giving up anything.
The fact that he’d be acquired thanks to DeAndre Jordan’s trade exception makes the deal even sweeter. Even if he doesn’t pan out the way the Nets would’ve liked him to, they’d also get two draft picks in the deal. Favale argues this works in favor for the Nets because it’s also insurance in the event Bruce Brown finds a new team in the offseason.
“Brooklyn joins the fracas as a Torrey Craig dumping ground,” he wrote. “It desperately needs wing depth. Team governor Joseph Tsai may not want to inflate his luxury-tax bill, but Craig is insurance against Bruce Brown’s departure and deepens a shallow perimeter rotation even if the latter stays.”
Could It Happen?
GettyDeandre Ayton #22 of the Phoenix Suns.
This deal hinges on if the Suns want to bring Ayton back or not. He’s seeking a max contract but Phoenix has been hesitant in handing that out to him. Losing a center of his caliber would be a big blow, and while landing Grant from Detroit would help soften, it certainly wouldn’t fill the void left by losing their star.
As for the Pistons, they’d get guard depth that’s not necessarily needed, but they’d also land another top 10 pick for the upcoming draft by giving up Grant who’s almost certainly not in the team’s long-term plans.
This trade isn’t anything you can slam the door shut on right away, but it’s also hard to envision it as of right now.
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