Players Brooklyn Could Target Ahead Of Trade Deadline Following Kyrie Irving Trade
It did not take long for the Brooklyn Nets to make a decision on Kyrie Irving’s future with the franchise after requesting a trade this past Friday, as the Nets agreed to send Irving to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.
Trading Kyrie Irving and Markieff Morris to Dallas, the Nets are set to receive Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, two future second-round picks and Dallas’ 2029 first-round pick in return, a trade that gives Brooklyn a lot of flexibility heading towards Thursday’s trade deadline.
One key thing to note about this trade is that as of Monday afternoon, it has yet to be finalized.
The main reason for this is because the Nets have been in contact with several teams around the league about possibly expanding this Irving deal. However, Dallas is wanting this trade to be finalized as soon as possible, that way Kyrie Irving can join the team and practice ahead of his scheduled debut on Wednesday against the Los Angeles Clippers.
According to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, Dallas understands Brooklyn’s intent to possibly expand the trade, but that they need the deal to be done Monday.
Whether or not Brooklyn can get a third team involved to trade for another star-like player is yet to be determined, but here are some players that the Nets could look to target ahead of the trade deadline on Thursday after trading Irving to Dallas.
Fred VanVleet - Toronto Raptors
Going from Kyrie Irving to Fred VanVleet in their backcourt would be highly beneficial for the Nets, especially since VanVleet could play off-the-ball alongside Kevin Durant and offer the Nets with a key defensive option in their backcourt.
VanVleet won a championship with the Toronto Raptors against Durant when he was with the Golden State Warriors, VanVleet was an All-Star a season ago and there has been a lot of talk around the league about the Raptors being open to potentially trading him.
He still has one more year left on his contract, but it is a player option for the 2023-24 season that VanVleet is expected to decline in order to enter free agency.
This could be a prime opportunity for the Nets to trade for Fred VanVleet and extend him on a new long-term deal to put him alongside Durant for the foreseeable future.
Maybe he is not as talented of a scorer as Irving, but VanVleet makes up for this with his effort defensively and the fact that he is a leader that many players around the league respect.
With the Nets still looking at the possibility of moving Spencer Dinwiddie ahead of their trade with the Mavericks being finalized, Dinwiddie could wind up being the key to Brooklyn acquiring Fred VanVleet from Toronto.
Pascal Siakam - Toronto Raptors
Keeping things fixated on the Raptors, Pascal Siakam is another player the Nets should and will likely inquire about.
Toronto has not shown a willingness to move on from Siakam, who is under contract through next season, but nobody really knows what to expect from the Raptors ahead of Thursday.
Will they be looking to move one of their stars in Siakam and VanVleet to acquire more future assets or will they be looking to trade O.G. Anunoby and/or Gary Trent Jr. instead?
Either way, Toronto is heading towards some kind of a reset and the Nets have quite a few players that the Raptors could be interested in if they were to move on from Siakam.
Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith could still be on the move ahead of the Nets-Mavericks trade being finalized, Seth Curry is a talented perimeter shooter the Raptors could utilize and Nic Claxton is in the running for Defensive Player of the Year at the center position.
Adding talent to their frontcourt is something Toronto has been looking to do for quite some time and they did show interest in Claxton dating back to the trade deadline last season.
I would not expect the Raptors to move Pascal Siakam this season, but the Nets do have a ton of assets that fit what Toronto has been searching for through the years.
John Collins - Atlanta Hawks
Looking at other teams other than the Toronto Raptors, the Atlanta Hawks find themselves in an interesting spot in the Eastern Conference. There seems to be some issues within this organization right now and John Collins has not been afraid to voice his displeasures with the Hawks over the last year or so.
The Nets have shown a level of interest in Collins in the past and the Hawks have explored trade opportunities involving the former first-round pick in recent months.
Things are trending towards Atlanta keeping their forward past this trade deadline and trying to work things out internally, but the Nets are willing to pay a hefty price in order to get Kevin Durant more immediate help right now.
Pairing Collins with Claxton in the frontcourt is highly advantageous to the Nets and they could likely acquire him from the Hawks in some sort of package revolving around Joe Harris, possibly Seth Curry and draft compensation. Who knows, maybe the Hawks would be willing to talk about bringing in Ben Simmons and right there, Brooklyn would immediately have an edge in trade discussions.
This is not a likely situation for the Nets ahead of Thursday, but John Collins is certainly a player that has fans within the Nets’ front-office.
D’Angelo Russell - Minnesota Timberwolves
D’Angelo Russell was great in his two seasons with the Brooklyn Nets early on in his career and now in the final year of his contract, there are question marks about what his future looks like with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Timberwolves have not shown a ton of interest in extending him at this time and it does seem like Russell will become an unrestricted free agent in the offseason.
Now having Spencer Dinwiddie, the Nets may not need another ball-handler guard in their backcourt, but Russell has shown the ability to play off-the-ball and is shooting a career-best 38.9 percent from three-point range this season.
The Timberwolves are also a team that were rumored to have interest in Ben Simmons dating back to the summer. Could they still be interested in bringing in Simmons, especially since they have Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert?
Pairing these three seven-footers with one another is certainly an intriguing idea to Minnesota to ponder and bringing in Russell could give the Nets another secondary scoring weapon to put next to Kevin Durant.
While unlikely to happen, a straight up swap of Simmons for Russell looks to make a lot of sense on paper.
DeMar DeRozan - Chicago Bulls
The Nets are hunting for another star to pair with Kevin Durant and if they are already inquiring about the availability of Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam in Toronto, it would not come as a shock to see general manager Sean Marks and the Nets’ front-office make a call to the Chicago Bulls in regards to DeMar DeRozan.
Being 33-years-old, DeRozan has been an established star in this league for quite some time and since joining the Bulls ahead of the start of the 2021-22 season, he has once again solidified himself as one of the best pure scorers in the league.
Next to Durant, DeRozan is one of the best mid-range scorers this league has and why not swing for the fence if you are Brooklyn?
The Bulls have not shown a willingness to move on from any of their All-Star talents, but has another year left on his contract and fits the need that the Nets have alongside their All-Star talent.
Chicago needs more backcourt help with Lonzo Ball being out, something the Nets could supply them with by dealing Spencer Dinwiddie, and the Bulls need more shooting depth in their second-unit, something a player like Seth Curry could give them.
Along with multiple draft picks going to Chicago, the Nets have assets that could be of use to the Bulls right away and the potential framework of a deal here could keep both teams in the mix for the playoffs this season.
It is unlikely a deal like this happens though not only because the Bulls are not wanting to move DeMar DeRozan, but because the Nets will likely have to finalize their deal with Dallas on Monday, taking away the possibility of Dinwiddie and/or Finney-Smith being dealt.
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