Report: Nets trade Mason Plumee to Blazers, acquire Hollis-Jefferson
The Brooklyn Nets will trade center Mason Plumlee and Notre Dame guard Pat Connaughton to the Portland Trail Blazers for guard Steve Blake and Arizona forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
Plumlee just completed his second season with the Nets since being selected in the first round of the 2013 draft out of Duke.
After helping Team USA win the FIBA Basketball World Cup last summer, Plumlee averaged 14.8 points, 10.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks while shooting 57.3 percent from the field last season.
In December, reported trade talks between Brooklyn and the Sacramento Kings involving point guard Deron Williams stalled because the Nets did not want to part ways with Plumlee.
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Blake played with Portland last season after previous stints with several other teams, including the Washington Wizards, Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers.
Brooklyn selected Connaughton with the No. 41 pick in Thursday's draft. As a senior at Notre Dame last season, Connaughton averaged 12.5 points and 1.5 assists while shooting 46.6 percent from the field and 42.3 percent from three-point range. The two-sport standout helped Notre Dame win 32 games and reach the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament in 2015.
Portland, which acquired power forward Noah Vonleh in a trade with the Charlotte Hornets earlier this week, picked Hollis-Jefferson with the No. 23 pick in Thursday's draft.
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Below is SI.com's scouting report on Hollis Jefferson:
Bio: Most people know two things about Hollis-Jefferson, the intriguing, athletic Arizona wing not named Stanley Johnson: he’s an incredible athlete and he can’t shoot a lick. His defensive potential is as high as any player in this draft, and with his strength and mobility, he should be able to switch onto guards and bigs alike. Offensively, he’s a slasher and transition threat, which (given his talent on the other end) should be enough to keep him on the court even if he never develops a jump shot. Hollis-Jefferson could go anywhere from the mid-lottery to the mid-20s and brings one of the draft’s more unique talent bundles.
Strengths: You can never undervalue elite perimeter defense as a skill. What’s even better, Hollis-Jefferson loves to defend and seems to understand where his money will come from. With a 7-foot wingspan, strong instincts and explosiveness, he can match up with just about anybody and plays hard all the time. He’s frequently around the ball and rebounds aggressively. As the league-wide trend toward perimeter-heavy lineups continues, guys like Hollis-Jefferson will be increasingly in demand.
Weaknesses: Well, he really can’t shoot. In two years at Arizona, Hollis-Jefferson totaled eight made three-pointers on 39 attempts, so while he’s bad, at least he’s not forcing it. His mechanics need major work, and if he can just establish a presence from mid-range, it should be enough to keep him in most rotations. While he’s terrific with a clear path to the basket, he’s not a creative dribbler and doesn’t present that much of a half-court threat. He should at least be a contributor of some type on the offensive end, but this could conceivably be a disaster area that relegates him to specialist duty.
