We have our first trade speculation frenzy of the 2014-15 NBA season courtesy of Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who is using his bully pulpit at the Worldwide Leader to throw a little something against the wall, saying the Brooklyn Nets have made it known around the league that Deron Williams, Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez are available via trades.
But as Stein reports, nothing is imminent. And we should further remind you that players who signed contracts over the summer are not eligible to be traded until next Monday, Dec. 15, so there is no way the Nets are doing anything with any of those three players before then.
T
he only thing that can be said for certain about the Nets is that they have completed a trade sending Andrei Kirilenko to Philadelphia along with a second-round pick in 2020 and the right to swap second-rounders in 2018.The Sixers will waive Kirilenko, and he will remain sidelined until the end of February, after his pregnant wife gives birth. At that point, it’ll be a question of whether he reunites with David Blatt (who coached him on the Russian National Team) and give the Cavaliers an extra body who, when at his active best, can be the same type of rim protector that Chris Andersen became for the Heat. Or Kirilenko can go to the Spurs and win the title. But that’s a story for another day a few months down the road.
Here is one big thing to remember when discussing possible Nets trades: Nothing is impossible, thanks to the Philadelphia 76ers, who are $26.5 million below the salary cap and therefore can broker any trade imaginable.
Well, there is a caveat. Any deal that involves players moving from Milwaukee to Brooklyn through Philadelphia, or vice versa, would be under intense scrutiny from the league office because of the one-year prohibition on the Bucks and Nets making any trades — part of the agreement in which Jason Kidd was allowed to leave the Nets to coach the Bucks. (The Celtics and Clippers had a similar restriction last season after Doc Rivers moved from Boston to Los Angeles).
Lopez, who makes over $15 million this season, has feuded with head coach Lionel Hollins and has a player option for free agency next summer, potentially allowing the seven-foot center to leave Brooklyn without any compensation.
Johnson’s contract runs through 2015-16 at over $48 million guaranteed, while Williams’ deal extends all the way through 2017 at over $63 million guaranteed. As I note below in a video interview with CineSports’s Noah Coslov, the only one of the three who I believe is untradeable is Williams, whose best days are behind him and whose biggest paychecks are ahead of him, and whose reputation precedes him. Then again, Stan Van Gundy sounds a little desperate to do something … anything. “When you’ve lost 13 in a row, everyone and everything is on the table,” he said.
So with that in mind, beneath the video box, I have put together a series of trade ideas that would make sense for both teams. The Nets, we should remind you, do not want to take themselves out of playoff contention, But clearly they want to shake up the roster.
The prospective trade partners have been whittled down to those teams who are performing horribly below expectations, or those who are performing considerably above expectations and might be willing to upgrade to Johnson or Lopez at one of their weaker positions.
TRADE IDEA No. 1
This would be selling low for Brooklyn, but if they believe they are going to lose Lopez for nothing in free agency, they need to get something for a player whose injury history makes him a significant risk for any acquiring team. The Kings get a player who can backup DeMarcus Cousins at center and play the power forward spot when needed. The Nets get a badly needed No. 1 pick after trading away four of them (three, plus the right to swap a fourth, to be technical) in the deal that brought Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce from Boston. They plug in Mason Plumlee at the 5 and go from there.
TRADE IDEA No. 2
Why would the Kings take on Johnson’s contract? Because they are virtually capped out for the next three years anyway given the deals they have bestowed on DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay, and they make a significant upgrade at shooting guard while sacrificing depth at the power forward spot, where they’d only have Mbah a Moute and Reggie Evans. The Sixers not only get a good shooting guard prospect in McLemore, they shed more than $7 million in payroll and drop to roughly $34 million below the salary cap line, which allows mad scientist Sam Hinkie to continue to broker deals involving mega-salaried players. The Nets get out from under Johnson’s contract and get back a serviceable shooting guard in Richardson, who is expected to be healthy enough to play in January.
TRADE IDEA No. 3
DERON WILLIAMS TO DETROIT FOR BRANDON JENNINGS, JOEL ANTHONY AND JONAS JEREBKO
The Pistons get an upgrade at point guard, the Nets get out from under Williams’ contract without having to take back Josh Smith. Simple as that.
TRADE IDEA NO. 4
JOE JOHNSON TO NEW ORLEANS FOR AUSTIN RIVERS AND ERIC GORDON (THROUGH PHILADELPHIA)
Can’t show you this trade in the ESPN trade machine because it does not have a Sam Hinkie component built in that accounts for a certain someone’s affinity to broker any deal anyone wants so long as he gets a second-round pick. The Pelicans would be taking on extra salary but would stay below the luxury tax line (although they would be in danger of exceeding it two years from now) and getting the best player in the deal. They would have a Top Six rotation of Anthony Davis, Omer Asik, Ryan Anderson, Tyreke Evans, Johnson and Jrue Holiday, but they could slide Davis from PF to C, bring Asik off the bench and have a much more potent offensive attack. The Nets get out from Johnson’s contract and take a flyer on Gordon, who was once thought to be something special.
Chris Sheridan is publisher and editor-in-chief of SheridanHoops.com. Follow him on Twitter.
All I would have wanted is Robin Lopez for Brook, but the salaries didn’t match. Yes, Brook is recovering from surgery on both feet, but his upper body strength just isn’t there. Brook called Robin a “moron” over the summer, but I think Brook is the moron. He has an aversion for contact, and can be seen running away from offensive rebounds. Hollins has lots of work to do with him.
I can’t wait for Kirilenko to be playing for David Blatt. It will prove what a stubborn SOB Hollins was to only play Kirilenko (age 33 and currently healthy), 35 minutes over 7 games. At some point we will hear the truth. I suspect Kirilenko had a dispute with Hollins, and he was put in the dog house (i.e. not played at all, then put on inactive list) as punishment. Now we also know (from wife Masha’s Instagram), that her “hubby” is committed to her, during this pregnancy.
I have to believe that the Kirilenko incident has changed the tune for owner Prokhorov and his right hand man – Dmitry.
It can no longer be fun to own a team where the coach refuses to play perhaps the greatest European player (and fellow Russian) in recent memory. Kirilenko proved to be one of the best defensive forwards in the NBA last season, when healthy and playing, in Jan/Feb. This was an AWFUL trade with Philly and Prokhorov doesn’t need the extra savings. I believe he did trade as a favor to Kirilenko, so that he could hook up with David Blatt later on.
So the bigger picture is the possible change of thinking of Prokhorov.