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Credit Sean Marks. Prior to last season, the Brooklyn Nets general manager had built a solid reputation for making savvy deals and getting absolutely underrated deals. He was essentially the NBA version of a real estate pinball machine: sure, the house looks lousy, but you know Sean Marks would be able to give it a TV-worthy makeover if he deems his guts worthy. .
By Angelo Russell. Spencer Dinwiddie. Joe Harris. Jarrett Allen. Caris LeVert. It’s all a testament to the incredible screening of the Brooklyn Nets. And everything but Harris and Dinwiddie are gone.
Because from 2019-2020, Sean Marks switched to Hyper Beam. Capitalizing on the Nets’ rejuvenated reputation and new respect in the league, Sean Marks capitalized on the team’s new position in a controversial move, managing to nab not only Kyrie Irving, but Kevin Durant.
A year and a few changes later, the Nets are now moving closer to the number one seed in the East with lineup featuring Durant, Irving, James hardenand the semi-resurrected corpses of Deandre Jordan and Blake Griffin. Lob City walks once more.
Since Marks’ switch to hooking Durant and Irving, most of his acquisitions and trades have been met with skepticism from fans and the league in general, who are likely still suffering from Ainge-related PTSD since the last time Brooklyn. tried to create a great team. .
However, Marks’ craftsmanship has yet to fail and Brooklyn is now poised to win the team’s very first NBA Championship. And with Joe Harris enjoying another career year with all the space provided by the greatest scoring trio of all time, Spencer Dinwiddie is likely next to participate in Marks’ aggressive acquisition plan for himself. ensure this year’s title gets to Brooklyn.
Here are the trades to achieve this:
Trade 1:
The Brooklyn Nets Receive: Brandon Clarke, Justise Winslow
The Memphis Grizzlies Receive: Spencer Dinwiddie, Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot, ATL 2021 2nd choice of path
If you’ve never watched Grizzlies basketball, you’re about to learn one key thing about them: They arguably have the best young core in the NBA.
Ja Morant, talented as he is, is just the tip of the iceberg in Memphis. Every youngster in the Grizzlies is smart, talented and hungry. They all come with chips on the shoulder after being underestimated.
After all, who had ever heard of Brandon Clarke or Jaren Jackson Jr. after their draft? What happened to Justise Winslow, Tyus Jones and Grayson Allen, three of the toughest Blue Devils of the past decade?
And look at Ja! He’s probably playing with a snubbed flea feel in the thick shadow of Zion Williamson.
Smart and hungry. Exactly what the Brooklyn Nets need.
Brandon Clarke and Justise Winslow are essentially longer versions of Bruce Brown. Basically, think about how much Bruce Brown is playing a lot more than his actual height, and then stretch it out so that it’s actually said size. That’s what Clarke and Winslow bring to the size-hungry Nets.
Big shooters aren’t far from imagining either (19% and 33% of three for Winslow and Clarke, respectively), let’s not pretend these Nets will care about missing points. They are already poised to be the best offense in NBA history, and it is with the performance of TLC and Dinwiddie simply missing.
And aside from shooting, Winslow and Clarke do another key offensive thing that Marks has been looking for: give the Nets more rim runners. Deandre is still good at rolling hard to the hoop, but Winslow and Clarke are athletic, bouncy and huge for their heights (Clarke is long, Winslow thick).
And even better, they offer incredible value and switchability on defense, with both players being able to essentially cover four positions at any given time, with significant use possible for Clarke all-five in small ball situations.
The Grizzlies get a guardian and a legitimate floor general to polish Morant’s game while being able to play ball and execute the offense in the second unit while Morant is resting. And while he’s extremely streaky, TLC adds the shot and length that the Grizzlies desperately need.
Trade 2:
CP
The Brooklyn Nets Receive: Brook lopez
Milwaukee Bucks Receive: Spencer dinwiddie
Bring back BROOKlyn.
Oh, how Nets fans miss Brook Lopez. As the all-time leader of the Nets, Lopez was the only true light of hope for Brooklyn during his darkest early years at Barclays Center.
Sure, he’s a lot older and less athletic than he was in Brooklyn, but Lopez’s game has aged as a result, like the best of wines. Rather than relying on his physicality and impeccable footwork in the post, Lopez found some sort of career rebirth in Milwaukee as the ultimate and unique three-and-D player: a towering three-point sniper and blocking blows.
Like it or not, Milwaukee is in desperate need of a shot outside of Khris Middleton. Jrue Holiday didn’t live up to his hype or contract on the offensive end of the pitch, and Giannis provides more than enough defense and rim protection for Milwaukee not to need Lopez so much at this time. end.
And for the opponents of this trade at the end of Milwaukee for this year? Close your traps. You know full well that Milwaukee doesn’t go beyond Brooklyn, or Philly, or maybe even Boston and Miami to even meet the Lakers / Clippers / Jazz / Suns in the NBA Finals. At least not as built now. Giannis is locked up for a few more years, and the teams are now wise in his attacking figures, spacing be damned. Milwaukee will be happy to take on a main playmaker who averaged 20-6 before his injury, and looks close, if not already, to 100 percent.
And on the Brooklyn side of that deal, it sure does force them to let go of an integral part of their collective soul and ages their roster a bit. But it gives them return another piece of their soul and one of the most heartwarming stories from this year’s NBA Finals. Everyone loves a comeback story. Especially the one who is a seven foot tall soft shot blocker.
Trade 3:
CP
The Brooklyn Nets Receive: Chris Boucher, Aron Baynes
Toronto Raptors Receive: Spencer dinwiddie
You’ll notice a theme in these trades: Brooklyn has a weakness, and that’s team defense.
Granted, Brooklyn has only lost once in the last 11 games, and the current hot streak has been set by Brooklyn ultimately deciding to play a bit in defense.
However, “improved” is a strong word for a team that only manages to fight against mediocrity. Everyone’s James Harden has managed to lead a team defense that currently puts Brooklyn squarely in the middle of the pack defensively for the past 11 games, and the Nets are nearly unbeatable if their defense is only passable.
However, the team enters path too many air combat in the fourth quarter for comfort. And the improvement on that front still lies in Brooklyn’s rebound and defense, mostly at the rim.
That theme continues here: in Chris Boucher and Aron Baynes, Brooklyn rocks two big bodies with giants like Giannis and Embiid in the playoff-time paint, with Boucher profiling as a younger, sportier version of the current iteration of Brook Lopez. In return, Brooklyn gives Toronto an heir to Kyle Lowry once he leaves and another preeminent perimeter playmaker.
Now, to finish, it must be said that the Nets would be sorry to see Dinwiddie leave. But they are winners now fashion. And they better capitalize if they really want to win now.
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