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Sharif Phillips-Keaton
June 19, 2024 4:05 pm ET
The Brooklyn Nets are in the midst of an key offseason for them as they look to make it back to the playoffs next season after missing the postseason completely this season. At the moment, Brooklyn does not have any draft picks for the upcoming 2024 NBA Draft and does not have much cap space to work with outside of a trade of some of their more expensive players.
One of the main storylines surrounding the Nets over the past year has been whether they will trade for a star to help them get closer to the playoffs or pull the plug on the whole thing and enter a full rebuild. Based off reporting from plenty of people in NBA circles, it seems that Brooklyn would prefer to be in a “competitive rebuild” so that they can be ready to attract a star, either in free-agency or through a trade of some sort.
However, if the Nets are not going to engage with the Houston Rockets to get their own draft picks back and are not going to make a rash decision in terms of trading for a star, what can they do in the meantime? According to Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report, it’s possible that Brooklyn could be able to get something done with the Oklahoma City Thunder in a mock trade that would benefit both teams.
The Mock Trade
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Brooklyn Nets receive: Josh Giddey, Kenrich Williams, Ousmane Dieng, the No. 12 pick, a 2025 first-round pick (lottery-protected, via MIA) and a 2028 first-round pick (via DAL)
Oklahoma City Thunder receive: Mikal Bridges
Josh Giddey Could Be A Valuable Addition
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As plenty within the Nets community have talked about, Giddey is a player that could be a low-risk, high-reward kind of acquisition as he has shown to be a good player that can contribute in a multitude of ways on the floor. Giddey is something of a combo guard/wing prototype that can handle the ball, run an offense, and has some ability to attack the rim thanks to his size at 6-foot-8 and 210 pounds. Giddey isn’t the strongest shooter or defender, but with what he can bring to a team with his offensive versatility, the Nets could do worse than taking a chance on a player who could need a change of scenery after being phased out of the rotation at times by a Thunder team looking for more shooting around Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The Nets Would Be Getting A Lottery Pick
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One of the positives of this kind of mock trade would be that the Nets, and their fanbase, would have a reason to look forward to this draft as they would be drafting in the lottery like they theoretically should following a 32-50 record in the 2023-24 campaign. If Brooklyn does not want to pay what it takes to get their pick back from the Houston Rockets (third overall), then it’s possible that it would take less to get the 12th overall pick (could be Indiana center Kel’el Ware) from the Thunder, especially in a draft class that’s expected to be one of the weakest in recent memory. Not only that, but the Nets would be getting two additional first-round picks, including another pick from the Dallas Mavericks.
Getting Ousmane Dieng And Kenrich Williams Would Be Welcomed Additions
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While Kenrich Williams doesn’t necessarily fit into the Nets’ timeline as he will turn 30 years old in December, he would be a player that could contribute to a team looking for players with versatility that can accept multiple roles. Williams would most likely be coveted by other teams looking for plug-and-play kind of players, similar to Dorian Finney-Smith, so Brooklyn would most likely be able to trade Williams to a contending team that is willing to give up valuable assets.
Dieng, 21, has played sparingly in the NBA since being the 11th overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft after what he did in his native France to rise up draft boards. Since Oklahoma City has been contending for the playoffs over the past couple of seasons, Dieng has found it hard to get playing time as he still needs time to develop. He could be another player that Brooklyn can take under its wing to see what he has while the team is navigating its rebuild by keeping all options open.
Would The Nets Deal Mikal Bridges For This Offer?
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To be clear, this piece is pure speculation in an attempt to think through what the Nets could be looking at outside of waiting for the 2025 free-agency class or trading for their picks back from the Rockets. Plenty of reports have made it clear that Brooklyn wants Bridges on the roster so that he can pair with a star in the hopes of making back to the playoffs and beyond so this exercise could be futile. However, Bridges is a player that every contending team wants and at some point, the Nets will have to weigh how important it is to have Bridges on the team compared to what could happen if the star never comes.
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