ESPN ranks the Nets 3rd in the NBA with regards to trade-ready assets

Posted by Admin September 15, 2024 NBA

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The Brooklyn Nets are now among the list of teams in the NBA that will be heading into the 2024-25 season in the midst of a deep rebuild. As Brooklyn heads into this season hoping to see their young players improve, they can head into the regular-season knowing that they have a lot of draft assets.

In a recent ranking of all 30 NBA teams with regards to assets that could be traded at any moment, the Nets ranked third on the list created by Bobby Marks of ESPN. For context, Brooklyn ranks behind the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder, a notion that seems to be pretty consistent around the NBA media as far as teams that are set up for the future.

“The Nets are an example of how quickly things can change in the NBA. Three seasons ago, a lineup that included Harden, Irving and Durant had Brooklyn one win away from the conference finals. But, after Harden asked out in 2022, then Irving and Durant a year later, Brooklyn went from a contender to a team with no identity, despite acquiring eight first-round picks in exchange for the three players,” Marks wrote.

Just a few months ago, the Nets were giving the impression that they were going to build around Mikal Bridges before eventually deciding to trade him to the New York Knicks in exchange for more first-round draft picks. “The Bridges trade has Brooklyn possessing a league-high 15 first-round picks over the next seven years, including four in the 2025 draft. Three of those firsts (Milwaukee, New York and Oklahoma City) could fall later in the first round, in the 20s,” Marks explained.

As it stands right now, the Nets are in a pretty good position for their future as they have control over their own draft picks over the next few years after previously not having control over those picks due to the James Harden trade with the Houston Rockets. Just a few months later, Brooklyn is possibly able to major players in the trade market as well as the free-agency market if they are able to maximize their cap space for the 2025 offseason.