{"id":21655,"date":"2019-06-06T21:02:44","date_gmt":"2019-06-07T01:02:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonnba.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=21655"},"modified":"2019-06-06T21:20:00","modified_gmt":"2019-06-07T01:20:00","slug":"brooklyn-nets-trade-sets-up-big-free-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2019\/06\/06\/brooklyn-nets-trade-sets-up-big-free-agency\/","title":{"rendered":"Brooklyn Nets Trade with Atlanta Hawks Gives Much Needed Cap Space"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Brooklyn Nets<\/a>\u00a0trade with the Atlanta Hawks<\/a> may have just set them up to become a key free agency destination this offseason.<\/p>\n

The Nets traded Allen Crabbe<\/a><\/strong>, the 17th overall pick, and a 2020 1st round pick to the Atlanta Hawks for\u00a0Taurean Waller-Prince<\/a> <\/strong>and a 2021 2nd.<\/p>\n

Brooklyn Nets Trade with Atlanta Hawks Allows for Two Max Contracts<\/h2>\n

Adrian Wojnarowski was the first to break the news:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/wojespn\/status\/1136731760887308288<\/p>\n

The Trade From The Atlanta Hawks Perspective<\/h3>\n

For the Hawks, this is basically just to get a couple of extra picks to help their rebuild. Prince doesn\u2019t even fit with the Hawks’ timeline since he\u2019s 25 and is about to reach his prime. In comparison, the Hawks’ two best players, Trae Young<\/a><\/strong> and John Collins<\/a><\/strong>, are 20 and 21 years old respectively. The Hawks also received the 17th overall pick, which gives them three 1st round picks in the upcoming draft to target some great young potential<\/a>. The Nets 1st round picks next season probably won\u2019t be that valuable unless the Nets don\u2019t get a max free agent such as Kyrie Irving<\/a><\/strong> or Kevin Durant<\/a><\/strong>. The Hawks now also have Crabbe, who is on an expiring contract, who could get traded in a deal for more assets while taking on some bad long term contracts. However, the Hawks have been having a very good rebuild, and they\u2019re set to be a top team in the near future.<\/p>\n

The Trade From The Nets Perspective<\/h3>\n

By trading away Crabbe, the Nets have created two max contract slots, by clearing Crabbe’s 18 million dollar contract<\/a>, to acquire top players in the free agency. Basically, they could hypothetically sign both Kevin Durant<\/a> and Kyrie Irving<\/a>. However, it\u2019s still doubtful that will happen. The most likely combo is Irving and D’Angelo Russell<\/a><\/strong>, who can also be resigned with the newly acquired cap space. The downfall of the trade was giving up their 17th pick, where they could have selected some top talent to build around.<\/p>\n

Allen Crabbe<\/a><\/h3>\n

Crabbe is a decent player in the NBA, but his contract is horrendous. He\u2019s owed 18 million dollars next season, which is way too much for him. He isn\u2019t a bad player by any means, but he\u2019s basically just a three-point specialist, similar to Kyle Korver<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Taurean Prince<\/h3>\n

Prince is a very versatile player who is a solid two-way wing. He is going to be a restricted free agent next season, but the Nets will most likely bring him back. He also fills a team need, which was a hole at the power forward position. Prince, standing at 6-foot-8, is a much-needed upgrade over Rodions Kurucs<\/a> <\/strong>or Jared Dudley<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Main Photo
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>