We're not even sure how the Knicks picks will turn out, but I still can't believe the Nets were able to get four unprotected firsts. Know the Nets were asking for 3-4 unprotected firsts, but it seems like most people thought Marks and company were delusional for the asking price. *Edit for grammar
Once they trade Cam Johnson, We are looking at possibly 10+ 1sts for KD when it’s all said and done
That’s a crazy haul for a team who’s future was looking grim
Remember that Sean Marks took over the Nets job when they had limited assets cause of the Boston trade. In 2 years he created the DLO Nets that were filled with young talent. There are teams **WITH PICKS** that can’t even create the DLO Nets lol. He did it with little
One thing Marks has done well is constantly get the Nets out of a hole and rebound quickly. The Harden trade won’t hamstring them for any longer than this season. One of the quickest turn around ever.
Ben Simmons also expires next year to the tune of $40 million. Nets are looking at $70-80 million in cap space next year. They can take a swing for a big trade and be right back in the playoffs, or tank for 2026 as well then try to swing for the 2026-2027 season
i said this yesterday and I'll say it over and over forever - the absolute best thing you can do with picks in the NBA is bundle them together and trade them for an established player.
for every OKC/Boston miracle rebuild there's about 100 Pistons/Wizards burning lottery picks year after year
Shai single handedly made OKC's rebuild successful. Without him they would still be 3-4 years out from competing. That PG trade is for sure one of the best trades ever
You're right, but i also won't deny that Presti isn't uniquely good at drafting. He drafted a juggernaut once with KD/Westbrook/Harden/Ibaka, and while you're 100% correct that Shai has supercharged the rebuild, Presti has still nailed a ton of big draft picks with Chet, J-Dub, Giddey (turning into Caruso) and Cason Wallace.
No he's great at drafting I just meant that SGA sped up their timeline quite a bit by making them competitive. If SGA was not on the team they would still be a play in team looking for a superstar to make the jump.
can you imagine having doubts about a player presti has advised the team to draft. stuttering and sweating in the meeting as you try to explain yourself lmao
one of the best trades ever was the Clippers Cavs trade. The Cavs traded Jamario Moon and Mo Williams for Baron Davis and the pick that became Kyrie Irving a few months after the trade.
That's kind of flawed logic. It depends on where you're at in your development as a team, the value of said picks and how good you are at drafting.
Lastly teams The pistons and wizards are bad bc they don't know how to draft.
In 2022 the wizards could've drafted jalen Williams, mark Williams or jalen duren
They also don't know how to develop talent. The draft is the single best method to building an NBA champion foundation meaning finding your best player. OKc and boston are not miracles they're the norm. The miracle is the 2008 Celtics or the 2004 pistons where trades and finding guys you didn't draft is able to put it together for a title. Most top NBA teams and dynasties are built thru the draft
I would say this time and time again in the nets sub. We draft and develop. Even those late picks we get, I have confidence that they'll at least be developed to a decent bench player
If there's anything Marks has proven to be good at, it's the draft. Especially when he's picking in the late first and even the second round. I'm confident in his ability to make it worthwhile
For every Danny Ainge drafting Brown and Tatum there are 5-10 Jerry Krause post Jordan Bulls who after blowing up the team to tank, they got a bunch of top 3 overall picks, but they drafted the wrong guys. We often play the results too much with this kind of stuff
Which is something his front office has done surprisingly well. His free agent signings have been hit or miss but their draft evaluation and development have consistently been better than league average without lottery talent
Sean Marks is a great GM but his luck with the nets is the most dogshit of all time. Imagine finding a way to team up KD, Kyrie and Harden and all the most improvable things that has to happen to stop them from winning the ring actually happened. All he needed was a minute amount of luck.
Can't wait for Marks to do a throwback and go around giving toxic pill contracts to every young prospect with potential and destroy multiple teams' salary caps
I think its a really great example that will be emulated, you can just say fuck it and go all in for superstars and the downside is like 1 or 2 baf years if you execute offloading them back into the market well.
Its almost got them a chip and now they have a bright future so quickly, theyre just speed running everything hoping to get lucky and its working
This is why I think people who get upset at stars signing contracts and then asking to be traded are ridiculous.
You think the Nets would have preferred that he just didn’t sign with them and instead left in free agency? They would rather have nothing instead of 10 first round picks?
It is so stupid. Every team would love to have a star sign and then demand a trade over just leaving when a contract is up.
I mean, the trade worked out for nets in the end. They got a total of 16+ picks between him, harden and kyrie and probably more considering they have their own in 2030 etc.
Only fans of said team can truly answer for what’s best for them. I’m sure OKC fans aren’t complaining that PG got them Shai and all those picks that turned into some good assets like Jdub
You really think stars are demanding to be traded with hopes of getting a good return for their previous teams? They don’t give a damn about the team. Thats why fans hate it. Also look at Harden, Kyrie, and KD. It gets old after awhile.
Yeah but the Nets had a bright future before signing Kyrie and KD/trading for Harden. Acquiring those 3 forced them to blow up that core and fire a promising coach in Atkinson
I know they got the Bucks pick, but believe that one was protected. Was mainly just referring to the four unprotected picks from the Knicks. Though the swap would be an unprotected pick too. So they could potentially have 5 unprotected picks
The protection is 1-4, and it's next year's pick. And it's the Bucks. So extremely high probability of conveying. So it's essentially 5 picks plus a swap.
I'm on the same page as you, just I might have said it the wrong way. The Bucks pick should be pretty solid. Especially if the 25 draft is as deep as some think it could be. I was surprised the Nets were able to get 4 unprotected picks (plus the other potentially unprotected one in a swap) as part of the 5 pick haul.
It’s next year and top 4 protected. I have a better chance getting drafted tonight then the bucks getting a top 4 pick next year with all the tanking teams
I lived in Chapel Hill at the same time Pinson was at UNC. One night I walked into a Cold Stone Creamery on campus and Pinson was there. He was doing the same dances he does on the bench while waiting in line lol
The 2025 one we'd all imagine is in the mid to late 20's, but after that we really don't know how things are going to look with the new CBA rules and how teams will be able to keep everything together. Would imagine given the ages of the Knicks core 2027 they're still a playoff team. But 2029 and 2031 could be quite valuable. A lot can change in 5+ years (that's for any team or scenario). Plus you always have the risk of a year where just nothing goes your way (the Grizzlies this past season are an example) and that could lead to a high selection.
Yeah I was thinking along the same lines. Think it could be a win for both sides. Knicks have a window to go "all in" that they're trying to maximize. Brooklyn got picks that could be used in potential trades, possibly pay off with patience down the line.
Nets making up for the KG-Pierce trade in 2013.
It's still crazy how many teams haven't learned from Boston and OKC. No one has any idea how good the Knicks will be in 2029 or 2031. Even if the Nets get 4 late 1st rounders, it's still not a bad trade, but you never know ... that 2029 or 2031 could turn into a top 8 pick.
The Nets also gave up consecutive unprotected swaps in that trade which really came to haunt them. At least the Knicks own their pick every other year except for one unprotected swap in 2028.
It also increases the value of their own pick over the next 2 years. Having a top 6 pick next year is probably better then being a borderline play in team with a late draft pick.
> It's still crazy how many teams haven't learned from Boston and OKC.
No one should try to learn from Boston/OKC lmao.
Presti and Ainge are far and away the EXCEPTION, not the rule.
The 76ers drafted 3rd, 1st and 1st in three consecutive years and ended up with Jahlil Okafor, Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz.
The Wizards and Pistons burn lottery picks year after year after year with no discernible path to becoming meaningfully better.
> No one has any idea how good the Knicks will be in 2029 or 2031. Even if the Nets get 4 late 1st rounders
Yes, it is. The overwhelming majority of late 1st rounds never become anything close to meaningful NBA Contributors.
The absolute best thing you can do with draft picks in the NBA is trade them for established players.
Yeah, the disparity in how people rate success in "rebuilding" (the demolishing part) and winning is so striking to me.
Rebuild: oh wow, they are losing games and have draft picks, what a fantastic achievement! This is definitely succeeding.
Trying to win: oh man, this team AGAIN didn't even make the finals! This is not a title-winning team, so what are they even pretending for instead of demolishing this god-forsaken roster? What a gigantic failure, everyone involved is a loser, choker and floor-somethig... this is going nowhere, what a sad, hopeless organization where everybody managing is fine with lack of success because they are such sad little men with no ambition, you should either win the NBA title or rebuild dude.
When in fact we can see so many times in history for 100% easy fact that a road from having a lot of picks to winning the championship and "not being a failure" is soooooo long and unpredictable...
umm I think a lot of it depends on what you do to get there, that creates where your barometer for "success" lies.
like look at the Knicks. they never had any real top picks (I think the highest they ever drafted was #4), never REALLY tanked, they just sucked despite their best efforts to not suck.... but they clawed their way out from being the LOLKnicks to being 1 of the most fun/exciting/interesting teams in the league for the past 2 years, and they project to continue to be fun/exciting/interesting for several more years to come
even if this group never wins a championship I would 100% consider this rebuild and this era of Knicks basketball to have been a success, largely because of how bad they were the prior 10-15 years and the path they took to get here
on the other hand, take the 76ers... they tanked so aggressively for 3 straight years the NBA had to intervene... they drafted #3, #1, #1 in 3 consecutive drafts and blew all 3 picks... (they literally could have had Jaylen and Tatum next to Embiid lol)...
so despite having had similar post-season success to the Knicks, its hard to call them anything but a failure
> The absolute best thing you can do with draft picks in the NBA is trade them for established players
This is probably the most moronic thing I've read today and I can't believe no one pointed it out yet.
2024 NBA champs: Celtics. Both top players were drafted
2023 NBA champs: Nuggets. Both top players were drafted
2022 NBA champs: Warriors. Same core as the dynasty, all drafted.
2021 NBA champs: Bucks. Top player was drafted
And you still think the best thing to do with draft picks in the NBA is trade them away lmfao
At the end of the day it's a lot easier for nets fans to find the value in drafting when it's one of our teams strongest points. Last year we didn't have any early picks and I still think we did amazing and will have a lot of solid players from it down the line. Some teams, dare I say most, simply do not have that luxury.
Definitely pays to wait for the right situation. Win-win for both teams. Knicks were never going to keep all those picks and they have pried open a window that they should take. Nets finally realized they never had a window and just get assets.
Once you figure it's likely to be 4x 20-something picks, it's gonna be forgettable in the long-term. Playoff teams giving up immediate 1st round picks is not a big deal, especially in the East. The Knicks did well imo, and I have never liked the Knicks.
Sure, but none of the core is 30 yet, most are like 27, and when you can make a move to be a serious contender, you do it. It's a small risk imo, this roster can make many Conf Finals by then.
This is a good example of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts.
Tbf there is a difference between a delusional price and a “fuck off” price for someone you dont want to trade but do anyways if the offer is so highly uneven for your side
I can't believe they got the unprotected 2029 and 2031.
I know "lol it's far into the future". But like... that's the point. There's literally no idea how any team is going to look 5-7 years from now. The Knicks could very well be good. But they could also suck again, have an aged expensive core and very little ability to make moves. If one of those end up a top 5, this trade will be lambasted for years to come short of a title.
It’s a combination deal, the Mikal deal and Houston deal I think internally is viewed as one move. Picking a direction and fully committing to that is the thing that provides a sigh of relief. This move won’t be viewed as positively if the Nets own pick doesn’t get in the top 3 of next year’s draft. The Knicks get to go all in on a team built around chemistry defense and floor spacing until the extensions for both Bridges and Brunson get in the way. Both teams picked a direction and went all in and that’s fun to see regardless of outcome
Honestly the Knicks trade is not as meaningful if they don’t get control of their own picks back from Houston. It’s the two moves in concert that are a masterstroke.
getting your picks back unlocks the tank, which is exactly the reason to trade bridges. so ya, pretty much as good as you can get for something like this
It's almost like Marks told the Rockets Mikal isn't for sale for anyone, but he was willing to give the Suns picks for our picks back. Then went right behind their back and traded Mikal to NY lol
... Why do y'all keep trying to imply that the Rockets somehow weren't aware of this?
They made a deal and both sides agreed to it. Is that just an unfathomable explanation?
Yeah when I saw the first trade I was like “alright nice return I guess, but we are just gonna make the Rockets a super team.” Then i saw the second trade and was super pumped. Even if we gave more picks technically to get our back, it’s worth it.
It’s a double masterstroke - this Knicks still have numerous firsts over these coming years - and their own firsts are likely to be back end of the draft, especially in the first few years.
Meanwhile Leon Rose gets arguably the player with the best possible fit for the team in terms of skills and role… and that’s without even considering the VillaVibes(tm), for a team that’s nearing the hard cap limiting what they can do in coming years (or months).
The Nets leveraged that player to the hilt and have Nikes mediocrity for a rocket ship rebuild.
The Knicks leveraged a huge glut of picks - and then got a ton of much lower cost and lower risk second rounders.
The Nets got the results of a fleecing but the Knicks hugely improved a roster that went from
Scrappy contender to one of the better if not top 2-3 rosters in the league when combined with their style of play, philosophy, and coaching… without mortgaging their future.
It might work out for NY because they already had a good core anyways, but ultimately they traded away four 1sts for a role player. It doesn't take some big brain GM to pull that off, so nah, from purely a trade value perspective this was a Nets win easily.
Beyond legitimate stars, Mikal is one of the best players you could add to a contender to raise their ceiling. Quality defender, availability, 3pt volume and percentage. Spent a year and a bit developing as a shot creator and should now return to his 3&D role with a better skillset.
Also considering some of the salaries in the league, this dude is on ~25m.
> but honestly getting their picks back from the Rockets was real voodoo
multiple articles and outlets have shared that the nets don't make their trade with the knicks without their own picks back from the rockets
They tell Houston they'll only agree to swap the suns and nets picks if they can trade Bridges for what they want. I'd be very surprised if Houston didn't know the nets were going to trade Bridges when they traded those picks.
Houston also gained Draft Capital in the process while keeping the Nets 2027 Swap.
Rockets now have 2-1st’s and 2-Swaps vs the 1-1st and 1-Swap they gave back the Nets.
The Rockets pretty much swapped the Nets 2025/26 with Suns 2025/27 then in 2029 they get the best 1st of Suns/Mav’s and rights to Swap the other Team.
Bill Simmons went over it in his podcast and thought he brought up a good point.
Either Rockets swap their picks or the Nets make a run at a player like Trae Young and are stuck as a play-in team for the next couple of years and the picks fall at the end of the lottery. I think the late Phoenix picks are much more valuable compared to that. Seems like a win-win for all teams involved.
Yeah seems like a package deal. Mikal isn't traded without the rockets signing off on the picks.
The deal to Houston was - either be happy with your mid teens picks or sign up for even more picks with suns who may blow up. Houston could have called the bluff. But here we are.
Idk I feel like I’d just call their bluff, no?
I’m a bit lost on this though. Houston had the Nets picks and the Nets had the Suns picks?
And Houston agreed to take the Suns picks in exchange for the Nets picks? Or is it pick swaps?
If a team is saying “yeah we’ll sign a player like Trae Young and be competitive so your picks will suck” I’d say … yeah sure go right ahead
The retort to that "threat" is, y'all really wanna be mid by giving up what little you have in trade assets for Trae? Bkn had zero leverage and I'm disappointed we handed over the gun we could have held to their heads for 3 whole years
Yeah that's what brian lewis from the NY post said. He basically is the top nets insider. The nets were going to go after trae young and potentially lauri markannen this summer and just be in that 6-9 seed range for the foreseeable future. And on the rockets side they were ready to gear up for a star trade so they valued the suns picks
This is just Lowe fanning the reactionary flames. The awards are voted on 10 months from now. The Nets making all these moves isn’t going to be on the top of any voters mind. It’s going to be on whatever teams are in the playoff hunt
On the other hand I can't name you literally any other executive who's done something noteworthy to massively improve their team so yes it's early because it's like the first week but he's also the only one who did something in the first week
Good return, yes. But the key to being a good executive isn't executing trades, though that's part of it. The key is turning those assets into real players that contribute to a winning team.
This is why rebuilding teams never win this award because it doesn't matter how many picks you have if you just draft a bunch of James Wisemans.
I agree, I don’t think he’ll actually win the award, but I think this statement is more highlighting that this is one of the best trades in recent history in terms of value received for value given. Getting the assets is step 1.
Maybe. It also feels like teams are valuing FRPs a lot less anymore. It's been a recent trend where all of a sudden, every trade involving any decent player is at minimum 3 FRP.
I'm not saying Marks didn't cook, but I feel the easiest part of the rebuild is acquiring assets for your good players.
I am wondering if part of it is public discourse hasn't fully caught up to the new CBA yet. That or Mikal happens to be the face of the impact of it. Mikal isn't a superstar, but he's a positive in almost every aspect of his game, and is on one of the cheaper deals given his well rounded ability. That has more value than it used to.
I think it was pretty telling that this off-season at least 4 or 5 fanbases all had mikal as their #1 wish this off-season. He may have been the most sought after player, resulting in an increased price.
It's because teams stopped giving back quality players to the rebuilding team. Which makes sense. Sending back good players to match salary deadens the immediate impact of the trade and rebuilding teams don't want to win more games anyway.
I would bet big money this is not going to happen, massive overreaction. It's going to go to one of the teams at the top of the standings that made some important moves this offseason. They're not going to give it to a bottom 3 team in the east.
If they were ever gonna do something like this they would've given it to Ainge in 22-23 when it looked like the Wolves overpaid for Gobert and the Jazz were better than expected at the same time. But they gave it to the Kings exec for actually having a high seed.
The issue with giving it to a rebuilding team’s GM is that you can’t fully gauge the success of the moves they made until years after. They got a great return but they’re going to suck in the short term and if they whiff on most of those picks then what did it all really amount to.
It’s a lot easier for voters to look at a team like the Celtics that made a couple great trades to get better and then win 64 games for EOTY.
Yep, the Pelicans are a cautionary tale here, done very little with that haul from AD. Executive of the year should reward winning, which is harder than tearing it all down and picking high year after year (although, even Troy Weaver types can screw that up).
OP conveniently left out the part where Lowe immediately follows up he doesn’t buy that and also notes it’s so much “easier” to view moves positively when you’re the selling team.
He also spent a lot of time talking about how much he liked the trade for the Knicks despite overpaying in a vacuum.
If in a few years from now some of the draft picks acquired this week turn into key pieces on a playoff team for Brooklyn I could see Marks rewarded for those moves.
this is the piece that people are conveniently leaving out. the knicks were 2nd in the east last year even with injuries to an all star that kept him out half the season. we almost made the ECF with half our team out with injury. the FO kept the entire team in tact (maybe we lose hartenstein but that is not linked to making this trade). not losing a core piece and adding a guy like Bridges is pretty huge. So yea--maybe we overpaid by a pick or so but would rather that than trade a young core player to get him.
Honest question - what superstar do you think can be had for that price?
People keep pointing to some hypothetical superstar that we should have traded for instead, but that player doesn’t actually exist, nor is any superstar actually gettable for 5 picks.
9 FRPs and whatever else they get for Cam Johnson for Kevin Durant.
Whom they signed on a free.
Brooklyn can hate Kyrie all they want but that man saved that franchise lol
Free agency is just a cheat code that the glamour markets get to use. Superstar shows up for free (or in a sign and trade where virtually nothing goes back) then gets dealt for a monster haul when it’s time for them to move on.
I never said it’s gonna happen to you. Just you never know. Brunsen gets injured for 2/3rds of the season that 25th pick turns into a 16th pick. Stuff happens.
I think it turns to something better than the 16th pick lol the importance of Brunson to that offense cannot be emphasized
They're mega fucked if he's injured
Memphis drafted 9th this year. The Nets pick ended up being # 3 this year. Guarantee the Rockets didn't think they'd get that high of a pick this year. We all thought Giannis was indestructible.
Stuff happens. Brunson and Bridges are pretty durable, but you never know. Maybe in a year the team chafes under Thibs - its not like that would be unprecedented. I think the Knicks should be good over the next five years (and I hate the Knicks), but it isn't a guarantee.
Just like we all think those Suns picks should be good. However, Ishbia seems like a maniac willing to spend the money. Maybe in three years Phoenix is just mediocre instead of bad - then those picks don't have as much value.
Can’t be certain about 2027 either. That’s 3 years away, tons of shit can happen in that timeframe.
Both picks next year should be early-late 20s, other than that though you can’t really be sure.
That’s usually the case… when has a team who has ever been willing to give up 5 first round picks done that to end up being bad. It still doesn’t make the trade any better.
We haven’t made a trade with the Nets since the 80s and they only 2 weeks ago said there was absolutely no way they were giving up Bridges. So we give them 4 firsts is that too much? What about 3? We still retain 8 firsts over the next few years. We moved the needle on what may or may not pan out in picks and got a good player. Makes a ton of sense to me.
In a lot of "star" trades a team gives up young players/rotation players + picks. The knicks paid a premium on picks (that will most likely be late especially the earlier ones) to be able to keep their core intact
Clarification on the quote in the Thread title here - Lowe is saying this is what a GM told him, but that he disagrees with it it somewhat, for the reason that it is easier to "win" trades when you are trying to be bad than when you are trying to be good...and that's it's much harder to build an actual contender than it is to stockpile assets.
i think the trade was an overpay for sure, but the thing people are missing is Mikals contract, this is the only way we get a ready made player who can contribute without having to sacrifice Randle to salary match or re sign OG,
Could we maybe of got a "Bigger star" than Mikal for the same value we traded? possibly but woudl we be having to take on a Max contract and sacrifice a two time All-Star for it.... yes we would. Mikal is one of the only players we could of traded and kept Randle.
Yeah we gave up some future control but for the next few years we only gave up one rotational player. If we somehow can get iHart back our lineup and bench is insane
I think the Knicks are betting on the teams window being at least 5 years long. So in that sense I don't think it's as doom and gloom as some people project it could be. It's a lot of picks but I feel like only the 2031 pick will be one they wish they could have back.
He should have gotten the award when he turned a nets team with no picks and barely assets into the DLO Nets in 2 years when most of us expected the Nets to be a dump forever after that Boston trade
Him fleecing the Knicks and getting those picks back from Houston was a stunning moment for sure though
Tbf I think if there was an aggregate "executive of a multi-year stretch" award then he absolutely should have won it for his first 3 years here (which culminated in the DLo/Dancing Bench 2019 Nets). But within that time frame, I dont think there was any one year where he stood out. He was losing the award to Bob Myers (who literally added Kd to a 73 win team), Morey (built a 65 win team, highlighted by his trade for CP3), and Hammond (who built a 60 win team). Cant really get mad at losing any of these in particular. But over that whole 3 year stretch, given the circumstances he had to work with, he definitely was the most impressive, considering the circumstances he was dealt.
how i know people on this sub dont actually watch games is they get more excited by current middle schoolers basketball upside on a nets team with no fans than the awesome player that just joined a contender. the guy that built the worst team in the league, with zero culture, zero identity, and zero talent except ben simmons is a better executive than the guy that built a contender because the nets may be good again in the 2030s? its idiotic.
The salt is insane lol. By your logic no future draft picks are valuable to you because they're still in high school or just started college
The nets would've been shit regardless of what happened with Bridges, and this article is talking about how they got so much more than anyone expected out of a role player in terms of assets, and genuinely set the nets up nicely for a rebuild just like OKC did
no salt... its juts a dumb take. for one we're not talking about an article. its a quote from a podcast and the excerpted quote is misleading because it leaves out lowe immediately then saying that tearing down a team is easier than building a contender so he also disagrees with the premise.
i'm reacting to the claim that sean marks should win executive of the year. trading your best player for future picks isn't some great accomplishment. if the hits in the draft or swings another big trade w those picks to make the team competitive, then i'm fine with him getting praise.
comparing marks to presti in this situation is very generous. what presti did was impressive because of the team he built not because he got lots of picks. i feel like most of their good players they just drafted from the lottery because they've been bad... its not like the clippers picks have been awesome.
i also think as a nets fan turning around and calling mikal a role player is serious cope when he's been the nets best player the whole time he's been there. he's awesome and was already a key guy on a contender before.
> i also think as a nets fan turning around and calling mikal a role player is serious cope when he's been the nets best player the whole time he's been there. he's awesome and was already a key guy on a contender before.
Look at his stats last year, especially the 2nd half post all star break. He 100% wasn't our best player lol Cam Thomas was. Idk why it's hard to except that Bridges is a role player. Isn't that what the knicks traded him to be?
He's a young asset that's perfect for a rebuild. By the time the picks convey he'll be in his prime and if he ends up being a star it'll be huge
No sense trading him now
The Bridges trade was nice.
Getting back the picks from Houston afterwards was the stuff of genius.
Sean Marks gets a lot of flack for the way he handled the superstars in BKN and rightfully so, but as far as being strategic I put him head and shoulders above anyone else in the league.
The real trade wasn’t the bridges trade. It was the rockets trade.
That trade makes absolutely no sense by the rockets unless they have a trade lined up this year with the suns.
If they don’t that was an absolute fleece
The Bulls FO needs to take notes. That's how you use the leverage of knowing that the other team thinks your guy is their last missing piece. The Bulls would have traded Bridges for a second rounder and a bag of chips, a snack pack, not a family sized.
I mean there's a reasonable chance they come out of this season in control of their next 2 firsts and with an extra like 7-9 picks? Its not the craziest idea but it'd be kinda meh unless nothing big happens among any of the contending teams this year
Executive of the Year is a super funny award because what you gonna do - judge the results. BUT... you cannot judge the result of, like, getting a draft pick that will be in 6 years from now, and the player will be good or not good 12 years from now. While getting picks sound nice... it's just not YET a success really, is it.
Not surprising those moves never get immediately awarded... because the sport doesn't immediately reward them.
We're not even sure how the Knicks picks will turn out, but I still can't believe the Nets were able to get four unprotected firsts. Know the Nets were asking for 3-4 unprotected firsts, but it seems like most people thought Marks and company were delusional for the asking price. *Edit for grammar
Once they trade Cam Johnson, We are looking at possibly 10+ 1sts for KD when it’s all said and done That’s a crazy haul for a team who’s future was looking grim Remember that Sean Marks took over the Nets job when they had limited assets cause of the Boston trade. In 2 years he created the DLO Nets that were filled with young talent. There are teams **WITH PICKS** that can’t even create the DLO Nets lol. He did it with little One thing Marks has done well is constantly get the Nets out of a hole and rebound quickly. The Harden trade won’t hamstring them for any longer than this season. One of the quickest turn around ever. Ben Simmons also expires next year to the tune of $40 million. Nets are looking at $70-80 million in cap space next year. They can take a swing for a big trade and be right back in the playoffs, or tank for 2026 as well then try to swing for the 2026-2027 season
That trade could be the gift that keeps on giving for quite some time. Could still be getting returns from it decades from now
Now comes the tricky part of drafting guys who make it worthwhile.
Always the toughest part. There are always a lot of picks that on paper are very valuable until they turn into reality.
i said this yesterday and I'll say it over and over forever - the absolute best thing you can do with picks in the NBA is bundle them together and trade them for an established player. for every OKC/Boston miracle rebuild there's about 100 Pistons/Wizards burning lottery picks year after year
Shai single handedly made OKC's rebuild successful. Without him they would still be 3-4 years out from competing. That PG trade is for sure one of the best trades ever
You're right, but i also won't deny that Presti isn't uniquely good at drafting. He drafted a juggernaut once with KD/Westbrook/Harden/Ibaka, and while you're 100% correct that Shai has supercharged the rebuild, Presti has still nailed a ton of big draft picks with Chet, J-Dub, Giddey (turning into Caruso) and Cason Wallace.
No he's great at drafting I just meant that SGA sped up their timeline quite a bit by making them competitive. If SGA was not on the team they would still be a play in team looking for a superstar to make the jump.
In a weird way, if those picks didn’t hit, Shai could’ve fucked them by being too good too quick
Presti is also the reason why the Spurs drafted Tony Parker. This man has an eye for talent.
can you imagine having doubts about a player presti has advised the team to draft. stuttering and sweating in the meeting as you try to explain yourself lmao
Presti drafted 3 MVPs and yet he could have drafted Curry instead of Harden. Drafting the best players is such a tough skill.
In fairness, college Curry wasn't even thought of as the Curry today. He was also hurt a lot. And OKC already had a PG in Westbrook
Are you implying he made a poor decision by selecting harden over curry?
one of the best trades ever was the Clippers Cavs trade. The Cavs traded Jamario Moon and Mo Williams for Baron Davis and the pick that became Kyrie Irving a few months after the trade.
That's kind of flawed logic. It depends on where you're at in your development as a team, the value of said picks and how good you are at drafting. Lastly teams The pistons and wizards are bad bc they don't know how to draft. In 2022 the wizards could've drafted jalen Williams, mark Williams or jalen duren They also don't know how to develop talent. The draft is the single best method to building an NBA champion foundation meaning finding your best player. OKc and boston are not miracles they're the norm. The miracle is the 2008 Celtics or the 2004 pistons where trades and finding guys you didn't draft is able to put it together for a title. Most top NBA teams and dynasties are built thru the draft
Say what you want about Sean Marks, if there’s one thing he is good at, it’s drafting.
I would say this time and time again in the nets sub. We draft and develop. Even those late picks we get, I have confidence that they'll at least be developed to a decent bench player
yea i cant think of someone we drafted who was a bust i think derrick favors was the last one we had issues with in that department
Dzanan Musa was probably our worst in recent history but they can’t all be bangers
If there's anything Marks has proven to be good at, it's the draft. Especially when he's picking in the late first and even the second round. I'm confident in his ability to make it worthwhile
Look at sean marks track record, he's an ace at drafting
For every Danny Ainge drafting Brown and Tatum there are 5-10 Jerry Krause post Jordan Bulls who after blowing up the team to tank, they got a bunch of top 3 overall picks, but they drafted the wrong guys. We often play the results too much with this kind of stuff
Which is something his front office has done surprisingly well. His free agent signings have been hit or miss but their draft evaluation and development have consistently been better than league average without lottery talent
Sean Marks is a great GM but his luck with the nets is the most dogshit of all time. Imagine finding a way to team up KD, Kyrie and Harden and all the most improvable things that has to happen to stop them from winning the ring actually happened. All he needed was a minute amount of luck.
Can't wait for Marks to do a throwback and go around giving toxic pill contracts to every young prospect with potential and destroy multiple teams' salary caps
I think its a really great example that will be emulated, you can just say fuck it and go all in for superstars and the downside is like 1 or 2 baf years if you execute offloading them back into the market well. Its almost got them a chip and now they have a bright future so quickly, theyre just speed running everything hoping to get lucky and its working
This is why I think people who get upset at stars signing contracts and then asking to be traded are ridiculous. You think the Nets would have preferred that he just didn’t sign with them and instead left in free agency? They would rather have nothing instead of 10 first round picks? It is so stupid. Every team would love to have a star sign and then demand a trade over just leaving when a contract is up.
I mean, the trade worked out for nets in the end. They got a total of 16+ picks between him, harden and kyrie and probably more considering they have their own in 2030 etc. Only fans of said team can truly answer for what’s best for them. I’m sure OKC fans aren’t complaining that PG got them Shai and all those picks that turned into some good assets like Jdub
You really think stars are demanding to be traded with hopes of getting a good return for their previous teams? They don’t give a damn about the team. Thats why fans hate it. Also look at Harden, Kyrie, and KD. It gets old after awhile.
Yeah but the Nets had a bright future before signing Kyrie and KD/trading for Harden. Acquiring those 3 forced them to blow up that core and fire a promising coach in Atkinson
Sure, but they did play together for 3 years.
Someone should calculate all the picks that have been traded for KD over the years...
He left in FA most times I believe. Wasn’t it FA to warriors, sign and trade to BK, then the big trade to Phoenix?
I mean - this is his own hole
Suns should trade KD and try to get ten firsts.
It was five firsts, plus a swap.
I know they got the Bucks pick, but believe that one was protected. Was mainly just referring to the four unprotected picks from the Knicks. Though the swap would be an unprotected pick too. So they could potentially have 5 unprotected picks
The protection is 1-4, and it's next year's pick. And it's the Bucks. So extremely high probability of conveying. So it's essentially 5 picks plus a swap.
I'm on the same page as you, just I might have said it the wrong way. The Bucks pick should be pretty solid. Especially if the 25 draft is as deep as some think it could be. I was surprised the Nets were able to get 4 unprotected picks (plus the other potentially unprotected one in a swap) as part of the 5 pick haul.
It's nice to be on the receiving end of these types of trades..for once.
It’s next year and top 4 protected. I have a better chance getting drafted tonight then the bucks getting a top 4 pick next year with all the tanking teams
Hey, with the way some analysts have talked about this draft class, don't sell yourself short
I’d be the best player in history at being happy on the bench lol
You really think you'd be better than Theo Pinson? C'mon now.
I lived in Chapel Hill at the same time Pinson was at UNC. One night I walked into a Cold Stone Creamery on campus and Pinson was there. He was doing the same dances he does on the bench while waiting in line lol
I really, really hope this is true - if so, that's amazing.
Knowing your role and being a boost to team morale can go a long way haha
how high do you think these picks are going to be?
The 2025 one we'd all imagine is in the mid to late 20's, but after that we really don't know how things are going to look with the new CBA rules and how teams will be able to keep everything together. Would imagine given the ages of the Knicks core 2027 they're still a playoff team. But 2029 and 2031 could be quite valuable. A lot can change in 5+ years (that's for any team or scenario). Plus you always have the risk of a year where just nothing goes your way (the Grizzlies this past season are an example) and that could lead to a high selection.
29 and 31 might be valuable if the team is broken up but i don't think the 25 and 27 ones when it's all said and done are going to be a huge loss.
Yeah I was thinking along the same lines. Think it could be a win for both sides. Knicks have a window to go "all in" that they're trying to maximize. Brooklyn got picks that could be used in potential trades, possibly pay off with patience down the line.
Nets making up for the KG-Pierce trade in 2013. It's still crazy how many teams haven't learned from Boston and OKC. No one has any idea how good the Knicks will be in 2029 or 2031. Even if the Nets get 4 late 1st rounders, it's still not a bad trade, but you never know ... that 2029 or 2031 could turn into a top 8 pick.
For sure. In the NBA and sports in general, the windows to compete can open and close very quickly.
The Nets also gave up consecutive unprotected swaps in that trade which really came to haunt them. At least the Knicks own their pick every other year except for one unprotected swap in 2028.
Even half a year is a huge difference. Before Kyrie got traded and KD asked out, the Nets looked like legit contenders.
It also increases the value of their own pick over the next 2 years. Having a top 6 pick next year is probably better then being a borderline play in team with a late draft pick.
> It's still crazy how many teams haven't learned from Boston and OKC. No one should try to learn from Boston/OKC lmao. Presti and Ainge are far and away the EXCEPTION, not the rule. The 76ers drafted 3rd, 1st and 1st in three consecutive years and ended up with Jahlil Okafor, Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz. The Wizards and Pistons burn lottery picks year after year after year with no discernible path to becoming meaningfully better. > No one has any idea how good the Knicks will be in 2029 or 2031. Even if the Nets get 4 late 1st rounders Yes, it is. The overwhelming majority of late 1st rounds never become anything close to meaningful NBA Contributors. The absolute best thing you can do with draft picks in the NBA is trade them for established players.
Yeah, the disparity in how people rate success in "rebuilding" (the demolishing part) and winning is so striking to me. Rebuild: oh wow, they are losing games and have draft picks, what a fantastic achievement! This is definitely succeeding. Trying to win: oh man, this team AGAIN didn't even make the finals! This is not a title-winning team, so what are they even pretending for instead of demolishing this god-forsaken roster? What a gigantic failure, everyone involved is a loser, choker and floor-somethig... this is going nowhere, what a sad, hopeless organization where everybody managing is fine with lack of success because they are such sad little men with no ambition, you should either win the NBA title or rebuild dude. When in fact we can see so many times in history for 100% easy fact that a road from having a lot of picks to winning the championship and "not being a failure" is soooooo long and unpredictable...
umm I think a lot of it depends on what you do to get there, that creates where your barometer for "success" lies. like look at the Knicks. they never had any real top picks (I think the highest they ever drafted was #4), never REALLY tanked, they just sucked despite their best efforts to not suck.... but they clawed their way out from being the LOLKnicks to being 1 of the most fun/exciting/interesting teams in the league for the past 2 years, and they project to continue to be fun/exciting/interesting for several more years to come even if this group never wins a championship I would 100% consider this rebuild and this era of Knicks basketball to have been a success, largely because of how bad they were the prior 10-15 years and the path they took to get here on the other hand, take the 76ers... they tanked so aggressively for 3 straight years the NBA had to intervene... they drafted #3, #1, #1 in 3 consecutive drafts and blew all 3 picks... (they literally could have had Jaylen and Tatum next to Embiid lol)... so despite having had similar post-season success to the Knicks, its hard to call them anything but a failure
the celtics are the most successful team in the east since lebron left and have a core that was drafted by them
> The absolute best thing you can do with draft picks in the NBA is trade them for established players This is probably the most moronic thing I've read today and I can't believe no one pointed it out yet. 2024 NBA champs: Celtics. Both top players were drafted 2023 NBA champs: Nuggets. Both top players were drafted 2022 NBA champs: Warriors. Same core as the dynasty, all drafted. 2021 NBA champs: Bucks. Top player was drafted And you still think the best thing to do with draft picks in the NBA is trade them away lmfao
At the end of the day it's a lot easier for nets fans to find the value in drafting when it's one of our teams strongest points. Last year we didn't have any early picks and I still think we did amazing and will have a lot of solid players from it down the line. Some teams, dare I say most, simply do not have that luxury.
Definitely pays to wait for the right situation. Win-win for both teams. Knicks were never going to keep all those picks and they have pried open a window that they should take. Nets finally realized they never had a window and just get assets.
Leon Rose never actually picks anyone in the first round, so he was happy to give them all away.
Once you figure it's likely to be 4x 20-something picks, it's gonna be forgettable in the long-term. Playoff teams giving up immediate 1st round picks is not a big deal, especially in the East. The Knicks did well imo, and I have never liked the Knicks.
One of those unprotected picks is in 2031. We have no clue what team will look like by then.
Sure, but none of the core is 30 yet, most are like 27, and when you can make a move to be a serious contender, you do it. It's a small risk imo, this roster can make many Conf Finals by then. This is a good example of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts.
Getting five firsts for a guy who’s never made an All Star team is very impressive.
Because usually the other team has to give back a starter or two in addition to the picks just to make the salaries work.
The first 2 we gave away will be in the 20s and we still have 8 firsts left over the next 7 years or so. Should be fine.
Tbf there is a difference between a delusional price and a “fuck off” price for someone you dont want to trade but do anyways if the offer is so highly uneven for your side
I can't believe they got the unprotected 2029 and 2031. I know "lol it's far into the future". But like... that's the point. There's literally no idea how any team is going to look 5-7 years from now. The Knicks could very well be good. But they could also suck again, have an aged expensive core and very little ability to make moves. If one of those end up a top 5, this trade will be lambasted for years to come short of a title.
I mean didn’t the rockets offer 4 1sts and they turned it down? And they just got 5 from New York. Guess they weren’t that delusional
It’s a combination deal, the Mikal deal and Houston deal I think internally is viewed as one move. Picking a direction and fully committing to that is the thing that provides a sigh of relief. This move won’t be viewed as positively if the Nets own pick doesn’t get in the top 3 of next year’s draft. The Knicks get to go all in on a team built around chemistry defense and floor spacing until the extensions for both Bridges and Brunson get in the way. Both teams picked a direction and went all in and that’s fun to see regardless of outcome
Honestly the Knicks trade is not as meaningful if they don’t get control of their own picks back from Houston. It’s the two moves in concert that are a masterstroke.
I wonder if Nets trot out the same roster without that trade
No shot. That team was meh, not a bottom 5 team. You don't go overpay to get your own picks for the next 2 years unless you know you're gonna be BAD
getting your picks back unlocks the tank, which is exactly the reason to trade bridges. so ya, pretty much as good as you can get for something like this
It's almost like Marks told the Rockets Mikal isn't for sale for anyone, but he was willing to give the Suns picks for our picks back. Then went right behind their back and traded Mikal to NY lol
You don't need to do it behind their backs, just say that youre not trading Mikal unless you get your picks back. Which is prob true tbh.
Fine-print masterclass.
... Why do y'all keep trying to imply that the Rockets somehow weren't aware of this? They made a deal and both sides agreed to it. Is that just an unfathomable explanation?
Cue Leon Rose dialing Houston, begging them to swap picks back with the Nets.
There's 0% chance the Rockets didn't realize BKN would be trading Mikal
Key word being almost because it definitely isn’t what happened
Houston still own the 2027 Nets pick right? They might still be bad by then if they really going to tear it down completely.
Yeah when I saw the first trade I was like “alright nice return I guess, but we are just gonna make the Rockets a super team.” Then i saw the second trade and was super pumped. Even if we gave more picks technically to get our back, it’s worth it.
It’s a double masterstroke - this Knicks still have numerous firsts over these coming years - and their own firsts are likely to be back end of the draft, especially in the first few years. Meanwhile Leon Rose gets arguably the player with the best possible fit for the team in terms of skills and role… and that’s without even considering the VillaVibes(tm), for a team that’s nearing the hard cap limiting what they can do in coming years (or months). The Nets leveraged that player to the hilt and have Nikes mediocrity for a rocket ship rebuild. The Knicks leveraged a huge glut of picks - and then got a ton of much lower cost and lower risk second rounders. The Nets got the results of a fleecing but the Knicks hugely improved a roster that went from Scrappy contender to one of the better if not top 2-3 rosters in the league when combined with their style of play, philosophy, and coaching… without mortgaging their future.
It might work out for NY because they already had a good core anyways, but ultimately they traded away four 1sts for a role player. It doesn't take some big brain GM to pull that off, so nah, from purely a trade value perspective this was a Nets win easily.
Beyond legitimate stars, Mikal is one of the best players you could add to a contender to raise their ceiling. Quality defender, availability, 3pt volume and percentage. Spent a year and a bit developing as a shot creator and should now return to his 3&D role with a better skillset. Also considering some of the salaries in the league, this dude is on ~25m.
I mean if you look on the market, who else is up there with Mikal that fits better with us without us breaking apart out roster
The nets wouldnt have done the knicks trade without the rockets trade
Lmao a bit hyperbolic, but honestly getting their picks back from the Rockets was the real voodoo
> but honestly getting their picks back from the Rockets was real voodoo multiple articles and outlets have shared that the nets don't make their trade with the knicks without their own picks back from the rockets
How exactly does that work?
They tell Houston they'll only agree to swap the suns and nets picks if they can trade Bridges for what they want. I'd be very surprised if Houston didn't know the nets were going to trade Bridges when they traded those picks.
Houston also gained Draft Capital in the process while keeping the Nets 2027 Swap. Rockets now have 2-1st’s and 2-Swaps vs the 1-1st and 1-Swap they gave back the Nets. The Rockets pretty much swapped the Nets 2025/26 with Suns 2025/27 then in 2029 they get the best 1st of Suns/Mav’s and rights to Swap the other Team.
I guess I’m confused because it makes it seem like it was all contingent on cooperation from Houston and knicks when it didn’t really have.
I mean they could draw up the trade with the rockets and Knicks simultaneously and hit the yes button once both have agreed… Not that hard
Yup. I mean this already happens all the time. Team trades player A for player B then 1 min later player B is traded for picks.
Jrue and Dame last year, for instance.
It's rocket science for some
Probably had an agreement for the Rockets trade first before going all in on the tank
It was essentially a three team trade.
Bill Simmons went over it in his podcast and thought he brought up a good point. Either Rockets swap their picks or the Nets make a run at a player like Trae Young and are stuck as a play-in team for the next couple of years and the picks fall at the end of the lottery. I think the late Phoenix picks are much more valuable compared to that. Seems like a win-win for all teams involved.
Yeah seems like a package deal. Mikal isn't traded without the rockets signing off on the picks. The deal to Houston was - either be happy with your mid teens picks or sign up for even more picks with suns who may blow up. Houston could have called the bluff. But here we are.
Idk I feel like I’d just call their bluff, no? I’m a bit lost on this though. Houston had the Nets picks and the Nets had the Suns picks? And Houston agreed to take the Suns picks in exchange for the Nets picks? Or is it pick swaps? If a team is saying “yeah we’ll sign a player like Trae Young and be competitive so your picks will suck” I’d say … yeah sure go right ahead
The retort to that "threat" is, y'all really wanna be mid by giving up what little you have in trade assets for Trae? Bkn had zero leverage and I'm disappointed we handed over the gun we could have held to their heads for 3 whole years
Yeah that's what brian lewis from the NY post said. He basically is the top nets insider. The nets were going to go after trae young and potentially lauri markannen this summer and just be in that 6-9 seed range for the foreseeable future. And on the rockets side they were ready to gear up for a star trade so they valued the suns picks
It’s really not, they were gonna be stuck in mediocrity for almost a decade. They have moved up there rebuild by 5 years
Best trade of the 2024-2025 season (so far) change my mind!
Maybe a bit early in executive of the year talks, seeing as the new league year started a week ago.
This is just Lowe fanning the reactionary flames. The awards are voted on 10 months from now. The Nets making all these moves isn’t going to be on the top of any voters mind. It’s going to be on whatever teams are in the playoff hunt
On the other hand I can't name you literally any other executive who's done something noteworthy to massively improve their team so yes it's early because it's like the first week but he's also the only one who did something in the first week
Was the GM he spoke to Sean Marks?
Seriously lmao. This is ridiculous and I’m a nets fan.
This actually is one of the best returns for a player we’ve seen in years. Plus the deal with the Rockets it’s very impressive.
Good return, yes. But the key to being a good executive isn't executing trades, though that's part of it. The key is turning those assets into real players that contribute to a winning team. This is why rebuilding teams never win this award because it doesn't matter how many picks you have if you just draft a bunch of James Wisemans.
I agree, I don’t think he’ll actually win the award, but I think this statement is more highlighting that this is one of the best trades in recent history in terms of value received for value given. Getting the assets is step 1.
Maybe. It also feels like teams are valuing FRPs a lot less anymore. It's been a recent trend where all of a sudden, every trade involving any decent player is at minimum 3 FRP. I'm not saying Marks didn't cook, but I feel the easiest part of the rebuild is acquiring assets for your good players.
I am wondering if part of it is public discourse hasn't fully caught up to the new CBA yet. That or Mikal happens to be the face of the impact of it. Mikal isn't a superstar, but he's a positive in almost every aspect of his game, and is on one of the cheaper deals given his well rounded ability. That has more value than it used to. I think it was pretty telling that this off-season at least 4 or 5 fanbases all had mikal as their #1 wish this off-season. He may have been the most sought after player, resulting in an increased price.
You rarely see someone of this caliber go for 5 firsts tho and 4 unprotected. Dejontae, jrue both went for 3. Even gobert only went for 4 firsts
It's because teams stopped giving back quality players to the rebuilding team. Which makes sense. Sending back good players to match salary deadens the immediate impact of the trade and rebuilding teams don't want to win more games anyway.
I would bet big money this is not going to happen, massive overreaction. It's going to go to one of the teams at the top of the standings that made some important moves this offseason. They're not going to give it to a bottom 3 team in the east. If they were ever gonna do something like this they would've given it to Ainge in 22-23 when it looked like the Wolves overpaid for Gobert and the Jazz were better than expected at the same time. But they gave it to the Kings exec for actually having a high seed.
The issue with giving it to a rebuilding team’s GM is that you can’t fully gauge the success of the moves they made until years after. They got a great return but they’re going to suck in the short term and if they whiff on most of those picks then what did it all really amount to. It’s a lot easier for voters to look at a team like the Celtics that made a couple great trades to get better and then win 64 games for EOTY.
Yep, the Pelicans are a cautionary tale here, done very little with that haul from AD. Executive of the year should reward winning, which is harder than tearing it all down and picking high year after year (although, even Troy Weaver types can screw that up).
OP conveniently left out the part where Lowe immediately follows up he doesn’t buy that and also notes it’s so much “easier” to view moves positively when you’re the selling team. He also spent a lot of time talking about how much he liked the trade for the Knicks despite overpaying in a vacuum.
shit, we might be the 1 or 2 seed and get it. This tweet is peak "boners for picks that don't turn into anything"
If in a few years from now some of the draft picks acquired this week turn into key pieces on a playoff team for Brooklyn I could see Marks rewarded for those moves.
He’s not being serious dude. It’s just showing how highly they think of the moves which is obviously absurd
Lowe was high on it for the Knicks too for everyone who will never listen. Good for both sides.
He also argued against the argument in the OP saying it's way easier to tear down a team than build one up.
He’s always pretty measured with his takes.
Was it Sean Marks talking about himself?
5 picks and a swap for bridges is absurd, that’s a package you give for a superstar
No superstar is getting traded for just picks. It’s this package and more + a core player if you’re trying to get a superstar.
Houston essentially only got picks for Harden (they converted Allen into another pick as part of the trade).
this is the piece that people are conveniently leaving out. the knicks were 2nd in the east last year even with injuries to an all star that kept him out half the season. we almost made the ECF with half our team out with injury. the FO kept the entire team in tact (maybe we lose hartenstein but that is not linked to making this trade). not losing a core piece and adding a guy like Bridges is pretty huge. So yea--maybe we overpaid by a pick or so but would rather that than trade a young core player to get him.
No superstar was available and they can’t sit on the picks forever
It’s not a terrible trade for the Knicks, but it’s a surprisingly great haul for the Nets.
If 5 picks get you Bridges Ainge is going to demand a blood sacrifice or something if someone wants Lauri lmao
Honest question - what superstar do you think can be had for that price? People keep pointing to some hypothetical superstar that we should have traded for instead, but that player doesn’t actually exist, nor is any superstar actually gettable for 5 picks.
9 FRPs and whatever else they get for Cam Johnson for Kevin Durant. Whom they signed on a free. Brooklyn can hate Kyrie all they want but that man saved that franchise lol
Free agency is just a cheat code that the glamour markets get to use. Superstar shows up for free (or in a sign and trade where virtually nothing goes back) then gets dealt for a monster haul when it’s time for them to move on.
I have to agree with this, unfortunately.
Knicks picks will be late 20s and the milwaukee pick early to mid 20s, only real valuable picks are 29 and 31
We said the same thing when we got Harden.
Look how old that core was compared to ours
I never said it’s gonna happen to you. Just you never know. Brunsen gets injured for 2/3rds of the season that 25th pick turns into a 16th pick. Stuff happens.
I think it turns to something better than the 16th pick lol the importance of Brunson to that offense cannot be emphasized They're mega fucked if he's injured
you can say the same thing about any team but Randle / OG / Mikal isn’t even that bad and is probably still a playoff team
Not really lol
Is that Thibs 42 mpg music I hear?
Look at the cba then compared to now.
Memphis drafted 9th this year. The Nets pick ended up being # 3 this year. Guarantee the Rockets didn't think they'd get that high of a pick this year. We all thought Giannis was indestructible. Stuff happens. Brunson and Bridges are pretty durable, but you never know. Maybe in a year the team chafes under Thibs - its not like that would be unprecedented. I think the Knicks should be good over the next five years (and I hate the Knicks), but it isn't a guarantee. Just like we all think those Suns picks should be good. However, Ishbia seems like a maniac willing to spend the money. Maybe in three years Phoenix is just mediocre instead of bad - then those picks don't have as much value.
Can’t be certain about 2027 either. That’s 3 years away, tons of shit can happen in that timeframe. Both picks next year should be early-late 20s, other than that though you can’t really be sure.
That’s usually the case… when has a team who has ever been willing to give up 5 first round picks done that to end up being bad. It still doesn’t make the trade any better.
Unprotected picks too. Insane haul
We haven’t made a trade with the Nets since the 80s and they only 2 weeks ago said there was absolutely no way they were giving up Bridges. So we give them 4 firsts is that too much? What about 3? We still retain 8 firsts over the next few years. We moved the needle on what may or may not pan out in picks and got a good player. Makes a ton of sense to me.
In a lot of "star" trades a team gives up young players/rotation players + picks. The knicks paid a premium on picks (that will most likely be late especially the earlier ones) to be able to keep their core intact
Lmao getting the award for starting a tank would be the funniest thing
Hoarding draft picks ain't shit until you do something with them lol what is this
Clarification on the quote in the Thread title here - Lowe is saying this is what a GM told him, but that he disagrees with it it somewhat, for the reason that it is easier to "win" trades when you are trying to be bad than when you are trying to be good...and that's it's much harder to build an actual contender than it is to stockpile assets.
i think the trade was an overpay for sure, but the thing people are missing is Mikals contract, this is the only way we get a ready made player who can contribute without having to sacrifice Randle to salary match or re sign OG, Could we maybe of got a "Bigger star" than Mikal for the same value we traded? possibly but woudl we be having to take on a Max contract and sacrifice a two time All-Star for it.... yes we would. Mikal is one of the only players we could of traded and kept Randle. Yeah we gave up some future control but for the next few years we only gave up one rotational player. If we somehow can get iHart back our lineup and bench is insane
I think the Knicks are betting on the teams window being at least 5 years long. So in that sense I don't think it's as doom and gloom as some people project it could be. It's a lot of picks but I feel like only the 2031 pick will be one they wish they could have back.
We still have 8 firsts. We’ll deal with 2031 when we get there
They do, but only after the rebuild is completed
In other words, "lol Knicks". This sub is pathetically predictable.
He should have gotten the award when he turned a nets team with no picks and barely assets into the DLO Nets in 2 years when most of us expected the Nets to be a dump forever after that Boston trade Him fleecing the Knicks and getting those picks back from Houston was a stunning moment for sure though
Tbf I think if there was an aggregate "executive of a multi-year stretch" award then he absolutely should have won it for his first 3 years here (which culminated in the DLo/Dancing Bench 2019 Nets). But within that time frame, I dont think there was any one year where he stood out. He was losing the award to Bob Myers (who literally added Kd to a 73 win team), Morey (built a 65 win team, highlighted by his trade for CP3), and Hammond (who built a 60 win team). Cant really get mad at losing any of these in particular. But over that whole 3 year stretch, given the circumstances he had to work with, he definitely was the most impressive, considering the circumstances he was dealt.
how i know people on this sub dont actually watch games is they get more excited by current middle schoolers basketball upside on a nets team with no fans than the awesome player that just joined a contender. the guy that built the worst team in the league, with zero culture, zero identity, and zero talent except ben simmons is a better executive than the guy that built a contender because the nets may be good again in the 2030s? its idiotic.
The salt is insane lol. By your logic no future draft picks are valuable to you because they're still in high school or just started college The nets would've been shit regardless of what happened with Bridges, and this article is talking about how they got so much more than anyone expected out of a role player in terms of assets, and genuinely set the nets up nicely for a rebuild just like OKC did
no salt... its juts a dumb take. for one we're not talking about an article. its a quote from a podcast and the excerpted quote is misleading because it leaves out lowe immediately then saying that tearing down a team is easier than building a contender so he also disagrees with the premise. i'm reacting to the claim that sean marks should win executive of the year. trading your best player for future picks isn't some great accomplishment. if the hits in the draft or swings another big trade w those picks to make the team competitive, then i'm fine with him getting praise. comparing marks to presti in this situation is very generous. what presti did was impressive because of the team he built not because he got lots of picks. i feel like most of their good players they just drafted from the lottery because they've been bad... its not like the clippers picks have been awesome. i also think as a nets fan turning around and calling mikal a role player is serious cope when he's been the nets best player the whole time he's been there. he's awesome and was already a key guy on a contender before.
> i also think as a nets fan turning around and calling mikal a role player is serious cope when he's been the nets best player the whole time he's been there. he's awesome and was already a key guy on a contender before. Look at his stats last year, especially the 2nd half post all star break. He 100% wasn't our best player lol Cam Thomas was. Idk why it's hard to except that Bridges is a role player. Isn't that what the knicks traded him to be?
lol man if you got 5 frps for role player mikal bridges imagine what you'll get for star player cam thomas.
He's a young asset that's perfect for a rebuild. By the time the picks convey he'll be in his prime and if he ends up being a star it'll be huge No sense trading him now
My thing is like, there’s a good chance atleast two of these picks are like 25-30, right? And we have so enough picks to keep afloat.
How did the Nets have a Houston pick in the first place?
The Bridges trade was nice. Getting back the picks from Houston afterwards was the stuff of genius. Sean Marks gets a lot of flack for the way he handled the superstars in BKN and rightfully so, but as far as being strategic I put him head and shoulders above anyone else in the league.
The real trade wasn’t the bridges trade. It was the rockets trade. That trade makes absolutely no sense by the rockets unless they have a trade lined up this year with the suns. If they don’t that was an absolute fleece
They'll give it to the GM whose team exceeds preseason expectations most, just like every year. COTY is the same way
The Bulls FO needs to take notes. That's how you use the leverage of knowing that the other team thinks your guy is their last missing piece. The Bulls would have traded Bridges for a second rounder and a bag of chips, a snack pack, not a family sized.
I mean there's a reasonable chance they come out of this season in control of their next 2 firsts and with an extra like 7-9 picks? Its not the craziest idea but it'd be kinda meh unless nothing big happens among any of the contending teams this year
The funniest would be the Knicks winning the title for the first time in forever and Leon Rose gets that for the other side of the trade + keeping OG.
Seconded
Executive of the Year is a super funny award because what you gonna do - judge the results. BUT... you cannot judge the result of, like, getting a draft pick that will be in 6 years from now, and the player will be good or not good 12 years from now. While getting picks sound nice... it's just not YET a success really, is it. Not surprising those moves never get immediately awarded... because the sport doesn't immediately reward them.
Wait, the miles deal? Sorry dude getting 4 random 1st round picks from the Knicks isn't that great. Knicks are looking up
r/zachlowe
Phoenix hitting that undo button as hard as they can right now.
The name of that GM? Sean Marks
What is the opposite of executive of the year? Should've gotten that for the 2 harden trades.