The Brooklyn Nets are going for it, there’s no doubt about that. According to 2,348 sources, the Boston Celtics and Nets have agreed to a blockbuster trade with the Celtics sending Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Jason Terry to the Nets for Kris Humphries’ expiring contract, Gerald Wallace, Tornike Shengelia, Reggie Evans and a sign-and-traded Keith Bogans, along with three first-round picks (2014, ’16 and ’18). The details of this transaction keep getting tweaked slightly, so don’t be shocked if there are minor changes to the trade in the next few days.
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UPDATE: According to ESPN, In 2014, Boston gets either Brooklyn’s pick or Atlanta’s pick, whichever is worse. And in 2017, Boston has the right to swap picks with Brooklyn
Technical mumbo-jumbo that needs to be added: No trade between the teams can officially be consummated until July 10 – when a league-wide moratorium on signings and trades is lifted after free agency begins July 1.
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Just by the reaction that I was seeing on Twitter tonioght, there were three reactions. “WOW! The Nets are gonna be sick next year!”, “The Nets just got MAD OLD, yo!”, and ” The Nets still aren’t as good as the Knicks”.
My reaction is: The Nets are going to battle the New York Knicks for the Atlantic Division title and probably get bounced in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, all while having no long-term contracts acquired in this trade. Paul Pierce’s deal expires after next season and Kevin Garnett’s is expiring after the 2014-2015 season. The only thing that would worry me in this trade is the draft picks in 2016 and 2018.
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Let’s say that the Nets don’t win the title next year and then they decide they will re-sign Pierce? They have a chance to get old real fast and fall into that mediocre zone where they don’t bottom out, but hover in the no-mans land of the NBA, like the Milwaukee Bucks. This scenario could happen, and at the same time not have the high draft picks you need to either acquire talent in the draft or trade for established players. That would be the absolute worst case scenario.
I’m by no means an NBA guru, but I do understand that dealing for older players who have won and are team players, is never a bad idea. Especially ones that you will not have long-term financial ties to if you are smart. I know we are talking about the NBA here, so I’m sure both Pierce and Garnett will receive five-year contract extensions upon putting on their first pair of skinny jeans and a scarf in the middle of the summer.
So good luck to the Nets and their title aspirations, and good luck to the Celtics who are clearly tanking in an attempt to get the #1 overall pick next year, Andrew Wiggins.
