The talk of the offseason for the Brooklyn Nets will be trades and potential targets. They currently don’t hold any real estate in the 2024 NBA Draft. That might not be a bad thing, either, with the current class of prospects looking quite underwhelming to most draft experts.
As of right now, it’s not likely the Nets land a star via free agency. Should they target one, though, it’ll be via sign and trade. Again, it all comes back to trades if the Nets want to acquire a star this offseason.
Adding a star player to a lineup with Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and Nic Claxton, if the Nets can return him, would create a playoff team in the Eastern Conference. Bringing one in wouldn’t be all that bad of an idea, though it’s not worth overpaying for.
With that in mind, there is one particular star that should be available, though. Utah Jazz star forward Lauri Markkanen could be up for trade, but it’ll be impossible for teams to meet Danny Ainge’s asking price. According to Tony Jones of The Athletic, they’re asking for four or five first-round picks in return for the fringe All-Star.
“Something like four or five first-round picks, and a star-level talent coming over,” Jones wrote of the asking price.
Reports like this make it hard to imagine the Nets will be able to get a reasonably cheap star via trade. Bringing in young role players in free agency while trading into the draft — whether this year or in the future — to target a young potential star might be the only way to get a cheap, well-built and young team for the Nets.
With the Jazz off the table for trades more than likely, given their asking price, there remain fewer and fewer options for the Nets to navigate their current roster-building situation.
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