2017 NBA Draft rumors: Nets-Trail Blazers draft-day trade possibilities
With the 2017 NBA Draft approaching, the Brooklyn Nets and Portland Trail Blazers could be perfect trade partners on draft day.
The Brooklyn Nets have tremendous roster flexibility right now. They can strike a deal with almost any franchise in the league. That makes the Portland Trail Blazers — who have three first round picks in the 2017 NBA Draft — a very appealing trade partner for a Brooklyn team looking for young talent.
According to Sporting News, the Blazers are open to dealing one or a few of their draft picks in order to shed some salary. The Nets were specifically mentioned as a team that’s inquired about swapping picks and taking on some salary since they have plenty of cap space.
Here are two potential trades that would allow Brooklyn to stack even more first round picks (they currently own the 22nd and 27th picks), while allowing Portland to shed salary without getting markedly worse as a team.
Trade No. 1:
Sean Kilpatrick is a scorer who has averaged 19 points per 36 minutes for his career. At 6’4″ and 210 pounds, he is almost identical in size to Portland’s C.J. McCollum. He can easily function as the first or second guard off the bench for the Trail Blazers.
He is nowhere near the shooter McCollum is, but you can run similar sets for him because of his aggressiveness on offense. You would see an uptick in his three-point shooting since he would receive proper floor-spacing on a top 10 three-point shooting team like Portland.
The contract general manager Neil Oshey would be getting rid of is former lottery pick Meyers Leonard.
Since being taken 11th in the 2012 NBA Draft, he has averaged 5.7 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. He has not developed into a reliable stretch-4 yet, but he has the tools to become one.
Why it makes sense for both sides:
In Brooklyn, Leonard would have the freedom to develop at his own pace. The Nets are thin in the frontcourt after Brook Lopez and Trevor Booker. They rely on the athleticism of young combo-forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson at the 4-spot.
Leonard would give the Nets more length, and his shooting would pair well with Lopez’s offensive arsenal. Lopez successfully experimented with shooting threes this past season (34.6 percent from downtown), with excellent results. Having a pair of floor-spacing seven-footers would give the Nets a unique strategic advantage against certain teams.
Leonard doesn’t bring the Nets closer to contention, so Portland would have to attach its 15th overall pick in this year’s draft. Even if the Trail Blazers did not believe in Kilpatrick as much as I do, his contract for next year isn’t fully guaranteed until June 30, 2017, making him a perfect fit for dump a little salary.
Trade No. 2:
In this proposed deal, Nets general manager Sean Marks would leverage Portland’s middle-of-the-pack rebounding numbers in the discussions. This would ultimately lead to Portland being willing to take on the remaining year on Trevor Booker’s contract.
Why it makes sense for both sides:
Trevor Booker would perform reasonably well as the Trail Blazers’ starting or backup power forward. His tenacity on the glass could be a big factor for Portland with so much shooting giving him ample opportunities on the offensive glass.
Evan Turner is a playmaker who, at 6’7″, presents a unique challenge for defenses. He is a good midrange shooter and a solid pick-and-roll ball-handler.
Turner’s ceiling is limited in today’s NBA due to his inability to stretch his shooting range beyond 16 feet. Even so, he can still hang his hat on being a great setup man. His assist total for the season was considered a down year by his standards with 205 total assists, but that mark would’ve made him the Nets’ top assist man in 2016-17.
Brooklyn head coach Kenny Atkinson would be able throw out big lineups featuring Turner, Lopez, and Leonard where Turner could actually run the point. Neil Olshey would love the opportunity to get rid of two picks in return for a solid veteran, all the while hanging onto the their highest pick and shedding Turner’s contract.
Next: 2017 NBA Draft - 5 teams that should trade picks
Both of the trades presented here would give the Trail Blazers a very specific role player who could help them in the short-term and still help shed some salary and unnecessary draft picks. For Nets fans, these deals would push Brooklyn a little closer to respectability while also allowing them to continue to add raw talent.