Brooklyn Nets: Grading the Tyler Zeller-Rashad Vaughn trade

In a shocking turn of events, the Brooklyn Nets were able to send off big man Tyler Zeller to the Milwaukee Bucks.

It’s officially #TradeSZN for the Brooklyn Nets.

Staying relatively quiet this season after a series of shrewd summer moves clearly wasn’t enough general manager Sean Marks.

On the Monday following the Super Bowl (congrats to ending a drought, Philadelphia Eagles), Marks decided to make his own headlines.

As first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Nets unloaded Tyler Zeller on the Milwaukee Bucks for Rashad Vaughn and a protected second round pick:

Trade analysis

The protections on the pick are expected and simultaneously complex, but the framework of the deal is enough to understand. Vaughn, a former first round selection out of UNLV (No. 17 overall), has had a difficult time catching on with Milwaukee. Like many other Nets, he will get a chance to prove himself in Brooklyn.

Some might wonder why my trade deadline preview did not include Tyler Zeller. To be quite frank, I did not expect Zeller to have any value on the trade market. Not only has he been expendable talent-wise, but mediocre centers are getting crunched by the small-ball era.

In summation, getting any sort of asset compensation for a player like that is great value.

The aftermath

Any trade involves some trickle-down repercussions in terms of playing time. But like every other shrewd move Marks has made, none of them are negative.

All this does is open up more playing time for Jarrett Allen, who has been great recently and is the archetype of the center everyone needs, as well as Jahlil Okafor, who hasn’t been great so far but might be able to improve with more tick.

Additionally, it allows for even more wing-heavy, super-small lineups. Everyone knows you can’t have too many wings in today’s NBA, so adding another is far from an issue. Maybe the competition for playing time will force the other wings to be more consistent. May the best men win roster spots in the long run.

Next: 2018 NBA Draft big board: End of January

After all, every move the Nets make has the long run in mind. This one is no different.