Brooklyn Nets
In two separate deals on Thursday, the Nets basically agreed to send out Jeremy Lin for Kenneth Faried and Darrell Arthur — strictly in a basketball sense. From that perspective, the trade would’ve been a flop. Fortunately, general manager Sean Marks has continued to intelligently position his team for big moves in the future.
The pick in the Lin deal (a 2020 second-rounder) doesn’t figure to be particularly valuable on paper, until you remember the Hawks will be one of the worst teams in the league next season, which means it could very easily fall in the 31-35 range.
As for this deal, the Nets are snagging an additional first-rounder (top-12 protected) and another 2020 second-rounder (via Portland), all at the mere price of giving up the injured Lin and taking on Faried and Arthur for one year.
There are also the salary cap benefits to consider. First, Marks sent off Lin’s $12.5 million expiring contract in order to clear enough space to absorb the expiring contracts of Faried ($13.8 million) and Arthur ($7.5 million).
In order to do so, Brooklyn had to hold off on officially re-signing Joe Harris to his two-year, $16 million deal, since it allowed the team to operate with Harris’ cap hold rather than his full salary for 2018-19.
The Nets were able to absorb the Kenneth Faried and Darrell Arthur contract because of the $1.5M free agent cap hold of Joe Harris. The trade would not have worked had Brooklyn signed signed Harris to his $8M cap hit once the moratorium was lifted.... https://t.co/mVqX5zc8uy
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) July 13, 2018
Thanks to this stroke of genius, the Nets basically turned Lin’s expiring $12.5 million contract into $21.2 million worth of expiring contracts next summer. At that point, Dwight Howard, DeMarre Carroll, Ed Davis and Spencer Dinwiddie will all be off the books as well.
That cap space will allow Brooklyn to be players in 2019 free agency, giving Marks his first chance to make a game-changing, blockbuster move.
And, yes, the Nets are going to have massive cap space next summer. So will the Knicks. The Fight for the Apple is going to be fierce 12 months from now.
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) July 13, 2018
Shifting back to the basketball front, it’s unlikely Faried or Arthur will have much of an impact, but they’re useful bench pieces and locker room veterans if the team decides to keep them around.
Nets, @KennethFaried35 reps to speak this morning to see what team’s plan is for the veteran forward. Faried was sent from Denver to Brooklyn late last night in multiplayer deal; has one year ($13.7M) remaining on contract.
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) July 13, 2018
Last year, Faried only played in 32 games, averaging 5.9 points and 4.8 rebounds in 14.4 minutes a night — all career-lows. His high energy and rebounding remain his strongest attributes, but at 28 years old, his athleticism isn’t at its peak anymore and there was simply no place in Denver’s offense for a power forward who couldn’t stretch the floor beyond the paint.
As for Arthur, he too was phased out of Mike Malone’s rotation, playing a grand total of 60 games over the last two seasons. Last year, he averaged 2.8 points and 0.8 rebounds in 7.4 minutes per game over his 19 appearances.
Whether they suit up for Brooklyn or not is irrelevant at this point. The biggest assets here are the top-12 protected first round pick, the 2020 second round pick and the additional cap space Faried and Arthur’s expiring contracts will provide next summer. Anything else they bring to the table in terms of bench minutes or locker room mentorship is gravy.
Grade: A-