Brooklyn Nets: Complete 2018 offseason grades
By KC Whitten
The Jared Dudley Trade
Seven days after acquiring Darrell Arthur via trade with the Denver Nuggets, Brooklyn shipped him off to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Jared Dudley and a 2021 top-35 protected second round draft pick. With the pick acquired in this trade, the Nets now own six total second round picks through the 2019-21 drafts.
Though Dudley hits the cap for an additional $2 million over Arthur’s contract (both have expiring contracts), he is better suited to the Nets’ needs. Dudley can be the stretch-4 off the bench that Brooklyn requires. With the reputation off the court for being a good teammate and veteran locker room leader, he can be a mentor to the newly drafted Dzanan Musa and Rodions Kurucs.
Marks knew his new acquisition could provide much-needed veteran leadership to the fifth-youngest team in the NBA. Dudley wasted no time in proving him right, immediately reaching out to young point guard D’Angelo Russell.
Dudley:
— Anthony Puccio (@APOOCH) July 25, 2018
“You think about D’Angelo Russell and the talent he has being a lefty coming from the Lakers, everybody knows his scoring ability. I think for him, and I talked to him on the phone, is how you can make your teammates better."
It was also smart of him to waste little time explaining the infamous tweet that caused outrage among Nets Nation seven years ago. If Dudley can contribute efficiently off the bench, then he may have found a franchise to continue with through his twilight years. If not, then Marks essentially paid $2 million for valuable leadership for his young roster.
Grade: A+