The Nets At The Deadline: A Practical Tire Rotation Instead Of New Wheels
With regard to the Nets’ trade deadline maneuvers on Thursday:
1) They got done the bare minimum of what was expected—acquiring some consideration for their pending free agents they weren’t going to re-sign
If you asked me which of Spencer Dinwiddie and Royce O’Neale would garner the greater return, I would have guessed O’Neale based on his value as a versatile 3-and-D wing. Instead, all Brooklyn General Manager Sean Marks got back from Phoenix in the O’Neale deal was two unusable players (forward Keita Bates-Diop and guard Jordan Goodwin) and three second-round picks. Not securing a 1 was disappointing, though understandable since teams are holding onto those with firm grips. Dinwiddie, meanwhile, was dealt to Toronto for a better point guard in Dennis Schroder and forward Thaddeus Young, a former Net who will reportedly be waived. (Note: As of this writing, the O’Neale trade hasn’t been officially announced and the Nets need to cut another player from their roster on top of center Harry Giles.)
2) They did not get better this season
For those who pinned their hopes on Marks extracting improvements from the market to save this season, I warned you that it would be unlikely. As it turned out, no team thought Atlanta guard Dejounte Murray was worth two first round draft picks, and he was probably the best player who was rumored to be available. Looking at what remains in Brooklyn from my perspective, the loss of O’Neale and all the little things he brought, especially his physicality, will be felt more than the marginal upgrade at point guard. On top of being a more efficient scorer than Dinwiddie, Schroder is a decent point-of-attack defender, but his size (6-foot 2) could make him a worse fit in Brooklyn’s switch-everything scheme, especially when they have another small guard in Cam Thomas sharing the court with him. The Nets, 20-30 going into Thursday night’s tilt versus red-hot Cleveland at Barclays Center, seem destined to hover around the lower extremities of the play-in seed with a real possibility of landing in the lottery, to Houston’s benefit thanks to the 2021 James Harden blockbuster trade.
3) They might be able to roll over a large trade exception
When the Nets sent superstar Kevin Durant to Phoenix a year ago, the deal created an $18.1 million trade exception. These exceptions are one-year, use-it-or-lose-it propositions. I thought this one would have expired. Marks knew better. The Nets may have the ability to facilitate the Dinwiddie trade in such a way that grants them a new trade exception that would expire in February 2025. Yossi Gozlan of capsheets.com wrote that the exception would amount to Dinwiddie’s full $20.357 million salary for this season, though I would think Young’s $8 million cap hit would also count in the computation. Either way, creating a large new trade exception could prove helpful down the road.
4) The financial impact is a mixed bag
Staying below the luxury tax threshold was always a priority for this season, so the trades didn’t blow that. In fact, the Nets appear to be saving approximately $5 million in 2023-24 payroll. Yay. More money in owner Joseph Tsai’s wallet. However, to avoid repeater tax penalties, Brooklyn would also need to stay below the estimated line of $171.315 million in 2024-25 as well. And that’s where these trades could make things dicey. Schroder carries an approximately $13 million cap hit for next season and the two former Phoenix players have options for 2024-25. For the moment, let’s assume the Nets decline Goodwin’s team option but Bates-Diop exercises his approximately $2.65 million player option. That means the Nets are replacing two roster slots who have a combined cap hit of about $29 million for this season with a $15.65 million in commitments for 2024-25, as opposed to $0 if they opted to let Dinwiddie and O’Neale walk for free in the offseason. Remember, Brooklyn still has to find a way to pay the pending free agents I would want them to extend, namely center Nic Claxton and guard Lonnie Walker IV, without breaching the tax line. I’m projecting that there still will be some wiggle room and who knows what Marks will have up his sleeve for the summer, but it could affect their ability to do something beyond rotating the tires like they just did at this trade deadline.