The Brooklyn Nets have traded Jeremy Lin to the Atlanta Hawks and Isaiah Whitehead to the Denver Nuggets. In return, they will receive Kenneth Faried, Darell Arthur and multiple picks.
Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks has done it again. He’s taken part in multiple trades centered around point guard Jeremy Lin and Kenneth Faried of Denver.
First, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported that Brooklyn traded Jeremy Lin to Atlanta:
Brooklyn has traded Jeremy Lin to the Hawks, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 13, 2018
The Nets were facing a logjam at the guard position entering the 2018-2019 season. Lin is coming off a season-ending tear of his right patella tendon. He scored 18 points in Brooklyn’s season opener before suffering the injury.
Wojnarowski reports that as a part of the deal, the Nets and Hawks will swap future second-round picks:
Nets and Hawks will also exchange future second-round picks in the deal, league sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/n5qooxLmQJ
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 13, 2018
Following the trade with Atlanta, Brooklyn then sent Isaiah Whitehead to the Denver Nuggets.
The Nets will take on the expiring salary of Kenneth Faried, Darell Arthur, one future first (protected 1-12), and future second-round pick. Again, Wojnarowski with the report:
Denver unloads $21M in salary on the deal. Nuggets will waive Whitehead, sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/ot9P5TajeX
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 13, 2018
Denver has been trying to dump Faried’s salary for what feels like ages. He was actively shopped at the trade deadline and ahead of the 2018 NBA Draft.
Faried is a seven-year veteran who fell behind in the Nuggets’ rotation due to the rise of franchise cornerstone Nikola Jokic. He averaged 5.9 points and 4.8 rebounds in 32 games for Denver.
This combined with the trade and buyout of center Dwight Howard once again emphasizes Brooklyn’s looking ahead to the 2019 free agency. Looking at upwards of $70-million in cap space, the Nets feel like legitimate contenders to land star talent.
It’s another home run trade for general manager Sean Marks and the Nets’ front office. Brooklyn has quietly solved one of their more pressing issues entering next season, while equally benefiting their future as a franchise.
