A recent Bleacher Report article highlights three teams, including the Brooklyn Nets, that could potentially trade for Karl-Anthony Towns.
Within one tweet from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski this past June highlighting a “clean sweep” in terms of free agency, the Brooklyn Nets altered the NBA landscape and made their intentions clear. They’re looking to contend for an NBA championship in the immediate future. However, are they still one transaction away from doing so?
Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz proposed a hypothetical trade package that would give the Nets an intimidating big three, but also one that would mean waving the white flag on the 2019-20 campaign.
In this proposal, the Nets would send Spencer Dinwiddie, Caris LeVert, Jarrett Allen, Joe Harris, and a 2020 first-round pick (lottery-protected via Philadelphia 76ers) for the services of Karl-Anthony Towns.
A hefty sum to pay, no doubt, but the standard has been set for trades of such magnitude. Look at the Thunder’s return for Paul George, or the Pelicans’ haul for Anthony Davis. To complete such a transaction, general manager Sean Marks cannot be stingy. On the flip side, this isn’t a move the Nets necessarily need to make.
There is no sample size of what this new-look roster looks like on the court. The Nets have injuries to thank for that. Continuity is important, even in a league that sees stars moved around seemingly every summer, a trade of this caliber could backfire at the expense of the Nets’ future. Or such a trade could result in a celebratory championship parade in Brooklyn in the summer of 2021. That’s the beauty of hypothetical trade packages, they’re just that.
The Minnesota Timberwolves technically have Towns under contract until 2024. It would take the farm and then some to acquire him. Whenever a star of Towns’ magnitude is available—or rumored as such—front offices across the NBA scatter to construct trade packages or at least ponder the idea of doing so.
Whatever the case, this is going to be an interesting storyline for fans and media alike to follow.
