After sending Durant and Irving away, the Nets have won 11 first-round picks, and many fans believe that the Nets will officially start a swing mode next season to completely rebuild. But in the Harden trade, the Nets gave a number of first-round picks to the Houston Rockets, and if the Nets are desperate to rot, they can only get higher picks cheaply, and Nets owner Tsai Chongxin does not want to see the team's record decline and affect the investment of other sponsors in the team. Therefore, whether from the future of the team or commercial value, the Nets will have to work hard to use their first-round picks as trade chips in exchange for point-level players to improve the team's strength.
According to NBA Analysis, the Nets may also send Simmons away this summer through a three-way deal. Simmons, who was sent to the Nets as a trade chip for Harden, is known as the white James, who has no physical qualities and global vision, but his poor shooting ability prevents him from becoming a superstar. And the Nets also want to get rid of Simmons' big baggage. It is reported that Simmons' three-way transaction involves the Nets, Celtics, and Raptors, and the specific transaction content is: the Raptors send Anunoby and Boucher, get Simmons from the Nets, 2023 first-round pick, 2028 first-round pick, 2027 first-round pick. The Celtics sent star Gyllen Brown and received first-round picks from the Raptors from Boucher and Anunoby in 2027 and 2029. The Nets sent Simmons and the above multiple first-round picks to get Jaylen Brown from the Celtics.
For the rebuilding Raptors, who have received multiple first-round picks and Simmons, the Raptors are likely to let Simmons replace VanVleet because the star VanVleet is likely to refuse to renew his contract. Jaylen Brown's contract extension negotiations with the Greenshirts have not made any progress, and Jaylen Brown hopes that the Greens will offer him a five-year, $280 million maximum salary extension. But for now, it seems that the Greenshirts will continue to build a championship team with Tatum as the core, refusing to offer Jaylen Brown a $280 million contract extension. The Green Army is likely to use Jaylen Brown to complete a sign-and-trade deal, get two forwards from Boucher and Anouby and multiple first-round picks, which is already a pretty good result.
Jaylen Brown, who came to the Nets, could get the top salary contract he wanted, and he could also establish his position as the boss of the team, which the Celtics can't give. After completing the deal, the Nets will form a combination of Bridges and Jaylen Brown, who has the attributes of a guard swingman, so there is no need to worry about the overlap of Jaylen Brown and Bridges. In the not-so-strong Eastern Conference, the combination of Bridges and Jaylen Brown gives the Nets the strength to storm their playoff tickets. And the Green Army duo that the Celtics have worked with for many years is very likely to disintegrate this summer.