In a somewhat shocking move, the Brooklyn Nets made trades with both the Denver Nuggets and Atlanta Hawks last night. With the Nets giving up fan favorite Jeremy Lin to the Atlanta Hawks, hometown hero Isaiah Whitehead to the Nuggets and a whole bunch of picks moving between teams. The Nets also agreed to receive Kenneth Faried and Darrell Arthur from the Nuggets.
Here’s how each team fared:
Atlanta Hawks: B+
Who they got: Jeremy Lin, 2025 second-round pick and the right to swap second-round picks in 2023
Who they sent: Rights to Isaia Cordinier and 2020 second-round pick via Portland
This trade is a mini home-run for the Hawks as they get a perfect mentor for their next generation of players in Jeremy Lin for the price of what amounts to basically nothing. Isaia Cordinier — who NetsDaily.com pointed out was taken a few spots after Isaiah Whitehead in the draft, worked out for the Nets before the draft, is repped by the same company that reps several Nets players, and who’s coach in France was one of Brooklyn’s during last year’s Summer League — has yet to make his NBA debut after being drafted in 2016. He spent most of last season recovering from surgery in both knees to alleviate tendonitis but doesn’t seem to have plans to transition to the NBA any time soon. He probably won’t come back to burn the Hawks.
This trade also opens the door for them to move on from Dennis Schröder now that they have two real point guards in Trae Young and Lin. The only real way I can see this hurting the Hawks is if the Brooklyn Nets somehow get an All-Star with a protected second-round pick in 2020. But outside of that, this is a great trade for Atlanta.
Brooklyn Nets: A-
Who they got: Kenneth Faried and Darrell Arthur, a 2019 protected first-round pick and a 2020 second-round pick, Rights to Isaia Cordinier and 2020 second-round pick via Portland
Who they sent: Jeremy Lin, 2025 second-round pick and the right to swap second-round picks in 2023, Isaiah Whitehead
As a self-confessed Nuggets fan at heart, there’s a reason that as soon as the trade news broke, my phone blew up with texts from other Nuggets fans happy to finally have Faried and Arthur’s contracts off the books. But they also did what they’ve been doing for the last few years; taking on semi-bad contracts for droves of draft picks. It’s not like Faried and Arthur are entirely useless. Faried was one of the NBA’s premier energizers and Arthur is a decent 3&D forward in short spurts, plus his leadership works in any situation.
This is the part that should hurt for Nets fans everywhere though, Jeremy Lin is going to the Atlanta Hawks. Even though injuries prevented him from reaching his full potential in Brooklyn, his impact on the locker room and the community itself cannot be understated. Lin will be missed dearly. This move especially hurts because he was seemingly just about to get healthy and finally contribute meaningfully to the team for the first time since he signed with the Brooklyn Nets.
Nuggets: B-
Who they got: Isaiah Whitehead
Who they sent: Kenneth Faried and Darrell Arthur, a 2019 protected first-round pick and a 2020 second-round pick,
This was a good move for the Nuggets. As I’ve mentioned, getting the salaries of both Faried and Arthur off the book was a huge win for the Nuggets’ front office. And although giving up a first round pick hurts, they don’t project to even have room for another rookie next year. Plus, there’s a 95% chance this second-round pick doesn’t come back to bite them in a significant way.
In terms of who they got, Whitehead will be waived by the Nuggets because they just don’t have the room for another player right now.