WOJ BOMB: KD, TJ to Suns for Cam Johnson, Bridges, Crowder, 4 unprotected 1sts

[Claud]

Ben at the 5 has been a disaster all season since he shies away from contact, doesn't box out and offers zero rim protection. I'd rather play Sharpe than him there.

Maybe having the length of Bridges and DFS on the wings might make Ben playable at 5. Guess we'll have to wait and see

I don't like Ben at the 5 either and I agree with what you're saying but building Ben back up is higher priority than Sharpe. Not playing him next to Clax is one way to do that. Trying to get him better as a rim protector is another way to do that. He's obviously less athletic than before but so many of his problems at center look like they're just awareness and effort.

Yeah based on team needs Ben at the 5 might be a necessity now since there's no minutes for him at the 3/4 at all. Backup 5 could be handled by committee by Ben, Sharpe and even some DFS. Just hope Clax stays healthy, since we'd be screwed without him.

Legit Ben is awful at the 5. You would think it would work a la Draymond Green, but not even close.

Dude is a 0 all around for that massive contract he has.

[GTR11]

Read on Twitter

So it official was the kyrie trade that set it off

The big news is that Tsai, Marks & KD had an agreement that if it didn't work out this year, they would get him where he wanted to be. They didn't negotiate with any other teams (Pels, Grizzlies, Celtics, etc.). They did KD a solid on the way out. I wouldn't expect him to go scorched earth like Kyrie did.

Yea which is important, show stars that they can come here you will not be done dirty.

It was a right thing to do by Nets org.

[GTR11]

This was/is a step in a right direction that had to happen this off-season. Not sure why they wanted to prolong it into this season.

Guys, don't sleep on that 2024 off-season. Something big is coming that we not seeing or hearing.

Can Marks whiff? Sure, but I won't bet against it.

Don't forget, we face of NYC and Marks just send strongest message out there to all agents and players.

[GTR11]

Also, I'm not hating on KD. Actually I wish he will win a ring in PHX and will cheer for him to do so.

He was true pro that kept it 100. Much respect to him.

Fuc* PHX fans. I just want KD to win a ring this year along with CP3. Will be so deserved.

[MrDollarBills]

I can agree but so does everyone else looking at him. There’s no more “hoping”. Now, he has no KD bailing him or Kyrie yelling at him. Let’s see what he’s made of as a 3 time all star. No excuses. It can be HIS team.

He came into this situation expecting to relax trying to be Draymond of the team with Kyrie, KD. Now, he is the only all star left. He’s going to have to prove he’s really locked in and not a top tier talent with a scrub mentally.

If you remember Draymond's season with Steph out injured, we should wrap Ben up in cotton wool and tell him to go play COD for the rest of this season.

He's obviously not right physically, let the guy rehab his body and come back next season hopefully rejuvenated. We saw what happened when we tried to force Harden to play through injury and it should be a lesson as to how we deal with Ben, especially as there's nothing to play for this season now.

He said he didn’t need surgery. So, what are we resting him for? Seems like it’s him not wanting to do the long hard steps to rehab. He somehow confirmed the report the Nets were upset he wasn’t trying to take the time to get healthy enough in his body. He legit said after the Suns game, it’s on him to get treatment CONSISTENTLY.

So, what the **** was he doing all this time?

Ben looks so stiff on offense that i believe it. We need to just shut him down and try again next season.

[CalamityX12]

I can agree but so does everyone else looking at him. There’s no more “hoping”. Now, he has no KD bailing him or Kyrie yelling at him. Let’s see what he’s made of as a 3 time all star. No excuses. It can be HIS team.

He came into this situation expecting to relax trying to be Draymond of the team with Kyrie, KD. Now, he is the only all star left. He’s going to have to prove he’s really locked in and not a top tier talent with a scrub mentally.

If you remember Draymond's season with Steph out injured, we should wrap Ben up in cotton wool and tell him to go play COD for the rest of this season.

He's obviously not right physically, let the guy rehab his body and come back next season hopefully rejuvenated. We saw what happened when we tried to force Harden to play through injury and it should be a lesson as to how we deal with Ben, especially as there's nothing to play for this season now.

He said he didn’t need surgery. So, what are we resting him for? Seems like it’s him not wanting to do the long hard steps to rehab. He somehow confirmed the report the Nets were upset he wasn’t trying to take the time to get healthy enough in his body. He legit said after the Suns game, it’s on him to get treatment CONSISTENTLY.

So, what the **** was he doing all this time?

Wait what?

He's not rehabbing? Or getting treatments?

[Lachiebkn]

I kind of like where kd has ended up. Ayton has been perennially unhappy there. Cp3 looks like he has maybe a year left of starter level basketball. Kd is 35 and has at least a month of injured every season. Booker has never had to play second fiddle to any scorer on the team. These picks could get juicy in a few years time.

[MGrand15]

If you remember Draymond's season with Steph out injured, we should wrap Ben up in cotton wool and tell him to go play COD for the rest of this season.

He's obviously not right physically, let the guy rehab his body and come back next season hopefully rejuvenated. We saw what happened when we tried to force Harden to play through injury and it should be a lesson as to how we deal with Ben, especially as there's nothing to play for this season now.

He said he didn’t need surgery. So, what are we resting him for? Seems like it’s him not wanting to do the long hard steps to rehab. He somehow confirmed the report the Nets were upset he wasn’t trying to take the time to get healthy enough in his body. He legit said after the Suns game, it’s on him to get treatment CONSISTENTLY.

So, what the **** was he doing all this time?

Wait what?

He's not rehabbing? Or getting treatments?

A lot of that post is just misinterpreting what Ben has said to the media.

[Perishable517]

So, basically.

Dinwiddie, DFS, Bridges, Johnson are the key pieces with FIVE unprotected firsts, two seconds and a 2028 pick swap for Kyrie and KD.

Damn. Can't ask for much more. I think the Nets did well!

Sent from my CPH2417 using RealGM mobile app

[Papi_swav]

Roster is now a solid group of good role players

Dinwiddie/Sumner
Thomas/O'Neale
Bridges/Johnson
DFS/Yuta
Claxton/Simmons

Harris, Curry, Sharpe, Mills

It's going to be interesting to see how rotations shape up

If we get a star guard we'll be right back to contending. That's a good thing about having a team full of role players, you sign a star piece to fit in and it's back to business.

[Decipher]

People really need to stop deluding themselves that Simmons is a 5

Fun fact: this season is the first time IN HIS LIFE that he's played the 5 with any sort of regularity (& he's maybe 70% fit)

We need to pray that he gets healthy and if so, he's a POA defender on the perimeter & a point forward on offense

[NyCeEvO]

Just bench Ben until we can dump in offseason. Do t need players with his work ethic

Nah, let him play and show something. He should fit perfectly next to Spencer and Mikal. One of the tallest lineups in the league. Hiding him for what? Teams will not want a guy benched purpose for no reason. Especially while rebuilding.

Put all the pressure on him to look good on a retooling/rebuilding squad. He’s got so many weapons to show he’s a star in this league, let him prove his own worth or not.

EDIT: I wrote this post after the trade deadline but before last night’s game. I just forgot to hit send.


He literally told us that he’s physically compromised due to the long rehab and healing process from back surgery.

Whether we believe he’s telling the truth or not, we should expect him to not look he can give 100% all of the time.

He probably should come off the bench and have his minutes gradually increase until the postseason. With this plan, he can try to give us whatever he’s got in a short time and hopefully show that he’s getting better and can handle more minutes. If he does that, he, we, and anyone else interested will gain confidence that he’ll eventually come good. If he can’t even do that, he shouldn’t be playing at all.

[NetsWorld]

Also, I'm not hating on KD. Actually I wish he will win a ring in PHX and will cheer for him to do so.

He was true pro that kept it 100. Much respect to him.

Fuc* PHX fans. I just want KD to win a ring this year along with CP3. Will be so deserved.

CP3/KD deserve it but I will always hold KD accountable for enabling Kyrie's behavior here. Man oh man, if we found a way to get Bridges without sacrificing KD. Woulda been beautiful.

[NetsWorld]

So, basically.

Dinwiddie, DFS, Bridges, Johnson are the key pieces with FIVE unprotected firsts, two seconds and a 2028 pick swap for Kyrie and KD.

Damn. Can't ask for much more. I think the Nets did well!

Sent from my CPH2417 using RealGM mobile app

It was great watching Bucks take down the Fakers as well. This KD/Kyrie trade has really made me love Giannis.

[Hello Brooklyn]

Read on Twitter

?s=20&t=Fn3xuPNEl6H1MjAypZC_YA

Honestly crazy all the dumb decisions both Kyrie and KD made.

You could tell KD heavily pressured them to trade for Harden. And then Harden didn't even really want to be there.

Like total dumb move from KD unless you knew he wanted to resign.

[Hello Brooklyn]

Woke up to the news... wow.

Really sad KD is gone, as is our shot at chip any time soon.

Unless we were trading for another star when Kyrie left, what did ownership/front office think would happen?

This era of Nets basketbal has got to be the most frustrating ever since we had all the pieces, but just couldn't come together due to a number of factors like injuries + drama + BAD luck. Shows you the importance of OGs like Pat Riley, Pop, etc.

Personally, I would have 100% maxed Kyrie, ONLY because it would have mean we keep KD in BK.

Kyrie is who he is off the court, not the most likeable guy, agreed, but dude is dynamite on the court.

We won 18/20 games like 3 weeks ago and everything just got blown to smithereens while the Rockets still own our pick going forward

I'm not super mad at what we get back, not great, but not terrible. At least we have a decent starting point for the rebuild, but just too soon to start thinking about that with this sour taste in my mouth. It's going to take some time to get over this bull.

Honestly it sounds great.

But just imagine more of this for another 4 years. I just don't see us winning as long as Kyrie isn't serious about basketball.

More Kyrie scandals were coming. Then the front office gets more pissed off. KD demands a trade again.

It was the same **** over and over again. It wasn't worth it anymore.

[Hello Brooklyn]

Also, I'm not hating on KD. Actually I wish he will win a ring in PHX and will cheer for him to do so.

He was true pro that kept it 100. Much respect to him.

Fuc* PHX fans. I just want KD to win a ring this year along with CP3. Will be so deserved.

KD was a professional for the most part.

But I'm not rooting for him.

Hes the one that enabled Kyrie the whole time. He forced the Harden trade. And then he just decided to quit.

Then this season the minute his idiotic friend demands out he decides to quit again.

Do I have respect for him for always showing up and playing hard?

But he was a huge part of the problem.

Hes no Giannis/Steph/LeBron. Hes not even close.

[Hello Brooklyn]

I kind of like where kd has ended up. Ayton has been perennially unhappy there. Cp3 looks like he has maybe a year left of starter level basketball. Kd is 35 and has at least a month of injured every season. Booker has never had to play second fiddle to any scorer on the team. These picks could get juicy in a few years time.

Yeah Phoenix looks like a ticking time bomb to me.

They could win it this year. But they literally have no bench right now or anyone to play defense.

They could win the West by default. But to me the Nuggets are better. As are the Warriors if healthy.

After this year it could be rough. We know KD always gets injured. CP3 is basically done at this point.

And then Ayton seems to just not be consistent.

[Hello Brooklyn]

I'll be rooting for the Warriors, Nuggets, Bucks.

Its good to see teams do it the right way. **** all these Super teams man.

[MrDollarBills]

Also, I'm not hating on KD. Actually I wish he will win a ring in PHX and will cheer for him to do so.

He was true pro that kept it 100. Much respect to him.

Fuc* PHX fans. I just want KD to win a ring this year along with CP3. Will be so deserved.

CP3/KD deserve it but I will always hold KD accountable for enabling Kyrie's behavior here. Man oh man, if we found a way to get Bridges without sacrificing KD. Woulda been beautiful.

KD stuck to his end of the gentlemen's agreement with Marks and Tsai, and I'm okay with that. Because of that, we got an incredible haul for him.

No hard feelings from me, but I will not remember his time here fondly.