NETTING STARS
D’Angelo Russell could be smiling if Brooklyn succeeds in signing huge free agents
The Brooklyn Nets are officially shooting for the stars.
On Thursday, the Nets traded Allen Crabbe and two first-round picks to the Atlanta Hawks for Taurean Prince. Trading Crabbe was an inevitable salary dump, as the Nets needed to shed his salary in order to create as much flexibility as possible. So, with Crabbe’s $18.5 million off the books, Brooklyn should have close to $46 million in cap space, which is enough for two max free agents.
With just about three weeks until the beginning of free agency, this move is further proof that the Nets might already have somebody in mind — and it appears like that guy is Kyrie Irving. Sources tell the Daily News that the Brooklyn Nets are “frontrunners” to get Irving if he decides to leave Boston.
Another league source told The News that there is mutual interest between Irving and the Nets, and that Brooklyn is shooting for the big prize: Irving and Kevin Durant.
“The difference between Brooklyn and most teams that have cap space is that Brooklyn has the full package,” one league source said about Durant. “Players want more nowadays and Brooklyn has all the tools. They’ll have a good shot at KD if Kyrie ends up in Brooklyn.”
If KD and Kyrie team up in Brooklyn, it could lead to a realignment of pro basketball in the city, much like the Mets’ gathering of stars — homegrown and traded — changed the face of baseball in the city in the late 1980s. Kids became Mets fans. The Mets challenged the Yankees in attendance. Stars do things like that and the Nets have a chance to finally do the same after another disappointing year in attendance and ratings.
Sure, it’s dream scenario for the Nets to pair the two and overtake the city, but it’s a dream they believe they can make a reality.
Despite the Knicks’ heavy push for Irving and Durant, the
Nets are ready to do whatever it takes to get the duo playing in Brooklyn. They’ll have hefty competition with the Knicks across the river, who also own two max slots.
A source told The News in late April that Durant is also interested in playing alongside the 24year-old Caris LeVert, who was on track for an All-Star season before suffering a dislocated foot back in November. The two have worked out together in the past and developed a strong relationship after they received surgery from the same doctor, Dr. Martin a
O’Malley, Brooklyn’s foot and ankle specialist.
“It’s like a big brother,” LeVert said when he was asked about his relationship with Durant. “He reached out when I was in college. Obviously, we had similar injuries and things like that and the same surgeon. He’s like a big brother… He’s obviously played on a huge stage right now repeatedly for a couple of years playing in the Finals and things like that. He gives a lot of good advice.”
Furthermore, with Irving seriously considering Brooklyn, league executives are beginning to point to Brooklyn when discussing the potential tandem. While explaining how Kyrie is hard to read, one source explained how Kyrie’s camp has been pushing the New Jersey native to Brooklyn because of the culture fit and success they’ve endured under Sean Marks and Kenny Atkinson.
Irving grew up a Nets fan and is intrigued by what they’ve built. During an NBA TV discussion in February, former Cavaliers GM David Griffin argued that Brooklyn is the “Fit that’s better for him in terms of his mindset.” He later added, “I think he likes what they’ve done there, culturally.”
After one particularly brutal Celtics loss, Irving noted how he sees other benches