Brooklyn Nets Receive: LaMarcus Aldridge ($24.0M 2020-21 Salary)
San Antonio Spurs Receive: DeAndre Jordan ($10.3M), Taurean Prince ($12.2M), BRK 2021 1st Round Pick (Lottery Protected), BRK 2022 2nd Round Pick
The Brooklyn Nets look to be one of the best teams in the NBA this season as Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant return from injury and look to win the first championship in franchise history. If the opportunity presents itself, why not add LaMarcus Aldridge to the mix if you are the Nets?
LaMarcus Aldridge averaged 18.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and shot 49.3% from the floor last season before suffering a season ending shoulder injury and could be a great third or fourth scoring option for the Brooklyn Nets. DeAndre Jordan has slowly started to decline over the years in production and after a disappointing season last year with the Nets, they may be having second thoughts about the four-year contract they gave him last offseason.
DeAndre Jordan is now 32-years old and is owed just under $30M over the course of the next three seasons. By unloading his contract now and bringing in a legit contributor like LaMarcus Aldridge, the Nets not only fix a massive cap space problem they have over the course of the next few years, but they will be the favorites to win the 2021 NBA Title.
Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Caris LeVert, Spencer Dinwiddie, Jarrett Allen, Joe Harris, Landry Shamet and now LaMarcus Aldridge would be way too much firepower for any team to try and defend as they would have 7-9 guys who can go out and score in double figures on any given night. Watching the Brooklyn Nets with Aldridge would be like watching an All-Star game.
While the Spurs would have to figure out what to do with DeAndre Jordan and his contract, they would be getting Taurean Prince who is a growing forward with a good amount of upside. He averaged 12.1 points, 6.0 rebounds and shot 37.6% from the floor last season and can play in the low-post or on the wing.
Getting two draft picks within the next two years is extremely valuable to the Spurs because if they make this trade, they are committing to rebuilding over the next few seasons. Having these two picks give them the assets they need to be able and continue to build their young core of the future and escalate their rebuilding process. Who knows, maybe DeAndre Jordan can even be a part of the Spurs rebuilding plans moving forward as he is still a decent rebounder.
This opportunity would be too good to pass up for the Brooklyn Nets as they look to win their first championship in franchise history. Giving up some assets to bring in a player like LaMarcus Aldridge could be the move that pushes this team over the top and allows them to lift the Larry O’Brien trophy at the end of the year.
