The Brooklyn Nets were on the receiving end of one of the biggest trades in NBA history last month as they were able to land former MVP and 3x scoring champion, James Harden. Not only is this significant news because Harden is a former NBA MVP but because of the superstar trio this trade created in Brooklyn.

Now, fully healthy and back on the court, the Nets have Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving, which on paper, looks like one of the best trios in NBA history. At full strength, the Nets have looked unstoppable at times this season, but their biggest weakness as a team is on the defensive end of the court and in their frontcourt. 

DeAndre Jordan has actually been really solid for the Nets and Jeff Green has been a terrific “small-ball” center for Brooklyn, but they really need to add another big man to their roster before the NBA trade deadline. Just yesterday, the Nets announced that they signed Noah Vonleh, but they can do much better for an affordable price. 

Based on recent NBA trade rumors, Andre Drummond, JaVale McGee and Aron Baynes are all centers the Nets have reportedly shown interest in trading for, but all three of these guys may be outside Brooklyn’s pay range. Knicks center Nerlens Noel however is only owed $5M this season and could be a perfect trade target for the Nets. 

After bouncing around from team-to-team early on in his career and never really finding a role with any of them, Noel has turned himself into a really solid backup center for the New York Knicks this year and has had a big impact on the defensive side of things. Could Noel be the small name the Nets need to trade for to get a big return? 

Let’s take a look at three reasons why Nerlens Noel from the New York Knicks would be a perfect trade target for the Brooklyn Nets in their pursuit of their first championship in franchise history.