Brooklyn Nets have made the first big move to put themselves in a good position for the free agency. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Nets have traded Allen Crabbe to Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Taurean Prince.
Besides Crabbe, Hawks will also get Nets’ 2019 first round pick, which sits at No.17 and lottery protected 2020 first rounder. Atlanta, on the other hand, will send their second-round pick from 2021 to Brooklyn.
Crabbe averaged 9.6 points and 3.4 rebounds this season before going down with a knee injury. Prince, on the other hand, played 55 games for the Hawks and averaged 13.5 per game.
This move gave the Nets $46 million in salary-cap space, which puts them in position to sing a max free agent this summer and keep All-Star guard D’Angelo Russell. In case they let Russell go, they can free up space to get two max free agents.
Brooklyn Nets are hoping to lure All-Star guard Kyrie Irving, who reportedly has an interest in playing for the franchise. Nets are also hoping they can potentially make a strong run for Golden State Warriors’ Kevin Durant.
Atlanta Hawks’ motivation for making the deal was acquiring assets that will help them during the current rebuild. Hawks now have three picks in the top 20 this NBA Draft (Nos. 8, 10 and 17), which they could use to move up in the draft or turn to future picks.
