Toronto Raptors - Brooklyn Nets Trade
Disclaimer: The details of the picks in this trade are not set in stone. If you feel like the picks in this trade are too much/too little, feel free to suggest how you would change them to make the trade more fair in your eyes.
Why this trade makes sense for the Raptors:
I mean, this is pretty obvious. The Raptors get to move off of two of their worst contracts in Poeltl and Ingram, and they move off of Dick, who fell out of their rotation. In return, they get Michael Porter Jr., who gives them the shooting and the self-creation scoring that they desperately need, and they get Claxton to be their starting center, which is a massive upgrade over Poeltl, who is old, slow, and injury-prone.
Why this trade makes sense for the Nets:
The Nets are in a really rough spot after falling to 6 in the 2026 NBA draft. They were one of the worst rosters in the league last year, and they didn’t land one of the top 4 stars in this draft. This means there isn’t really a clear path forward for them to be better next year outside of making a brash trade for a star. They also don’t own their pick next year, which means even if they suck next year, they won’t be able to capitalize on that with a high draft pick. However, this is where the new proposed lottery helps them, as under this new proposal, the bottom 3 teams actually have a worse chance at the number 1 pick than teams 4-10. Therefore, I think it is in the Nets' best interest to be as bad as possible next year because they don’t want to give the Rockets another top pick like they did in 2024. Ingram and Poeltl are clearly worse than MPJ and Claxton, so doing this trade actively helps the Nets be worse this year. The Nets also get 2 new young players with this trade in Gradey Dick and whoever they pick with the 19th overall pick they get from Toronto in this trade to help develop during this unfortunately lost season. Finally, I added a 2028 pick from the Raptors, as I felt like one pick wasn’t enough to get the deal done, and 2027-28 is the last year of Ingram’s contract. This means the pick has versatility because the Nets could package it with Ingram’s high expiring salary and trade it for a star at the 2027-28 trade deadline, or they could stick and pick if they still need more young players then.
Raptors and Nets fans, feel free to give me your thoughts on this trade. Do you like it? Do you hate it? How would you change it?