Nets / Sonics (Pre-Draft)

[SourKittles]

Sonics Receive
Brandon Clarke
Stephon Castle
Nets 2031 First-Round Pick
Nets 2029 Second-Round Pick

Nets Receive
Domantas Sabonis



An exciting deal for both teams before 2026 Free Agency. Rationale to follow.

[SoNicks]

Nick Nick Nick Nick Nick Nick Nick Nick
Super sadness


Accept

[SourKittles]

This was a challenging few weeks pre-free agency for the Nets, but we're excited to strike a deal. We see some upside & potential downside with this deal, but ultimately we've put in the time and felt the gamble was well worth it.

Positives

The Nets took a step forward and finished literally .500 in the 2025 season. The team did not stumble to the finish line; rather, they played hard in a hyper-competitive East and utilized Ricky Rubio's dying breaths to cross the finish line. Swamp Steven & especially Kittles would feel dirty about making an excuse to step back. Moreover, it was a no-brainer to re-sign Aaron Gordon after his remarkable age-30 season.

The decision, then, was to get better. Even though the Knicks, Magic, Raptors and others are cemented atop the Eastern Conference, we see value in taking a swing with Gordon before pivoting to the Flagg-filled future. Sabonis is a quirky player (more on this in negatives) but does well at high volume and has a track record of SLN excellence. We're thrilled to have him on our team - and this should help Kittles in his first full season understand what works and what doesn't.

We saw an opportunity with the Sonics because this helps to keep their club rolling: cap relief, a good young asset, and an instant rotation (or starting) big is a coup for these West contenders. The money matched and made these teams compatible. We had a very pleasant experience working with Sonics and expect this will be a strong East-West trade tandem for decades to come.

We had very positive dialogue regarding potential Point Guard trades, but there were continued hold-ups. Even though these guys (you might be able to guess who they are) are truly worth several first-round picks and assets, we didn't want to crush our long-term flexibility. We're not quite sure what the future holds for Dereck Lively, or precisely what Cooper Flagg will turn into, so adding a shorter-term contract here was more of a green flag than it was a deterrent. Maybe it clicks. Maybe it doesn't. But if needed, we can find a path to work our way back into more draft capital.

Negatives

The initial concern with Sabonis, which is documented well in jwoo's Top 100 Rankings, is that he's a notoriously tricky player to build around. There aren't many remaining questions regarding the Nets' overall talent, but there are MANY lingering questions regarding team chemistry and alignment. Sabonis traditionally thrives in an outside setting, while the Nets were in the bottom-tier last season with three-point efficiency. Do they have the infrastructure to absorb Sabonis into a thriving starting lineup? Doubt it! (Just kidding, we'll try our best.) The club will also need to closely monitor turnover margin. I suspect that the positional defense will be strong, but Sabonis in the wrong setting could offset his scoring & rebounding with untimely turnovers. There is very likely another shoe to drop before we finalize our rotation.

I have nothing but praise for Swamp Steven's management in recent weeks and years: he's now bearing with the overzealous-about-everything Kittles and has done a great job in building a clean organization that's poised for future success. (Left-brain vs right-brain might be playing out opposite from what we expected.) He's also been smartly protective about Stephon Castle, and we'll now have to live with it when he thrives in the Western Conference.

We suspect that Kittles will have many welcome-to-the-league moments, but with hard gameplay and the support of the jwoo coaching tree, we hope the Swamp achieves consistent playoff success in the years to come.

Go nets!

[SWAMP STEVEN]

To be processed before draft finalizes!

[Joe]

This was a challenging few weeks pre-free agency for the Nets, but we're excited to strike a deal. We see some upside & potential downside with this deal, but ultimately we've put in the time and felt the gamble was well worth it.

Positives

The Nets took a step forward and finished literally .500 in the 2025 season. The team did not stumble to the finish line; rather, they played hard in a hyper-competitive East and utilized Ricky Rubio's dying breaths to cross the finish line. Swamp Steven & especially Kittles would feel dirty about making an excuse to step back. Moreover, it was a no-brainer to re-sign Aaron Gordon after his remarkable age-30 season.

The decision, then, was to get better. Even though the Knicks, Magic, Raptors and others are cemented atop the Eastern Conference, we see value in taking a swing with Gordon before pivoting to the Flagg-filled future. Sabonis is a quirky player (more on this in negatives) but does well at high volume and has a track record of SLN excellence. We're thrilled to have him on our team - and this should help Kittles in his first full season understand what works and what doesn't.

We saw an opportunity with the Sonics because this helps to keep their club rolling: cap relief, a good young asset, and an instant rotation (or starting) big is a coup for these West contenders. The money matched and made these teams compatible. We had a very pleasant experience working with Sonics and expect this will be a strong East-West trade tandem for decades to come.

We had very positive dialogue regarding potential Point Guard trades, but there were continued hold-ups. Even though these guys (you might be able to guess who they are) are truly worth several first-round picks and assets, we didn't want to crush our long-term flexibility. We're not quite sure what the future holds for Dereck Lively, or precisely what Cooper Flagg will turn into, so adding a shorter-term contract here was more of a green flag than it was a deterrent. Maybe it clicks. Maybe it doesn't. But if needed, we can find a path to work our way back into more draft capital.

Negatives

The initial concern with Sabonis, which is documented well in jwoo's Top 100 Rankings, is that he's a notoriously tricky player to build around. There aren't many remaining questions regarding the Nets' overall talent, but there are MANY lingering questions regarding team chemistry and alignment. Sabonis traditionally thrives in an outside setting, while the Nets were in the bottom-tier last season with three-point efficiency. Do they have the infrastructure to absorb Sabonis into a thriving starting lineup? Doubt it! (Just kidding, we'll try our best.) The club will also need to closely monitor turnover margin. I suspect that the positional defense will be strong, but Sabonis in the wrong setting could offset his scoring & rebounding with untimely turnovers. There is very likely another shoe to drop before we finalize our rotation.

I have nothing but praise for Swamp Steven's management in recent weeks and years: he's now bearing with the overzealous-about-everything Kittles and has done a great job in building a clean organization that's poised for future success. (Left-brain vs right-brain might be playing out opposite from what we expected.) He's also been smartly protective about Stephon Castle, and we'll now have to live with it when he thrives in the Western Conference.

We suspect that Kittles will have many welcome-to-the-league moments, but with hard gameplay and the support of the jwoo coaching tree, we hope the Swamp achieves consistent playoff success in the years to come.

Go nets!

[Joe]

jk jk good analysis

[SourKittles]

hahahaha I've always been a blogger at heart, more to come

[SourKittles]

To be processed before draft finalizes!

Noted in title now too

[SoNicks]

hahahaha I've always been a blogger at heart, more to come

Do it in franchise press release

Get that sweet sweet rp

[SourKittles]

hahahaha I've always been a blogger at heart, more to come

Do it in franchise press release

Get that sweet sweet rp

Although Kittles does things for “the love of the game,” this is a very good suggestion