Nets lose another top pick from failed super team

For the third time since 2016, the draft lottery ping pong balls gave the Nets a top-three draft pick. For the third time, they won’t keep that pick because of a disastrous trade from years before.

Houston owns this year’s Nets pick because of the James Harden trade from 2021. It was only three years ago, but there have been two blockbuster Harden deals since then. As per the deal, the Rockets own the Nets’ picks outright this year and in 2026, while the Rockets have pick swap rights in 2025 and 2027.

If this sounds familiar, the Nets did the same thing a decade ago when they traded for Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce in 2013. That super team only lasted a single season before Pierce left in free agency, but two of the picks they sent to Boston turned into Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum (both No. 3 picks), and another was sent to Cleveland for Kyrie Irving.

Since 2013, the Nets have won a total of two playoff series and lost six. They have zero 50-win seasons and four seasons of 50+ losses. While they recovered some lost picks when they traded Kevin Durant to the Phoenix Suns, Brooklyn is once again failing to reap any draft benefits from being bad.

After closing the season on a 17-35 run, the Nets are flailing and lacking a first-rounder in 2024. Their consolation? The Suns flamed out in a first-round sweep this season. Brooklyn might finally be able to benefit from someone else’s doomed super-team plans.