Brooklyn Nets Need to Avoid This Trade at All Costs

In a recent podcast episode, The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie pitched the idea of the Brooklyn Nets being a potential landing spot for Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis. This idea was pitched on Sam Vecenie's podcast, Game Theory Podcast with Sam Vecenie.

Outside of the couple of perennial superstars this free agent class has to offer, there are not too many players, or centers for that matter, that a team can essentially add to the fray and compete immediately.

This notion of a lack of players in the free agency market leads Vecenie to believe the Nets would be a great suitor for the 7-foot-2 unicorn. Porzingis is coming off an average of 19.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists this past season, logging 41.2% behind the arc and 48.3% from the field.

With recent rumors of Cameron Johnson and Nicolas Claxton potentially on the way out of Brooklyn this summer, Porzingis would also offer the addition of a floor-spacing big man alongside rising star guard Cam Thomas, who is set to be the focal point of this Brooklyn rebuild.

Numbers-wise wise the Nets would not have a problem taking on the remaining portion of Porzingis' contract. In fact, it would benefit the Celtics in a big way if they could get rid of the big man's contract on their payroll.

Now, while this all makes sense in terms of stat production and contracts, the biggest problem for Porzingis continues to be his biggest krypotonite, and that is staying healthy and on the court. The durability for the 7-footer has been abysmal for teams, and while the Celtics were able to benefit from KP during their 2023-24 playoff run, he still evidently missed a good chunk of the season to start this year after sustaining injuries in the finals.

In his stops with New York, Dallas, Washington, and Boston, the former first-round pick did not see a single season over 65 games aside from his rookie campaign for the Knicks. His skillset is undoubtedly one of the best on the floor when KP is on, but the biggest obstacle is just that, getting Porzingis on the floor.

This is why the Brooklyn Nets should avoid this trade at all costs, given the durability concerns and the fact that Brooklyn has been at the bottom of the barrel for some time, with fans clamoring for them to win now.