Mar 20, 2022; New York, New York, USA; Utah Jazz forward Royce O'Neale (23) at Madison Square Garden. Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Nets acquire Royce O'Neale from Jazz for 2023 first-round pick

By Victor Barbosa | Last updated 6/30/22

It's looking like Kevin Durant's days with the Brooklyn Nets are over. If the Nets say goodbye to the former MVP, they're already starting the process of replacing him in the frontcourt.

Brooklyn is sending the lesser of their own, Houston or Philadelphia's 2023 first-round pick, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2022

The trade of O'Neale will be one of, if not the first under the guidance of new head coach Will Hardy, and a significant one at that. O'Neale played in 77 of Utah's 82 regular season games last season, starting all of them (which led the team) and started in all six of the Jazz playoff games as well.

The 29-year-old was third on the team in rebounds (4.8), steals (1.1) and minutes per contest (31.2) and notched a career-high 7.4 points per game. O'Neale also averaged exactly 2.5 assists per game for the third straight season and he shot a career-best 38.9% from three-point range.

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