Jun 12, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) and guard Jaylen Brown (7) celebrate after a play during the first quarter in game three of the 2024 NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Nets Draft Trades On the Brink of NBA Championship

Originally posted on Brooklyn Nets on SI | Last updated Jun 13, 2024 5:00 PM ET

The Boston Celtics went up 3-0 last night against the Dallas Mavericks in Game 3 of the 2024 NBA Finals, putting themselves one win away from their first championship in 16 years. No team has ever come back down 3-0 in the playoffs, and with stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown leading the way, it only adds insult to injury for the Brooklyn Nets.

Tatum and Brown could have easily been playing for the Nets, but it reverts back to what may have been the worst trade in NBA history, now that they're about to win a ring. In 2013, then-Nets GM Billy King made a swing for aging stars Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett for Gerald Wallace and a heap of draft picks.

At the time, the trade was actually seen in favor of Brooklyn. Nobody knew where the future picks would end up, and the Celtics took on Wallace's unattractive $30 million contract. Bill Simmons, a famous Boston sports fan and NBA analyst, famously criticized his favorite team at the 2013 NBA Draft, claiming that the three first-round picks the Celtics received would not be lottery picks.

Boy, was he wrong. The Celtics would end up with the third and first overall picks in the 2016 and 2017 drafts, and in 2017 they would trade down two spots with the Philadelphia 76ers.

In 2016, it was Brown, and although he had a bit of a rocky start in the league, he adjusted soon after they took Tatum in 2017. JT would immediately start turning heads, being a legitimate running mate to Kyrie Irving in 2019, and then taking over as the first option after he left for Brooklyn. Brown would then become HIS running mate, but in this series, he's looked like he could take home the Finals MVP.

Since 2020, Brown and Tatum have both been 20-point-per-game scorers, and have been an All-NBA duo, playing in their second championship series together.

This should really sting if you're a Nets. All it took was a little bit of patience from King and the front office, and, as crazy as it sounds, maybe Brooklyn is the one in the Finals right now. Perhaps the Nets would be the recurring favorite to make it out of the Eastern Conference if that trade doesn't happen.

Or maybe it's more complicated than that. All we know is that if Brooklyn doesn't make that trade and instead keeps their draft picks, they most likely end up with one of the most polarizing duos in basketball.

This article first appeared on Brooklyn Nets on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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