NETS TRADE ALLEN CRABBE, TWO FIRST FOR THE PRINCE TAUREAN, A CAP SPACE FOR KYRIE IRVING?

The Nets abandoned Allen Crabbe and exchanged two first-rounders – including their first this year – to the Hawks in return for Taurean Prince, the 6'8 "forward who scored 13.5 points per game season. last and shot 39% against three.

The move will also give the Nets additional space for free agencies, as Prince will earn $ 15 million less than Crabbe's $ 18.5 million. In addition, by trading the 17th choice, the Nets will save an additional $ 2.5 million on the recruit's pay scale. The Nets still have the 27th and 31st picks in the repechage.

As Adrian Wojnarowski has written, the savings will allow the Nets to take a big step forward, suggesting that Kyrie Irving is their main target … with the hopes of the Knicks Free Agency.

Woj announced the news in a series of tweets …

Zach Lowe added that the choice protected by a lottery will be transferred until 2022, after which it will turn into two seconds.

The big news, however, is that the Nets now have a cap of $ 46 million, as reported by Woj. Essentially, they traded their first game of 2019 against Prince, the second of 2021 and Crabbe against a cap.

As Brian Windhorst said in an interview with ESPN: "This is the type of decision you make when you have an important plan. You do not do this to get a bit of headroom, "suggesting perhaps that Sean Marks was not done.

In his story on ESPN, Woj detailed the plans of the Nets …

Boston goaltender Kyrie Irving – who should become a free agent – and Brooklyn have a strong mutual interest, told ESPN sources close to the league. The Nets have $ 46 million worth of salary space to sign up to two free agents on a contract basis, including Brooklyn's dream scenario of getting Irving and Kevin Durant from the Golden State to the franchise, sources said. the league.

The Knicks are pursuing the same partnership, but league sources say Irving's interest in the Nets has increased and Brooklyn has become a serious contender for Irving. The Nets could keep the free agent guardian, D'Angelo Russell, on a max – or almost – to play with an independent agent star.

If the Nets do not sign one or the other of these goals, they will still have one of the biggest salary space caches to pursue other free agents this been or use them in unbalanced transactions.

The price was high in that the Nets gave up two first-round players, but with this year's lottery choice and any subsequent lottery-protected choice, none will be a high-scoring choice.

The marks traded against Crabbe two years ago, giving up Andrew Nicholson and his $ 20 million deal. Crabbe, however, was disappointing in 2018-2019, then was injured and underwent knee surgery last season. He played only 43 games and scored only 9.6 points per contest. His three-point shot also fell, while the 27-year-old only managed 37.8% of his shots, his worst in four seasons.

The Nets loved Prince when he played for the Longs Nets with two years of Hawks loan, averaging 20 points in five games. He is 25 and his rookie contract until the end of next season, with a qualifying bid of nearly $ 5 million in 2021-2022. Prince missed 27 games last year, mostly with ankle and foot problems.

In an interview with FOX Sports last week, Prince talked about his game, his model and his loved ones.

In assessing the trade for ESPN, Kevin Pelton spoke of the value Prince brought.

He will earn only $ 3.5 million in 2019-2020, the last year of his rookie contract. Prince started the 82-game Hawks Reconstruction in 2017-18 and played 47 of 55 games against which he played last season. He became a reliable 3 point shooter, after shooting 38.5% and 39.0% of the back of the arc over the last two seasons, respectively, and has the size and athleticism to defend several positions.

The acquisition of Prince seems to mark the end of DeMarre Carroll's mandate with the Nets. Carroll is an unrestricted free agent, but he is eight years older than Prince.