Trae Young initially wanted Brooklyn.
The Nets definitely didn’t want him.
Atlanta ended up trading Young to Washington on Wednesday, but the fact the Nets had been an attractive destination — reportedly one of two landing spots initially suggested by Young’s camp — for a four-time All-Star not only dispelled any notions that stars would avoid Brooklyn in the wake of the Big 3’s breakup, but it is also an auspicious sign for Brooklyn’s ongoing rebuild.
The Post confirmed the Nets weren’t looking to acquire Young.
Jake Fischer reported in the Stein Line Substack that the Nets and Timberwolves were preferred landing spots, but neither team pursued him.
Brooklyn committed to a rebuild in 2024 when Marks and team owner Joe Tsai traded Mikal Bridges to the Knicks for a record-tying five first-round draft picks. And they haven’t shied away from the painful process, selecting a record five first-round picks this past June.
At the time, everything Marks both said and did underscored Brooklyn’s desire for youth, length, multipositional defense and egalitarian ball-moving offense.
Young is many things, but none of the aforementioned are his strengths.
A box office draw who led the league in assists last season, Young is also undersized and a defensive liability who makes $46 million this season, has a $49 million player option for the next and has not driven winning of late.
Atlanta is 15-13 without Young this season and a disappointing 2-8 with him — and that is effectively 1-8 because he hurt his MCL just seven minutes into the Hawks’ victory in Brooklyn. Young’s CAA agents — Aaron Mintz, Austin Brown and Drew Morrison — are working with Atlanta general manager Onsi Saleh to find the 27-year-old a landing spot.
The Nets had the best defense in the league in December, and also have Michael Porter Jr., a longtime friend Young calls his “brother.”
They roomed together playing AAU basketball with MOKAN Elite, for whom they won the Peach Jam EYBL Championship. The pair have been close ever since, Young calling Porter “the best player in the world at that size” this past offseason and predicting the Nets star would average 25 points.
Brooklyn would have needed to part with a hefty contract to even make a deal for Young work, like that of Porter or starting center Nic Claxton or Terance Mann. It’s easy to see why the Nets were more appealing to Young than he was to them.
Still, following the Big 3’s breakup — James Harden, Kyrie Irving and finally Kevin Durant all forcing exits from Brooklyn — there were questions about the Nets’ attractiveness. In the aftermath of Mikal Bridges’ departure, those questions got far louder.
But at least one perennial All-Star wanted Brooklyn, even if they didn’t want him.
Though with Brooklyn hoping to have a very short tank that ends this summer — looking to take a step forward next season — being attractive to established veterans and high-end talent is an auspicious sign.
