The Brooklyn Nets didn't even exist four months ago, and yet they're still the proud owners of the dumbest trade of the 2011-12 season. That's when they shipped Mehmet Okur, Shawne Williams, and their 1st round pick (which became the 6th overall) to Portland for Gerald Wallace. The swap isn't dumb because of Williams and Okur, but because the Nets traded away their unprotected draft pick for a player who could become a free agent by opting out of his contract at season's end. Which is exactly what Wallace did yesterday.
The move was intended to surround Deron Williams with talent to entice him to stay in Brooklyn. Instead of waiting for Wallace to become a free agent and signing him then, the Nets essentially gave Portland their first round pick to have Wallace and D-Will lose a bunch of games together. That pick could've been used on even more talent to surround Williams with, like, say, Harrison Barnes, the 6"8 shooting guard/small forward from North Carolina, of whom one scout says, "put him with a good point guard and he'll be excellent." Hmmm, what's a team with a good point guard that's looking for "excellent" young talent?
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[via ESPN]
