The Brooklyn Nets have been trying to ensure that this current rebuild is going to be successful, specifically through the work that the team has put in for the 2025 NBA Draft. Brooklyn made an NBA-record five picks in the 2025 Draft, showing how much stock the Nets are putting in the class. However, one has to wonder if other moves could be made.

The Nets had an active offseason as they traded for a fifth first-round pick from the Atlanta Hawks and forward Terance Mann and acquired forward Michael Porter Jr. and a 2032 first-round pick from the Denver Nuggets in exchange for forward Cam Johnson. As of this writing, the Nets only have to figure out what they’re going to do with restricted free-agent guard Cam Thomas in terms of re-signing him or not.

Whether or not Brooklyn decides to re-sign Thomas or let him walk, general manager Sean Marks has made it clear that the team is considering every avenue to add talent to the team along with draft capital. Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus recently put together a mock three-team trade (involving the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers) in which Brooklyn wouldn’t get any draft picks, but they could get a player that could be part of their future:

The Mock Trade

Mavericks receive: LeBron James (from Lakers), Bronny James (from Lakers), Drew Timme (from Nets), Tyrese Martin (from Nets), $1.8 million trade exception (Dwight Powell), and $1.1 million trade exception (Olivier-Maxence Prosper).

Lakers receive: Daniel Gafford (from Mavericks), PJ Washington (from Mavericks), Naji Marshall (from Mavericks), Caleb Martin (from Mavericks), Jaden Hardy (from Mavericks), 2030 Lakers second-rounder (from Nets), 2031 Lakers second-rounder (from Nets), and $24.1 million trade exception (LeBron James).

Nets receive: Dalton Knecht (from Lakers), Maxi Kleber (from Lakers), Olivier-Maxence Prosper (from Mavericks), and Dwight Powell (from Mavericks).

Nets Additions/Subtractions

Nets receive: Dalton Knecht (from Lakers), Maxi Kleber (from Lakers), Olivier-Maxence Prosper (from Mavericks), and Dwight Powell (from Mavericks).

Nets lose: Drew Timme, Tyrese Martin, 2030 Lakers second-round pick, and 2031 Lakers second-round pick.

Would The Nets Do This Deal?

Based on what the Nets would be getting in this mock trade, it seems that the point of doing the deal from Brooklyn’s perspective is to have Knecht on the roster to grow alongside one of the youngest rosters in the league. The players that the Nets would be losing would be Timme and Martin, but those are two players who could be in danger of being cut due to the number of new players on Brooklyn’s roster.

Even though second-round picks are more valuable nowadays than they were prior to the current CBA, if the Lakers are willing to let go of players like Knecht in return for second-round picks, that would be something to take advantage of. Granted, Los Angeles would be moving Knecht in order to take in the amount of players they are getting from the Nets and Mavericks in the deal.

Knecht, 24, is coming off a 2024-25 season in which he averaged 9.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 0.8 assists per game while shooting 46.1% from the field and 37.6% from three-point land during his rookie campaign with the Lakers. Knecht, the 17th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, played in 78 games, but he averaged just 19.2 minutes per contest, a figure he would most likely exceed if he were a member of the Nets.

Verdict: Yes, the Nets would do this trade if presented.