The Brooklyn Nets are in the middle of a full-blown rebuild after trading Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks in exchange for as many as five first-round picks and three players. Even though the main part of rebuilding is embracing the young players on the roster, it’s possible that Brooklyn could also consider young players on other NBA rosters.
Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported on Sunday that the Nets are considered to be one of the teams that could be explore sign-and-trade opportunities with the Cleveland Cavaliers for forward Isaac Okoro. What makes this report interesting is that the Cavaliers and the Nets have been linked in the past, but with regard for Cleveland’s reported interest in Cam Johnson and/or Dorian Finney-Smith.
“The Nets are among the teams considered a sign-and-trade possibility for Okoro, though nothing is considered imminent with Brooklyn, sources said,” Scotto wrote. “As previously reported by HoopsHype, Nets forward Dorian Finney-Smith has drawn trade interest from Cleveland and has come up in discussions for Okoro, sources said.”
At the moment, Okoro is a restricted free-agent, meaning that his next contract could go a number of ways as he could leave the Cavaliers in a sign-and-trade deal, re-sign with the Cavaliers on a multi-year deal, or sign his one-year qualifying offer with Cleveland to become an unrestricted free-agent next summer.
Per Scotto, Okoro’s qualifying offer is worth $11.8 million and with Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor recently saying that the Cavaliers have offered Okoro a multi-year deal between $8 million and $10 million per season, it’s possible that Brooklyn could find themselves trading for a 24-year-old that fits the mold of the prototypical 3-and-D wing while being on a reasonable contract.
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