The Brooklyn Nets had the course of their franchise changed once the NBA trade deadline reared its head. Before February came along, Brooklyn was 31-19 as it was trying to keep its head afloat until Kevin Durant came back from his sprained right MCL. However, after a 139-96 loss to the Boston Celtics on Feb. 1, everything changed.
On Feb. 3, Kyrie Irving’s trade request became public and led everyone to speculate what the organization was going to do about it. Irving requested his trade because he and the team were unable to come to terms on a contract extension that satisfied both parties. On Feb. 5, multiple insiders reported that Irving was traded to the Dallas Mavericks.
Once Irving, everyone including the Nets were wondering if Durant would stay now that his close friend was traded. Four days later on Feb. 9, the NBA world received the answer when news broke out in the thick of the night that Durant was traded to the Phoenix Suns. Many wondered if Brooklyn had been destined for mediocrity now that they forced three superstars to want out while the Houston Rockets controlled its immediate draft future in the meantime. Bleacher Report did their updated grades on the trades that the Nets made at the deadline and it looks like Brooklyn made it better than people thought at the time: