ESPN predicts Nets will make trade to acquire third star

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One week, it seems like everyone thinks Spencer Dinwiddie is on the move in favor of a third star. The next, it’s Caris LeVert. Sometimes both are expected to be on their way out of Brooklyn.

Right now, though, it’s LeVert’s turn — in the same week he was the main voice for the franchise’s latest hype video for 2020-21.

Not only did his name come up in each trade offer that involved the Nets acquiring either Jrue Holiday from the New Orleans Pelicans or Victor Oladipo from the Indiana Pacers mentioned by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps on the “Briand Windhorst & The Hoop Collective” podcast, but now ESPN’s Kevin Pelton is suggesting Brooklyn move on from LeVert if they want a third star because he a player who may not “fit as well” as others will with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving:

“Brooklyn’s best choice to trade is wing Caris LeVert, who enhanced his value with a strong run as the Nets’ No. 1 option in the bubble. LeVert averaged 25.0 points and 6.7 assists in six seeding games, leading Brooklyn to a 3-3 record in those games despite a short-handed roster without five of the nine Nets who had averaged at least 20 minutes per game before play stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“At 26, LeVert is primed to play a bigger role elsewhere than would be possible alongside Durant and Irving. Playing with those stars emphasizes the weakest part of LeVert’s game: spot-up jump shooting. While he made a career-high 36% of his 3-point attempts in 2019-20, that was primarily driven by his accuracy on pull-up attempts (39%, per NBA Advanced Stats).”

The “ESPN Forecast panel” also weighed in on the matter of the Nets riding with LeVert or going after a third star. The majority of the group (61.5%) thinks Brooklyn should hold onto LeVert and “hope he is their third star,” but the same number of panelists also think the Nets will instead “put together a big trade package for a third star.”