While Nerlens Noel, who was the consensus prediction to go No. 1 overall in the 2013 NBA draft, fell to No. 6 before being immediately dealt to Philadelphia for All-Star point guard Jrue Holiday made waves, the Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics signed off on the real blockbuster.
The Brooklyn Nets proved defiant of the NBA's luxury tax, piling two future Hall of Famers, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, onto the payroll, creating a veteran-laden starting lineup that appears capable of challenging for a title.
Brooklyn already had the two most important positions in the NBA, point guard and center, filled with All-Star talent (Deron Williams, Brook Lopez). Now, the Nets have added an ideal pick-and-pop power forward in Garnett, who will make Williams even more lethal. They've also added perimeter scoring help for Joe Johnson, prone to stretches of ineffectiveness.
Their bench was bolstered by the addition of Jason Terry, who can also spell Williams at the point in a pinch.
In return for all this talent, the Nets shipped away some pieces they didn't want. Boston took back power forwards Kris Humphries and Reggie Evans, small forward Gerald Wallace, guard Keith Bogans and Brooklyn's 2014, 2016, and 2018 first round picks.
The move creates a giant glut of undersized power forwards, and leaves the Celtics with precious little shooting in the backcourt. Perhaps their move is to weaken themselves in the short term and hope for a nice lottery pick in the loaded 2014 draft.
The move is risky for Brooklyn in the sense that this is now a roster filled with aging players, and the lack of picks could be damaging down the road. Brooklyn's billionaire owner Mikhail Prokhorov, however, seems undaunted by the dollar signs.
This Nets team will cost more than $100 million in salary, and the team will be penalized nearly as much in luxury tax costs. Still, it was a bold deal that proved the Russian was serious about bringing a title by 2015.
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