Brian Windhorst details the Brooklyn Nets’ nuclear option

“This is just something that league executives are talking about and, frankly, the Brooklyn Nets’ front office has to seriously start considering. And that would be a potentially nuclear option of beginning a blow-up to this roster this season. 

…. They owe the next four drafts, essentially, to the Houston Rockets. A pic swap this year, (Brooklyn’s) pick unprotected next year, another pick swap in two years, and in three years, their pick. But of those four, this year is interesting. 

…. If this Nets team is not going to rebound, if Kyrie Irving isn’t able to satisfy the Nets and bring him back, if Ben Simmons’ knee and returning from his back issue is too big of a hurdle for him to be an impact player, maybe they need to look at what would happen if they took advantage of the pick swap this year, because the Houston Rockets are one of the league’s worst teams. And with Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson in this year’s draft, they’re going to stay one of the worst teams.

If the Nets elected to go down the path of an instantaneous rebuild, they could get their pick into position where even if it swaps with the Houston Rockets this year, it’d still potentially be a lottery pick in a very deep draft. It would also potentially bring Kevin Durant back on the market to be traded. And so if the Brooklyn Nets did this, they would potentially have the assets they got from a Kevin Durant trade, potentially a very good lottery pick, and potentially other pieces and parts from other players they could trade this year.”