The Brooklyn Nets will be title contenders whenever the 2020-21 season starts since Kevin Durant will be in the lineup next to Kyrie Irving. The two-time Finals MVP was set to miss the entire 2019-20 campaign recovering from his Achilles tear.
Multiple reports have said the Nets are expected to use their young assets to trade for a third star this offseason. Washington Wizards All-Star shooting guard Bradley Beal is the ideal player for Brooklyn to target.
The Nets would have to perform financial gymnastics to make a Beal trade work since the sharpshooter is owed a lot of money moving forward and the team already has three lucrative contracts in Durant, Irving and DeAndre Jordan. The Nets could hypothetically build a trade around youngsters Caris LeVert and Jarrett Allen and add Spencer Dinwiddie.
Beal averaged 30.5 points per game in 2019-20 for the Wizards before the season was suspended. A lot of work would need to be done to get this trade to work. More likely than not, the Nets would need a third team to jump in the trade talks.
However, Brooklyn should do whatever it takes to acquire Beal from the Wizards. The Nets could have a starting lineup of Irving, Beal, Durant, Taurean Prince and Jordan if they play this right heading into next season. The team's bench depth will take a hit but the Nets could easily fill that up by attracting high-level reserves who are trying to compete for a title.
If the Nets had Durant, Beal and Irving leading the charge, they would contend for having the best offense in the NBA in terms of points per game. All three All-Stars can score at the basket, in the mid-range area and beyond the arc.
Having a sniper such as Beal roaming around the arc and getting open through back screens while Durant and Irving are operating would make the Nets nearly impossible to defend. Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks is going to have to offer the house for Beal, though, since the Wizards may not be interested in moving the St. Louis native. Washington is getting John Wall back next season, so Washington may reject all Beal trade offers.
However, Nets general manager Sean Marks has to be aggressive and acquire Beal no matter who he has to give up. After all, the Wizards aren't going to ask for Durant and Irving since Washington general manager Tommy Sheppard knows what answer Marks is going to give him.
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