C.J. Holmes: After Luka Doncic trade, Nets might’ve lost bargaining power in a potential Cam Johnson deal

The Nets‘ celebrated offseason commercialized with the Knicks — centered astir Mikal Bridges — looks much similar road robbery each day.

General manager Sean Marks fleeced 5 first-round picks from the Knicks successful speech for a guardant who ne'er made an All-Star squad and hadn’t been named to an All-Defensive squad since 2022. The Knicks, hellbent connected acquiring the erstwhile Villanova star, were consenting to overpay for Bridges — and Marks took afloat advantage.

And it made past weekend’s blockbuster woody betwixt the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers look adjacent much ridiculous.

Just aft midnight connected Sunday morning, portion galore connected the East Coast were already tucked into bed, ESPN’s Shams Charania dropped a atomic bomb. Dallas had agreed to commercialized All-NBA defender Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris to the Los Angeles for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round prime — POFI9a woody truthful preposterous that galore believed it to beryllium fake news.

“We thought Shams got hacked oregon it was a fake account,” Nets guardant Day’Ron Sharpe said. “I’m not going to lie; Mavs fans should beryllium mad… If I was a Mavs fan, I would beryllium huffy that they traded Luka.”

But it was ohio truthful real. The commercialized has already had a seismic interaction connected the equilibrium of powerfulness crossed the league, and present Brooklyn has recovered itself caught successful the rubble.

It’s nary concealed that the rebuilding Nets person been buying guardant Cam Johnson for a portion now, arsenic his career-best scoring run — and league-leading effectual tract extremity ratio — has garnered the attraction of galore contending suitors astir the league.

Marks has reportedly been seeking 2 first-round picks successful speech for Johnson. After the Doncic deal, with the NBA commercialized deadline conscionable days away, the Nets might’ve conscionable mislaid their bargaining power.

Doncic is simply a existent superstar. A franchise gathering artifact who routinely averages a adjacent triple-double. A 6-7 defender who tin crockery the stone similar Magic Johnson and rebound similar Kevin McHale. He’s lone 25, helium conscionable led Dallas to the NBA Finals past season, and hasn’t entered his prime.

Yet Doncic was traded for a 31-year-old All-Star successful Davis, a relation subordinate successful Christie, and 1 first-round pick. The woody wholly reset the market, conscionable days earlier Marks had to marque a determination connected 1 of his much polarizing players. And if Doncic — a generational endowment — went for lone 1 first-rounder, what anticipation does helium person of uncovering a suitor that’s consenting to portion ways with aggregate first-round picks for a 28-year-old Johnson?

Perhaps Marks should’ve dealt Johnson earlier successful the season, portion the robust was hot. The guardant has missed 5 consecutive games due to the fact that of a close ankle sprain, and portion helium did enactment successful astir of signifier connected Monday, he’s inactive considered day-to-day and won’t play successful Tuesday’s matchup against the Houston Rockets, either. After that, the Nets volition person 1 crippled near earlier Thursday’s commercialized deadline.

There’s ever a accidental that teams who missed retired connected their superior commercialized targets could get hopeless and beryllium consenting to overpay for Johnson. Not to the grade that the Knicks overpaid for Bridges past offseason but could beryllium unfastened to throwing successful other picks successful pursuit of a heavy playoff run. After all, portion Johnson isn’t Doncic, he’s inactive a needle-mover who could marque a quality for a contending team. A first-rounder and a imaginable oregon subordinate would beryllium reasonable.

But if nary 1 is consenting to conscionable Marks’ asking price, and helium refuses to settle, helium could simply support Johnson past the commercialized deadline. He’s an elite shooter. He’s large successful the locker room. And with 2 years near connected his existent woody worthy $21.5 cardinal annually, helium tin beryllium kept portion maintaining fiscal flexibility.