Should the Brooklyn Nets go all in on Bradley Beal?

The Brooklyn Nets are reportedly looking to acquire Bradley Beal in an effort to form their own “Big 3.” Would it be worth it?

While we await the return of sports, news such as trade rumors are going to surface all over the web. One trade rumor in particular that has recently picked up steam is Bradley Beal to the Brooklyn Nets, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.

Now, in order for the Nets to land Beal, it’s most likely going to cost them at least Spencer Dinwiddie, Caris LeVert and Jarrett Allen, and quite possibly some first-round draft picks.

Dinwiddie seemed to have some thoughts on the speculation…

What matters more? Having a third star such as Bradley Beal in the mix, or keeping both Spencer Dinwiddie and Caris LeVert?

Let’s start off by saying that Beal is the far superior scorer than LeVert, as he’s averaging a whopping 30.5 points per game and provides much better three-point shooting off the catch-and-shoot; shooting 38 percent on catch-and-shoot situations from behind the arc.

Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving will command their fair share of double teams, so to have that type of option to swing it to from behind the three-point line will make this team significantly harder to defend.

When LeVert is healthy, however, he has proven that he can be an all-star caliber player in his own right, as he was averaging 23.0 points, 5.1 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game in 17 games before the NBA suspended operations due to the coronavirus.

In that span, LeVert dropped 51 points and showed his ability to handle pressure down the stretch in Boston to help the Nets come away with the win after trailing by 20+ points in that game. LeVert was also starting to show a drastically improved ability to hit the pull-up three, as he knocked down 32 of his 72 attempts.

When Kyrie and KD come back, however, you can expect that he’ll be asked to get more of his shot attempts on the catch-and-shoot three, which is not the best way to utilize his offensive talents. However, with more floor spacing likely to be made available, LeVert’s catch-and-shooting abilities might improve.

Although the Nets have a better defensive rating by two points with LeVert off the floor for the season, LeVert’s groove offensively carried over to the other side of the ball, as the Nets were 0.6 points better with him on the floor than off in those 17 games. LeVert’s defense was heavily recognized during that stretch.

The Wizards, on the other hand, are rated over 10 points better on the defensive rating scale with Beal off the floor.

Having LeVert lined up to Irving on defense would be very important since Kyrie isn’t known for his defensive prowess whatsoever.

As for Dinwiddie, he has taken over 100 fewer attempts on the catch-and-shoot three than Beal, but he is actually shooting at a similar clip in those situations, so when the Nets want to run out a lineup featuring KD, Kyrie and Dinwiddie, it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to have Dinwiddie out there as an option in the catch-and-shoot instead of Beal.

One of Dinwiddie’s flaws is that he relies too much on the pull-up jumper with not much efficiency, but a lot of that was based on need since the Nets dealt with so many injuries this year, so once KD and Kyrie get fully healthy, Dinwiddie’s pull-up attempts should go down significantly.

Jarrett Allen would also likely be moved in any potential deal, and for all the criticism he deals with for not being strong enough to deal with the likes of Joel Embiid, he’s still only 22 years old and possesses the frame and the athletic ability to provide great interior defense and position himself for easy dunks and layups inside. It would also be smart for the Nets to split minutes with him and DeAndre Jordan moving forward.

After looking at all of these factors, I think the Nets should keep the combination of Dinwiddie and LeVert in the mix, but if they were to make this deal, then we would all have to hope that Beal would really provide enough offense to offset the depth they’re giving up and also hope that Sean Marks can work his magic in free agency or the draft to replace some of that depth.