Nets trade proposal unnecessarily helps Championship favorites

After enduring their ninth loss in ten games Wednesday night against the lowly Portland Trail Blazers, many believe it may be time for the Brooklyn Nets to start selling off some of their shorter-term assets in an attempt to get an early jump on next season and, in turn, punt on the rest of 2023-24.

Though there are certainly those who argue that this team still has a chance of turning things around during the second half of this campaign and, thus, should consider serving as buyers to improve the roster, with how things have been going as of late, at the very least, it seems that there's a rather realistic scenario in which Zach Kleiman and company will consider the possibility of a sell-off.

Should this wind up happening, several players on the roster could be found heading outbound before the February 8 deadline, and, recently, Cal Durrett of Hoops Habit concocted a trade scenario that would send veteran forward Lonnie Walker IV to their direct divisional rivals and the league's current title-favorites, the Boston Celtics.

Nets trade proposal sends Lonnie Walker IV to the Celtics

Citing their recent stretch of losing, Durrett believes the Nets could look to tank away the remainder of the season and focus on long-term motives by honing in on a youth movement in the borough.

Because of this, coupled with his contract situation, Walker is viewed as a viable candidate to be headed outbound this trade season, and the wing-needy Celtics are seen as an ideal landing spot for his services.

"The Brooklyn Nets have struggled of late, so much that they could instead look to tank now. That could mean them trading some of their veterans or buying them out. One player who doesn't fit into that category but could still be moved is Lonnie Walker, who is having a strong season after signing a one-year minimum contract.

With Walker set to become a free agent after this season and the Nets not having his bird rights, they could be willing to move him for a second-round pick rather than lose him for nothing. If that is the case, then the Celtics should be willing to throw a second-round pick, or even two, the Nets' way to acquire an explosive athlete with shooting and playmaking abilities. "

- Cal Durrett

A sixth-year veteran, Walker finds himself in his first season with the Nets, where he's provided quality two-way production coming off the pine and has posted solid averages of 12.8 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.4 assists while shooting 48.1 percent from the floor and 45.5 percent from deep.

Of course, being that he's still just 25 years old, even with his current contract situation, someone of his ilk could be very useful to have within Brooklyn's talent arsenal moving forward, as he's a sharpshooter who provides hustle on both ends of the floor and slots into the game's second most important position out on the wing.

Of course, should the franchise be hell-bent on becoming sellers this season, the idea of trading the free agency-bound Walker may not be such a bad idea, as these aforementioned anecdotes could wind up fetching an intruiging return package in exchange for his servives.

However, trading him to a direct rival for just a second-rounder and another expiring contract in Svi Mykhailiuk doesn't seem like all that enticing of a move for the team to make, regardless of what their stance is on being buyers or sellers.