In this trade the Nets get A borderline all star in Jonas Valanciunas who average 18 and 11 on 36 percent from three. JV provides elite rebounding, good spacing for a center, and he is a good post player and scorer overall. His defense is also solid. While you are giving up a Top 20 guy like Kyrie, you still solve another one of your wholes which is the center position. If they do this and then trade KD for Jaylen Brown, You can have a starting five of Ben Simmons, Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, TJ Warren and Jonas Valanciunas which I think could be a playoff team for sure. You also get two solid role players such as Devonte Graham and Larry Nance. Nance was just seen as a good defender and a guy who can give you 10 PPG on the Cavs and while Devonte Graham is extremely inconsistent, as a Hornets fan he has potential to score a ton of points (Although he hasn't been the same since Lamelo went to Charlotte because nowadays he is just a 13 ppg kind of guy rather than an 18 ppg kind of guy) as Graham can heat up anytime and turn into a mini Damian Lillard. If you watch his career high against the Nets, his play style looked extremely similar to Darius Garland. Devonte Graham was in All Star consideration at one point and for good reason. The trade was originally for only Kyrie but I decided to add a pick and thought to myself "The Pelicans are giving up a lot of depth for a guy who doesn't play a ton of games" At the same time though I thought "The Nets are giving up a top 20 NBA player who will be playing in a lot of games this season, they should probably get more considering none of the players is an All Star" So to make the trade fair for both sides the Nets gave up a young talent in Cam Thomas (Who the Pelicans are reportedly interested in) in order to receive a pick that would probably be a first round pick in the 20s. I mean can you imagine BI, Zion, Kyrie and CJ? That is 4 top 35 players. And they have so much more depth as well, Such as a Top 8 draft pick, a borderline All Defense player after just his rookie year, A former lottery pick returning from an ACL injury, an undrafted rookie who developed throughout last season, a draft steal they got in the Second Round in 2022, a talented forward in Trey Murphy, solid vets like Garrett Temple and Willy Hernangomez and a young role player in Naji Marshall, a former lottery pick in Jaxson Hayes and a young talent in Cam Thomas
The Nets rotation after this (Assuming KD isn't traded): PG: Ben Simmons SG: Seth Curry SF: TJ Warren PF: Kevin Durant C: Jonas Valanciunas
Bench: PG: Devonte Graham SG: Joe Harris SF: Royce O'Neale PF: Larry Nance C: Nic Claxton Other Rotation Players: Patty Mills Day'Ron Sharpe Edmond Summer
The Pelicans Rotation after this: PG: Kyrie Irving SG: CJ McCollum SF: Brandon Ingram PF: Herb Jones C: Zion Williamson Bench: PG: Dyson Daniels SG: Cam Thomas SF: EJ Liddell PF: Trey Murphy C: Jaxson Hayes Other Rotation Players: Jose Alvarado Kira Lewis Willy Hernangomez Garrett Temple Naji Marshall
The Nets can still be good with this team and the Pelicans can be a contender in the West with this Team. I think the Pelicans as built right now are the 7th seed, I have them below the Clippers, Warriors, Nuggets, Suns, Grizzlies and the Mavericks. I think they can be better than the Mavs as it stand and I think they are already better than the Timberwolves, Kings, Lakers, and Trailblazers right now. If they make this trade, they can be up there with the West contenders such as the Clippers, Warriors, Nuggets and other people who are possible contenders like the Grizzlies and Suns. This Pelicans team has great depth, good defense, Great offense, good coaching and just a good built roster.