Nets Willing To Trade Deron Williams, Joe Johnson And Brook Lopez

According to reports, the Nets have made Deron Williams and others available for trade.

After an 8-11 start to the 2014-15 season, dropping six of their last ten in the process, the Brooklyn Nets are opening shop. According to Marc Stein of ESPN, the Nets have made star guards Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, and star center Brook Lopez available around the league.

Story going online now co-scribed with @NotoriousOHM: ESPN sources say Nets have made D-Will, Brook Lopez & Joe Johnson available via trade
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) December 9, 2014

While Williams, Johnson, and Lopez are interesting pieces for a possible contending team — or up-and-coming team — there are some issues that could arrive as the Nets look to prepare for future seasons.

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For Joe Johnson, salary is the lone issue. His play could possibly work anywhere, averaging 15.7 points on 43 percent shooting for the season, but it’s going to be hard to convince a team to take on his $23 million salary (and $24 million next season).

For Williams and Lopez, not only is the issue money (Williams makes $19 million this year, $21 million the next and Lopez makes $15 million this year, $16 million the next — player option), but they’ve been injury-riddled for the last three seasons. While Williams has played in 70+ games only once the last three seasons, Lopez has struggled to stay on the floor, playing in 20+ games only once in the last four years, the 2012-13 season to be exact.

It’ll be interesting to see what this team wants back for Lopez, Williams, and Johnson. After the Nets-Celtics trade which sent several draft picks to Boston for Paul Pierce (now a Wizard) and Kevin Garnett (in the last year of his deal), they’re without draft picks to build for the future, meaning picks will be their best hope to land in the trading market. If those are unattainable, finding young players who could be centerpieces for the future — anything would work as long as they don’t’ find themselves stuck in luxury-tax hell as they are now.

On December 15th, teams will be able to trade players signed in free agency, so there’ll likely be more talk on what the Nets will do once that date arrives.