Fansided

Brooklyn trading Allen Crabbe and the No. 17 pick is all about Kyrie Irving

By Josh Hill

MILWAUKEE, WI - MAY 8: Kyrie Irving #11 of the Boston Celtics looks on during Game Five of the Eastern Conference Semifinals of the 2019 NBA Playoffs on May 8, 2019 at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WI - MAY 8: Kyrie Irving #11 of the Boston Celtics looks on during Game Five of the Eastern Conference Semifinals of the 2019 NBA Playoffs on May 8, 2019 at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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We have our first NBA Draft trade, and it directly effects where Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving might sign.

Kyrie Irving isn’t playing in the NBA Finals, but he is about to dominate the NBA news cycle.

With just weeks to go before the NBA offseason begins, and with it, free agency opens, the Brooklyn Nets are making moves to establish themselves as big game hunters.

On Thursday the Nets traded Allen Crabbe and two first-round picks to the Atlanta Hawks for Taurean Prince. The move gives the Nets another big man (and someone with very literal descriptions of how rebounding works), but it’s more than that.

There is plenty of time to talk about how Atlanta now has three picks int he Top 20 of this year’s draft. What is most notable about this trade is that it signals Brooklyn is getting ready to make a run at one of the two top free agents hitting the market this summer.

Specifically, Kyrie Irving.

It’s been no secret that the Nets have wanted to land Kyrie, and the growing sentiment seems to be that he won’t be returning to Boston. The Knicks have long been rumored to be the team that will eventually sign him (preferably alongside Kevin Durant) but the Nets have emerged as a dark horse favorite.

Clearing almost $20 million so that the team sits with $46 million in cap space makes them more than just dark horses. Making this trade means the Nets are serious contenders for Kyrie Irving and just established that they are to be taken very seriously this free agency.

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