Heat and 3 other teams who should go all-in on Donovan Mitchell trade

3. Nets should trade for Donovan Mitchell

The New York Knicks are the most popular speculative fit for Donovan Mitchell, but the cross-town Brooklyn Nets should probably be more interested in a potential deal. Brooklyn has a nice cache of draft assets to move, but the Nets also don't possess their own first-round pick until 2028. There's no material benefit to tanking, but toiling in mediocrity doesn't accomplish anything either.

Mikal Bridges is plainly miscast as the Nets' No. 1 option. He's a tremendous player — still one of the best wing stoppers in the NBA, with a picturesque 3-point stroke and enough mid-range juice to drag Brooklyn on his shoulders most nights. But, he would look much better in a complementary role playing off of an elite downhill creator such as Mitchell.

Brooklyn has a ton of great secondary and tertiary pieces to place around Mitchell. Cam Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Royce O'Neale are productive 3-and-D wings. Nic Claxton is one of the NBA's top rim protectors. Bridges and Spencer Dinwiddie are at their best picking and choosing spots off the catch.

Not all those pieces would remain on the roster in the event of a Mitchell trade — you have to give something to get something — but Brooklyn can maintain a deep, balanced roster while catering to Mitchell's strengths as an on-ball force. The Nets wouldn't be top-shelf contenders, but Brooklyn would factor much more prominently into the Eastern Conference playoff conversation.