Nets Draft: Suns' Future Picks Could be Key to Success

Although Brooklyn doesn't have many of its future first-round picks, the draft captial the Nets own from Phoenix could be very valuable.

Nov 9, 2022; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks speaks during a press / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The Brooklyn Nets have officially entered the offseason following a 32-50 campaign. A new era is underway in Brooklyn, as the team looks to acquire its next superstar and get back into contention soon.

During the last contending iteration of this franchise — which featured a trio of Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving — the Nets traded away the majority of their future draft picks. While they recovered some draft capital when those players were later shipped out, Brooklyn never got full value in return.

With that in mind, when the Nets traded Kevin Durant to Phoenix in the 2022-23 season, they obtained four future first-round picks and a swap, along with Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson who are still core pieces of the current roster.

As Brooklyn looks to get back to being a championship contender, these Phoenix picks will be the key. It seems unlikely that the Nets will bottom out and fully rebuild — especially considering they don't have their own picks and don't control their own fate — so instead some if not all of these Suns selections could be packaged in a superstar trade.

Given the Suns are currently down 2-0 in their series with the Minnesota Timberwolves in the playoffs, there's a real chance that Phoenix is a first-round exit. If that happens, significant franchise decisions will need to be made. This is an older team with a short window of time to win at the highest level, meaning long-term success may not be sustainable. That makes the Phoenix picks that Brooklyn owns even more valuable.

It's unclear how exactly the Nets are going to acquire their next face of the franchise, but if its via trade, don't be surprised if these Suns picks are a focal point of the package.