Brooklyn Nets · Franchise era 5 of 7
Brooklyn and the all-in gamble: the Brooklyn Nets story
The story in one sentence
The move to Brooklyn brought enormous ambition; the 2013 trade delivered one playoff run but surrendered the draft future.
A new arena, then the costly veteran trade
Deron Williams, Brook Lopez, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce gave the era its recognizable core.
Its ending created the conditions for the patient rebuild.
Timeline
How it unfolded
Before 2008–09
What came before
Kidd transformed a 26-win team into an immediate Finals participant and later formed an electric perimeter trio with Carter and Jefferson.
2013
Eastern Conference First Round: Brooklyn Nets vs Chicago Bulls
- 01TradeJuly 12, 2013
July 12, 2013
The trade that built Boston's next contender
The Nets wanted an instant title team. The Celtics accepted a painful teardown in exchange for years of control over Brooklyn's first-round future.
To BKNDraftPICKround asset+1 assets
To BOSDraftPICKround asset+6 assetsNets–Celtics blockbusterBKN receives Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Jason Terry + 1 moreBOS receives Gerald Wallace, Kris Humphries, Keith Bogans + 6 more13 original assets · 4 outcomes tracedOpen trade → 2014
Eastern Conference First Round: Brooklyn Nets vs Toronto Raptors
2014
Eastern Conference Semifinals: Brooklyn Nets vs Miami Heat
After 2015–16
What came next
Without its own premium picks, Brooklyn found undervalued players and built a surprising playoff team.
The core