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In the SB Nation NBA Mock Draft, the Nets trade the 22nd pick...

By Tom Lorenzo
Sam Greenwood

I was asked to make the Nets selection in the SB Nation NBA Mock Draft and, well, I think I made an interesting move.

Yes, I traded the pick to the Orlando Magic, no less, and I'd think I did pretty well -- at the very least, I think I made a "realistic deal." One that you could actually see happen on draft night.

Here's the deal...

Magic get: Kris Humphries, MarShon Brooks and the 22nd pick in the 2013 NBA Draft.

Nets get: Glen Davis, Arron Afflalo and Andrew Nicholson.

Hey, not bad, right?

My thinking was that, at this point in the draft, there was no player on the board who I felt could come in and make an immediate impact on this team. So, I went and took offers for the pick -- you know, the famed HBAP -- and I felt like Evan Dunlap of Orlando Pinstriped Post and I were able to make a fair deal that would help both teams.

I wrote:

The main reason this trade works for the Nets is because they are built to win-ish now, with Johnson, Williams, Lopez and Wallace on the books for three more seasons. They have no cap space and no young assets, which makes a major blockbuster trade difficult to pull off. They can't trade Wallace or Johnson, and they won't trade Williams or Lopez. What my thinking was, improve the bench by adding Davis and Affllalo, who can provide the offense in the second unit that Hump and Brooks couldn't. In fact, the Nets get two players who started last season for the Orlando Magic and scored 15-plus points per game, and Nicholson, a young player with plenty of ability -- who arguably could turn out to be better than anyone available at No. 22 in this year's draft.

Once Gorgui Dieng went off the board, there didn't seem to be a player who fits the Nets needs -- a big who can come in and play right away. It's not a perfect trade for the Nets, but given their window and need to upgrade the bench, it worked for me. Does it work for the NetsDaily readers? Well... #FireLorenzo.

I was pretty happy to get Nicholson back in the deal. While he may not be a superstar in the making, he's a big body who can come off the bench, and I really believe that there's a chance he becomes a better pro than anyone sitting there at No. 22.

So, what do you guys think? #FireLorenzo?

[Update: I should have added this earlier, but here is Evan's explanation on why the Magic wold do a deal like this...]

Trading Glen Davis, Arron Afflalo, and Andrew Nicholson for Kris Humphries, MarShon Brooks, and the 22nd pick in the Mock Draft was an easy call for the Orlando Magic to make. While Davis and Afflalo are valuable in their own ways--in addition to their scoring, they're both veteran leaders on a young, rebuilding team, and Davis even serves as a co-captain--they are owed approximately $36 million over the next three seasons. Orlando need not commit so much long-term money to players who, even when at their best, are only slightly above-average. Humphries offers great production, particularly as a rebounder, but he won't clog Orlando's long-term cap sheet.

Meanwhile, Brooks can take on a larger role with Orlando than he had with the Nets--even if he's coming off the bench in relief of Ben McLemore, the second overall pick in this Mock Draft--and the Magic will certainly need his shot-getting ability as they brace for another losing season.

Parting with Andrew Nicholson wasn't easy after a sneakily productive rookie campaign, one in which he led his team in points per minute. However, there are questions about how much he'll improve--he's already 23--and how his slight frame and awkward gait will affect his development at the NBA level. The emergence of Tobias Harris at power forward after February's trade with the Milwaukee Bucks made Nicholson less essential to the Magic's rebuilding effort. The benefits of clearing long-term salary and obtaining the 22nd pick in this Mock Draft outweighed the cost of losing, in Nicholson, a productive and efficient young player.

As a result of this trade, the only salary on the Magic's books for the 2014/15 season is the $2 million guarantee for Jameer Nelson, plus whatever amount for which they buy out Al Harrington. All of Orlando's other players will be on rookie contracts with options which the team can exercise as it pleases. The Magic can then use their gobs of cap space to seek free-agent signings or big-name trades. The key to building a team is finding a superstar, and with none available in this Mock Draft, the Magic elected to make a money-saving deal so that they'll be ready to strike when the right superstar opportunity presents itself.

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