Would the Nets deal Kevin Garnett? Would he accept a trade?

Zach Lowe goes beyond the "Big Three" in talking about trade rumors.  He suggests the Kevin Garnett might make sense for teams looking to improve their playoff positioning.

In a story about which Eastern teams might make the playoffs, Lowe writes...

Garnett has a no-trade clause, but he holds some appeal to playoff teams who can use a boost off the bench and/or some long-term salary relief — Golden State, Charlotte, Toronto, and others. The Nets won’t engage in any series of deals that leaves them with more long-term salary, so it will be tough to find the right combination of trades that makes dealing Garnett’s expiring contract palatable. But the cranky one can still knock down a midrange jumper and play solid defense.

KG's $12 million cap hit would make things difficult to work out and the Nets are unlikely to want pieces that would add to their own long term salary load, Lowe adds.

The Nets won’t engage in any series of deals that leaves them with more long-term salary, so it will be tough to find the right combination of trades that makes dealing Garnett’s expiring contract palatable. But the cranky one can still knock down a midrange jumper and play solid defense.

Lowe also writes of the Brook Lopez - Mason Plumlee combination, noting all the reasons they don't work now, but adding, "but it’s always interesting to monitor how these kinds of unconventional lineups function over a long sample."

• Circling the Eastern Conference Drain: The Teams We Want to Emerge From the Depths of the NBA’s Least Coast - Zach Lowe - Grantland