Nets general manager Sean Marks may never top Sunday, when he landed superstars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in free agency.
Monday’s encore was extracting a first-round pick from Golden State for D’Angelo Russell, a restricted free agent many thought would be renounced and leave for nothing.
There had been reports early Monday that the Nets would likely get back no better than a Top 55-protected second-round pick. In the end, Marks did far better than that.
Brooklyn had signed Durant to a four-year, $164 million max contract Sunday, a move the star forward confirmed on Instagram. And with the Warriors faced with the prospect of losing the two-time NBA Finals MVP for nothing, they were incentivized to work with the Nets to salvage a bad situation.
ESPN reported that Durant and his camp worked overnight to help complete the deal that will bring the Nets a protected future first-round pick. The solution worked out for everybody involved, Brooklyn and Golden State as well as Russell.
The 23-year-old Russell had once told The Post that he wanted to be a “Net for life,” and reiterated recently that he preferred to stay in Brooklyn. But sources had told The Post in April that the young guard was intent on getting a max four-year, $117 million deal.
The Nets opted not to give it to him, but facilitated a move to get it for him.
“My guy @Dloading!!!!!!!!!!!!! You deserved this bruh!!!!!!!!,” Jared Dudley tweeted.
“D LOOOOOOOOO GET PAID MY BROTHER!! @Dloading,” Alan Williams added.
Russell had a breakthrough campaign this year, making his first All-Star game and leading the Nets to their first playoff berth since 2015. He averaged 21.1 points and seven assists, hitting a team-record 235 3-pointers. But Irving’s
made him redundant.
While the Nets could have simply renounced the restricted free agent for nothing — and presumably were willing to — they ended up managing to bring back a first-rounder.
The Lakers — who had made Russell the No. 2 pick back in 2015 and then traded him to Brooklyn — had shown interest in a reunion with the gifted young guard. But that was only as a backup plan if they fail to land Kawhi Leonard, which would have left Russell dangling in limbo with Leonard undecided.
Minnesota had tried to engage the Nets on sign-and-trade scenarios involving Andrew Wiggins and gained little traction. But the Warriors proved the perfect trade partner.
