The Nets made it known that any of their three biggest stars in Deron Williams, Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez could be had via trade, if a team could be found who was interested enough in taking on more in terms of salary than it would likely get in production.
The Kings bit initially, and talks began on a deal centered around Williams.
But the former All-Star point guard wasn’t Sacramento’s main target. Instead, it was Mason Plumlee that the Kings were after, the promising young big man in the early stages of just his second season. And they were willing to take on the contract of Williams in order to make that trade happen.
Give the Nets credit for being smarter than that. They have yet to make Plumlee available, and as a result, the talks have been shelved for the immediate future.
From Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports:The Sacramento Kings’ insistence on a trade package for Brooklyn Nets guard Deron Williams that includes center Mason Plumlee has pushed talks into a hiatus, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
After the teams’ front office officials again talked on Wednesday, both sides insisted they weren’t budging on Plumlee’s inclusion into a proposed trade and agreed there was no use discussing the deal further in the near future, league sources said.
“Talks aren’t dead, but nothing’s going to happen with Plumlee involved,” a league source told Yahoo Sports.
The Kings were offering Darren Collison as a Williams replacement, and low-grade big men Jason Thompson and Derrick Williams to compensate for the loss of Plumlee.
But Brooklyn has tried to build a roster around expensive, aging veterans in recent years, and with very few draft picks still in the team’s hands to use in the upcoming seasons, the only young talent in place is Plumlee. And moving him just to save some salary is far from a smart way to rebuild for the future.
Thankfully for Nets fans, the front office in Brooklyn seems to realize it.
