The way the NBA works, teams are always prepared for multiple eventualities, whether in the Draft, trades or free agency. What if’s dominate conversations in the GM’s offices, as well as data entries in the capologists’ laptops, video intakes on the scouting team’s servers and the numbers being crunched down in the analytics boiler room.
So it shouldn’t be surprising that the Nets have done due diligence on a number of potential candidates, from “third stars” to undrafted guys who might fit the two-way vacancy. That’s the way it is.
On Wednesday, Ian Begley writes that the Nets as well as the Knicks have been looking at Zach LaVine as a potential trade target, but that comes with a big caveat: are the Bulls willing to part with LaVine who in normal circumstances would be a franchise building block?