The cat is officially out of the bag, the illusion is over: The Brooklyn Nets are rebuilding.
For the final stragglers who didn’t — or didn’t want to — believe it following the future-conscious trades GM Sean Marks made over the summer, he sent an unambiguous message by agreeing to trade Dennis Schröder to the Golden State Warriors on December 14.
The trade was finalized the next day, December 15, the first day when players signed this past offseason were eligible to be traded; that includes the injured De’Anthony Melton, who Brooklyn took back as workable salary in addition to the second-rounders they gained.