Hawks To Acquire Allen Crabbe, Draft Picks From Nets

The Brooklyn Nets and Atlanta Hawks have swung a trade that could help the Nets create two max free agent slots going into the offseason.

The Nets have agreed to send Allen Crabbe, the No. 17 pick in the 2019 draft, and a lottery-protected 2020 first-round pick to the Hawks in exchange for Taurean Prince and a 2021 second-round pick. This was first reported on Twitter by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. (link)

The move allows the Nets to clear more than $17 million from their books for the 2019-20 season. Crabbe is on an expiring $18.5 million deal. Prince, the player coming back to the Nets, is only making $3.48 million a year. This will also clear the cap hold for the No. 17 pick. What does that mean? Brooklyn will now go into the offseason with more than $47 million in cap space, enough to bring aboard one max free agent, whether it be Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, etc. It's also possible the Nets will create a second max slot if they renounce D'Angelo Russell's cap hold.

Allen Crabbe was one of the important pieces for the Nets and why they did so well to get into the playoffs. The fact that the Nets are moving on quickly from him signals they plan to get more cap room in order to get two max free agents. There's also been recent rumors that Kyrie Irving would like to sign with the Nets, and according to Woj, Irving is "serious" about it. That means the Nets are trying to beat out the Knicks and other NBA teams for top free agents this summer.

Going to the Hawks, this is a big trade for them for two reasons: Getting Crabbe also gives them extra draft picks, which means two extra first-round selections this year. There have been reports that the Hawks would be willing to add two young prospects to the roster in hopes that they could have more trade discussions with other teams and ship them off in the future.

Both players involved in the deal play similar roles so it was important that the Nets look for a player of equal value on a more team-friendly contract. Prince does just that. The Hawks are also getting a great three-point shooter. He posted a .396PT% since he signed a four-year deal back in 2016. His deal expires after the 2019-20 season, so the Hawks are getting a good shooter and it allows them to keep building their team.

Since it's not yet July, both teams won't be able to complete the deal til then, since the Hawks don't have cap room right now to absorb Crabbe's contract. They'll have to wait one more year til the new league year begins.