Kyrie recently got traded to the Mavericks, in exchange the Nets got a few pieces plus draft picks. How is it determined who gets what draft picks? If Kyrie were to not be traded, he would go to free agency later in the year. If he were to become a free agent instead, would that also alter the draft selection of the Nets in this case?
In: 0
Sports teams trade each other all kinds of stuff. It doesn’t just have to be players for players. They can also trade money, the rights to sign players in minor leagues, and as you’ve noted, draft picks. Essentially, that works by the Nets and Mavericks sending the NBA a note that says “In the upcoming draft, the Nets can have the first-round pick that would have gone to the Mavs.” Then when the draft actually happens, the NBA collects all those notes and lets the draft picks follow the trails to their eventual owners.* Teams can even trade other teams’ draft picks that they got in some previous trade. This is how the Mavs were able to also trade “multiple second-round picks” for Irving.
Irving going into Free Agency would likely not have had any effect on which teams have which draft picks. As the name implies, if Irving became a Free Agent, he could sign with any team without the permission of his former team. He would go to whichever team made him the best offer, usually some combination of money and opportunity to play and win in a system he likes. There would be no reason to give the Nets a draft pick – Irving can sign without their permission, and there would definitely be no reason to giving Irving a draft pick – he is not a basketball team and couldn’t use it for anything.
*Important note: Trading the pick means that the Nets get to make whatever selection they want, not that the Mavs pick a guy, then the Nets get to keep him.
Trade value is determined by free market. If a team wanted kyrie more than the mavs, they could have offered more. For example the lakers could have offered Westbrick and 7 No.1 picks.
If Kyrie were to reach free agency the nets would get nothing in return. Kyrie could just go play where ever he chose. The Mavs are hoping Kryie likes the flat earth of Dallas and re-signs there, or is enough to get 1 championship this year before he leaves for another area of flat earth with a team.
Teams choose to offer their draft picks as parts of trades just as they choose to offer players. Teams choose to offer their first or second round picks (NBA draft is only 2 rounds) and what years. The pick ends up being where ever that trading team’s pick would have been. The Mavs sent a 2029 first round pick, so if the Mavs end up with the 12th pick that year then the Nets would instead have the 12th pick. It’s unusual for the pick to be so far out in the future, but they may have already traded other upcoming picks. There are rules prohibiting teams from trading consecutive years’ first round picks, so if a team has already traded any upcoming first round picks, they’d have to defer out to a non-consecutive year.
If the Nets lost Irving in free agency, they get nothing.
>If he were to become a free agent instead, would that also alter the draft selection of the Nets in this case
No.
>How is it determined who gets what draft picks?
It’s probably simpler than you’re thinking. You can offer your future draft-picking spots in a trade the same way you can offer your current players. So every team gets their own draft picks, unless they have chosen to trade some of those picks away.
So like, The Mavericks could have traded more current players to the Nets for Irving, but instead they said “we’ll give you these 2 players, plus these chances to pick in future drafts when it otherwise would have been our turn to pick”.
Offering draft picks in a trade is a way to get better *now* by sacrificing quality in the future. If you trade away your 1st pick in next year’s draft, that means you don’t get a chance to pick any players in next years first round…but it can also get you a good current player without having to give up a good current player. So teams trying to win a championship in the next 1 or 2 years will trade away their upcoming draft picks to try and get as good as possible now, in exchange for being bad for a few years after that. Meanwhile teams that are bad now and know they can’t win *even with* their best current players will trade those away to the top teams in exchange for draft picks, making them even worse now but with the chance to get much better in a few years thanks for getting to pick 2+ players in each round of upcoming drafts.
– Who gets what draft picks – that depends on the number and type of draft picks the Mavs had at the time and which ones the Nets found particularly attractive. In particular they coveted the 2029 first round pick the Mavs had because Luka Doncic (their best player) can opt out of his current contract by 2026. Currently he’s literally the only all NBA talent the Mavs have on the roster and without him the team is very likely to tank and be in rebuild mode for a couple years. The worse off you are as a team, the higher the chances to get a high draft pick in that year’s draft. That makes the 2029 first rounder that much more attractive because it’s one of the first chances Dallas will have to land a lottery pick. That’s why many sports analysts are worried for Dallas because in their view Dallas has given up a chance to be better down the line in order to take a gamble on Kyrie who will be 31 next month and has a long injury history and a history of poor behavior.
– If Kyrie enters free agency does Brooklyn’s pick change – If the Nets let Kyrie walk in free agency they wouldn’t get any picks from Dallas at all. All teams are protective of their draft picks because they see them as future assets. They won’t and can’t give away their picks to someone without anything in return. Free agency essentially means that Kyrie’s contract is up and he isn’t at the mercy of any team anymore so he can negotiate salary and terms for any team that he wants to play with and will take him.
– Who gets what draft picks – that depends on the number and type of draft picks the Mavs had at the time and which ones the Nets found particularly attractive. In particular they coveted the 2029 first round pick the Mavs had because Luka Doncic (their best player) can opt out of his current contract by 2026. Currently he’s literally the only all NBA talent the Mavs have on the roster and without him the team is very likely to tank and be in rebuild mode for a couple years. The worse off you are as a team, the higher the chances to get a high draft pick in that year’s draft. That makes the 2029 first rounder that much more attractive because it’s one of the first chances Dallas will have to land a lottery pick. That’s why many sports analysts are worried for Dallas because in their view Dallas has given up a chance to be better down the line in order to take a gamble on Kyrie who will be 31 next month and has a long injury history and a history of poor behavior.
– If Kyrie enters free agency does Brooklyn’s pick change – If the Nets let Kyrie walk in free agency they wouldn’t get any picks from Dallas at all. All teams are protective of their draft picks because they see them as future assets. They won’t and can’t give away their picks to someone without anything in return. Free agency essentially means that Kyrie’s contract is up and he isn’t at the mercy of any team anymore so he can negotiate salary and terms for any team that he wants to play with and will take him.
Players can be traded for money, other players, draft picks, or any combination of the above. Money and players are pretty self explanatory. In the case of draft picks, each team gets one first round pick and one second round pick per year. If you trade a player for a pick, then the pick is whatever the other team would have picked. For example, if the other team would have picked twelfth then you have two picks, the 12th pick from the other team, and whatever pick you started with.
Players can be traded for money, other players, draft picks, or any combination of the above. Money and players are pretty self explanatory. In the case of draft picks, each team gets one first round pick and one second round pick per year. If you trade a player for a pick, then the pick is whatever the other team would have picked. For example, if the other team would have picked twelfth then you have two picks, the 12th pick from the other team, and whatever pick you started with.
Latest Answers