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?
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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.
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