The Brooklyn Nets have gone through the 2025 NBA offseason having made some moves in anticipation of having a better campaign than they did in 2024-25. Brooklyn entered the summer with the most cap space in the league so they used that to their advantage by renting out their cap space in exchange for players and draft picks from teams looking to shed payroll.
As evidenced by the trades for Michael Porter Jr. from the Denver Nuggets, Terance Mann from the Atlanta Hawks, and Haywood Highsmith from the Miami Heat, the Nets were willing to essentially pay for some draft compensation. Brooklyn was able to get first-round picks out of the Nuggets and Hawks while netting a second-round from the Heat for three players that will contribute in various ways this upcoming season.
To that point, the Nets still have some other matters to address prior to training camp beginning later this month as they will have to trim down the roster along with keeping mind of meeting the salary floor before the 2025-26 regular season. Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus put forth an interesting mock trade for the Nets to ponder if this deal were to be proposed to general manager Sean Marks:
The Mock Trade
Lakers get: Andrew Wiggins (from Heat), Jaime Jaquez Jr. (from Heat), and Drew Timme (from Nets).
Heat get: Rui Hachimura (from Lakers), Dalton Knecht (from Lakers), and $10 million trade exception (Wiggins).
Nets get: Maxi Kleber (from Lakers), 2026 protected Brooklyn second-rounder (from Heat), $4.6 million (from Nets), and $2 million (from Lakers).
Nets Additions/Subtractions
Nets receive: Maxi Kleber, 2026 second-round pick, $6.6 million (Nets and Lakers).
Nets lose: Drew Timme.
Should The Nets Do This Trade?
The Nets theoretically don’t need anymore players on the roster as they are up to 23 players on the team, assuming that Grant Nelson, Ricky Council IV, and Fanbo Zeng are being brought to training camp. To that point, Brooklyn will have to trim the roster by at least five spots in that event, including filling the last of the Two-Way spots after the team signed Tyson Etienne and EJ Liddell to those contracts.
When it comes to this mock trade, it should be noted that the main focus of the deal is that the Lakers would get Andrew Wiggins and the Heat would be compensated for what he brings to the table. However, most teams, especially teams like the Lakers, don’t have the cap space to make things happen without giving up some of their most valuable players, which is why the Nets come in.
Maxi Kleber has one year left on his contract in which he is due $11 million for the 2025-26 season, meaning that Brooklyn would be doing Los Angeles a favor by taking on his contract. Kleber most likely wouldn’t see much playing time for the Nets given the depth at power forward, but there is always the possibility of flipping him at the trade deadline, assuming that he remains healthy.
Verdict: No, the Nets should not do this trade.
