The Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, and Brooklyn Nets officially announced the three-team trade that sends Marcus Thornton away from the Nets for Jarrett Jack and Sergey Karasev Thursday morning.
The Nets will also send the draft rights to Eden Bavcic, Christian Drejer, and Ilkan Karaman to the Cavaliers. None of them are expected to make it to the NBA, though Karaman has the best shot. Drejer was a 2004 second-round pick that retired from basketball in 2008, and the Nets acquired Bavcic’s rights from the New Orleans Pelicans in the deal that sent away Tyshawn Taylor.
Thornton goes to the Celtics, along with Tyler Zeller and a first-round pick from Cleveland. The Celtics send a conditional second-round pick back to the Cavaliers.
“Jarrett is a proven NBA veteran who will add versatility to our backcourt,” Nets general manager Billy King said in a prepared statement. “The team had a need in that area and we are excited that we were able to secure Jarrett to fill that role. Sergey is a player who we have followed closely for several years. He is a versatile forward and will be a welcome addition to our roster.”
Jack will fill the backup point guard hole left by Shaun Livingston, while Karasev is a 20-year-old Russian prospect the Nets hope fits in a backup swingman role.
The big winner in this trade is dreams. The Cavaliers open up enough cap space to offer four-time MVP LeBron James, an Ohio native, a maximum contract in the city he played the first seven years of his career. The Nets get a backup point guard, a decent prospect, and preserve cap room for the summer of 2016, when Kevin Durant will be a free agent. The Celtics add another first-round pick to their incredible arsenal of first-round picks, in the hopes that one of them strikes lottery gold in the next few years.
Welcome to Brooklyn, Jarrett and Sergey!
