The Atlanta Hawks have traded Taurean Prince to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Allen Crabbe, the No. 17 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft and another first rounder in 2020, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports
The trade will free up significant cap flexibility for the Brooklyn Nets – enough for two max slots ESPN’s Brian Windhorst tweets – because the Hawks will be absorbing the $18.5 million owed to Allen Crabbe in 2019-20.
Travis Schlenk and the Hawks will part with a solid young rotation piece in Prince and a 2021 second-round pick to secure a pair of valuable draft assets, all while taking advantage of the cap space they’ll have in spades in 2019-20.
The 2020 first-round pick that the Hawks will take back comes with 1-14 protection, per Wojnarowski.
While the two parties have agreed to the deal, it can’t be formally signed until July 6, when the Hawks officially have the cap space to take on Crabbe’s deal. With substantial dead money owed to Carmelo Anthony and Jeremy Lin, Atlanta is technically over the cap for 2018-19.
The decision to give up two first-round picks is a bold one by Sean Marks and company, and gives the franchise options heading into a pivotal summer.
The Nets could have north of $60 million to attract a pair of superstars to Brooklyn, or over $40 while retaining the restricted free agency rights to D’Angelo Russell.
Because he’s a restricted free agents, Russell will have a cap hold of $21 million when the 2019-20 season formally begins on July 1.
