Trae Young’s Nets interest before trade promising sign for Brooklyn’s rebuild

Trae Young initially wanted Brooklyn.

The Nets definitely didn’t want him.

Atlanta finally traded Young to Washington on Wednesday, but the fact that the Nets had been an attractive destination — reportedly one of two landing spots initially proposed by Young’s camp — for a four-time All-Star not only dispelled any ideas that stars would avoid Brooklyn in the wake of the Big 3’s breakup, but it’s also a promising sign for Brooklyn’s ongoing rebuild.

The Post confirmed that the Nets had no plans to acquire Young.

Jake Fischer reported in the Stein Line Substack that the Nets and Timberwolves were the preferred landing spots, but neither team pursued him.

Brooklyn promised a rebuild in 2024 when Marks and team owner Joe Tsai traded Mikal Bridges to the Knicks for a record five first-round draft picks. And they didn’t shy away from the painful process, selecting a record five first-round picks last June.

At the time, everything Marks said and did underscored Brooklyn’s desire for youth, length, multi-positional defense and egalitarian ball movement.

Young is many things, but none of the above are his strengths.

Young, who led the league in assists last season, is also undersized and a defensive player who is making $46 million this season, has a $49 million player option for next season and hasn’t produced a win lately.

Atlanta is 15-13 without Young this season and a disappointing 2-8 with him – which is actually 1-8 because he hurt his MCL just seven minutes after the Hawks’ win in Brooklyn. Young’s CAA agents – Aaron Mintz, Austin Brown and Drew Morrison – are working with Atlanta general manager Onsi Saleh to find a landing spot for the 27-year-old.

The Nets had the league’s best defense in December and also have Michael Porter Jr., a longtime friend who calls Young his “brother.”

They played AAU basketball together with MOKAN Elite, for whom they won the Peach Jam EYBL championship. The pair have been close ever since. Young called Porter “the best player in the world at that size” last season and predicted the Nets star would average 25 points.

Brooklyn would have to part with a hefty contract to even make a deal for young work like Porter or starting center Nic Claxton or Terance Mann. It’s easy to see why the Nets were more attractive to Young than he was to them.

Still, after the collapse of the Big 3 — James Harden, Kyrie Irving and finally Kevin Durant all forcing departures from Brooklyn — there were questions about the Nets’ attractiveness. In the wake of Mikal Bridges’ departure, those questions became much louder.

But at least one perennial All-Star wanted Brooklyn, even if they didn’t want him.

While Brooklyn hopes to have a very short tank that expires this summer – and take a step forward next season – appealing to established veterans and top talent is a promising sign.