Should the Nets consider trading for Raptors F RJ Barrett?

The Brooklyn Nets have made various moves over the course of the 2025 NBA offseason as they seek to rebuild a roster that should be more competitive during the 2025-26 campaign. Brooklyn has not exactly made win-now moves at this point as they are trying to preserve their salary cap flexibility along with expanding their draft capital coffers.

One of the topics that comes up during the NBA summers is where a certain team should trade for a certain player due to various factors including whether the relationship would be in the best interest of the player and the team. Most of these conversations arise out of mocks in which it is assumed that at least two teams would act in a certain way to get what they need/want.

For the Nets, they could be on the lookout for players that can contribute on the floor, especially if they bring draft capital and/or young players along with them to sweeten the pot for a team like Brooklyn. Bleacher Report's Andy Bailey put together a mock trade in which the Nets would trade for Toronto Raptors forward RJ Barrett and a second-round pick.

Here's the breakdown:

The Mock Trade

Boston Celtics Receive: Terance Mann, Ochai Agbaji and a 2030 second-round pick from Toronto

Toronto Raptors Receive: Anfernee Simons

Brooklyn Nets Receive: RJ Barrett and a 2031 second-round pick from Boston

Nets Additions/Subtractions

Brooklyn Nets Receive: R.J. Barrett and a 2031 second-round pick from Boston

Brooklyn Nets Lose: Terance Mann

Should The Nets Do This Deal?

As a recap of this mock trade, the Nets would be getting forward RJ Barrett and a 2031 second-round pick from the Celtics and they would be losing forward Terance Mann in the process. While second-round picks are more valuable under the current CBA, a second-round pick from Boston in 2031 could still be not as valuable given that Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown should be with the Celtics for the long haul.

Barrett, 25, is coming off a 2024-25 season in which he averaged 21.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game while shooting 46.8% from the field and 35.0% from three-point land in 58 games played. Barrett also has two years left on his current contract in which he is slated to be paid $27.7 million for the 2025-26 season and $29.6 million for the 2026-27 campaign.

According to HoopsHype, Barrett will be the 63rd-highest paid player in the NBA for the 2025-26 season, putting him behind Celtics guard Derrick White ($28.1 million) and in front of Boston guard Anfernee Simons ($27.6 million). While contracts are not necessarily made in a vacuum, one could argue that Barrett is performing close to his contract value given that his contract pegs him just outside of being an All-Star.

Ultimately, Barrett would be a better option at one of the forward spots than someone like Mann and if the Nets could get a second-round pick in the process, that should draw the interest of someone like Nets general manager Sean Marks. Ultimately, time will tell if the Celtics are trying to move off Simons and if the Raptors are willing to move off Barrett. If so, Brooklyn has the cap space to be the facilitating third team in the deal.

Verdict: Yes, Nets should do this trade if presented.

This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Should the Nets consider trading for Raptors F RJ Barrett?