Woj: Nets Will Be 'Aggressive' With Draft Picks Ahead of 2023 NBA Trade Deadline

The Brooklyn Nets reportedly aren't shifting into sell mode even after trading Kyrie Irving.

"And now, for Brooklyn, they want to get back to work," ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Sunday (around 55 seconds in video below). "They've got the three draft picks they got in this trade. They have a future Philadelphia first-round pick. And they'll be aggressive with those picks to go out between now and Thursday's trade deadline to try to get more help around Kevin Durant."

He also pointed out "this is an organization that wants Kevin Durant to stay committed, to stay the course with this reshaping of the roster."

That echoes a report from Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times, who said the team's "main desire was to ensure their current team would be competitive around Kevin Durant."

Still, the Nets' championship hopes seemed to take something of a hit when Irving requested a trade and was then moved Sunday. He is an eight-time All-Star who can take over a game and has a championship pedigree from his time on the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Yet Brooklyn traded him and Markieff Morris to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, an unprotected 2029 first-round pick, and second-round picks in 2027 and 2029, per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.

The question now is whether a team that is 32-20 and in fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings can compete with the likes of the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks and even Philadelphia 76ers come playoff time.

Durant is quite a starting point as one of the best players in league history, and there is an intriguing combination of role players who can shoot from the outside (Seth Curry, Joe Harris and Finney-Smith), play impressive defense and finish lobs down low (Nic Claxton), facilitate on the break (Ben Simmons), and go on scoring streaks themselves (Dinwiddie).

That team can win plenty of games, but it could use an addition or two to become a true threat come playoff time.

That is where those draft picks can come into play, and the Nets apparently have no plans to hold on to all of them as they attempt to remain a championship contender even without Irving anchoring the backcourt as one of the best point guards in the league.