Brooklyn Nets Made a Huge Mistake by Trading for Joe Johnson

Bad job. Bad effort.

That's the best way to describe my thoughts on the Brooklyn Nets' recent acquisition of former Hawks All-Star guard Joe Johnson.

According to Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Nets are close to a deal that would send guards Jordan Farmar, Anthony Morrow and DeShawn Stevenson to Atlanta, as well as forwards Jordan Williams and Johan Petro. The Hawks would also get Brooklyn's lottery-protected 2013 first-round pick from Houston in exchange for Johnson and the $89.1 million left on his four-year contract.

The deal essentially kills any chance the Nets might have had at Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard, who is practically begging to be dealt to Brooklyn.

The trade, which isn't official yet but has been agreed upon in principle, isn't even contingent on the team re-signing point guard Deron Williams.

While the Nets are confident Williams will re-sign, it's a huge gamble to take on one of the worst contracts in basketball in hopes it will entice D-Will to stay. Furthermore, if you're going to make a huge splash to convince Williams you're committed to him, why not make the move for Howard instead?

While I think Howard has better options outside of Brooklyn, the fact of the matter is he wants to be there.

In a league where defense is paramount, why pass on a three-time Defensive Player of the Year for a 31-year old shooting guard who has seen his scoring dip since signing his huge contract in 2010?

It's the latest in a string of questionable moves by the Nets.

In March, they gave up a lottery pick to Portland for Gerald Wallace, then gave Wallace a four-year, $40 million deal this summer. That pick could have been UNC forward Harrison Barnes, a much cheaper option than Wallace.

Making matters worse, the team will tie up even more of its cap in a max deal for Williams (if he re-signs) and a deal for oft-injured, restricted free agent Brook Lopez.

A Williams-Johnson-Wallace-Lopez foursome is formidable, but it doesn't make the Nets nearly as intimidating as if they would have taken a chance on Howard.

Howard's been to the NBA Finals. Those other four guys haven't. Howard is an elite defender and rebounder, and while he's destroyed his image with this trade fiasco, he's a much bigger draw than Joe Johnson ever will be.

Quite frankly, the Johnson trade was a panic move.

As aggressive as new Hawks GM Danny Ferry was going to be in rebuilding Atlanta's roster, you have to think there wasn't a ton of demand for Johnson's contract. This is a deal the Nets could have made had they either failed to sign Williams or exhausted the possibility of bringing in Howard.

Instead, Brooklyn destroyed the cap room it spent years building to garner some cheap headlines and blow its shot at one of the few superstars who was dying to join their franchise. This trade gets the Nets out of the basement, but it only makes them a four-seed in the East at best.

They won't compete with Miami or Chicago, and they aren't as good as Indiana or even their rival, the New York Knicks. In an effort to win a few headlines, they lost valuable cap room and sight of the bigger picture.

Congratulations, Brooklyn. You've just spent your way to the middle.