When Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving signed with the Nets in the summer of 2019, nobody in Brooklyn could Devin Shore Men Jersey have predicted it would end like this.Zero championships. One playoff series win. Two unhappy superstars. And the longest three years in Nets history.Both Durant and Irving want out, and the Nets' uncertain future hands in the balance. Especially given the ma sive haul of future picks they paid to land James Harden only for that situation to implode, it's an understatement to say the direction of the Nets' franchise depends entirelyon what kind of return they get if and when they trade KD and Kyrie.Of course, history can provide an important le son, and the Nets can study some of the biggest blockbuster trades of years past to learn what they should be prioritizing in their upcoming deals.DURANT TRADE PACKAGES: | | | Here are three le sons that the Nets can take from three of the biggest trades in recent years. Previous trade: James Harden to the Nets (2020)Cavaliers got: Jarrett Allen, Taurean PrinceNets got: James Harden, second-round pickPacers got: Caris LeVert, second-round pickRockets got: Dante Exum, Rodions Kurucs, Victor Oladipo, four first-round picks (all unprotected), four first-round pick swaps (all unprotected)Most of the league's market inefficiencies have been nullified as general managers have collectively gotten smarter. But one still looms large.The Somebody Else's Problem trade is still the best way to win a swap in 2022.Most general managers are in survival mode. They're making trades to preserve their jobs today. Trading picks seven years out is meaningle s to them, because it's a rarity that they're still at the job by that point. As about planning for future seasons upon leaving his job as the Lakers president of basketball operations, "I'm not gonna be here."This is one of the few situations where a general manager's interests don't align with the franchise, and it's the best way to rob a team blind.The Rockets' Rafael Stone was in the first year of his tenure over the team when he made the Harden trade back in 2020, and so he had a little bit of runway to make a deal that would benefit them long-term. Those unprotected picks from the Nets now suddenly could be great lottery picks.Ironically, John Klingberg Kids Jersey the Nets made that same mistake when they traded for Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce back in 2013, leading to the Celtics acquiring a pair of top-three picks in the 2016 draft (Jaylen Brown) and 2017 draft (Jayson Tatum).That illustrates another problem that general managers make time and time again (I'm looking at you, Timberwolves). Teams a sume that the star they are acquiring will keep the picks they're trading out in the mid-20's. In this new era of constant superstar movement, that rarely happens. Things change so rapidly Andrew Cogliano Men Jersey that picks six or seven years out are completely unpredictable. There may be no team in Las Vegas but all 30 teams roll the dice every time they start pushing future picks into the mix.Bottom line, if teams have the patience to trade for picks way out in the future, then those are far and away the most valuable to acquire. General managers won't fight as hard for protections, and they could end up being top picks. Getty Images Previous trade: Anthony Davis to the Lakers (2019)Lakers got: Anthony DavisPelicans got:Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, De'Andre Hunter (traded for Jaxson Hayes, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Marcos Louzada Silva, and two second-round picks that became Herb Jones and Karlo Matkovi), 2022 first-round pick (became Dyson Daniels), 2023 first-round pick swap, 2024 unprotected first-round pick, with option to defer to 2025Wizards got: Isaac Bonga, Jemerrio Jones, Moritz Wagner, 2022 second-round pick (became Kennedy Chandler)Davis first demanded a trade from New Orleans in January 2019. Rather than accept what offers were out there at the time, the Pelicans waited for seven months before pulling the trigger on a blockbuster package. Especially with Davis under contract beyond that season an important note given that Durant has four years left on his current deal the Pelicans correctly decided that time was on their side and didn't cave to meet an artificial, non-existent deadline.In short, they didn't panic, practiced patience and were rewarded handsomely.MORE: Eventually, the Lakers feeling pre sure to land their target upped the ante with a godfather offer that has now set the Pelicans up for a very bright future.Ingram has already made one All-Star team, with more likely on the way. Hart and Alexander-Walker were used to acquire CJ McCollum at last year's trade deadline, allowing the team to make a surprise run in the play-in tournament. The Lakers were forced to fork over the no. 8 pick in this year's draft, allowing the Pelicans to Gemel Smith Women Jersey select Dyson Daniels. And that 2024 unprotected first-round pick has the chance to be extremely valuable, with pre sure on the Lakers to mortgage everything in order to build a winner around the 37-year-old LeBron James this season.It only takes one desperate team to make a deal. By midseason, there is always at least one team in that situation. History has shown that patience can lead to great opportunities, while teams who rush to get deals done tend to get the short end of the stick. Even if it takes having Durant and Irving sit out of games into the regular season, the Nets should not cave to pre sure to get a deal done quickly. Previous trade: Paul George to the Clippers (2019)Clippers got: Paul GeorgeThunder got: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, 2021 first-round pick (became Tre Mann), 2022 first-round pick (became Jalen Williams), 2023 first-round pick, 2023 first-round pick swap, 2024 first-round pick, 2025 first-round pick swap, 2026 first-round pickAs a rookie with the Clippers in 2018-19, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander the 11th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft earned All-Rookie honors with strong two-way play, .So when the Thunder's phone unexpectedly rang in the summer of 2019 with the Clippers desperate to trade for Paul George, OKC GM Sam Presti smartly held out for LA's best young player in addition to a bevy of picks.Flash forward three years and Gilgeous-Alexander has quietly become a player right on the cusp of making his first All-Star game, an honor that will come once his team starts winning.The picks, on the other hand, have turned into mostly middling prospects. That's not problematic in and of itself it's unreasonable to expect picks outside of the lottery to produce superstars, and the Thunder still have many years of picks Ty Dellandrea Jersey left to try and get some bigger hits.MORE: What is problematic is that the Thunder have begun to leak value because of that surplus of picks. They don't have enough spots t