Brooklyn Used Cap Room to Collect Two Picks from Denver
On July 13, 2018, Brooklyn accepted forward Kenneth Faried, veteran Darrell Arthur, a protected 2019 first-round pick and a 2020 second-round choice from Denver for reserve guard Isaiah Whitehead. The Nets official announcement identifies all four incoming assets and the player the Nuggets received. Denver was facing a difficult payroll situation with an expensive frontcourt, while Brooklyn had the space to take on salaries while rebuilding. The first became No. 27 in 2019, associated with Mfiondu Kabengele, and the second No. 55 Jay Scrubb in 2020. The pick rights followed their own later movements, but the draft selections were actual assets rather than theoretical options that never conveyed. The exchange was principally an asset-and-salary transaction, not a claim that Whitehead was Denver’s preferred new star.
The Two Big Men Did Not Supply Long Nets Careers
Faried had been an effective Denver rebounder in earlier seasons, but his tenure in Brooklyn was short before he continued with Houston. Arthur did not establish himself as a regular Nets starter, and Brooklyn soon moved him to Phoenix in a separate deal for Jared Dudley and another pick. The original Denver transaction mattered because the Nets could make multiple roster decisions after acquiring those contracts and draft opportunities. Counting Faried’s earlier Nuggets career or later Rockets offense as Brooklyn playing time would wildly overstate the return. Brooklyn’s inherited A- grade rewards the first- and second-round assets obtained at a time when the franchise had lost many future draft choices in earlier decisions. The value of the picks should still be measured through the correct subsequent rights chain.
Denver Exchanged Future Choices for Financial Space
Whitehead had played in 89 Nets games across two seasons and offered some defensive guard potential, but he did not become a major long-term Nuggets starter. Denver mainly reduced salary obligations, which created room for other roster investments around Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray. The inherited Nuggets C- grade reflects having surrendered valuable draft capital for financial flexibility, even when salary relief was a legitimate operational objective. The eventual first- and second-round selections made the opportunity cost visible years after the July 2018 trade. Neither Kabengele nor Scrubb should be credited with an entire Brooklyn playing career without checking their rights movements; the picks themselves are the directly documented returns. The Nets obtained two distinct draft opportunities while Denver prioritized removing large veteran contracts.
Final Verdict
Nets Win. Brooklyn earns A- for Kenneth Faried, Darrell Arthur, a protected 2019 first associated with No. 27 Mfiondu Kabengele and a 2020 second associated with No. 55 Jay Scrubb. Denver gets C- for Isaiah Whitehead and payroll relief, having surrendered future pick value.