There are a few different ways to see the mega-trade when it comes to the Brooklyn Nets.

First and foremost, this stands out as a prototypical “win-now” deal. Upgrading two starters from Gerald Wallace and Kris Humphries to Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett makes Brooklyn a much better team in the short-term and they were already the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference last season. Even though both future Hall of Famers are not what they once were, they complement the returning core of Deron Williams, Brook Lopez, and Joe Johnson incredibly well on both ends of the floor.

The defensive problems their swingmen will have with quicker opponents should be handled by a long and compelling big man combination. When Brooklyn has the ball, I expect the new starting lineup to work well and the offensive versatility of both Brook Lopez and Garnett makes the Nets a very difficult team to handle in the halfcourt. Furthermore, both Garnett and Lopez are nice pick-and-roll players that should make Deron Williams very happy and make them even tougher to defend in the playoffs as games slow down.

In the short term, Brooklyn now gets firmly into the discussion of the second best team in the Eastern Conference with the Indiana Pacers and Chicago Bulls. Each has their own strengths and weaknesses and the looming threat of Miami will make each battle to avoid the fourth seed in 13-14.

At first blush, I think the Nets could cause some serious problems for the Pacers in a seven-game series and would have an absolute battle with the Bulls as long as both teams are healthy. While some may see fighting for second as a pyrrhic victory for the Nets, that means that each of these organizations is one injury away from a berth in the NBA Finals and a potential championship. Not bad.

Financially, the deal actually works out pretty nicely for the Nets. Gerald Wallace had another three years on his contract, while Garnett only has two, so the team does not have to deal with a fourth big contract when Brook Lopez likely opts out of his deal in 2015. Adding more money in the next two years when the team has zero flexibility does not matter much and it is possible the extra year on Wallace’s deal could have held at least a little significance.

Adding in two players of this stature who also have a strong reputation for leadership should also help the Nets beyond their time with the team. While the Kevin Garnett/Brook Lopez relationship could turn out badly, we could also see The Big Ticket help shape Lopez's career in a positive way and potentially scare Andray Blatche into playing defense should he re-sign. Beyond those changes, adding Pierce and Garnett also gives the team legitimacy that should get them the ear of future free agents. Potentially outperforming the Knicks early in the Brooklyn tenure could help the Nets cultivate a narrative that can be used to their advantage down the line.

The huge risk the Nets took comes in the form of the 2014, 2016 and 2018 first round picks they gave up to complete the deal. While it appears unlikely that the 2014 selection will be anything special, we simply do not know what will happen with the team over the remaining time. Now that they are in Brooklyn, the Nets should not have trouble wooing free agents and will have cleared all of their current deals from the books by the 17-18 season. I do not have any particular faith in Billy King’s ability to put together a strong team there but I do believe that the allure of Brooklyn will keep high-level talent interested. If you combine that with an owner clearly willing to spend and the incentive to win as much as possible in 17-18, I sincerely doubt the Nets will be giving up something major for that season. Furthermore, the team can buy late first rounders in those years if necessary (the Warriors bought one this year for $1.6 million).

We ended up with a quintessential Brooklyn Nets trade: flashy with big names and short-term benefits but with meaningful potential costs down the line. Fortunately for them, the team should be good enough to make those selections less painful to miss. In the meantime, Brooklyn has a team capable of competing late into the summer even though that window could be incredibly narrow.