Imagine you throw out your favorite hoodie because you bought a flashy designer jacket because you wanted to seem more popular. After trying to make it work, you suddenly realize the jacket turns out to be high-maintenance, overpriced, and doesn’t even help to keep you warm or comfortable. Meanwhile, you keep thinking about that old hoodie. The hoodie that actually fit right, the one you wore when everything felt normal. You miss it. You want it back.
Well guess what? Caris LeVert was that hoodie.
When the Brooklyn Nets shipped him off in the massive 2021 four-team deal that brought in James Harden, it felt like the right move, at least in that moment. Harden was a superstar, a former MVP, and the Nets were dreaming big with champion aspirations trying to chase some rings. LeVert, while beloved, was collateral damage. Houston got draft picks, the Cavs got Jarrett Allen, Indiana got LeVert, and Brooklyn got the Beard.
Fast forward a few chaotic seasons later and this happens:
James Harden’s long gone, the title window is slammed shut, and the Nets are staring down another rebuild. But guess who’s still playing some good basketball the right way? Caris LeVert, and he’s a free agent.
At 30 years of age, LeVert just wrapped up his ninth season in the league, splitting time between Cleveland and Atlanta. Despite not starting regularly, he still averaged 12.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.4 assists, shooting nearly 47% from the field and 37% from beyond the arc. In Atlanta, where he saw a bigger role off the bench, he posted 14.9 points per game on 48.2% shooting. That’s not a player who is washed, that's a player who can be reliable.
And right now, Brooklyn doesn’t just need talent. They need continuity, leadership, and a guy who can be a reliable option for the Nets. Someone who has already proven that he can do it while repping the Brooklyn black and white.
LeVert played five seasons in Brooklyn, making 225 appearances and growing from a late first-round pick into a true foundational piece. In 2020, he averaged a career-high 18.7 points per game and nearly carried the team during their pre-superteam stretch. The worst part is, he didn’t get traded because he didn’t fit in, he got traded because Brooklyn got greedy.
Bringing him back now would be more than just a feel-good reunion, it’s smart basketball. He’s still got game, still plays with pace and poise, and can be a steady hand for a young roster trying to find its identity.
So yeah, maybe the hoodie analogy sounds crazy. But sometimes the stuff that works isn't flashy. It's familiar. It's trusted. It's Caris LeVert. And it's time he came back home to Brooklyn.