The Brooklyn Nets made the first move to set up a potentially massive free agency, trading shooting guard Allen Crabbe along with the No. 17 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft and a lottery protected first-round pick in 2020 to the Atlanta Hawks for swingman Taurean Prince and a 2021 second-round pick.

The move was designed to unload Crabbe's $18.5 million and create further cap space. The Nets boast roughly $46 million in cap space and could afford two max contracts if D'Angelo Russell isn't retained.

The most shocking thing about this trade is Brooklyn's willingness to attach two first-rounders to make it happen, something a front office simply won't do unless the people at the top expect an incoming change.

According to SNY's Ian Begley, an opposing assistant general manager thinks GM Sean Marks is bound to make massive moves in the offseason, at least based off this first step to make two splashy signings possible:

“Sean is going for it. The Nets are all in,” one opposing assistant GM said shortly after the trade.

The Nets have now suddenly overtaken their borough neighbor New York Knicks in the Kyrie Irving sweepstakes, suddenly leapfrogging them with recent reports that the All-Star guard is strongly leaning toward joining them next season.

Yet making a move of this nature would lead one to believe the Nets won't stop there, but rather have a partner in mind for Irving, hence the need to clear this cap space.

The trade won't become official until July 6, due to the league moratorium rules, but if they snipe Irving right out of the gate, it's likely his future partner won't take long to join him at the Barclays Center.