The Nets weren’t going to wait until the Feb. 8 trade deadline to start dealing again.

They traded big man Tyler Zeller to Milwaukee on Monday night for a second-round pick and 21-year-old shooting guard Rashad Vaughn, according to ESPN. The Bucks will only send their 2018 second-round pick if it lands between No. 31 and No. 47, otherwise they would send a 2020 second-round pick to the Nets.

Zeller, who signed with the Nets before the season, had recently been displaced from the starting lineup by rookie Jarrett Allen, and the 28-year-old’s departure also clears room for Jahlil Okafor to see more minutes. Zeller averaged 7.1 points and 4.6 rebounds in 42 games with the Nets.

Vaughn was selected 17th overall by Milwaukee in 2015, out of UNLV, but has never averaged more than 3.5 points in his three seasons. This year, Vaughn is averaging just 7.9 minutes in 22 games, averaging 2.7 points.

D’Angelo Russell hasn’t started since returning from his two-month absence with a knee injury, and Kenny Atkinson could bring him off the bench even when the Nets no longer need to be cautious with his minutes.

Though Atkinson said Sunday he would like to pair Russell and Spencer Dinwiddie more, the second-year coach isn’t sure what the starting lineup will look like then.

“When we start building [Russell] up, we’ll have to make a decision what we’re gonna do there,” Atkinson said. “I think Spencer has solidified himself. Similar to Jeremy [Lin], they can both play both [guard] positions, and it’s very feasible, but then you have to talk about taking someone out of the starting lineup, if you start those two together. But I don’t think that discussion is now. I think that’s down the line.”

Russell had three points, on 1-of-8 shooting, with seven assists, in 18 minutes Sunday. He is shooting 33.7 percent (28-of-83) from the field in his eight games since returning.

“I think he’s still trying to find his rhythm,” Atkinson said. “I think it’ll take some time. … I just don’t think it’s that easy when you’ve been out that long to get it all back. I think there are flashes and good stretches, and then there’s stretches where it’s not as good. He’s obviously not where he was in the beginning of the year, but he’ll get there.”

Atkinson, Mike D’Antoni’s former assistant, has enjoyed watching his mentor stick it to his critics in Houston after being fired by the Knicks and Lakers.

“It’s like poetic justice, right, after New York and the Lakers?” said Atkinson, who coached with D’Antoni on the Knicks from 2008-2012. “If you give Mike good players, he’s a heck of a coach.”

Quincy Acy (sprained right middle finger) is questionable for Tuesday’s game against the Rockets, while Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (right groin strain) will miss his sixth straight game.