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2021 NBA Offseason Preview: Brooklyn Nets

July 21st, 2021 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

After signing Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving as free agents in 2019, the Nets had to wait a year to really see their two stars in action, as Durant spent the season rehabbing an Achilles tear and Irving was limited to 20 games due to a shoulder injury.

The wait was worth it. Durant and Irving looked like their old selves in 2020/21, and adding James Harden to the mix in January helped turned the Nets’ offense into one of the NBA’s all-time best (the team established a new record for offensive rating).

Unfortunately, the injury bug that turned ’19/20 into a lost season reared its head again a year later. Spencer Dinwiddie missed nearly the entire season, Durant was out for 37 regular season games, Harden was sidelined for 23, and Irving was on the shelf for 18 due to various ailments. Brooklyn still finished second in the East and the team’s Big Three was healthy at the right time heading into the playoffs, but that didn’t last long — Harden (hamstring) and Irving (knee) missed three games apiece in the team’s crucial second-round series vs. the Bucks.

A Nets team at less than full strength put up a valiant effort against Milwaukee, but suffered an overtime loss in Game 7, then watched as the Bucks won two more series to earn the 2021 title.

With better injury luck, it could be the Nets – not the Bucks – celebrating a championship today. But Brooklyn can’t simply assume its luck will be better in 2022. The club will have to do what it can, with limited resources, to continue building a championship roster capable of withstanding an injury to one of its stars.

The Nets’ Offseason Plan:

Durant, Irving, and Harden are all under contract for the 2021/22 season, so there’s no urgency to address their contract situations right away. However, the Nets will surely be motivated to enter into extension talks with their stars, since all three of them have the ability to opt out in 2022.

The cost of those extensions would be absolutely massive. As Bobby Marks of ESPN details, a four-year extension for Irving would average more than $45MM per year, and it would actually be the least expensive of the three — Durant’s four-year extension would come in just shy of $50MM per year, while Harden’s three-year extension would be worth over $53MM annually.

Given the three stars’ respective injury histories and their ages (Irving, the youngest of the three, turns 30 next March), Brooklyn may try to negotiate some protections into the later years of those extensions, but the team risks creating unnecessary drama if it drives too hard a bargain. For instance, if the Nets were to extend one of the three stars and balked at the asking prices for the other two, that situation would hang over the team entering next season.

With those three players practically putting the Nets into tax territory on their own, the club will have to make a concerted effort to get the most of its investments elsewhere on its roster. A minimum salary for Nicolas Claxton? Great, he’s likely not going anywhere. A $10MM salary for DeAndre Jordan? That’s less team-friendly, and could be a contract the Nets try to move this offseason.

The club’s key free agents are Dinwiddie, Bruce Brown, Jeff Green, and Blake Griffin. A healthy Dinwiddie would be a terrific third guard and insurance policy behind Harden and Irving, but I’d be surprised if he returns, given his asking price.

Brooklyn could look to recoup some value by signing-and-trading Dinwiddie to a new team, but again, any pieces the Nets get back will have to be on favorable contracts. Given how far into the tax the Nets will be, they can’t afford to willingly add any albatross deals. Acquiring a player via sign-and-trade also won’t be possible due to restrictions facing taxpaying teams.

If possible though, the Nets should look to re-sign Brown, Green, and Griffin. The latter two veterans would have to be open to continue playing for the minimum or something close to it, but Brooklyn should be willing to go higher than that for Brown, a jack-of-all-trades who provided strong perimeter defense and fit in well alongside the team’s stars. He’s a restricted free agent, so the Nets can match any offer he receives as long as they’re comfortable with the price.

Other tools at the Nets’ disposal this offseason include the taxpayer mid-level exception and four picks in the 2021 draft (No. 27 and three second-rounders). Any player signed using the taxpayer MLE will cost the team exponentially more than $6MMish due to tax penalties, so if they use that exception on a free agent, the Nets will have to be confident that the player can outperform his salary.

As for the draft picks, they could be used to grease the wheels in a trade (such as a Jordan salary dump), but I expect the Nets to hang onto at least one or two of their second-rounders. Signing second-round draftees to minimum-salary contracts is a good way to prevent the tax bill from ballooning higher than necessary.

Salary Cap Situation

Note: Our salary cap projections are based on a presumed 3% increase, which would result in a $112.4MM cap for 2021/22.

Guaranteed Salary

James Harden ($44,310,840)
Kevin Durant ($42,018,900)
Kyrie Irving ($35,053,700)
Joe Harris ($17,357,143)
DeAndre Jordan ($9,881,598)
Landry Shamet ($3,768,342)
Nicolas Claxton ($1,782,621)
Total: $154,173,144

Player Options

None

Team Options

None

Non-Guaranteed Salary

Alize Johnson ($1,762,796) ¹
Total: $1,762,796

Restricted Free Agents

Bruce Brown ($4,736,102 qualifying offer / $4,736,102 cap hold): Bird rights
Mike James ($1,869,178 qualifying offer / $1,869,178 cap hold): Non-Bird rights
Total (cap holds): $6,605,280

Two-Way Free Agents

Chris Chiozza ²
Reggie Perry

Draft Picks

No. 27 overall pick ($2,036,280)
No. 44 overall pick (no cap hold)
No. 49 overall pick (no cap hold)
No. 59 overall pick (no cap hold)
Total: $2,036,280

Extension-Eligible Players

Landry Shamet (rookie scale)
Nicolas Claxton (veteran)
Kevin Durant (veteran)
James Harden (veteran)
Kyrie Irving (veteran)
DeAndre Jordan (veteran)

Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds

Spencer Dinwiddie ($17,181,072): Bird rights³
Tyler Johnson ($1,669,178): Early Bird rights
Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot ($1,669,178): Early Bird rights
Blake Griffin ($1,669,178): Non-Bird rights
Jeff Green ($1,669,178): Non-Bird rights
Wilson Chandler ($1,669,178): Non-Bird rights⁴
Total: $25,526,962

Offseason Cap Outlook

Next season’s cap projects to be about $112MM+, with the tax line in the $136-137MM range. So, with $154MM+ in guaranteed salaries for just seven players, Brooklyn is essentially a lock to be a taxpaying team.

The Nets’ total tax bill will depend on where the their team salary lands at season’s end. The league assesses a penalty of $1.50 per dollar for the first $5MM over the tax line, but that number continues to rise as team salary climbs further and further. If the Nets carry a team salary $30MM over the tax threshold, they’ll owe $85MM in tax penalties on top of their $177MMish in player salaries.

Cap Exceptions Available

Taxpayer mid-level exception: $5,890,000 ⁵

Footnotes

Johnson’s salary becomes partially guaranteed ($100K) after September 4.
Because he has been on a two-way contract with the Nets for two seasons, Chiozza is eligible for a standard minimum-salary qualifying offer.
Dinwiddie became an unrestricted free agent by declining his $12.3MM player option.
The cap hold for Chandler remains on the Nets’ books from a prior season because it hasn’t been renounced. He can’t be used in a sign-and-trade deal.
This is a projected value.

Salary and cap information from Basketball Insiders, RealGM, and ESPN was used in the creation of this post.

Draft Notes: Green Room Invites, Makur, Taylor, Draft Intel

July 20th, 2021 at 8:17pm CST by Eli Cohen

The NBA has finalized the list of 20 prospects who will be invited to the Green Room on draft night, writes ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. While 15 of the names had already been reported, the final five players were identified over the last two days: Chris Duarte, Cameron Thomas, Isaiah Jackson, Alperen Sengun and Ziaire Williams will round out the group.

While an invitation to the Green Room is no guarantee of being drafted in the top 20, the decision is considered to be an indication of teams’ thinking, as the invitations are determined through a series of conversations with general managers and a voting process where teams vote on the 25 prospects most likely to have their name called first, Givony writes.

We have more news from around the draft world:

Howard University’s Makur Maker has withdrawn from the draft, tweets draft analyst Chad Ford. The 6’11 forward flashed versatility at the NBA Combine, but his draft stock was still hazy. Because he missed the NCAA’s withdrawal deadline, Maker will likely pursue professional options, whether in the G League, Australia’s NBL, or elsewhere.
Terry Taylor worked out with the Bucks yesterday and the Nuggets today, tweets Adam Zagoria of Forbes. Taylor has workouts lined up with the Nets, Cavaliers and Mavericks this week, and already worked out for the Knicks, Warriors, Kings, Pacers, Grizzlies, Bulls, Spurs and Pelicans. The 6’5″ wing led the country in double-doubles, Zagoria notes.
Sports Illustrated’s Jeremy Woo released his latest mock draft today, sharing some pieces of intel gathered from sources. Within his mock, Woo confirms that the prevailing notion is that the Rockets prefer Jalen Green to Evan Mobley, that the Thunder are being increasingly linked to James Bouknight, that the Magic covet Scottie Barnes, and that Jonathan Kuminga‘s range seems to be settling around six-to-eight, rather than being a top-five pick.

Pelicans Rumors: Griffin, Vaughn, S. Mitchell, Vinson, Hayes

July 20th, 2021 at 3:14pm CST by Luke Adams

Before the Pelicans decided to hire Willie Green as their new head coach, they were looking hard at Nets assistant Jacque Vaughn, who ultimately removed his name from consideration.

At the time, Vaughn’s desire to spend more time with his family in Brooklyn was cited as the motivating factor for his decision to withdraw, but Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report suggests that Vaughn’s discussions with Pelicans executive VP of basketball operations David Griffin also played a part. During those conversations, Griffin conveyed that he intended to be involved in determining the team’s rotation, planning players’ skill development, and filling out Vaughn’s coaching staff.

“He wants to have some level of involvement in every decision,” one Pelicans source said of Griffin, per Fischer.

Here’s more out of New Orleans:

After Vaughn withdrew from the Pelicans’ coaching search, the team expanded its list of candidates, according to Fischer, who says NBA TV broadcaster and former Coach of the Year Sam Mitchell was among those to receive a call. Mitchell is expected to receive consideration for a spot on Green’s staff, Fischer adds.
Pelicans assistant Fred Vinson, who interviewed for the head coaching position, is considered likely to remain in his current role. Sources tell Bleacher Report that Vinson’s interview with New Orleans lasted over four hours and was “exemplary.” Vinson and fellow Pelicans assistant Teresa Weatherspoon are said to have good relationships with Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, per Fischer.
During the interview process, the Pelicans wanted to know how each head coaching candidate would scheme their offense around Williamson and Ingram, and asked them to present development plans for the team’s other young players, writes Fischer.
Fischer refers to center Jaxson Hayes as “a personal favorite” of Griffin’s.
In case you missed it, the Pelicans are reportedly likely to trade at least one of Eric Bledsoe and Steven Adams this offseason and may go after Kyle Lowry in free agency.

Draft Notes: Early Entrants, Bleijenbergh, Sengun, Hurt, Reaves

July 19th, 2021 at 7:13pm CST by Luke Adams

Senegalese center Ibou Badji and German big man Ariel Hukporti have withdrawn from the 2021 NBA draft, according to a pair of reports from Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter links).

Both players were considered potential second-round picks, ranking 59th and 63rd respectively on ESPN’s big board of 2021 prospects. However, Givony notes that Hukporti – like a number of international players who withdrew before today’s deadline – wasn’t interested in being a draft-and-stash prospect. It’s unclear if Badji felt the same way, but both players will be looking to boost their stock ahead of the 2022 draft.

Another potential second-round pick, Senegalese big man Amar Sylla, will be keeping his name in the draft, Givony tweets. The 19-year-old, who ranks 81st on ESPN’s board, is a strong draft-and-stash candidate, Givony adds.

Here’s more on the 2021 draft:

Belgian wing Vrenz Bleijenbergh, another one of the international prospects keeping his name in the draft, indicated (via Twitter) that he completed a workout with the Mavericks and has a meeting with the Raptors up next.
Turkish League MVP Alperen Sengun, who visited the Kings over the weekend, had a workout this morning with the Spurs and is on his way to meet with the Magic, reports Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter link). Sengun could be a lottery pick next Thursday.
Duke forward Matthew Hurt worked out for the Sixers today and has the Clippers, Nets, and Magic on tap later this week, according to Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link), who adds that Hurt also recently impressed in workouts with the Rockets and Bucks.
Oklahoma guard Austin Reaves is keeping busy during the pre-draft process — Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer tweets that Reaves is working out for a total of 18 NBA teams, including the Hawks, Knicks, Sixers, Nets, and Hornets.

Knicks Notes: Sexton, Vildoza, Noel

July 14th, 2021 at 2:33pm CST by Dana Gauruder

There has been talk that the Knicks are aggressively pursuing a trade with the Cavaliers for high-scoring young guard Collin Sexton. With that in mind, The Athletic’s Kelsey Russo and Mike Vornukov examine what New York might give up for Sexton. The Knicks don’t have available veteran players that the Cavaliers would be interested in, so it’s more likely to be a combination of last year’s lottery selection, Obi Toppin, and a first-round pick.

We have more on the Knicks:

Luca Vildoza scored nine points in Argentina’s loss to Team USA on Tuesday while guarding some high-level players such as Bradley Beal, Zach LaVine and Damian Lillard. He’s looking forward to doing that on a regular basis, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. “Today was a test for me against the best players in the world,” he said. “I felt really good against them, but we lost by 30, and I got to get better. I got work to do.’’ Vildoza signed a four-year pact with the Knicks in May.
The team is interested in re-signing free agent Nerlens Noel but they’ll have plenty of competition, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. The Kings and Raptors are expected to make a run at the big man. The Mavericks, Nets and Hornets are also potential suitors for Noel, Ian Begley of SNY.tv tweets. Sacramento’s pursuit of Noel hinges on what happens with one of its own free agents, Richaun Holmes, Scotto adds.
What are the Knicks’ offseason plans and just how much cap room will it have? Check out our Offseason Preview.

Fischer’s Latest: Collins, Schröder, Lowry, Green, Tucker, Dinwiddie, Oubre

July 14th, 2021 at 12:56pm CST by Arthur Hill

Sign-and-trade deals are expected to be plentiful this summer and the largest one could involve Hawks forward John Collins, writes Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report. Most contenders have limited cap flexibility, so league insiders are expecting the sign-and-trade option to be used with several of the top free agents.

Collins, a restricted free agent, could be on the move because of the perception that Atlanta doesn’t view him as a max player. Team owner Tony Ressler said last week that the team is hoping to reach a “fair agreement” with Collins, which raises questions about how high the Hawks would be willing to go to match an offer.

League sources tell Fischer there will be a “sizable market” for Collins once free agency begins next month. The Mavericks have been considered a possible destination for some time, and the Timberwolves are another team to watch, according to Fischer.

He shares some more rumors involving potential sign-and-trades:

Dennis Schröder turned down a four-year, $84MM extension offer from the Lakers and is expected to be on the move this summer. Fischer notes that Schröder wants a bigger salary and a larger role in the offense, but he’s not likely to get either in L.A. The Bulls and Knicks are expected to have interest in the veteran point guard, according to league sources, and a sign-and-trade is the Lakers’ best opportunity to add talent this offseason. L.A. will also continue to see what it can get in return for Kyle Kuzma, Fischer adds.
The Sixers remain interested in Raptors guard Kyle Lowry and he’s believed to welcome the chance to play for his hometown team. Several contenders will have their eyes on Philadelphia guard Danny Green, who represents another sign-and-trade opportunity.
Giving P.J. Tucker a new deal with the $12MM average salary he asked for in Houston would push the Bucks over the tax apron. Fischer states that the Nets have been interested in Tucker since they started negotiating the James Harden trade, and the Heat expressed interest as well when they talked to the Rockets about Victor Oladipo. Fischer identifies the Lakers, Warriors, Nuggets and Jazz as other teams to watch, along with the Timberwolves, who are led by former Houston executive Gersson Rosas and have been trying to acquire Tucker since the 2020 draft.
Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie and Warriors forward Kelly Oubre are two other potential names on the sign-and-trade market, according to Fischer. Sources say Brooklyn kept Dinwiddie past the trade deadline so he could be a potential sign-and-trade asset, while Oubre offers a chance for tax-strapped Golden State to pick up talent. Fischer names the Mavericks, Knicks and Heat as teams that would be interested in both players.

Olympic Notes: Johnson, Garland, Bey, Durant, Satoransky

July 10th, 2021 at 11:04am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Spurs’ Keldon Johnson, Cavaliers’ Darius Garland and Pistons’ Saddiq Bey will move up from the U.S. Select Team and play for Team USA in exhibition games, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

The trio will fill in for Devin Booker, Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton, who will join Team USA after the Finals. Johnson, Garland and Bey would be candidates to join Team USA for the Olympics if any players have to bow out.

Exhibition games in Las Vegas will begin on Saturday with a matchup against Nigeria.

We have more on the Olympics:

Select Team members Cameron Reynolds, Josh Magette, John Jenkins and Dakota Mathias will remain in Las Vegas and will be available for exhibition games, Brian Windhorst of ESPN writes. The pool of Select Team players has been reduced by injuries and COVID-19 protocols. Timberwolves big man Naz Reid suffered a minor injury in Thursday’s practice, Windhorst adds.
Nets superstar Kevin Durant will look to collect his third gold medal in Tokyo and he’s energized by that possibility, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. “I committed to USA Basketball when I was coming out of college,” Durant said. “And every chance that I can get that I’m healthy and my mind is in the right place to play basketball, I’m going to go out there and play. Finished the year off healthy, the regular season and the playoffs, so I felt it’d be cool to get a kickstart on next season by getting in shape a little earlier in the summer with Team USA.”
Bulls guard Zach LaVine will be facing backcourt partner Tomas Satoransky in Group A play and he’s looking forward to the matchup, Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago relays. Satoransky will play for the Czech Republic, which is in Team USA’s Group along with Iran and France. “I’m looking forward to playing them and having some bragging rights,” LaVine said good-naturedly. “Hopefully, we really kick their butt.”

Nets Hire David Vanterpool As Assistant

July 9th, 2021 at 7:01pm CST by Luke Adams

7:01pm: The team has officially hired Vanterpool, according to a press release.

10:04am: The Nets lost a key member of Steve Nash‘s coaching staff when the division-rival Celtics hired assistant Ime Udoka to become their new head coach. However, it appears Brooklyn has already lined up a replacement for Udoka.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link), the Nets are finalizing a deal to hire David Vanterpool as an assistant coach.

An assistant for CSKA Moscow from 2007-12 after spending time with the Russian team as a player, Vanterpool made the move to the NBA in 2012. He served as an assistant coach on Portland’s staff for seven years from 2012-19, then spent the last two seasons as the Timberwolves’ associate head coach, first under Ryan Saunders, then under Chris Finch.

When the Wolves replaced Saunders with Finch during the season, some league observers expressed surprise that the team hired an assistant from another team (Finch had been part of Nick Nurse‘s Raptors staff) in the middle of the season rather than promoting Vanterpool, who has received consideration for other head coaching openings in recent years. Word broke in May after Minnesota’s season ended that Vanterpool wouldn’t stick with the club.

Last month, when seven head coaching positions opened up around the NBA, it seemed as if Nash may be in danger of losing multiple assistants, with Udoka, Mike D’Antoni, and Jacque Vaughn all generating interest. However, Vaughn withdrew from head coaching consideration and it doesn’t appear D’Antoni will be hired by any of the teams still conducting searches. For now, we’re assuming both coaches will be part of Nash’s staff along with Vanterpool for 2021/22.

Spencer Dinwiddie Discusses Upcoming Free Agency

July 9th, 2021 at 12:56pm CST by Luke Adams

Typically, when an NBA player is asked about his upcoming free agency, he’ll respond in general platitudes rather than speaking openly about how he expects the process to play out. However, appearing on The Crossover with Howard Beck of SI.com (video link) after turning down his 2021/22 player option, Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie didn’t hesitate to get into specifics about his free agency.

“For all the fans that think because I opted out I have to leave or something like that, no, this is very much in the Nets’ hands, you feel me?” Dinwiddie said, per Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “I think my full max is like five (years), $196 (million) or something like that. And nobody’s sitting here saying I’m going to get five, $196MM — so before anybody tries to kill me, nobody’s saying that.

“But the Nets have the ability to do something that other people can’t. If the Nets come to the table like that, and they’re being aggressive and are saying, ‘Hey we got five, $125MM for you,’ I would say there’s a high likelihood that I go back to the Nets, you know what I mean? But if they don’t come to the table (like that), and they’re like ‘Oh, we’re going to give you a three for $60MM,’ well, anybody can do that.”

As Dinwiddie alludes to, the Nets hold his full Bird rights, giving them the ability to offer a fifth year and annual raises of 8%. Rival suitors would be limited to four years and 5% raises, and would need to either sign Dinwiddie using cap room or work out a sign-and-trade to give him a salary in his desired range. No such restrictions face Brooklyn.

Still, the Nets are heavily invested in their three superstars (Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden), two of whom are guards, meaning they may be reluctant to set themselves up for a massive luxury tax bill by signing Dinwiddie to a lucrative new contract.

For what it’s worth, the five-year, $125MM figure Dinwiddie throws out in his conversation with Beck seems overly optimistic on the 28-year-old’s part, particularly since he’s coming off a partial ACL tear that sidelined him for nearly the entire season. As NetsDaily observes, if Dinwiddie can land a four-year contract in the range of the ones signed by point guards Malcolm Brogdon and Fred VanVleet in recent years ($85MM), he’d be doing very well.

The Heat, Knicks, and Bulls are among the teams that will be on the hunt for a point guard this offseason and have the ability to open up cap space, so they could be among the teams competing with Brooklyn for Dinwiddie’s services. Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News says the Mavericks are also expected to express interest in the veteran guard.

Dinwiddie reportedly wouldn’t mind playing in his hometown of Los Angeles, but the Clippers and Lakers will have limited cap flexibility.

Atlantic Notes: Toppin, Sixers, Knicks, Raptors, Baxter

July 8th, 2021 at 10:39am CST by Luke Adams

Knicks forward Obi Toppin had an underwhelming rookie season after being selected with the No. 8 pick in last year’s draft. The former Dayton standout played just 11.0 minutes per game, averaging 4.1 PPG and 2.2 RPG on 49.8% shooting.

However, Toppin is determined to take a major step forward in his second NBA season, and views participating in the pre-Olympics training camp as part of the U.S. Select Team as an important part of that process, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post.

“The message, (the coaches) told me coming here is just be a sponge,” Toppin said on Wednesday from Las Vegas. “There’s great coaches and players out here and just get better and develop my game. I’m working really hard in this offseason to be better for my second season coming up. It’s going be a lot different than the first season.

“I was super excited to have opportunity to come out here work out with these guys,” Toppin added. “It’s the best players in the world on this Olympic team. Having the opportunity to learn under the coaches here and playing with these players, I’m learning a lot and I’m going to translate it into my game for the upcoming season.”

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

Over at The Athletic, Derek Bodner and Rich Hofmann provide an in-depth primer for the Sixers‘ offseason, Mike Vorkunov and John Hollinger preview what’s ahead this summer for the Knicks, and Blake Murphy identifies six guards the Raptors could consider selecting with one of their two second-round picks (Nos. 46 and 47).
Speaking of those two Raptors second-rounders, Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca suggests (via Twitter) that most of the prospects Toronto has worked out so far in the pre-draft process are either candidates for those picks or potential UDFA targets. The lottery prospects who could be in play at No. 4 figure to start coming through next week, per Lewenberg.
Morgan State forward Troy Baxter Jr. is drawing interest from a handful of Atlantic clubs. He has already worked out for the Celtics and Nets and is auditioning for the Knicks later this week, he said on Wednesday (Twitter link via Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington).