The word of the week is “evaluation.” Expect to see a lot of players get time on the court as season draws to a merciful end.
It’s not just about the NBA Draft, lottery odds, number of picks, etc. this time of year. It’s also about the current roster, which of the young Brooklyn Nets will be around next season … and beyond. Finding the Next Nets, as Sean Marks put it earlier in the season and as Jordi Fernandez put it after the loss last night to the Dallas Mavericks.
“Our main purpose is, like I said, get better and see who is the Next Net, and who is going to be here for the long run,” said the head coach, a rookie himself in case you forgot. “And obviously, we have a job to do, and evaluate, and it’s good to see all these guys that haven’t played as much.”
Evaluation indeed. Virtually every Nets player is on the block in some way or another. Brian Lewis broke things down Tuesday.
[T]here is sure to be a massive overhaul over the summer, with the Nets holding not just the most future draft equity in the entire league, but an NBA-high five picks in June, including four in the first round. Make no mistake, this roster will be culled and remade.
How much will be determined by the May 12 Draft Lottery then the Draft itself on June 25 (first round) and 26 (second round), decision day on team options four days later before free agency signings beginning a week after that. And all that could be upset by the unexpected like a disgruntled superstar asking out of his contract.
For the moment, though, here’s the breakdown:
- Cam Johnson and Nic Claxton, currently the only two players on long-term deals, Johnson with two years left, Claxton with three, after this one. Both contracts will decline both as raw numbers and a percentage of the salary cap, Johnson’s 13.2%, Claxton’s 11.2%.
- Noah Clowney and Dariq Whitehead, both on rookie deals going into their third years at a little more than $3 million each. The two, still only 20, are younger than about a third of the likely picks in the 2025 Draft.
- Cam Thomas, Day’Ron Sharpe and Ziaire Williams are restricted free agents meaning the Nets can match any offer they receive elsewhere, but with so little cap space outside Brooklyn, that’s less of a concern than it normally would be.
- Keon Johnson, Maxwell Lewis, Jalen Wilson and Tyrese Martin, all on minimum deals with the Nets holding team options on each. Three of the four — not Martin — have small guarantees ranging from $88,000 for Wilson to $271,000 for Johnson.
- Tosan Evbuomwan, Reece Beekman and Tyson Etienne are on two-way deals. Evbuomwan has a two-year deal, others expire at the end of the NBA year in July.
- D’Angelo Russell, Trendon Watford and DeAnthony Melton are all expiring deals. Russell has said he wants to return, but that doesn’t seem likely under most scenarios. Melton, a throw-in in Dennis Schroder deal, is out for the year and not with the team. Watford is on a minimum deal. Nets have Bird Rights on all three with the 24-year-old Watford the most likely to stay.
If you want to go deeper, there’s the future of the Long Island Nets’ two stalwarts, 23-year-old Killian Hayes, who still can be extended a second 10-day deal, and 24-year-old Drew Timme, who’s been tearing up the G League. The Nets currently control only their G League rights. Could that change in the waning days of the season?
The three most interesting situations are the restricted free agents. Persistent hamstring issues limited Thomas to 25 games this season. How will that affect his future payday? But as more than one pundit has reported, his price range is still $20+ million. Per Lewis:
A source told The Post his market could be in the $20 million to $22 million range, while cap expert Yossi Gozlan suggested a deal similar to Collin Sexton’s four years and $70.95 million, inflation adjusted. Does Thomas re-sign during the Nets’ exclusive window or go to market for an offer sheet? How high is Brooklyn prepared to go?
There are other issues, though. With Thomas getting a reputation for being injury prone, having missed 98 games in the past three seasons, will the Nets offer include team options, bonuses, etc., based on that concern?
Williams and Sharpe, like Thomas age 23, are both thriving as the season comes to an end. They are likely to get positive offers from Sean Marks & co. How big is hard to measure.
Wrote Lewis on Williams:
After hitting just .268 from 3-point range as a backup, he’s hit .368 as a starter. And in the past month — 13 games since Feb. 24 — Williams has averaged 13.2 points and 4.5 rebounds on solid .462/.402/.813 splits. That’s encouraging for a springy, long-armed defender who always guards the best opposing forward.
And on Sharpe:
Sharpe was drafted after Williams and has a lower qualifying offer. But the physical backup center has arguably been the Net who has most outperformed his contract and given the best return on investment. He tops the team in PER (19.7) and win shares/48 minutes (.142), and would be leading the league in offensive rebound percentage if he had enough minutes to qualify.
A lot of the Fernandez’s evaluation will be devoted to the four players with team options. You’ve already seen some of that as Fernandez has been shuffling them in and out of the line-up most recently giving Maxwell Lewis, the third youngest Net behind only Whitehead and Clowney, rotation minutes.
Marks liked the Pepperdine product enough to want him in the trade and after seeing virtually no NBA action in his first year and a half with the Lakers, then suffering a tibia fracture his first game with Brooklyn, he’s taken advantage of the opportunity showing at the very least potential.
Heading into Monday night, Lewis had logged just 117 minutes since returning, but they’ve indicated signs of energetic defense, a high motor and a deep touch. He’s hit 9-of-17 from behind the arc, and provides cheap depth on the wing at 6-7, 215.
Under team control for two more years, only $100,000 of his $2.2 million next season is guaranteed (it fully guarantees June 29) and he has a team option for $2.4 million in 2026-27.
Lewis also notes that there might be room for Hayes and Timme and with a roster opening and the G League regular season ending Saturday, two weeks before the NBA season ends. (Long Island is still mathematically alive in the G League post-season drive but they’d basically have to win their last three games and get some help elsewhere.)
Of course, there will be trades, period. Marks has made trades within 48 hours of the Draft in eight of the nine years he’s been GM, last year’s trades with the Knicks and Rockets being the biggest.
While there has been some speculation that the Nets might look to move Cam Johnson, perhaps in a trade for a star or superstar, there is ample evidence, including his own words that Marks and the organization like Johnson who’s not only improved his game this season but become more of a leader.
In a separate story published Monday, Lewis pointed to his role in helping Williams improve his shot and become a locker room presence, the eminence grise (literally the grey eminence,) In talking with the media, the 29-year-old a lengthy analysis of what the Nets need based on his experience in Phoenix where he was part of winning teams, one of which got to the NBA Finals. Bottom line:
“That stuff is built up over time … the idea is you have that knowledge that everything is second nature — it’s programmed into your brain. That’s what we’re working towards. It’s not easy: first-year head coach, young team that hasn’t played together much. Our job to win games this year is by competing, and then allowing the process to get us better at everything else.”
Or, as Marks said when asked why he wasn’t more aggressive in marketing Johnson at the deadline, “We like Cam and we think Cam fits multiple builds that we are doing. He’s a voice of reason. He’s well-respected within that locker room. He’s a pro’s pro. So if people can learn from somebody, they learn from Cam Johnson. That’s a great guy to pick up habits from.”
Of course, things change and the old joke by Jerry Seinfeld about player movement — we cheer for the laundry — particularly relevant. A total of 23 players have been under contract for the Nets this season. How many will be playing in the NBA Summer League starting July 10 or traveling to Macao for the NBA Asia preseason games October 10 and 12? Think no more than a handful. As for the makeup, your guess is as good as ours.
In the meantime, expect to see players like Lewis and Whithead and Evbuomwan etc. get minutes. Enjoy.