NEW YORK – The offseason team is back on the net after a first-round sweep ended their season earlier than they expected on opening night.
What then?
All indications are that it will be a quieter summer than in the past. There are no franchise players to ask for a trade or give an ultimatum, which should keep drama to a minimum. However, unlike in years past when it came to competition, the Nets have quite a few options on their hands. Even the players seemed curious about the direction the organization would take.
Here’s what to watch from the Nets in the offseason:
What direction do they choose?
In his press conference at the end of the season, Spencer Dinwiddie compared the Nets to “the Bucks without Giannis”. That seems like a bit of a stretch given the Bucks won a playoff game after their franchise player, Antetokounmpo, suffered a back injury, while the Nets have lost 10 straight in the postseason. But the point is still there. The Nets have a great supporting team, but no star player/leading scorer.
“If you think you can get Giannis, are you probably a very good team at that point?” Dinwiddie said. “If you don’t, you have a bunch of draft picks and probably several players that could get more draft picks. So, I mean, they really could go either way. You know, they can also stand on the dice and roll the dice.”
The Nets could pack up some of their players and draft picks for a star, but for now, who’s available? None of them have asked for a deal publicly, and while there has been speculation about Trae Young, Jaylen Brown, Luka Dončić, and Karl-Anthony Towns among others, neither these players nor their teams have said they are ready for a divorce.
Blazers star Damian Lillard has been in the Barclays Center for Game 3 and is close to Mikal Bridges, but has been very loyal to Portland throughout his career. Coincidentally, the Blazers used a pickaxe obtained from the Nets for Gerald Wallace to draft Lillard. What could it have been. In 2021, Lillard called Bridges “Favorite little attacker in the league. “
Some players weren’t sure which direction the Nets would take in part because draft picks and playoffs are in full swing with so many teams still to play. Shawn Marks has ruled out going into the tanks because most of the picks aren’t their own. If ever there was a world in which the Nets would trade the Rockets to get some of their picks back, it’s not on Marks’ radar. They can bring it back with the same roster and see what the full season looks like with Bridges and Cam Johnson, or the Nets can retool and trade some of their wingers for a position and more roster balance.
Both Marks and head coach Jack Vaughn said they needed “a little dirt,” citing their former manager, Gregg Popovich.
But Marx didn’t rule out anything other than the tank, showing that he only knows so much of what he might decide to do – at least for the time being.
“I think we need to let the dust settle for a bit,” Marks said. “I think in this day and age, we’ve all seen players ask for trades; players behind the scenes ask for it, teams change whether it’s ownership groups or front office, and next thing you know, they pivot. So, we just have to be ready for whatever comes up. We’re on our way, and if we can make a change that we can compete with, we’ll be strategic about it.
“I don’t think we want to put ourselves in a place where we’re costing the future right now, either. I think we’ve got a bright trajectory, and now I’m enjoying that.”
What happens with Cam Johnson’s free agency?
Johnson is the Nets’ top free agent – a restricted agent at the time – after coming on as part of Kevin Durant’s running back. Johnson’s qualifying offer from Brooklyn is roughly $8.5 million, but he’s expected to make more than $20 million a year after averaging about 17 points per game on the net. He is expected to get more than the four-year/$75 million deal Joe Harris got from the Nets in 2020. The Nets are expected to go into next season at $10 million under the $162 million luxury tax line, But re-signing Johnson could take them back to him. Plus, it wouldn’t come cheap because they’d also be in the repeater tax after going over three consecutive seasons.
The 6-foot-8 winger talked more than any player on Sunday, lasting 18 minutes while reflecting on the season, the trade and his free agency. Johnson said he didn’t look for free agency much because of the season, but he did sing the organization’s praises, from the coaching staff to the chefs.
“All I can say is that I really appreciate the people here, and that means a tremendous amount to me,” said Johnson. “But I haven’t made any decisions commercially yet, but I definitely have factors to think about, and I’m definitely preparing for New York.”
Marks said he and Vaughn met Johnson on Sunday and want him back and make re-signing him a priority. “You know how we feel,” Marx said.
The new collective bargaining agreement gives teams time in June after the draft but before free agency to negotiate with restricted free agents, but neither Marks nor Johnson wanted to speculate on whether a deal could be reached before he entered the open market.
Although the Nets’ window of contention is closing for now, Marks said he doesn’t think Gov. Joe Tsai is opposed to paying the tax again, especially on issues like Johnson’s. It’s less about the bill and more about the why.
“Are we going to pay taxes just for the sake of paying taxes?” Marx said. “No, that wouldn’t be a smart business decision, would it? … We’re going to be strategic about how we get out of the way in taxes. At the same time, our goal here is to compete, and that’s been the goal from day one. I don’t think a joint venture is the kind of cloth that wants To be humble. I’m definitely not, and I don’t think Joe is. At the same time, we want to do something special in Brooklyn, and if it comes to taxes, he’s willing to pay it.”
How does the draft explode?
“The last time I took charge, I didn’t have any choices.”
Marks said that in February after dealing with Durant and Kyrie Irving, who scored players like Bridges, Johnson, Dinwiddie and Dorian Vinnie Smith, as well as a treasure trove of recruiting picks.
When asked on Sunday how many choices he had, Marks replied, “A lot.”
The Nets will pick 21, 22, and 51 in the June NBA draft and have 20 draft picks through 2030, the fourth-most in the league. Marx used to get good value in the 20s, drafting Jarrett Allen 22 in 2017 and Carris LeVert (through a trade) 20 a year ago. Therese Maxi, who burned the net during the first round, went 21st for the Sixers in 2020.
They can accumulate picks in the trade or use them and develop the players they bring. Historically, Marks always trades on the night of the draw. Drafting a homegrown star has been key to much of the success of the contenders from the Bucks, Celtics, Suns, etc. I got off differently.
Getting a franchise player with the Nets’ 2022 first-round picks is tough given how low those picks are, but the bulk of their picks from other teams are two-sided. As Marx said, it keeps the nets from falling apart because the shots are not their own. On the other hand, some of their picks could get them into the lottery if the team they got them from had one less year.
“That’s one of the exciting things for us going forward, knowing that only three other teams in the league have more first-round picks than us between now and 2030.” Marx said. “So, that’s part of the trajectory, right? This group has shown an ability to draft well, and the coaches have shown an ability to develop players well. For me, it’s exciting to look forward to. We’ve never had that before, you know?”
“I’ve never been able to look at JV and say, ‘Hey, look. Look at this class in two years from now, look at this.’ It’s usually like, ‘Yeah, but we’ve got to trade someone to get the pick.’ We have this path.
Simmons’ first year in Brooklyn was not going well at all. He showed flashes early in the season for the player he used to be, but he struggled with injuries all year while posting career lows in scoring, assists, and rebounds, among other stats. He did not play after the All-Star break due to back and knee problems and was eventually diagnosed with a nerve injury in his back.
On Sunday, Marks said the 6-foot-10 guard is improving as he rehabs, and the goal is to be healthy by September.
“He ticks the boxes of meeting different signs along the way,” Marks said of Simmons. “At this point, he doesn’t need surgery. That’s the hope going forward, he won’t have to put up with another surgery and we can keep moving forward. The timeline for this is that he’ll be back 100 percent probably by September 1. That will be the goal and he is Complete in training camp and ready to go.”
Simmons is the highest paid player on the team and owes more than $77 million over the next two years. If the net chases after a star, it is inevitable that his paycheck will be used in trade. But the Nets just grabbed all of those picks, and a move on Simmons would likely require at least a couple, plus any star price. It’s similar to the situation the Lakers have had with Russell Westbrook this season.
The unknown is how much Simmons has played this season stemming from his back compared to other factors. If he can look like the player he was in Philadelphia, he’s needed on a team with talented defensemen who could use someone to marshal offense. But that seems unrealistic at the moment given the year he’s had.
Are there deals?
Marx talked about being smart about getting in or out of the luxury tax, as well as needing some volume. A situation that can help nets on both fronts is the trade to shed some excessive pieces of need. Joe Harris, who owes $19.9 million next season, and Royce O’Neal ($8.5 million) are entering the final year of their contracts and could be rental options for the teams next season. O’Neale had competitors interested in him at the deadline this season, but the Nets chose to stick with him after not seeing a deal they liked. Does that change over the summer? And what about Harris, who saw his role diminished in his first full season after returning from multiple ankle surgeries? He still shot 43 percent from 3 but was far from the impact player he once was. His playoff struggles continued, too.
Dinwiddie and Finney-Smith could be candidates for the trade; Dinwiddie’s deal expires next summer, too. Speaking to reporters Sunday, Vinnie Smith appeared to feel uncertain about his future with the Nets.
“We’ll have to see what happens as well, this off-season,” he said. “If we’re being honest, you know, everyone here, we know our chops, and you never know in this league. So, I guess we’ll see after the draft, see what happens and go from there.”
The Nets can look at other trade candidates as well, but these are two players with out-of-date salaries and depth in positions that make sense for the deal. Durant and Irving’s deals gave the Nets an $18.1 million trade exclusion and a $4.5 million trade exclusion, respectively. Do they use it? It’s hard to see the list remaining as it is now.
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(Photo: Mitchell Leaf/Getty Images)