Nets expected to be active once NBA’s free-agency period begins
NEW YORK — NBA free agency is nearly here, and the Nets are a team expected to be active in hammering out some deals to build a championship roster around the trio of Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving.
The Nets have Knicks free-agent center Nerlens Noel on their radar, according to SNY, which makes sense given the team’s glaring weakness in the paint and on the boards. Noel had a bounce-back season in New York, particularly after Mitchell Robinson’s foot injury. He averaged 5.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.2 blocks and 1.1 steals in 64 games, numbers that increased in the regular season after Robinson’s injury, but decreased in the playoffs along with his playing time.
The Kings and Raptors are also interested in Noel, as are the Mavericks, according to multiple reports.
The Nets are also still interested in Harden’s former Rockets teammate PJ Tucker, according to Bleacher Report, which makes sense given Tucker’s current production on a Milwaukee Bucks team competing for a championship. Tucker is a floor-spacing two-way wing who has earned a name as one of the toughest players in basketball. The Nets could use Tucker’s toughness, his defensive versatility and his potential as a small-ball five to bolster their lineups next season. They would only be able to sign him to a mid-level contract at best and a veteran’s minimum contract at worst, though Tucker is finishing the fourth year of a mid-level contract he signed with the Rockets.
Elsewhere in the NBA, Kawhi Leonard has undergone successful surgery on the partial ACL tear that kept him out of the final two games of the Clippers’ first-round series against the Jazz, then the entirety of their second-round series against the Phoenix Suns. No, Leonard isn’t joining the Nets, too, but he is expected to opt out of the final year of his contract and enter free agency, where he can re-sign with the Clippers for more money and seasons than any team can offer, or leave them hanging for not-as-sunny skies.
The Knicks have more than enough cap space to sign Leonard to a max contract, but his interest in leaving the Clippers, and leaving the Clippers for the Knicks, is not clear.
Spencer Dinwiddie’s free agency remains in Brooklyn’s hands after Dinwiddie’s decree for a nine-figure payday. He is a combo guard who deserves a significant raise after taking a below-market-value deal to stay with the Nets, but Brooklyn has already committed $119.7 million in guaranteed salaries to their Big 3 alone in the 2021-22 season, plus an additional $17.3 million to Joe Harris and another $9.8 million to DeAndre Jordan, who did not play at all in the playoffs.
The Nets could agree to terms with Dinwiddie for a deal in the five-year, $100-120 million ballpark, but they could also orchestrate a sign-and-trade and deal him to another team in exchange for players that fill other needs on the roster. The Nets need depth in the backcourt, especially after postseason injuries to both Irving and Harden. They also need a starting caliber big man with an emphasis on rebounding and protecting the rim, as well as additional perimeter defenders and shooters.
The Nets have other free-agency decisions to make, as well, including veterans Blake Griffin and Jeff Green, as well as utility player Bruce Brown. Tyler Johnson, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Chris Chiozza, Mike James and Reggie Perry are also free agents.
