The reported three-team trade centered on Julius Randle and Nic Claxton<\/a> only made the next question more urgent. Randle would give Brooklyn scoring, power and another frontcourt hub. Claxton\u2019s exit would remove the Nets\u2019 top center and leave a serious hole in the paint.<\/p>\nThe draft added skilled prospects. The rest of the summer has to give head coach Jordi Fern\u00e1ndez a group he can organize. General manager Sean Marks looks forward to watching the franchise\u2019s offseason plan come together.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m excited to see what falls our way, whether it\u2019s in free agency or trades,\u201d Marks said. \u201cI mean, we\u2019ve kept ultimate flexibility over the last year or two and I think we\u2019ll continue to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Flexibility sounds good in June. It only means something if translates to competitiveness come October.<\/p>\n
The Knicks, Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers project ahead of Brooklyn. The Toronto Raptors, Atlanta Hawks, Orlando Magic, Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers look ahead, too. The Charlotte Hornets and Washington Wizards sit within reach, but neither gives Brooklyn an easy jump.<\/p>\n
As built, the Nets sit closer to the bottom of the East with the Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks than the middle. Injuries can change a season, and young players can rise ahead of schedule, but this team profiles more like a low-to-mid 30s-win team than a safe play-in bet unless free agency can further bolster the roster.<\/p>\n
The first choices sit inside Brooklyn\u2019s own locker room. Day\u2019Ron Sharpe has a $6.25 million team option due June 29. Ziaire Williams has a $6.25 million team option due the same day. Josh Minott has a smaller option at $2.58 million, with his full guarantee date coming later.<\/p>\n
Sharpe is the easiest choice to defend because Brooklyn needs a center. If the reported Claxton deal is finalized, Sharpe would be the only proven 5 left on the roster, a 24-year-old rebounder on a team-friendly number at a position the Nets still have to address. Declining his option would create more cap room, but it would also turn center from a need into an emergency unless Brooklyn already has a larger move lined up.<\/p>\n
Williams is more complicated. Picking up his option would keep a young wing with size, defensive tools and an expiring salary, preserving depth and a movable contract before the trade deadline. Declining it would open room and minutes in a forward group already fighting for space.<\/p>\n
That group includes Randle, Jefferson, Minott, Michael Porter Jr., Drake Powell, Noah Clowney, Danny Wolf and possibly Bilodeau, depending on his contract path. If Williams and Minott stay, Jefferson\u2019s early role becomes harder to carve out. If the Nets chase another wing, such as Denver\u2019s Peyton Watson, the upside rises but the minute squeeze tightens again.<\/p>\n
Marks spoke after the draft about lineup flexibility, mentioning speed groups, bigger groups and players who can move on and off the ball. The blend is intriguing. Brown, Egor D\u00ebmin and Nolan Traor\u00e9 offer three different backcourt looks. Porter and Randle bring veteran scoring. Jefferson gives Brooklyn a more physical rookie forward.<\/p>\n
Still, a rotation can\u2019t be built only from possibilities. Somebody has to screen. Somebody has to protect the rim. Somebody has to rebound through traffic. And that\u2019s why enter sits at the heart of Brooklyn\u2019s free agency.<\/p>\n
Mitchell Robinson is the best fit among the names linked to the Nets. Marc Stein and Jake Fischer reported Brooklyn has interest in trying to sign Robinson away from the Knicks, and the fit isn\u2019t hard to see. If healthy, Robinson would bring offensive rebounding, rim protection, screening and vertical finishing. He obviously wouldn\u2019t stretch the floor or create much offense, and his health and free throws would be part of the evaluation, but his best skills line up with Brooklyn\u2019s biggest need.<\/p>\n
Pair him with Sharpe, and the Nets could build one of the league\u2019s most punishing center rotations on the glass. Add Randle and Porter, and the entire roster gets more physical. Brown, D\u00ebmin and Traor\u00e9 would benefit from the simplest gift a young guard can get: extra possessions after missed shots and protection behind mistakes.<\/p>\n
Detroit\u2019s Jalen Duren and Utah\u2019s Walker Kessler offer a more expensive route. Sam Amick of The Athletic reported Duren plans to explore sign-and-trade scenarios after contract talks stalled with the Pistons. Duren is young, strong and productive, so interest makes sense. Kessler also fits the search for a young center. But both are restricted, which changes the cost. Brooklyn would have to weigh salary, assets and timing for players whose teams can still shape the process. The Nets aren\u2019t one center away from contention, so overpaying for one would be dangerous.<\/p>\n
A Sharpe-plus-veteran approach would be less dramatic, whether it means Robinson, Phoenix\u2019s Nick Richards, Utah\u2019s Jusuf Nurkic, Chicago\u2019s Zach Collins, Portland\u2019s Robert Williams III or another available big. It might also be more sensible. Brooklyn needs a better center rotation, not a rushed commitment to one expensive answer.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s room for smaller moves, too. Cleveland\u2019s Keon Ellis, Golden State\u2019s De\u2019Anthony Melton would add perimeter defense. Denver\u2019s Bruce Brown or Tyus Jones would bring veteran habits around a young backcourt. Watson would be a higher-upside wing target if the restricted free-agency path is workable. Oklahoma City\u2019s Branden Carlson, Golden State\u2019s Quinten Post and Utah\u2019s Oscar Tshiebwe would sit in the cheaper big-man depth tier.<\/p>\n
Those names only show how many paths Brooklyn can take if it avoids spending all its room in one place.<\/p>\n
Brown and Jefferson will soon move from draft-night projection to Summer League work. Brooklyn opens July 4 against Sacramento in the California Classic before moving to Las Vegas, where a July 10 meeting with the Knicks gives the youth movement an early stage.<\/p>\n
Summer League will offer hints, but free agency will bring consequences.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Nets helped themselves on draft night. They still have work left. Mikel Brown Jr., Joshua Jefferson and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":279470,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98,100,99,52390,106110,22612,4475,9,24,63,106624],"class_list":["post-279469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-joshua-jefferson","tag-mikel-brown-jr","tag-nba-free-agency","tag-nets","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-tyler-bilodeau"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279469","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=279469"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279469\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/279470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=279469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=279469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=279469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}