Bobby Marks, ESPN insider and former New Jersey Nets assistant GM, gives his assessment of the upcoming off-season.
In his ESPN+ round-up of all 30 teams’ off-season prospects, out Saturday morning, Bobby Marks likes what he sees in the Brooklyn Nets future, saying his former team is in the “driver’s seat” in terms of cap flexibility and emphasizes how many draft picks the team has both in the 2025 NBA Draft and over the next four years.
Marks also provides details on some elements of the Nets off-season that haven’t gotten a lot of attention, things like the Nets have so little money on the books next season that they’ll have to add $60 million in salary just to meet the CBA’s minimum payroll before the opening of the 2025-26 season in October. In addition, he notes that Cam Johnson can be extended to a nine-figure deal starting July 6.
And in the debate over whether Sean Marks & co. made a smart move in trading firsts from their 2023 superstar trades to get back their own 2025 and 2026 picks from Houston, Bobby seems to agree with Sean (no relation.)
For the most part, the NBA insider doesn’t make value judgments but lays out where things stand with as you’d expect from him, a lot of detail. Breaking things down…
For the first time since 2010, Brooklyn has a draft pick in the lottery. In fact, the Nets will have four first-rounders for June (including ones from Houston, Milwaukee and New York).
Getting back their own first from Houston following a deal last summer now allows Brooklyn to rebuild on its own timeline. Those five draft picks in June are not the only resources the Nets have to build their roster. Brooklyn is the only team in the NBA to have at least $40 million in cap space.
The cap space figure will change depending on what happens in free agency, both with their own players and others, as well as the Draft. Still, Bobby Marks thinks it’s the flexibility with cap space that gives the Nets their biggest advantage.
The Nets are in the driver’s seat this offseason with cap flexibility. Including the free agent holds of Thomas, Sharpe and their four first-round picks, Brooklyn projects to have $45 million in cap room. The $12 million hold of Thomas allows Brooklyn to use room first and then exceed the cap to sign the guard. The Nets do have a $23.3 million trade exception, but that goes away once they act as a room team.
The Nets have until June 29 to exercise the team options of Johnson, Timme, Martin and Wilson. The four contracts are not guaranteed even if the options are exercised. Besides cap space, Brooklyn has the $8.8 million room mid-level, second-round pick and veteran minimum exception. From now until June 30, Brooklyn is $2.3 million below the first apron and is not allowed to exceed the threshold.
He also lays out the various ways that big salary cap space nut could be used, relying on how Sean Marks used cap space in his first rebuild from 2016-19.
How they do that likely comes to the blueprint general manager Sean Marks put in place when he started in 2016:
Take back salary in exchange for draft picks (Brooklyn acquired two firsts in 2017 with that strategy).
Target restricted free agents with an offer sheet (for example, Quentin Grimes and Jonathan Kuminga).
Sign free agents to short-term but bloated salaries.
Then, there’s Cam Thomas’ situation. Marks devotes a whole section to Thomas and his potentially “polarizing” free agency but like so many pundits have noted, he writes the Nets hold the leverage.
Thomas’ next contract could become polarizing. Thomas, a restricted free agent, had an injury-plagued season and appeared in the fewest games (25) of his four-year career. When he did play, the guard averaged career highs in points (24.7), assists (3.4), rebounds (3.6), field goal percentage (44.8%) and free throw attempts (6.1). But defensively, the Nets gave up 122.3 points per 100 possessions when Thomas was on the court.
Brooklyn has the right to match any offer sheet and is the only team having significant cap space to sign the guard.
As for Cam Johnson’s extension, it could be a very big deal, Marks writes.
Cam Johnson, who averaged career highs in points and field goal percentage this season. He has two years left on his contract ($21.1 million and $23.1 million) and is eligible to sign a three-year, $102 million extension. Outside of their draft picks, Johnson is the team’s most valuable draft asset.
Marks also lists Maxwell Lewis as “extension eligible.”
With the Lottery in a little more than three weeks and the tiebreaker coming up Monday, the 2025 Draft is on the Nets fans’ mind, but Bobby Marks also lays out what the Nets currently own, both in terms of number and how many picks can be traded. He also explains how the lottery could determine when the Nets get the Sixers pick left over from the 2022 James Harden deal.
The Nets have 16 first-round picks, including 13 that are tradable. The Knicks owe Brooklyn three future firsts (2027, 2029, 2031) and swap rights in 2028 (or Phoenix). If the 76ers retain their first this season, they will send Brooklyn a top-8-protected first in 2028. The pick is top-8 protected in 2027 if the (Sixers) first in 2025 is sent to Oklahoma City.
In addition, the Nets have the less favorable 2029 first of Dallas, Phoenix and Houston. The Rockets also have the right to swap firsts in 2027. The Nets also have 16 second-round picks available to trade.
Interestingly, in his tweet on the Nets situation four days ago, Marks said that the Nets have 17 second rounders…
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) April 14, 2025
Bobby Marks also tackles what the Nets need, aka a lot.
Offensive playmakers and continued development from the perimeter for Nic Claxton. Brooklyn ranked 28th in offensive efficiency, 26th in 3-point field goal percentage and 28th in points in the paint. Claxton took a career-high 80 jumpers but shot only 33%.
While Bobby Marks didn’t deal with Joe Tsai’s willingness to spend, a crucial aspect of the rebuild, Sean Marks did in his media availability on Monday.
“The market speaks for itself, right. Our ownership group speaks for itself,” said Sean Marks summarizing the Nets situation, “So we’re very fortunate to be able to go all in the right time. We’ve done it before. We’ve done it several times. would we do it again? I think Joe is sitting there going, ‘at the right time, you give me the word, and we’ll go.’”