On Saturday, we looked at the Nets draft possibilities. Sunday, it’s all about free agency.
We’ll know a lot more about the Brooklyn Nets strategy once the final ping pong balls drop on Monday night. You can bet there will be rumors about potential trades of picks — both up and down — by Tuesday morning. Speculation too about superstar packages.
So here’s our part 2 of the Off-Season Reporters Roundtable in which five of us try to make our way through the mist and fog of our crystal balls on free agency, knowing that there’s nothing so certain as Sean Marks & co. pulling off something unexpected. They did last June with the Knicks and Rockets trades. As we’ve noted, Marks has made at least one move within 48 hours of Draft Night in eight of his nine years as GM.
There’s less of a consensus on free agency than there was on the draft. But there is agreement among us on one thing: It’s unlikely, for a variety of different reasons, that Giannis Antetokounmpo will be wearing black and white in early October when the Nets fly to China for pre-season.
1) Of the 18 players the Nets had at the end of the season, how many do you think will return? Name names.
Net Income: No more than nine. I expect Cam Johnson, Nic Claxton, Cam Thomas, Day’Ron Sharpe, Zaire Williams to return. Some decisions will be determined by the Draft. If Khaman Maluach is the pick, will that mean Claxton or Sharpe gets marketed? D’Angelo Russell wants back. If he is, it will be on a short-term deal.
Anthony Puccio: Eight return. Three get drafted. A few stranglers via trade or free agency. I’d like to specifically see them bring back Cam Thomas, Ziaire Williams, Trendon Watford.
Brian Fleurantin: Here’s my list:
- Cam Johnson
- Nic Claxton
- Noah Clowney
- Cam Thomas
- Day’Ron Sharpe
- Maxwell Lewis
- D’Angelo Russell
- Drew Timme
- Keon Johnson
- Jalen Wilson
Lucas Kaplan: Oof. [Pulls up Basketball Reference] Um, Keon Johnson, Nic Claxton Day’Ron Sharpe, Cam Thomas, Isaiah Whitehead, Tyrese Martin, Jalen Wilson, Noah Clowney makes eight I feel confident in. Throw in another two or three that will fall back toward BKN, and I’ll say 11.
Collin Helwig: 11 feels right to me. We know who the more likely returners are like CT and Day’Ron. No sources on this, but of the fringe guys, Tyrese Martin, Tosan Evbuomwan, and Ziaire Williams strike me as guys they’ll try to keep around.
2) How much do you think the Nets will pay Cam Thomas, Day’Ron Sharpe and Ziaire Williams? Will they all be back?
NI: Three years and $75 million plus a team option for CamT, Three years and $50 million for Sharpe. Two years and $15 million for Ziaire. I am notoriously bad on this.
AP: Cam Thomas gets 4 years, $90 million with a team option for the final year. I don’t know what the urgency will be to bring the other two back, especially if they’re going to prioritize their new rookies.
BF: I think Sharpe and Thomas will be back. For Cam, I think I’d offer a two year deal. at around $48 million. It allows him to cash out on the front end as the Nets continue their rebuild, gets him to unrestricted free agency in what should be a more favorable environment, and gives him a chance to hopefully get a full healthy season under Jordi Fernandez and the coaching staff.
The three-year, $30 million prediction Keith Smith made re Sharpe is one I’d do. You reward Sharpe for his continued growth and evolution, ensure you have a very solid backup big man on the roster going into the season, and if teams are searching for a center down the line, Sharpe would fit their books pretty easily.
LK: I’m all but convinced Sharpe and CT are back. Call it $33M / 3 for Sharpe and $54M / 3 for Thomas, though he should walk into the office, point at Jalen Green, and ask for $90M / 3. Ziaire I see as 50/50 despite his career resurgence in BKN, but if he’s back, call it $14M / 2.
CH: I think they’re all back. I like $22 mil a year for CamT on a shorter deal. I’d love to see Ziaire get more than the minimum, it was great watching him get some real burn this year, but I think he needs to stack on one or two more years of steady improvement to do that. Sharpe is harder to project with the center market not being very saturated. After last year, I find myself more intrigued by him than perhaps anyone else on the team.
3) Of the five players on team options — Keon Johnson, Tyrese Martin, Maxwell Lewis, Jalen Wilson and Drew Timme — which will be back?
NI: In order, I see Tyrese Martin, Keon Johnson and Maxwell Lewis returning. Not sure about Wilson or Timme. Again, the Draft could determine decisions. The Draft is June 25-26 and decisions on qualifying offers is three days later.
AP: Pass!!!!
BF: I think Lewis, Wilson, Timme, and Johnson will be back.
LK: Jalen Wilson, Keon Johnson, Tyrese Martin, Drew Timme, Maxwell Lewis. Could give up on any of them and it’d be fine, but no real reason to jettison Wilson, Keon and Tyrese who did everything asked of them in 2025, and Timme gets clicks.
CH: Lewis (youngest), Johnson, Martin, Timme, Wilson.
4) Will the Nets make a big acquisition this off-season? Marks said “If you’re going after max-level talent, they have to automatically and absolutely change the trajectory of your team.” Do you think he’ll find that max level player? If not, who do you think will be the big acquisition?
NI: I don’t expect much. I doubt that Giannis Antetokounmpo is leaving Milwaukee and even if he did, I think there are better choices in terms of winning now than your Brooklyn Nets. Below the “automatically and absolutely” threshold, I’d be surprise if they don’t add a next-level star. Naz Reid? Santi Aldana? Are offer sheets back in fashion?
AP: They can go get a superstar at their discretion given all the assets they have. Why rush tho? It would have to be a perfect player and a fair trade given the new CBA.
It’s Giannis for the kitchen sink (please, no) or Zion on an offer they can’t refuse. Maybe a name like Ja Morant pops up. Ultimately I don’t think they go the superstar route. They traded the Suns picks to get their own 2025 and 2026 picks back. That means the plan WAS a two-year rebuild, in my opinion.
BF: I don’t think they will. I feel like for as much smoke as there is regarding Giannis Antetokounmpo, I don’t envision the Nets making a play for him. The roster isn’t good enough to be a contender with him (even with how amazing Giannis is) and the Nets are better served continuing their rebuild and waiting just a bit longer. There’s no rush here and the main job should be continuing to establish the foundation of a team that can eventually have that long term success management is seeking.
LK: Ultimately, I think the Giannis ship sails away in the night, and the biggest acquisition is whoever their first draft pick is. Maybe a Santi Aldama.
CH: My gut says no. I think it would be a year too early and a mistake — and I think the front office knows that. It’s one thing to have “interest” in stars, which we know they do, but it’s another to actually pull the trigger on one. I think the big acquisition this year will be more picks as the Nets set themselves up to get some good, young players this summer, and then double down for more the next.
5) How long do you think the rebuild will last?
NI: Too long! That’s more of a hope than the product of any analysis. I think at a a minimum, we are in year two of a three-year rebuild. At the moment — and I emphasize “at the moment” — Sean Marks and Joe Tsai seem content to build organically until the right free agent or trade target comes along.
AP: The summer of 2026 is when the Brooklyn Nets will pop off. Gives them a year to develop AND compete, while scouring the market which will be more robust in 2026 versus 2025.
BF: I think the rebuild will take two years. Due to the calamitous aprons that stem from the CBA, I think teams we consider long term contenders will break up a lot sooner than we would think. The Nets have wisely managed their roster and roster flexibility since they (officially) began the rebuild, and the upcoming Draft will go a long way in helping Brooklyn’s 2027 plans and beyond. Brooklyn should be in a great position to take advantage and get themselves back into real contention. I feel like the right move will present itself next summer and Brooklyn can leap into action from there.
LK: Their next playoff appearance will be in April 2027. Bad next season, bleh the next season, splashy move + “going for it” the next season.
CH: There’s a bit of wishful thinking in here, but my guess is they start “going for it” in the 2027 offseason. In 2027, unlike this year or the next, the Nets will have no incentive to tank with Houston having the rights to swap picks. They should have a bevy of young players by then. It won’t be hard to attract free agents either with the whole “it’s NYC” thing going for them too. Ironically, I foresee a Rockets-style team (gritty, good young coach, and loaded with young and veteran talent) assembling in Brooklyn that year.