BUY-BUY, BROOKLYN! Nets renounce rights to Hollis-Jefferson with eye on clearing space for two max contracts

The Nets plan to make another move to clear cap space by renouncing their rights to Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, a source confirmed Monday. By declining the $3.6 million qualifying offer for Hollis-Jefferson, the Nets will have about $46 million in cap space. That number will soar and give them enough for two max free agents if they also renounce D’Angelo Russell.

Hollis-Jefferson, 24, is the longest-tenured Net after being drafted 23rd overall by former Nets GM Billy King in 2015. He’s a versatile defender at 6-foot-7, but limited offensively and shot just 19 percent from beyond the arc last season.

He’ll become an unrestricted free agent this summer and likely played his final game for Brooklyn. HollisJefferson even tweeted out the equivalent of a farewell Monday afternoon.

“Brooklynnnnn I Love You.. can’t believe it’s been 4 years ha.. Thank you,” he wrote.

Renouncing Hollis-Jefferson was expected after GM Sean Marks agreed to trade two first-round picks to unload Allen Crabbe’s albatross contract last week, pushing the Nets into the zone of attracting two max free agents. Beyond that, Hollis-Jefferson probably wasn’t good enough to justify his $4 million cap hold. He played just 59 games last season and averaged 20.9 minutes.

The Nets are the front runners to land Kyrie Irving in free agency and hope to pair him with another star free agent, starting with the cream of the 2019 class — Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard. If that fails, the Nets have interest in Sixers forward Tobias Harris, a source told the Daily News.

Regardless, Russell is likely gone if the Nets sign Irving. As scouts told The News, the two are a poor fit as ball-dominant point guards who view defense as optional. And Irving is better.

“The only scenario the Nets will bring in Irving and

Russell is if they strike out on everybody else,” a source said.

Brooklyn’s pitch to free agents, according to sources, will include their market, their culture, their practice facility, their assets, their coaching staff, their committed owners, their player development and, perhaps most importantly, their medical and performance staff. In this era of load management and players prioritizing heath, the final part really resonates. Superstars desire a top flight medical staff and the freedom to have their own performance team be present with input. Of course, multiple franchises will make the same pitch — whether or not it’ll be true — and two others (the Lakers and Knicks) can offer more in terms of legacy and spotlight.

However, the Nets do have a wild card to throw into the free agency meetings — owner Joe Tsai. Poised to take over controlling interest of the franchise by 2021, Tsai will soon represent the only Chinese majority owner in the NBA and a potential gateway for players into a massive endorsement market that appreciates the NBA.

Tsai, 55, is the co-founder of Alibaba, the Chinese equivalent of Amazon. Still, it’s important to note that an owner can’t simply hand over endorsement dollars to a player. That would circumvent the salary cap and is not allowed. But as a facilitator to opportunities in China, Tsai is an interesting asset to the Nets in free agency. It’s what a source described as a peripheral benefit the team will push as part of the larger package, which now also includes a little more cap space to build the roster.