Nets all but stand pat, opt for minor deal
DeMarre Carroll and Joe Harris are still Nets, but Rashad Vaughn isn’t, traded to the Pelicans for forward Dante Cunningham at the NBA deadline, just three days after Brooklyn acquired him.
The Nets got Vaughn and a second-round pick from the Bucks on Monday for Tyler Zeller. The deal was more about acquiring the pick (which likely will be conveyed in 2020) than about Vaughn, sources had consistently maintained.
The 30-year-old Cunningham better balances out the Nets’ roster and is not expected to request a buyout, according to multiple reports. With Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Quincy Acy, the Nets’ only two power forwards, both currently injured, Cunningham can fill that void. At 6-foot-8, 230 pounds, he can serve as a stretch 4 in coach Kenny Atkinson’s small-ball scheme.
Cunningham averaged five points and 3.8 rebounds in 51 games (24 starts) for New Orleans, which used him at small forward, with Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins taking the two post-up spots. He averaged 6.6 points and 4.2 boards last season, shooting a solid 39.2 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.
The Nets will roll Cunningham’s expiring $2.3 million contract into the $6 million injury exception they got for point guard Jeremy Lin, who suffered a season-ending knee injury opening night.
Since the Nets technically are still over the salary cap — they haven’t relinquished the $3 million hold on former guard Randy Foye — they will create a $1.9 million trade exception. Essentially they will have about $3 million in practical cap room, should general manager Sean Marks opt to sift through the upcoming buyout market.
The deal means Marks essentially turned Tyler Zeller into Cunningham, a pick and the trade exception. Coincidentally, Cunningham is not only Marks’ former teammate (with the Trail Blazers at the start of the 2010-11 season), but also was traded with him in 2011 for Gerald Wallace.
Otherwise, the Nets largely stood pat at the deadline.
They held on to Carroll, who is making $14.6 million this season and will earn $15.6 million next. Possibly more surprising is the fact they didn’t sell high on Harris.
Harris is in the midst of a career season, and with his $1.5 million deal expiring this summer, he’ll be an unrestricted free agent and potentially in line to triple his salary. But agent Mark Bartelstein, who represents both Carroll and Harris, told The Post both of his clients like Brooklyn and enjoy being Nets.
“We’ve invested a lot of sweat equity in guys. I’d like that to be fruitful for the Nets organization,” Marks said before the deadline. “Anybody that comes here, let’s put our arm around them, see how we can help their game, put them in a place to succeed. That pays off. That’s where you get guys going ‘Hey, I appreciate what they did for us.’ ”
As expected, Lin opted in to his $12.5 million player option for next season, the third and final year on his $36 million deal with the Nets, The Post confirmed. The Post reported on Feb. 2 the decision had been all but made.
The salary-cap crunch looming this summer is expected to curtail spending and Lin was not likely to do better on the open market.
Timofey Mozgov’s agent told The Post there haven’t been any buyout talks, but the big Russian isn’t happy about being buried on the bench.
“We had no discussions about buyout,” Stanislav Ryzhov told The Post. “Yes, he’s not happy with his role. But he’s [a] true professional and keeps working hard.”