The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Nets in position to get Drummond
NEW YORK — Amid reports that Andre Drummond could seek a contract buyout and work his way to Brooklyn, Nets head coach Steve Nash played coy. Or maybe he understands reality.
The truth, as he’s frequently said, “lies somewhere in the middle.”
Nash, who said he does not monitor the buyout market himself (but is available if the front office wants to “pick his brain”), concedes the Nets’ roster is not built to thrive on defense. That their best players are largely singular offensive talents, with the exception of Kevin Durant, who is as versatile a two-way forward as the league has seen in its history.
James Harden and Kyrie Irving, on the other hand? Not so much, and while neither have been abhorrent defensively in Brooklyn this season, neither are defensive stoppers in their own right, either.
There’s also the elephant in the room: The Nets can’t rely on consistent production from DeAndre Jordan, the veteran center back in the starting role after Brooklyn traded Jarrett Allen as part of the deal for Harden. Opposing big men have feasted in the paint in recent games, averaging about 31 points and 14 rebounds leading into the Nets’ win over the Heat on Monday.
Teams have dominated on the glass, have scored in the paint and had their way with the Nets down low.
The result has been a string of poor defensive performance, railroaded only by a win against a Heat team that could not make a shot on Wednesday.
“Our profile isn’t defensive, so to speak. That is a weakness for us. We’ve got to try to find a way to overcome that in part, at least, and grow our offense, where we are really strong, into something exceptional,” Nash said. “It’s one of those things where you can’t hope and wish that a bunch of defenders are going to fall in your lap. You have to build and do the
best you can with the profile of players we have and also be exceptional offensively, which I think we can get to, but that’s something that’s going to take time as well.”
Nash says the Nets can’t hope their prayers get answered, but history says otherwise. Teams who position themselves as championship contenders are able to sign free agents at lower salaries. Oftentimes, players under contract with other teams will take a buyout at less than the guaranteed amount so they can become free agents and join those contenders.
It happens every year. Last season, for example, Markieff Morris signed a
contract with the Pistons but finished the season a champion for the Los Angeles Lakers. Marvin Williams also agreed to a contract buyout with the Charlotte Hornets to join a championship contender in the Milwaukee Bucks.
Hence the conversations and reported Nets interest in Drummond and JaVale McGee, as well as ex-Sixers’ shot-blocker Norvel Pelle, or any other big man capable of alleviating the load off Jordan’s four-year, $40 million plate.
The Nets need help shoring the interior. The Cavaliers, currently paying both Drummond and McGee, have that help.
Brooklyn can’t bank on the Cavaliers, or any other team for that matter, extending a helping hand. The Cavs are trying to make the playoffs, too, and they want to establish a building block for a bright future around lightningrod point guard Collin Sexton. Drummond is in the final year of a near-max deal with a 2020-21 salary worth $28.7 million. He would have to leave a lot of that money on the table in a contract buyout with the Cavaliers, and the Nets would only have the $5.7 million mid-level exception or a veteran’s minimum contract to offer him.
Furthermore, Drummond is still a premier big man in this league, averaging 19 points, 15 rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal per game. The Cavaliers would be foolish to let him go for free, let alone pay him to leave, and would be much better suited trading Drummond for a young player, draft assets or both, if they want to get rid of him.
McGee is another veteran big man who has won three championships: two alongside Durant, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson with the Warriors, and another with LeBron James, Anthony Davis and last season’s Los Angeles Lakers. McGee, like Drummond, is in the final year of his contract, meaning the Cavaliers will in almost certain likelihood lose him in free agency for nothing this summer.
Or they could trade him to a contender and recoup an asset.
The Nets don’t have very many assets: They surrendered three first-round draft picks, rights to swap first-round picks in four draft classes, Allen, Caris LeVert, Taurean Prince and Rodions Kurucs to pry Harden from the Rockets.
The most attractive players left on the roster aside from Brooklyn’s Big 3 and their veterans are Spencer Dinwiddie, Joe Harris, Landry Shamet, Timothe LuwawuCabarrot and Bruce Brown.
The Nets were, however, granted a $5.7 million disabled player exception for Dinwiddie, who is out indefinitely with a partial ACL tear but was recently spotted at Barclays Center, shooting set shots during pregame warmups. The Nets can use that exception to acquire any player, like McGee, in the final year of their contract, so long as their salary fits into that $5.7 million.
They can also trade Dinwiddie if they so choose, and Dinwiddie — whose value is greater than the contract he signed - has a player option for next season worth $12.3 million. If
he turns it down, he becomes a free agent, and the Nets lose Dinwiddie for nothing.
The Nets have three open roster spots and a variety of ways to fill them, be it trade, signing a current free agent or waiting for veterans to hit the market after a contract buyout.
“I think every coach in the league would be willing or be open to roster-improving, but the reality is you have to work with what you have and we have a lot of really good options,” Nash said, before insisting he doesn’t look for players who can help: “Yeah, no, that’s up to the front office. I’m here if they want to pick my brain or ask my opinion. But I’m focused on the team we have and working with them every day to get better.”