Nets need to fill out star-stacked roster
The Nets have put Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden together, forming the NBA’s premier Big 3. The next tall order of business for the Nets is making sure the roster makes sense around the trio of stars, and Nets GM Sean Marks was crystal clear: There is work to be done.
“Without a doubt the roster is not done, it’s not yet finalized,” he said on Thursday. “We should be doing our due diligence. We have open roster spots so I have utmost faith in our scouting department that over the years has done a tremendous job for us. We’ll continue to try and add pieces as we go through this season.”
In Brooklyn, it’s not about filling roster spots for the sake of having extra bodies — some teams around the league are playing with eight players as positive COVID-19 results come in. It’s more about continuing to find the right pieces that fit in the Nets’ championship jigsaw puzzle, and there are a number of needs Marks must address to complete this championship-hopeful team.
The Nets have three open roster spots. Harden’s all-world talent will replace Caris LeVert’s production, but there is no replacement for Jarrett Allen’s impact on the glass and patrolling the paint. The Nets also lost depth, forfeiting Taurean Prince and Rodions Kurucs as part of the deal.
Unfortunately, the caliber of players they traded to acquire Harden is not readily available on the free agency market.
Marks, though, has several creative methods he can utilize to add talent to this roster. The NBA has yet to award the Nets the $5.7 million Disabled Player Exception in the aftermath of Spencer Dinwiddie’s partial ACL tear. If the league grants the Nets’ wish, they can use that exception to either sign a free agent to a one-year deal or trade for a player in the final year of his contract.
Here’s the interesting part: The Nets can still welcome Dinwiddie back from injury even if they use the DPE to sign or trade for a new player. The Nets could use that exception to deal for former Nets Garrett Temple, Ed Davis or three-time NBA champion JaVale McGee.
The Nets have also elevated themselves to a championship favorite, which means veteran players will take a pay cut to play for a real chance to win it all. The Nets need a backup big man, preferably one with championship pedigree and a defensive focus. Former Defensive Player of the Year and NBA champion Tyson Chandler is a free agent and last played in Houston with Harden and Mike D’Antoni last season. Anthony Tolliver is also a defensive-minded, rim-protecting center who could be a perfect fit in a D’Antoni system as a floor-spacing five.
Minimum contracts are the only mechanism the Nets will have — other than the Disabled Player Exception, if it’s granted — to sign free agents. The Nets lost depth at the three and four by trading Prince, and they can replace him with a blast from the past by signing former Nets veteran DeMarre Carroll.
Marks could also revisit a handful of players from last season’s team: the Nets signed Michael Beasley entering the Orlando bubble, but he tested positive for COVID-19 and ultimately left the team. Wilson Chandler, a free agent, currently plays for the Chinese Basketball Association’s Zheijang Lions. Jamal Crawford could also be on the radar. Crawford signed a rest-of-the-season deal with the Nets entering the Orlando bubble after more than a year away from playing basketball. He suffered a hamstring injury in his first game back and never returned to the court. Iman Shumpert was also a Net last season and brought energy, intensity and swagger to Brooklyn’s lineup. He was eventually waived when Chandler returned from his 25game suspension, but Shumpert has championship pedigree, having won an NBA title with Irving in Cleveland in 2016.