When the league new year officially begins on July 1, the Brooklyn Nets will have some tough decisions to make as it pertains to their seven pending free agents. Perhaps the most important free agent is their breakout player Bruce Brown. After the Nets completed a blockbuster trade on February 10 that sent James Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers, Brown’s level of play expanded significantly. Per Stat Muse, he averaged 13.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in 27 games for the Nets during that span.
Because of his elevated play at the end of the season, Brown should have a lot of suitors in free agency this summer. And with max money already wrapped up in three players (Ben Simmons, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving), the Nets will be limited in how much money they can offer their breakout forward. Brown seemingly confirmed that he is also uncertain if the Nets will be able to afford his market value in a recently liked tweet that originally came from the @BrooklynNetcast Twitter account.
“There are expectations that Bruce Brown will get around $14-$18 million per year. If the Nets are willing to give him that, I’m unsure,” @BrooklynNetscast said in the tweet that was liked by Brown.
So….
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Nets Hold Advantage With Bruce Brown’s Bird Rights
An even better reason for the Nets to bring back Brown is that he elevated his level of play even more substantially once the Nets made it to the postseason. Per Stat Muse, Brown averaged 14.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in the first round of the playoffs. The Nets don’t have a lot of spending power this summer, but Alex Schiffer of “The Athletic” notes that where the Nets do hold an advantage over Brown’s other suitors, is that they own his Bird rights. Owning Brown’s Bird rights allows Brooklyn to go over the salary cap to re-sign him because he is their free agent.
“Maybe his best trait is his availability, having played in 137 regular-season games the past two seasons. His college coaches always thought he’d be a better fit on a winning team and it’s feasible to see other contenders pursuing him.,” Schiffer writes per “The Athletic”.
“But are the mid-level or taxpayers’ exceptions enough of a raise for Brown or will he command more? If the Nets can keep Brown for $10 million or less, it’s a no-brainer. He’s said he wants to stay in Brooklyn, but will another team fall in love with him and outbid the Nets? Having Browns’ Bird Rights really helps Marks here.”
Celtics Viewed as Potential Bruce Brown Suitor
Brown was one of the few bright spots in a series where the Nets were swept by the Boston Celtics. He has certainly earned his payday and would have every right to get paid by another team in free agency if the Nets decided to let him walk as they did with Spencer Dinwiddie last summer. If that does happen, one of the teams expected to pursue Brown could be his hometown Celtics.
“They will have limited resources. But they are going to look at guys who can defend. I would not be surprised if they make a pitch for Bruce Brown. He might be out of their price range in the end, and maybe he goes back to Brooklyn, but Ime (Udoka) was an assistant there, and we’ve seen that carries some weight with who they bring in,” one NBA executive said to Heavy’s own Sean Deveney.
“He was good in that Celtics series. If he can’t get a big offer, they could sneak in with him on a one-and-one (one year, with a player option) deal and put him to good use.”
This year’s free agency period will be critical for the Nets as they still have hopes of becoming title contenders next season. Putting the right players around KD, Kyrie, and Simmons will be detrimental to the team’s success.
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Nets Prized Free Agent Hints at Possible Exit From Team This Summer