We can all agree that the Nets had no more urgent matter this offseason than getting Kevin Durant’s signature on a contract extension. Hence, the four-year commitment they received last week from KD through the 2025-26 season dwarfs all other possible transactions General Manager Sean Marks could have concocted in his lab. I would argue that the incremental $198 million in future payments to Durant is a fraction of his true worth to the franchise, making it the sweetest of deals, more so if/when it entices the other two members of Brooklyn’s Big 3—Kyrie Irving and James Harden—to similarly extend.
Still, let’s pull back on the reins a little bit with regard to how much Brooklyn actually accomplished this month. Granted, Marks always reminds us that an NBA roster is never a finished product, that he’s always tinkering and that there’s plenty of time to bring in upgrades before the real games of consequence next postseason commence.
And yes, Patty Mills is a terrific value signing who will do more for the team as a sixth man than did Landry Shamet, who was dealt to Phoenix in exchange for defensive guard Jevon Carter and a first-round pick that became center Day’Ron Sharpe. Offensively speaking, I view Mills as superior to Spencer Dinwiddie, whose departure to Washington in a sign-and-trade will be discussed in a future column.
However, I would also assert that the last thing Brooklyn needed to acquire with their taxpayer midlevel exception, one of the few bullets in their arsenal, was another scoring guard. As we saw in the 2021 NBA Playoffs, when healthy, Harden and Irving, both among the league’s best ballhandlers, play a lot. Harden is loath to come out of any game and in the three second-round contests prior to his foot injury in Milwaukee, Irving rested a grand total of 8 out of 132 contested minutes.
Remember, at six-foot one, Mills is even smaller than Irving, so how often can that duo play together in the playoffs against big teams like the Bucks or Sixers, when opponents mercilessly attack every conceivable advantage?
Ergo, instead of injury insurance just so that we never have to watch guys like Mike James chuck up shots in big games again, a better usage of those funds would have been on what Marks had told the media in advance of free agency was the more pressing need—fortifying the frontcourt.
Jack-of-all-trades Jeff Green, coming off a year where he shot 41.2% from three, left Brooklyn for Denver for the same midlevel exception, creating a big void. Unless you believe head coach Steve Nash is going to have some divine intervention this summer and start playing subpar perimeter shooters like free agent acquisitions James Johnson and DeAndre’ Bembry alongside Brooklyn’s other non-floor spacers, Green’s replacement has yet to be found.
While injuries to Harden and Irving were the proximate cause of the Nets’ playoff demise, their size deficiency was also clearly a factor, especially with Nash’s reluctance to play center Nic Claxton more than token minutes. In many games, Brooklyn got pounded on the boards—the Bucks chased down almost 38% of available offensive rebounds in the deciding Game 7, per NBA.com. When Giannis Antetokounmpo opted not to settle, only Blake Griffin was able to offer at least marginal resistance bodying up. Even Green, playing through plantar fasciitis, had no hope against the Greek Freak.
Look, LaMarcus Aldridge’s sudden retirement due to a heart condition after he was shrewdly picked up by Marks in last season’s buyout market certainly altered Brooklyn’s plans at the five, so it’s hard to say that Brooklyn was ill-prepared at the position even after deciding to relegate aging center DeAndre Jordan to the bench. Aldridge is reportedly assessing a return to the court, but even if he doesn’t, maybe Claxton has been ramping up in the gym this offseason (in lieu of playing in the NBA Summer League) enough so that center won’t be as much of a concern going forward.
However, since Claxton is limited offensively, having him eat up more minutes this season would seemingly make it even more imperative for Brooklyn to obtain another shooting forward like Green. Johnson, on his fifth team in the last three seasons and a 30% career three-point shooter, is the definition of a wild card. He’ll certainly bring his special brand of toughness to Brooklyn, but it will come at the expense of his dead weight on the offensive end. And Bembry (26.8%) doesn’t fall into the Green category either.
It was a little frustrating to watch the higher-quality potential free agent candidates, one-by-one, choose other destinations, usually in California. Otto Porter Jr., whom Marks made generationally wealthy back in the summer of 2017 through a $106 million restricted free agency offer sheet (which Washington fortunately matched) reportedly spurned Brooklyn by opting to sign with Golden State for the minimum exception. Trevor Ariza, Kent Bazemore, and Carmelo Anthony went to the Lakers, Nicolas Batum re-upped with the Clippers, and Andre Iguodala went back to the Warriors. The Nets also missed out on Rudy Gay (Utah) and Markieff Morris (Miami).
Not all of the above-mentioned players would have been good fits in Brooklyn, but the point is that the glaring need at that position was available at a reasonable cost and, to date, the organization has yet to fully address it.
As for who’s left in the dried-up free agent pool, Paul Millsap is coming off a down year in Denver at age 36, but should still be able to give a good team 15-odd minutes per night. Of course, Brooklyn has not been mentioned as a rumored landing spot.
So, while the KD extension obviously bodes well for the Nets’ sustainability over the next five years, the open question is whether the team has beefed up enough to keep up with their rivals for the 2021-22 season.
Kevin Durant will be the face of this team going forward and with a championship, he will become the face of the franchise for a generation or more. It seems like Sean Marks will rest upon the Big-3's dominance to lead us to a championship. I hope I'm wrong, especially since injuries are more of a guarantee than health with this team.
Andre Drummond to the 76ers on a minimum?! THAT pissed me off. As if THEY need more size. Embiid will be load-managed. He's gonna prove useful against the League.
And certainly, I thought Otto Porter Jr would sign with this team. How sad. I don't like the fact that we allowed our only other reliable facilitator go to Washington for a bargain deal. I argue Marks invested in the wrong Guard (Joe). Let's see who Sean Marks acquies for Spencer's trade exception.
And Jeff Green is up there in age, but he did so well, it sucks seeing him go to Denver to help protect modern Hakeem and Baby Durant. I doubt Patty Mills will produce well enough for us. Sean Marks has work to do