Brooklyn Nets: Low-Risk, High-Reward Roster is Perfect For Rebuild

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May 16, 2016; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks listens to Brooklyn Nets new head coach Kenny Atkinson answer questions from media during press conference at HSS Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports /

Payroll and Salary Cap

In total, the Brooklyn Nets have 20 players under contract at the time of this writing. There was a myriad of ways which these guys were signed, from cap space to bird rights, to camp invites, rookie contracts, and the league minimum. The picture below has all the financial date of 18 out of the 20 guys on the roster. The two missing players are Jorge Gutierrez and Chase Budinger, who are camp invites (all data is from Spotrac):

"Nets Salary Cap Overview"

The total cap of those contracts adds up to $76.9 million, and that includes more than $6 million owed to Deron Williams, Jarrett Jack, and Andrea Bargnani. The cap ceiling for the 2015-16 season was $94 million, leaving the Nets with about $17 million to use if they wanted to make moves throughout the season.

The cap rises to $102 million next year, and Brooklyn will have just $55.4 million in active contracts, but will still owe D-Will more than $5 million.

Currently, young and unproven players make up most of the Nets’ roster. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Sean Kilpatrick, and Anthony Bennett, among others, haven’t established themselves in the league, and the Nets can get away with paying them minimum contracts because they’re still developing.

If they produce, great. If they don’t, the Nets aren’t overpaying a dud.

Furthermore, no one on the team has a contract guaranteed for more than two years. Lin’s deal has a player option for year three. Contracts that expire in the immediate future allow Marks and co. to cut ties with guys who don’t fit the roster or are underperforming. If they were to trade someone, they wouldn’t have dead money tied up for subsequent years.