While NBA Free Agency has been well underway for the past several weeks, the Brooklyn Nets have remained curiously quiet. Aside from offering Washington Wizards restricted free agent Otto Porter Jr. a $106 million maximum deal, which the Wizards eventually matched, the Nets haven’t really done much thus far. Maybe they’re playing the waiting game? Frankly, who knows? What we do know is that the majority of the top billed free agents have already been taken off the market, leaving teams like Brooklyn wondering “who else is out there?” Having said that, here is a list of 4 available free agents that the Nets should inquire about:
Boris Diaw (PF)
2016-2017 Season Stats (per ESPN): 17.6 MPG, 4.6 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 0.1 BPG
While his statistics are in no way “mind-blowing”, Diaw is a veteran player in this league that can be a mentor on the court for the “youngins,” as well as a great locker room presence. Through 16 NBA seasons, Diaw has been to the postseason 10 times and has a championship under his belt. Diaw has more postseason minutes played than the entire Brooklyn Nets roster combined. Last season, he joined a young Utah Jazz team with players who had little to no playoff experience in their background. The Utah Jazz exceeded all expectations and made their way to the Western Conference Semifinals as the number 5 seed. Veteran leadership and a great locker room presence is pivotal for a team to succeed. Veteran leadership and a great locker room presence is what you get with a man like Boris Diaw.
Shabazz Muhammad (SF)
2016-2017 Season Stats (per ESPN): 19.4 MPG, 9.9 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 0.4 APG
This is where it gets tricky. Do the Nets want to invest more money into a player at a position that they already have depth? The way I see it, they definitely should! As LeBron James put it:
"“Why not? If I become an owner, I’m going to try to sign everybody.”"
Sure this quote was directed towards the Golden State Warriors signing of Kevin Durant, but it still makes sense here. Just because a team seems to be in a good situation, doesn’t mean they can’t try and improve upon it. With signing Shabazz Muhammad they add more depth to a core of Demarre Carrol, Caris Levert and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, youth as he is only 24 and bench scoring. With all these positive attributes that would go along with a Muhammad signing, there is no reason for the Nets to not be interested.
Randy Foye (SG)
2016-2017 Season Stats (per ESPN): 18.6 MPG, 5.2 PPG, 2.0 APG, .5 SPG
Familiarity is key in the reason behind why we see Foye landing on this list. He did not have an impressive season last year as we saw him set, or tie, career lows in points, assists, steals and minutes. However, we can’t completely fault him for these statistics. To put it lightly, the Nets as a whole were atrocious last season.
The Brooklyn Nets are trying to build their way out of the hole old management dug themselves into. They are trying to find a new identity. How can they find one if they keep changing up their roster every season? Continuity is key in the development of young players in the NBA. It helps them get more comfortable in the scheme their team wants to run. It helps them build upon a franchises culture. Foye may not be an All-Star, but he’s a familiar face that the youngsters on this roster should be comfortable with seeing back in a black and white jersey.
Nikola Mirotic (PF)
2016-2017 Season Stats (per ESPN): 24.0 MPG, 10.6 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 0.8 BPG
Mirotic is the best player mentioned on this list who would probably be a starter on this team if he were to sign with them. Standing at 6-10 and a career shooting percentage of 40% and 35% from deep, Mirotic is the definition of a modern-day big. He can bang down low, as well as stretch the floor.
Spacing is key in today’s NBA and every team is racing to get a stretch four or five. With the Nets current roster situation, they do not posses a big like this. The closest thing they have to a stretch 4 is Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and he (a) is best suited at the small forward position, standing at only 6-7, and (b) shoots a not-so-impressive 23% career 3-pt percentage.
Next: It might be better for the Nets to not make anymore moves
By signing Mirotic they not only would be catching up with the modern times of the NBA, but would also undoubtedly be upgrading their roster from a talent perspective. I think a Mirotic signing would make Jeremy Lin happy, for it would make his Nets postseason claim that much more believable! Is he a top 5 player in the league? No, but as of now he’s a top 5 free agent.
Pick up the phone Brooklyn! All these players are sitting at home just waiting for your call!