Brooklyn Nets: Time to pursue Jabari Parker
The Brooklyn Nets now have around $11 million in salary cap space after buying out Dwight Howard. They should use some of that to go get free agent forward Jabari Parker.
The long-awaited Dwight Howard buyout with the Brooklyn Nets became official Saturday.
But despite the deal being done, there have been different reports regarding how much the Nets got back.
Michael Scotto of The Athletic reported the Brooklyn Nets will get more than $4 million from Dwight Howard.
Dwight Howard gave up $4+ million in his buyout agreement with the Brooklyn Nets, league sources told The Athletic. The buyout gives Brooklyn more cap space to utilize if the Nets choose to do so.
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) July 7, 2018
On the other hand, Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post reported that the Nets will get back $5 million.
Dwight Howard’s buyout with the Nets was for $5 million, per league sources. Makes sense, given he’s getting the tax MLE from Washington. Gives Brooklyn some extra cushion under the salary cap to make a move or two.
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) July 7, 2018
It is safe to say Brooklyn has roughly $4 million added to their cap space. So it is also safe to say Brooklyn has from $10 million to $11 million if they want to pursue a free agent this summer
That leaves Brooklyn with a decision to make. After missing out on Julius Randle, should general manager Sean Marks aggressively pursue Jabari Parker?
Signing Jabari Parker?
Jabari Parker is a medium-risk, high-reward player. He has struggled to stay healthy in his short NBA tenure, suffering two season-ending knee injuries. Despite his time consuming injuries, Parker has played well with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Since being taken with the second overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, when on the court, Parker plays well. During his rookie season, Parker only played and started a total of 25 games for Milwaukee due to a torn ACL.
In those 25 games, the former Duke Blue Devil averaged 29.5 minutes,12.3 points and 5.5 rebounds.
In his second season, Parker remained healthy for a good majority of the season. The power forward started 72 out of 76 games for the Bucks. He developed really well compared to his first season, showing signs of confidence, especially with his knee.
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Due to his confident play, former Bucks head coach Jason Kidd rewarded Parker with more minutes and more touches. The 6-foot-8 power forward averaged 31.7 minutes, 14.1 points, and 5.2 rebounds in his sophomore season.
Parker had a rough third year in the NBA. The first half of the season went well. He was proving all his doubters he was deserving of being a second overall pick and thriving on both ends of the floor. But then disaster struck again.
On Feb. 9, 2017, Parker tore the ACL in his left knee for a second time. This would sideline him for the rest of the season and require another surgery on the same knee. Parker played a total of 52 games averaging 33.9 minutes, 20.1 points, and 6.2 rebounds.
Despite the season-ending knee injury, this was Parker’s best season so far.
On Dec. 18, Parker returned to play, but for the Wisconsin Herd, the G-League affliate of the Milwaukee Bucks. Only after two workouts, Parker was called up by the Bucks the next day. It was not until Feb. 2 that Parker made his return to the court in a Milwaukee Bucks uniform.
Parker came off the bench as a reserve and scored 12 points in 15 minutes, helping the Bucks win against the New York Knicks. For the remainder of the season, Parker came off the bench, but did start three games. He averaged 24.0 minutes, 12.6 points, and 4.9 rebounds.
Jabari to Brooklyn?
On Sunday, Chris Haynes of ESPN reported that former Net Brook Lopez, who played last season with the Los Angeles Lakers, will sign with the Milwaukee Bucks. Lopez will sign a one-year deal for the bi-annual exception of $3.4 million.
Free agent center Brook Lopez has reached an agreement with Milwaukee, league sources tell ESPN.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) July 8, 2018
This leaves Milwaukee with a decision whether or not to re-sign Jabari Parker. Well, it does not look like Parker is going to re-sign.
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According to Bob Garcia IV of Clutch Points, Parker unfollowed Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo on Instagram and blocked the Bucks’ biggest fan page in the process. Telling by the report, it is safe to say Parker is likely to leave the Bucks after the Lopez signing.
The Brooklyn Nets should pursue Parker. Brooklyn can afford to sign Parker without exceeding the cap. His market value is around $4 million to $10 million a year, but it would not be surprising if a team signs him for more.
He would fit very well in the Brooklyn Nets system. He has rising potential, but is a medium-risk, high-reward player due to injuries. Parker is a very injury-prone player, but can give the Nets dominant scoring and needed rebounding on both ends.
He is a solid defender who can give Brooklyn more frontcourt depth. He is a versatile defender who can block, steal and brings lock-down defense.
Brooklyn should offer Parker a one- or two-year deal worth $7 million a year. This deal would not jeopardize their 2019 free agency spending and would bring a notable frontcourt player to Brooklyn.
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After missing out on a opportunity with Randle, it is a no brainer for Brooklyn to pursue Parker.