Expiring contracts ahead
The Brooklyn Nets currently have seven expiring contracts on their cap sheet, per Jeff Siegel at Early Bird Rights, including D’Angelo Russell’s expiring rookie deal and Spencer Dinwiddie’s contract signed in 2016, which becomes fully guaranteed for 2018-19 on Jan. 10.
The deadline for Russell to sign a rookie-scale extension is prior to the beginning of the regular season in October.
However, as Brian Lewis of the New York Post reported Monday, there are no extension talks and general manager Sean Marks appears willing to let Russell become a restricted free agent next July.
Marks said there are no plans for any major contract-related moves at this point.
"For now we’re going to see how this group plays together, how it all unfolds. But — again, I’m not going to rule out anything — as we stand now, this is the group and we have no plans to make any crazy changes, whether that’s an extension or signing or trade anyone else. But things happen quickly."
Dinwiddie’s contract, meanwhile, becomes guaranteed for $250,000 if he is on the roster Oct. 31 and becomes fully guaranteed at roughly $1.7 million on Jan. 10.
Blue Man Hoop
The Nets can’t talk extension with Dinwiddie until Dec. 8, but that will give the team nearly two months to see how well Russell and Dinwiddie can co-exist.
There has been much talk about Brooklyn having enough cap space to sign two max free agents next summer, but there are conditions to clearing that space — either by trading Allen Crabbe, who has a player option for $18.5 million for 2019-20 or letting pending free agents such as Russell, Dinwiddie and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson leave.
Russell will require a $9.2 million qualifying offer to keep him a restricted free agent and his cap hold is nearly $21.1 million.
Dinwiddie’s cap hold is just $1.6 million, while Hollis-Jefferson’s hold figure is $7.4 million and his qualifying offer will be $3.6 million to retain the right to match any offer sheet he may receive.
Dinwiddle will be an unrestricted free agent next summer unless he is extended.
DeMarre Carroll, Kenneth Faried, Jared Dudley and Ed Davis will also be unrestricted free agents next summer, while Brooklyn must decide by Oct. 31 whether or not to exercise the third-year option on Jarrett Allen and the fourth-year option on Caris LeVert.
The new-look Nets have the potential to improve on last season’s 28-54 record and if everything goes right could sneak into the discussion for the eighth seed in the playoffs.
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D’Angelo Russell and Spencer Dinwiddie being able to hold up on the defensive end is a big piece of that “everything.”