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Nets: Can BK afford Jrue Holiday and Joe Harris next season?

ByJerry Trotta|
Jrue Holiday #11 of the New Orleans Pelicans drives with the ball against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the first half at the Smoothie King Center on February 28, 2020 in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
Jrue Holiday #11 of the New Orleans Pelicans drives with the ball against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the first half at the Smoothie King Center on February 28, 2020 in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

Is it feasible for the Brooklyn Nets to afford both Jrue Holiday and Joe Harris?

Despite valiant efforts from fans in Brooklyn, the rumors linking Jrue Holiday to the Nets via trade just refuse to fizzle out. Just last month, heavy.com reported that the franchise submitted an offer to the Pelicans for the star point guard.

According to ESPN insider Brian Windhorst, however, general manager Sean Marks’ interest in Holiday extended as far back as the February trade deadline, and both organizations held discussions about a trade for the defensive stalwart, but they ultimately couldn’t reach an agreement.

It still remains to be seen if the Pelicans, who just hired a new head coach, are keen on moving Holiday, as he clearly doesn’t fit into their future plans. Based on the rumblings, though, it appears as though the Nets are going to great lengths to make him a part of their championship run in 2020-21 and beyond.

Any trade for Holiday obviously means taking on his pricey contract, so Brooklyn will have to decide whether it can afford to potentially trade for him and fulfill the dreams of the fan base by re-signing free agent marksman Joe Harris, who will likely (and rightly) demand a sizable salary after his stellar showing this past season. Is Harris still Sean Marks’ priority No. 1?

Holiday is slated to make more than $25 million over the final two seasons of his contract, so that will serve as a significant blow to the Nets’ salary cap situation. Brooklyn isn’t in the greatest financial situation after signing the likes of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving last summer, but it could still manage paying Holiday in the event that he is acquired in a trade.

That, however, would put the proverbial ball in Harris’ court. Would he be willing to punt on signing a potentially lucrative contract in order to compete for a championship, or will he chase the money and sign with a fringe playoff team on which he’ll have a prominent role?

That’s pretty much what this debate boils down too. In our eyes, the Nets have plenty of scoring options — Durant, Irving, Caris LeVert and Spencer Dinwiddie could combine to score 80 points on any given night. What isn’t as clear, however, is what the team will look like on defense.

New head coach Steve Nash has spoken on the urgency to become elite on that end of the floor, so Holiday might have the nod over Harris in terms of offseason priorities. The former is largely viewed as the best perimeter defender at the guard position by his NBA colleagues, and he’s been named to two All-Defensive Teams across his grossly underrated career.

With two max contracts on the books, it would be extremely difficult for Brooklyn to try and afford both Holiday and Harris. That task, of course, would become a lot easier depending on who is unloaded in a trade for the Pelicans stud, and that only opens up a new can of worms of whether they should forfeit their luxurious bench depth to further stack their starting five.

There are so many tentacles attached to this subject, and the complexity of it proves that Marks has his work cut out for him this offseason.