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Nets: How COVID-19 may have affected free agency for Brooklyn

By Brendan Montalvo

Newly hired Brooklyn Nets General Manager Sean Marks answers questions during a press conference before the game between the Brooklyn Nets and the New York Knicks at Barclays Center on February 19, 2016 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. 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 Elsa/Getty Images)
Newly hired Brooklyn Nets General Manager Sean Marks answers questions during a press conference before the game between the Brooklyn Nets and the New York Knicks at Barclays Center on February 19, 2016 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. 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 Elsa/Getty Images) /
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The Brooklyn Nets offseason was affected by COVID-19 significantly.

COVID-19 affected all of us. That is one thing we can all agree on, regardless of viewpoint. It was an (arguably) unforeseen event that derailed the lives of many abruptly and possibly for a long time to come. One of the byproducts of COVID-19’s devastation was its effect on the sports world.

With most sports shutting down for a period of time, that caused millions of dollars of expected revenue to disappear. This affected owners and players alike. Now that the 2019-2020 season is over and the new season is due to start in late December, there are negotiations between the NBA and NBPA about how much player income will be held in escrow to compensate for COVID-19 losses.

This could mean millions will be withheld from players, or for lower-salaried players, hundreds of thousands. That means that there is a sentiment for players to try to make as much money as possible in free agency to manage the escrow hit — well, unless you’re James Harden. We have no way of knowing just how much of an impact this may have had on, for example, Serge Ibaka‘s decision to go to the Clippers instead of the Brooklyn Nets.

This could bleed into trade scenarios as well. Teams looking to bolster their starting five or closing lineups may have to be careful giving away assets, because any player with noticeable value is also going to be looking to capitalize now more than ever, which might make rounding out the roster post-trade very difficult.

An isolated example of this would be how the Brooklyn Nets had to desperately assemble a team for the season restart. It ended up being a couple of core pieces, NBA cast offs and G-League players. Depth might be more important now more than ever because players can still catch COVID-19, forcing quarantine on top of the regular risk of injury. The Brooklyn Nets don’t want to be in the situation again where they have to field G-League players in their nine-man rotation.

Granted, if the Nets made a big trade right now, the situation would be different. However, it isn’t farfetched to think that if the Nets traded away their depth for a big name, it could be considerably more difficult to complete the roster precisely because anyone with visible capabilities to fill a role is probably looking to get paid wherever they go.

The sentiment of “taking less at a chance for a ring” may have temporarily ended due to COVID-19.

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