First, the Brooklyn Nets traded their long-serving player, Nic Claxton, to the Chicago Bulls in a three=team deal that sent them Julius Randle, a three-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA player. Then came the NBA Draft where they selected the highest pick they’ve had in 16 years as well as a second second, part of the Claxton-Randle deal. After that, Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of the Steinline ignited rumors of “legitimate interest” in Mitchell Robinson, the New York Knicks center whose rim protection would certainly fill a need.
Now, Stein and Fischer are touting two other veteran free agents as players the Nets could be interested in when the clock strikes 6:00 p.m. in New York Tuesday, permitting teams to start making calls to free agents not their own. The two report that Keon Ellis, the 3-and-D shooting guard who played last year with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Rui Hachimura, the 6’8″ Los Angeles Lakers power forward.
Keon Ellis, meanwhile, appears less likely to stay in Cleveland … unless the Cavaliers lose (Dean) Wade.
One anticipated landing spot for Ellis is Brooklyn, where the defensive-minded guard could reunite with Nets coach Jordi Fernández, who was an assistant in Sacramento during Ellis’ Kings tenure.
Brooklyn keeps coming up as a likely suitor, too, for the Lakers’ Rui Hachimura, league sources say. The Nets and Spurs are two teams we’ve heard have interest in adding Hachimura’s services, while the Spurs are also faced with resolving Harrison Barnes’ future as the veteran forward heads to unrestricted free agency.
The Stein Line reported Friday that the Knicks’ Mitchell Robinson is another Nets target. Brooklyn can operate as a salary cap team with more than $40 million in space if it executes free agent signings before going through with the multiteam trade that will ultimately land Julius Randle with the Nets.
At first glance, not knowing what Sean Marks & co. are planning, the two would seem unlikely matches for the development-oriented Nets. But we’ve been surprised before.
In the case of Ellis, how would the 26-year-old fit with the Nets kiddie corps of guards — er, playmakers — that includes last year’s rookies Egor Demin, Nolan Traore, Ben Saraf and Drake Powell as well as incoming rookie PG Mikel Brown Jr. and two point forwards in Danny Wolf and Joshua Jefferson who range in age from 20 to 22? Did we mention veteran Terance Mann who’s still owed $31.5 million over the next two seasons and is favorite of the coaching staff? Ellis would likely come cheap and Brooklyn has both cap space and money. The undrafted 26-year-old has never made more than the vets minimum. He is a certified 3-point threat with a career average of 40.7% from deep.
Hachimura is a big but he’s not so much a center but rather a big power forward and the Nets already have two of them in Michael Porter Jr. and Julius Randle. They are more in need of rim protection rather than 3-point shooting at which Hachimura excels, hitting 39.4% from deep over. He averaged only 3.3 boards last year however, slightly lower than his 4.6 career average. He was paid $18.3 million last season. Could he and Ellis come off the bench?
One thing Stein and Fischer have harped on of late is that the Nets are tired of losing. (Who among us isn’t?) In their reporting Friday on Robinson, they had this to say:
[T]hey appear intent on putting a credible team on the floor next season after unreservedly tanking this past season and winding up with the No. 6 pick in May’s draft lottery.
There are of course other decisions to made on the Nets own free agents and soon: Sunday is the deadline for Nets to exercise options on Day’Ron Sharpe and Ziaire Williams’ $6.25 million options but on Saturday, league sources said the Nets and Sharpe had mutually agreed to pushed the deadline back a day to get both sides more time, a suggestion that the Nets may be willing to extend Sharpe. Also, on Monday, the team will have to decide options on Josh Minott and Malachi Smith. Separately, it’s the final day for teams to make qualifying offers to players eligible for restricted free agency. In Nets case, this applies to Noah Clowney.
Also, still hanging out there is the question of MPJ’s extension. Porter is eligible for a four-year, $234 million extension but is likely to wind up with significantly less.
Marks has been promising people months of excitement so it’s best to wait. He’ll surely be asked a bunch of questions Monday when he and the team’s three draft picks meet with the media at the Brooklyn Basketball Center at 3:00 p.m. ET Monday.
On Saturday morning, Keith Smith reported that the Nets have tendered a two-way qualifying offer to Chaney Johnson who played on a two-way last year. He’ll soon be joined on a two-way by Tyler Bilodeau, the 6’9″ forward the Nets drafted in the second round earlier in the week.
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