Here is our second big board of offseason scenarios for Brooklyn (find our first one here):
How much do you give up for Harden?
James Harden has a strong desire to get to Brooklyn, SNY sources confirm. How strong is the Nets’ desire to trade for Harden? That’s unknown. But the price tag for Harden probably went up after Milwaukee sent Eric Bledsoe, George Hill, three first-round picks and two pick swaps for Jrue Holiday. While the situations around Holiday and Harden aren’t the same, the Rockets can certainly make a case that they deserve a large haul based on the Holiday deal.
“That deal certainly helps (Houston’s) case,” an opposing executive said Tuesday.
So are the Nets and GM Sean Marks willing to give up their foundation and future picks for Harden, whose desire to get moved to Brooklyn was first reported by ESPN?
That’s unclear. But as of late Monday night, there wasn’t anything imminent between the Rockets and Nets. Some Nets players who could be in the deal had been telling friends on Monday that they were waiting for a resolution on the Harden matter.
But Houston doesn’t have to trade Harden, who reportedly turned down a $50 million-per-year extension. So this may drag out into the season, which could put the Nets in an awkward situation.
“Houston holds the cards here, as long as they are willing to stomach everything that comes with an unhappy superstar,” the opposing exec said.
Another question to consider: How much support among the Nets is there for a Harden trade? As SNY reported on Sunday, people around Harden contacted some Nets about a Harden-to-Brooklyn trade recently. There was support for the idea among the Nets contacted, but the support wasn’t universal, SNY sources say.
It’s unclear if there is universal support for the deal among Nets decision-makers. But if Durant and Irving are on board, you’d think that would increase the likelihood of a Harden trade.
Re-sign Joe Harris
SNY sources confirm multiple reports that stated Hawks are among many teams that will have interest in Harris, one of the top shooters in the NBA. The Hornets are on that list, too, per sources. Even with that strong interest from the Hawks and Hornets, teams monitoring Harris’ free agency firmly believe he will re-sign with Brooklyn on a multi-year deal. Two executives pegged the market for Harris at between $16-20 million per year. Teams with interest in Harris expect that he’ll end up with a full four-year commitment from Brooklyn. If things change and Harris’ market is lower than expected, the Knicks will have interest as well. But that’s unlikely.
With Harris likely off the board for Atlanta, Yahoo Sports reports that the club will have interest in Gordon Hayward. SNY reported earlier that the Pacers were among several teams with interest in Hayward, who per ESPN, has until Thursday to decide on his player option. Based on Hayward’s extended deadline, it seems fair to assume that Boston, Hayward and other teams are working out potential sign-and-trades of Hayward. Harris re-signing with the Nets has been assumed by most teams for months. Marks said months ago that the club’s top priority was to bring Harris back. Several teams have long believed Brooklyn and owner Joe Tsai will spend whatever it takes to sign the 29-year-old.
Explore the market for Spencer Dinwiddie?
We don’t know if the Nets have any desire to trade Dinwiddie, but we know that several Western Conference contenders have talked internally about Dinwiddie as a potential trade target. And Dinwiddie, Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert would probably be in any Harden-to-Brooklyn deal.
If a Harden deal doesn’t materialize, it will be interesting to see how Brooklyn proceeds with Dinwiddie, one of the driving forces behind the Nets’ resurgence over the past few years. On the surface, it probably seems silly to entertain offers to trade Dinwiddie. But Dinwiddie will likely be a free agent next summer and if the Nets re-sign Harris to a big contract, it will be expensive to sign Dinwiddie to the kind of contract he’s likely to demand on the open market.
If Dinwiddie has another strong season for Brooklyn in 2020-21, he’ll probably draw interest from several teams with cap space in 2021. So the Nets would risk losing him without compensation. That’s why I think they will at least gauge the market for Dinwiddie trades in the offseason.
Sign Serge Ibaka?
As Forbes’ Mike Mazzeo notes and SNY sources can confirm, prominent members of the Nets organization would like to see the club sign free agent Serge Ibaka. Ibaka is close with Kevin Durant, and he’d be an incredible addition for a club with title aspirations. But can Brooklyn afford Ibaka? It seems highly unlikely that he’ll sign for the tax-payer exception ($5.7 million per year). Ibaka made $23 million dollars last season.
Some teams preparing for Ibaka’s free agency believe he’d at least consider the non-tax payer midlevel exception for four years. That exception starts at $9.2 million and has maximum raises of five percent. Those teams monitoring Ibaka’s free agency believe he’d have interest in a deal in the neighborhood of three years and $12-15 million per year from teams with cap space.
The Nets can’t offer the latter because they won’t be able to get under the salary cap. But if they shed enough salary by trading players to teams that can absorb their contracts into cap space, it’s possible they can offer Ibaka the non-tax payer midlevel exception. Some teams believe Brooklyn will pursue options to shed salary via trade once the moratorium lifts.
Regarding Ibaka, it’s worth pointing out that he is coming off two of the best seasons of his career. He is a proven winner (won an NBA title in 2019; just LeBron James and Ibaka have 600 wins since 2010, and Ibaka ranks in the top 5 in playoff games played by active players). So Ibaka can make a strong case to earn a large contract this offseason from contending teams and teams like the Knicks that are looking to build a winning culture. Also, Ibaka is sure to get strong consideration from Masai Ujiri and the Raptors.
He's 31 years old, but Ibaka has been durable and teammates say he remains in great condition. So that will probably factor in to any Ibaka negotiation.
Teams monitoring Ibaka expect several contenders, including the Los Angeles Lakers, to have degrees of interest in the big man, per SNY sources.
