On draft night, the Nets made it clear they want Brook Lopez to remain their starting center as they began making moves by having dealt Mason Plumlee and their second-round pick Pat Connaughton to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for rookie Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and veteran Steve Blake. Brooklyn has been looking to get younger after the failed experiment of acquiring Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett in exchange for future first-round picks. Hollis-Jefferson will look to impact the team with his youth and defensive presence. If Blake remains with the Nets on opening night, he will be an excellent backup to either Jack or Williams, as he has shown to be during his 12 years in the league.
According to league sources, Lopez, 27, will be given a three-year deal worth $60 million, which can include a player option for the third year. As for Thaddeus Young, 27, he’ll receive a four-year, $48 million deal. Although a verbal agreement can be done on July 1st, the first day of free agency, no official signing can take place until July 9th. Both Lopez and Young opted out to get a raise, and the only team that can grant them the biggest pay check for the upcoming years are the Nets.
Despite Brooklyn looking to get active in their attempts to move both their backcourt players, the most probable veteran to go is Johnson. Williams still has two years remaining on his contract worth $43.4 million, while Joe Cool will be entering the final year of his contract worth $24.9 million, making him the second highest player right behind Kobe Bryant. Reports came out early Monday that Brooklyn and the Memphis Grizzlies had talks about Johnson, but could not find a workable deal according to league sources.
Other key players to note are Alan Anderson, who exercised his player option and will become an unrestricted free agent, while Mirza Teletovic will be a restricted free agent. On January 23, 2015, the team had announced that Mirza had been diagnosed with Bilateral Pulmonary Embolus, which would force him to miss the rest of the regular season. Anderson played in 74 games last season and started in 19 of them. Both players have shown to become an instant offensive spark with their three-point shooting, whether it's starting or coming off the bench.
Since Brooklyn traded away their first-round draft picks for 2016 and 2018, their focus will be to develop the few young guys they have while remaining a competitive team by retaining Lopez and Young. Bojan Bogdanovic had an impactful rookie season, earning averages of nine points and three rebounds a game. Markel Brown also began showing some signs during the second half of his rookie season with his athleticism. Also, being in the Eastern Conference will highly serve their hopes of reaching the playoffs for the fourth straight year.