Lichtenstein: Nets Have Cash For Free Agents, But Will It Be Enough To Entice Anyone Good?

By Steve Lichtenstein
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What if the Nets sponsored a cash giveaway and no one came?

As the NBA heads into its free agent negotiating period Friday (contracts cannot be signed until July 7), Brooklyn should own the third-most salary cap space in the league at around $55 million.

That figure assumes that the final year of point guard Jarrett Jack's contract that called for a $6.3 million salary will soon come off the books and that reserve guard Wayne Ellington will decline his $1.5 million player option for next season.

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo.com reported that the Nets will either trade Jack or buy him out for $500,000 by Thursday. Ellington has until Wednesday to decide, but very few players have exercised their options this offseason due to the 34 percent increase in the league's salary cap over last year.

Either way, Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks is armed with enough dough to possibly turn the fortunes of this woebegone franchise around.

Unfortunately, so do many other teams.

With the salary cap exploding to about $94 million for the upcoming season thanks to the windfall from the league's TV partners, this free agency period promises to be unlike anything seen previously.

Max contracts will be doled out indiscriminately, even though only a handful of players truly deserve them. That's what happens when lack of supply overwhelms demand.

Right off the bat, I am certain that the top players won't be coming to Brooklyn. LeBron James and Kevin Durant are pipe dreams.

Those free agents who list money as their top concern will always choose to re-sign with their current teams — provided that such teams acquiesce — due to the salary guidelines under the league's collective bargaining agreement that favor incumbents.

Just look at the push the Grizzlies are making to keep Mike Conley, generally considered to be the top point guard on the market. If Memphis follows up on its leaked recruiting video with a max offer, Conley would receive a five-year deal for around $153 million. The most the Nets, or any other team, could offer is four years at about $114 million.

For players who are looking for a change of scenery, the Nets will still lag in the chase despite their arena, their sparkling new practice facility and their impressive support-staff overhaul.

The growing trend among the very good players is to prioritize playing on a championship contender or one close to that level.

The Nets, who finished with the third-worst mark in the league last season at 21-61, are in no position to compete in this area.

After Marks traded forward Thaddeus Young to Indiana for a draft pick last week, the Nets, assuming Jack is jettisoned and Ellington bolts, boast exactly one veteran with more than two years of NBA experience on their roster -- center Brook Lopez.

MORE: Lichtenstein: Nets' Draft Day Trade A Case Of Poor Marks-Manship

So what is a team with gaping holes at point guard and at the bigs supposed to do?

Tanking isn't an option, since the Celtics own the Nets' first-round draft choices the next two years (Boston has the right to swap slots in 2017), thanks to the summer 2013 trade for Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry. That deal, along with former general manager Billy King's subsequent strategic pivots, led to the Nets' current predicament.

According to BasketballInsiders.com, Marks, who replaced King in February, is planning to pursue certain veteran free agents to hasten the rebuild.

So much for the slow and patient approach, but he really has no other choice.

He should forget about finding value. Jeremy Lin is going to get paid. Kent Bazemore is going to get paid. Heck, Matthew Dellavedova is projected to break $10 million per year.

Marks should do whatever it takes to snare Lin, a point guard who will only be 28 years old when the 2016-17 season starts.

Yes, Lin is a flawed player — inefficient from 3-point range (33.6 percent last season), turnover prone (12.1 turnover percentage), and relatively slow defensively. His acquisition would not dramatically alter Brooklyn's destiny.

However, you have to start somewhere, and point guard is the natural line.

Lin would fit in nicely running the Brooklyn offense revolved around pick-and-rolls with Lopez. He's never been accused of hunting for shots like Brandon Jennings or assists like Rajon Rondo to the detriment of the team.

More than that, Lin is attainable. Because of his flaws, I just don't see the Nets needing to get into a heavy bidding war for his services, especially from the Hornets, who have other priorities more urgent than their backup point guard.

The prior relationship with new Nets coach Kenny Atkinson from their Lin-sanity days with the Knicks can be used to Marks' advantage. Combine a competitive offer with the opportunity to finally play the lead guard for a coach he knows, and I think the Nets at least have a shot to get him.

Another target mentioned by both BasketballInsiders.com and ESPN.com who also has ties to Atkinson is Hawks center Al Horford.

That quest makes less sense, unless it is Marks' intention to trade Lopez this offseason. The 6-foot-10 Horford occupies the same space as Lopez on offense, and at 30 years old, Horford is only going to get less mobile over the course of his next deal.

Atkinson told the gathering at newly drafted Isiah Whitehead's introductory news conference Tuesday that the Nets are "absolutely not" interested in trading Lopez.

Horford's age would also make it less likely he'd select a project such as Brooklyn over other suitors, including the Hawks, who are expected to offer a max contract, according to Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post.

With Young gone, the Nets would be better off prioritizing a power forward, even a "stretch-4"-type who can defend and rebound.

The Hornets' Marvin Williams and the Knicks' Lance Thomas are two possibilities, though they have been linked to other teams in addition to their current employers as opposed to Brooklyn. I wouldn't mind if the Nets stuck it to the Celtics by signing restricted free agent Amir Johnson to an offer sheet, forcing general manager Danny Ainge to match.

These are examples of the "high-character" players Marks has recently asserted he will seek.

Of course, it takes two to tango, and there's no guarantee that these players will have mutual feelings towards the Nets, no matter how much money they are shown.

The real mystery relates to Marks' Plan B — he'd better have one for when his top targets sign elsewhere.

For a FAN's perspective of the Nets, Jets and the NHL, follow Steve on Twitter @SteveLichtenst1