The Brooklyn Nets have been the NBA's most active team this offseason. General Manager Sean Marks made an NBA-record five first-round picks in June's draft and executed four salary dump trades. Yet, the rebuilding squad has more roster maneuvering in store ahead of the regular season.
With their season-opener two weeks away, the Nets remain below the NBA's salary floor. When accounting for their 15 guaranteed contracts — the number of players a team can carry during the regular season — Brooklyn is $4.25 million below the league's payroll requirement. According to the NBA's new collective bargaining agreement, NBA teams are required to meet the minimum salary floor by the start of the regular season.
How could the Nets add $4.25 million to their payroll before Oct. 22?
Does Sean Marks have another trade in store following busy Nets offseason?
Brooklyn could execute another trade using its cap space to reach the salary floor. Marks has already taken on Terance Mann, Michael Porter Jr., Haywood Highsmith and Kobe Bufkin's contracts this offseason from teams trying to shed salary. Several other squads, including the Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors and Orlando Magic, have an incentive to dip below the luxury tax.
However, these teams do not have to rush to shed salary in the coming weeks. The NBA's luxury tax bill is computed based on payroll at the end of the regular season. If no trade opportunity presents itself before Oct. 22, Brooklyn must take another route to reach the salary floor.
That would involve guaranteeing the salaries of several of their non-guaranteed players: Tyrese Martin ($2.19 million), Jalen Wilson ($2.22 million) and Drew Timme ($1.96 million).
Guaranteeing two of those three contracts would bring Brooklyn up to the salary floor. However, after doing so, the Nets would still have to trim their roster to 15 standard contracts. They could waive Martin, Wilson and/or Timme after guaranteeing their deals, in which case their salaries would still count toward the payroll.
However, Martin has drawn rave reviews for his improvement this offseason. The Nets have been complimentary of Wilson since selecting him in the second round of the 2023 draft. And Timme has impressed since joining Brooklyn's G League affiliate midway through last season.
If the Nets want to keep one or more of the above players, they could waive other guaranteed players such as Dariq Whitehead, Haywood Highsmith or Kobe Bufkin.
Highsmith is a veteran on an expiring contract recovering from offseason knee surgery. However, he said at media day that he plans to be ready for the start of the regular season. If he performs well early in the year, he could have trade value at the deadline.
Meanwhile, the Nets were high on Bufkin during the pre-draft process in 2023 and took on his contract this summer without receiving a draft pick.
Whitehead appears to be the likeliest of Brooklyn's guaranteed players to be cut if the team needs to open a spot for Martin, Wilson or Timme. The 2023 first-round pick has struggled to regain his athleticism following several lower-leg surgeries. He was among the last players to play during Brooklyn's preseason opener on Saturday.
