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The Brooklyn Nets are sure to be active on the free agency market due to their cap space and dearth of draft picks on the horizon. Some of the available players at shooting guard could be intriguing to new general manager Sean Marks.
The Nets have a few players they can utilize at the two spot next season. Bojan Bogdanovic is under contract for one more season at a reasonable price tag of approximately $3.5 million. He’s played both wing positions over his short yet streaky career, and may be the one movable Nets piece via trade if Marks feels a change is needed.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, last year’s first-round pick, started a few games at shooting guard under Lionel Hollins before suffering an ankle injury in early December. Jefferson most likely projects as a small forward due to his length and athleticism, but his abilities on the wing should give new coach Kenny Atkinson some lineup versatility next season.
Markel Brown and Sean Kilpatrick both proved to be valuable players last season and may return for prominent bench roles (Kilpatrick has a guaranteed deal for next year, Brown does not). Brown’s defensive prowess and athleticism on the wing was much needed with the loss of Hollis-Jefferson for the majority of the season; Kilpatrick averaged 14.5 points per game on 46.2 percent shooting off the bench in the final 20 games. Wayne Ellington has a player option but is unlikely to return after one season in Brooklyn.
So will the Nets be luring any players to fill the once big shoes of Joe Johnson or settle on some lesser known commodities? Let’s take a look at who’s available.
Also check out: Point Guards
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DeMar DeRozan, Player Option
The skinny: From Straight Outta Compton to We the North, DeRozan’s star has shone brighter in each year of his career. Now 26 in his seventh season, DeRozan is the leading scorer for the 56-win Toronto Raptors team who pose a legitimate chance of reaching the NBA Finals this year. The 6’7” long and dynamic guard has improved on his shooting every year since being drafted by Toronto in the first round in 2009; his athletic skillset has become a nightmare for opposing defenders and there’s still room for improvement. This season, DeRozan averaged 23.5 points per game and made the All-Star Team for the 2nd time. Consistency, which once eluded him, has become one with him.
DeRozan a fit? Joe Johnson showed the value of a competent shooting guard in Brooklyn, and the Nets’ big man duo of Thaddeus Young & Brook Lopez are the only consistent scoring threats signed for next season. So yes, DeRozan’s offensive ability entering his prime would be worthy of a max contract if Marks and company see him as a long-term piece.
Worthy pursuit? DeRozan has made it very clear his affection for Toronto and his willingness to stay there. Backcourt mate Kyle Lowry has said he believes DeRozan will opt out but only as a business decision, not a plan to leave. The Nets should kick the tires on DeRozan, but only if Marks and Coach Atkinson feel he would be a key building block. Max contracts require thorough deliberations, and they might not want to put all those eggs in DeRozan’s basket.
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Bradley Beal, Restricted Free Agent
The skinny: Beal, a former 3rd overall pick by the Wizards in the 2011 NBA Draft, has progressed in his four-year career and reached career-highs in points per game (17.4) and shooting percentage (44.9 percent) this season. As part of one the league’s most promising backcourts with John Wall, Beal has had a problem staying healthy throughout his short career, missing 27 games and 47 starts this season with four separate injuries. Beal, who turns 23 in June, showed his value in last year’s playoffs averaging 23.4 points and 4.6 assists in 10 games.
Beal a fit? A young talent like Beal is always a good fit for a team in need of perimeter shooting. The Nets need scoring threats on the outside to complement the Young/Lopez combo inside, and Beal could definitely provide that.
Worthy pursuit? The buzz around the league implies Beal will be offered a max contract by some team which the Wizards are prepared to match. New head coach Scott Brooks, will probably do his best to recruit former Thunder compadre Kevin Durant, but that is no slam dunk. Beal has proved to be a great complementary piece to his slashing backcourt mate Wall, but the Nets do not have any backcourt dynamic like that in place. Not to mention that a 23-year-old shooting guard with so much injury history is a big risk for Marks’s first splash.
Beal’s future should be bright, but it won’t be in Brooklyn.
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Evan Fournier, Restricted Free Agent
The skinny: Fournier, a 23-year-old French import, played his best basketball this season with the young Orlando Magic. After playing his first two seasons in Denver, Fournier has become a key piece for Orlando the past two campaigns. The 6’7” shooting guard started 71 of 79 games this season, averaging 15.4 points per game on 46.2 percent shooting, including a stellar 40 percent from three. His free throw percentage also jumped, from 72.8 to 83.6 percent.
Fournier’s game is not short of skills; he moves well without the ball, he’s shifty on pick-and-rolls, and he finishes well at the rim. This season, Fournier showed great strides defending on the ball, and looks like he’s molded himself into more a complete player.
Fournier a fit? Again, the Nets need talent, and Fournier is talented. His skillset with Hollis-Jefferson on the wings is intriguing, and could provide the team with matchup advantages due to size. That said, while he’s a more polished product now, the Nets may want a veteran wing player to play alongside Hollis-Jefferson as a starter.
Worthy pursuit? The Magic offered Fournier a 4-year deal worth $32 million last offseason, and Fournier turned it down. The Nets are looking to add multiple pieces, and the kind of player Fournier is at this point of his career doesn’t warrant the big money he may be looking for. Talented? Yes. But the Nets need guaranteed consistency at shooting guard if they willfully open the vault.
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J.R.Smith, Player Option
The skinny: Brooklyn fans know all about J.R. Smith. Now in his 12th NBA season, the Freehold, New Jersey native played three-plus years with the crosstown Knicks in a roller coaster tenure.
Maturity and desire have always been an issue with Smith, but the explosive talent has always been evident. At this point in his career, now with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Smith is mainly a three-point sniper flanking LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love. This season, 510 of his 850 field goal attempts were behind the arc, making 204 (40 percent). The 30-year-old Smith has started 77 games for the Eastern Conference champs, and is always waiting to erupt. You will not get passing, rebounding, or defensive ferocity from Smith, but he can fill up from deep in a flash.
Smith a fit? No. It appears the secret to motivating Smith is having King James in his ear 82 games per season….and the green light to shoot eight threes per game. Bringing Smith back to his New York City haunts would not be a good allocation of cap space or good sense. Bojan Bogdanovic off the bench will do just fine if need be.
Worthy pursuit?
If he keeps up his good playoff run, he could find a way to extend his stay in Cleveland over his option year.
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Arron Afflalo, Player Option
The skinny: Afflalo has put together a respectable nine-year career, yet he’s still searching for a successful lengthy stint. He’s started the majority of games at shooting guard the past seven seasons, but with four different teams. In his most recent season, one lost to the Knicks, Afflalo averaged 12.8 points per game in 71 games.
For the majority of his career, Afflalo has been a reliable, complementary scorer with a decent mid-range jumper and post-up skills. Two seasons ago with Orlando, Afflalo notched a career-high 18.2 points per game on 45.9 percent shooting, including 42.7 percent from deep. The last two seasons with Denver, Portland, and New York have yet to rekindle that shooting touch with any consistency.
Afflalo a fit? Not likely. Afflalo is on the wrong side of 30, and the Nets are better off with someone who can stretch the floor for Lopez and Young significantly more. The consistency just hasn’t been there for Afflalo lately, and there are more athletic options on the open market.
Worthy pursuit? No. Even if they stay complacent at shooting guard, a Bogdanovic/Kilpatrick combo might yield more production than Afflalo…and at a far cheaper price.
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Eric Gordon, Unrestricted Free Agent
The skinny: At 27 years old, Gordon is gearing up to play his ninth season in the league, and most definitely with a different team. Matching a 4-year contract worth $58 million from the Phoenix Suns in 2013 has proven to be an unfavorable decision from the New Orleans Pelicans’ brass. The writing should’ve been on the wall once Gordon said “Phoenix is just where my heart is now,” shortly after signing the offer sheet. Oops.
Besides the contract, Gordon is known for poor shot selection and bad knees despite his talent. In the past five seasons, predominantly with the Hornets, Gordon missed 189 of a possible 410 games, including the last 21 games of this past season recovering from surgery to his right ring finger.
Gordon a fit? The Nets will probably lean towards a more consistent outside shooter if they go the free agency route for shooting guard. Gordon has shot over 42 percent the last two seasons, and the Nets have needed a consistent presence from outside.
Worthy pursuit? No. The Nets have had enough problems with injuries the past few years; from Brook Lopez’s nagging foot to the chronic ankle pains of Deron Williams. Any big investment from Marks must consider injury history.
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Lance Stephenson, Team Option
The skinny: Relentless defender, streaky shooter, and famed ear-blower.
When the Brooklyn-born Stephenson was on the Pacers, he looked primed for a terrific career. In his last season with Indiana during the 2013-14, the then 23-year-old averaged 13.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game, shooting 49.1 percent from the field.
The past two years, he really hasn’t looked the same. After signing a 3-year deal worth $27.4 million with Charlotte after that season, Stephenson has since been traded — twice. Now playing for Memphis via the Los Angeles Clippers, the feisty Stephenson played a key bench role down the stretch and into the playoffs.
Stephenson a fit? Two years ago, Stephenson would have been an ideal fit for a Nets team that lacked athleticism and defensive ferocity. Now that Rondae Hollis-Jefferson is part of the core rotation, the use for a volatile piece like Stephenson is not as ideal.
Worthy pursuit? Maybe, but don’t count on it. With a $9.4 million dollar team option that most assuredly will be denied, Stephenson should hit the open market. The upside with a soon to be 26-year old talent like Stephenson is difficult to measure. Consider his maturity issues and resistance to blending with teammates and coaches the past two years, a commitment would be a gamble by the Nets. A one-year, “show me” deal could be a possibility if Marks is sold on his commitment, but it’s highly doubtful.
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O.J. Mayo, Unrestricted Free Agent
The skinny: Eric Gordon without the injuries? Sadly, that may be an insult to Gordon. Mayo has always had skills, but just hasn’t grasped team basketball since entering the league with Memphis in 2008. Despite bursting onto the scene his rookie season, averaging 18.5 points at the age of 21, Mayo has yet to hone his talent and skills into a successful playing career.
The past three seasons with Milwaukee, Mayo has been predominantly a bench player and it has not gone well. Last season, he averaged a career-low 7.2 points on 37.1 percent shooting in 41 games, before missing the last 18 games with a fractured ankle.
Mayo a fit? No. Much like J.R. Smith and Eric Gordon, Mayo fits into the “chucker” group of players in the NBA that are shoot-first, pass second. With what the Nets are trying to build in Brooklyn, Mayo doesn’t appear to have the commitment to winning, not to mention shooting touch, that the Nets are seeking.
Worthy pursuit? Not even a blink from Marks. Lopez, Young, and Hollis-Jefferson are examples of the personalities the team should be looking to match, and Marks and Atkinson are not going to mess with team chemistry this early in the building process.
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E’Twaun Moore, Unrestricted Free Agent
The skinny: Drafted by Boston in the second round of the 2011 NBA Draft, Moore was no shoo-in to make the team. After four seasons of limited playing time for three different teams, Moore looked like he was on the career path of a defensive role player to spell starters’ minutes as need be.
Last year, Moore showed he can ball on the other side, too. Playing in his second season with the Chicago Bulls — first with rookie head coach Fred Hoiberg — Moore displayed skills of a complete player worthy of extended minutes. After four seasons of below-par shooting culminating with 2.7 points per game in just nine minutes during the 2014-15 season, Moore broke out last season. Up from 34.2 percent the year before, Moore shot 45.2 from three point range while averaging 7.5 points per game in 21.4 minutes.
Defensively, Moore can guard the one, two, or three positions.
Moore a fit? This is the kind of player the Nets should go after. Moore is a two-way player that provides a steady and heady presence on the floor. He can shoot from deep, knock down mid-rangers well off pick-and-rolls, and create his own shot off dribble-drives. His athleticism is high yet controlled, and last season he showed he showed he can score in bunches filling in for the injured Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler.
Worthy pursuit? Absolutely. Moore looks like a late bloomer, albeit at only 27, and he his versatility plays regardless if it’s with first or second unit. He’s a similar player as Markel Brown, but with less explosiveness and more polish. He’s plenty valuable at 15 minutes per game, but will not hurt you if he plays 30. Chicago will be in play for him, where he was born and raised, but it’s worth trying.
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Gerald Henderson, Unrestricted Free Agent
The skinny: Henderson is a 6’5” journeyman shooting guard who played the majority of his career with the Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets. The former Duke star has averaged 11.5 points per game in seven seasons, but was relegated to permanent bench duty for the first time in his career last season with Portland. Now at the age of 28, Henderson is still a valuable scoring option, but probably not starter material anymore.
The three-point shot, which has become more integral in today’s game, has never been his strength. Last season off the bench for Portland, he shot a career-high 35.3 percent from behind the arc, but in limited minutes. His defensive skills have waned as well.
Henderson a fit? Probably not. Last season, Wayne Ellington struggled playing extended minutes and Henderson is a similar player. Sean Kilpatrick and Markel Brown have more upside.
Worthy pursuit? Maybe. If the Nets are spurned by many available players, they’ll need players to fill out the roster with value. With better options on the open market, Henderson will not be pursued heavily, but will find a team for his services. He’s still could be handy scoring option off the bench, but not much else.
