With free agency officially tipping off at 6 p.m. Sunday, the Nets are unlikely to make any huge signings.
But Brooklyn has already done franchise-shaking business (the trades with the Knicks and Rockets, re-signing Nic Claxton) and may yet have more major moves up their sleeves.
Trading with Houston to get control of the Rockets’ 2025 and ’26 first-round picks after shipping Mikal Bridges to the rival Knicks for essentially six first-round picks (four unprotected Knicks picks, an unprotected Knicks swap and a protected Bucks pick) signaled a rebuild.
Giving Nic Claxton a four-year, $100 million contract ensured he’ll be a part of that rebuild.
But what now?
The Nets are over the salary cap, unlike next summer when they could have about $80 million to spend, depending on moves.
Despite being able to use the mid-level exception ($12.9 million), the biannual exception ($4.7 million) and four trade exceptions ($20.4 million, $11.9 million, $9.5 million and $6.8 million), the Nets don’t have an excess of money or talent.
What they do have is some tradeable veteran assets to move, and decisions to make.
Cam Johnson — Bridges’ longtime friend — and Dorian Finney-Smith are both veteran forwards who could fetch more draft capital better suited on a contender.
Johnson has drawn interest from the Cavaliers, Kings and Lakers, and his age (28), height (6-foot-8) and 3-point shooting (career .392) make him valuable.
But if the Nets’ ask is too high on Johnson, Finney-Smith might be more moveable.
Sources told The Post that Brooklyn rejected an offer of two first-rounders for Finney-Smith at the 2023 trade deadline.
But moving him now makes since because he can opt out after next season.
“I’d be more inclined to look for offers for him because he’s got the player option,” ex-Nets assistant GM Bobby Marks, now with ESPN, told The Post. “The likelihood is that he becomes a free agent, then you lose him for nothing.”
After turning Kevin Durant essentially into nine first-round draft picks, the Nets effectively have 16 first-rounders over the next seven years.
They can add to that cache by moving Finney-Smith or even Johnson.
Of course whether they plan to hoard salary-cap space for a 2025 spending spree or use expiring deals like Dennis Schroder, Ben Simmons and Bojan Bogdanovic to take on salary dumps and get even more draft picks is a question they’ll have to answer.
Moving Schroder would force them to try to use their mid-level exception to try to sign a starting caliber point guard, such as Tyus Jones.
Another question that will need answering is what to do with Cam Thomas, whom they have until Oct. 21 to extend.
The guard averaged a team-high 22.5 points and should shoulder an even bigger burden with Bridges gone.
“It’s going to be interesting, because he’s going to be a good player on a bad team,” Marks said. “He’s experienced losing certainly last year, but basically he’s in a different role. He’s kind of on center stage right now.”
Thomas is under contract for next year at a bargain $4 million, but that’s a double-edged sword.
GM Sean Marks did well to find Thomas at 27th in the first round, but since he was taken so low, his free-agent hold is $12.1 million.
Inking him now to a new deal at a higher amount would see Brooklyn lose a corresponding amount of cap space for next summer.
That’s why it makes more sense to wait, extend him a qualifying offer next summer and retain him as a restricted free agent.
“Certainly what Cam gets will play a role in the cap space next year. The challenge to extend him to significant numbers is that because he was drafted in the 20s he’s got such a low cap hold, similar to what Philadelphia went through with Tyrese Maxey,” Bobby Marks said. “So, I don’t know if I’m willing to go more than $20 million for him. … I think you want to figure out get through this year — unless you can get him on a really good deal — and then figure it out next year.”
