Sean Marks had another busy July, turning over half of the Brooklyn Nets roster for the second summer in a row — but this time, Marks’ moves rumbled through the NBA with the free agent signings of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
With the signing of guard David Nwaba, the Nets have a full roster complement of 15 players under contract for the 2019-20 season. They’ve also filled one of their two, two-way spots with the signing of Henry Ellenson, making Marks’ roster building for the upcoming season nearly complete.
Let’s take a look at the GM’s very busy offseason:
ADD: KEVIN DURANT
So, it’s just an all-time great bound for Brooklyn. The Nets nabbed a 10-time All-Star and nine-time All-NBA selection who is a four-time league scoring leader and two-time NBA Finals MVP. He also won the regular season MVP award in 2013-14. Durant’s career scoring average of 27.02 is sixth in NBA history. After Durant suffered an Achilles’ injury in the NBA Finals, the Nets will have to wait a while to get him on the court. Expect it to be worth it.
ADD: KYRIE IRVING
You know you’ve had an extraordinary offseason when Irving is the second-most accomplished player you’ve signed. The dynamic guard is a two-time All-NBA selection — including last season — a six-time All-Star and NBA champion with career numbers of 22.2 points per game and 39.0 percent shooting from 3-point range.
ADD: DEANDRE JORDAN
Add another All-NBA selection to the haul. The center is a three-time honoree, plus two All-Defensive first team selections. Jordan has averaged at least 13.0 rebounds per game in each of the last six seasons and has the highest field goal percentage — 67.0 — in NBA history.
ADD: TAUREAN PRINCE
The Nets nabbed a young and versatile forward when they picked up Prince in a deal that sent Allen Crabbe to Atlanta. The 25-year-old is 6-foot-8 and 220 pounds, so he has the ability to play either forward position with the 3-point shooting chops — 38.7 percent over the last two years — that the Nets crave from those spots.
ADD: GARRETT TEMPLE
A solid pro fills out the backcourt depth. Temple split last season between the Grizzlies and Clippers, starting all 49 games he played in Memphis. As recently as 2017-18 he shot 39.2 percent from 3-point range.
ADD: WILSON CHANDLER
The veteran fills out the four spot, giving Brooklyn some depth there in a position where they’ll be sorting through options. At 6-foot-9 and 225 pounds with a physical style of play, Chandler is a reliable fit. He just split his 11th NBA season between the Sixers and Clippers after a successful run of six-plus seasons in Denver.
ADD: DAVID NWABA
The fourth-year guard has distinguished himself with his defense since making the NBA in 2016-17 as an undrafted free agent out of Cal Poly — the first player in the school’s history to do so. He started out with a 40-game G League stint before the Lakers signed him to a 10-day deal. He was with the Bulls in 2017-18 and the Cavaliers in 2018-19.
ADD: NIC CLAXTON
The 31st overall pick of the 2019 NBA Draft, Claxton is an athletic, 6-11 forward and center who averaged 13.0 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game at Georgia as a sophomore.
ADD: HENRY ELLENSON
A three-year NBA vet, Ellenson nabbed the first of Brooklyn’s two two-way contracts. The 18th overall pick in 2016 after one season at Marquette, Ellenson is a 6-foot-11, 245-pound forward. He played 17 games for the Knicks last season after being waived by the Pistons, who originally drafted him.
KEEP: THEO PINSON
A two-way player during nearly all of the 2018-19 season, Pinson signed an NBA contract in the final days of the regular season, making him eligible for Brooklyn’s playoff roster. He’ll be a full roster player this year after helping lead Long Island to the G League finals, averaging 20.7 points, 6.1 assists and 5.9 rebounds, while also playing 18 games for Brooklyn.
SUBTRACT: D’ANGELO RUSSELL
Russell gave the Nets their first All-Star since 2014 while averaging career highs of 21.1 points, 7.0 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game.
SUBTRACT: DEMARRE CARROLL
A leader on and off the floor, Carroll brought a veteran’s perspective when he arrived for the 2017-18 season, and posted career-high scoring and rebounding averages as well that year.
SUBTRACT: RONDAE HOLLIS-JEFFERSON
The longest-tenured Net before his departure and last holdover from prior to the Sean Marks era, Hollis-Jefferson had a breakthrough season in 2017-18 but never found that consistency this past season.
SUBTRACT: ED DAVIS
Davis lived up to his reputation and more as a respected and reliable backup center. He played 81 games and posted the highest rebounding rates and percentages of his career, with a per 36 rebounding rate of 17.3, while shooting a career-high 61.6 percent.
SUBTRACT: JARED DUDLEY
The hoops whisperer ended up playing a pretty significant role on the court in addition to being a mentor to the team’s younger contingent. Dudley started the first 20 games of the season, and after missing time in the middle of the year, played some of his best and most significant basketball of the year as the Nets clinched a playoff spot in the final week.
SUBTRACT: ALLEN CRABBE
In his second year in Brooklyn, Crabbe was just getting going in December when knee issues sidelined him for two months and eventually shut him down for the year in mid-March.
SUBTRACT: SHABAZZ NAPIER
Napier gave the Nets some veteran guard depth that was needed, particularly when Caris LeVert went down. He played well when opportunity came early in the season, but was out of the rotation over the final six weeks.
SUBTRACT: TREVEON GRAHAM
After injuring his hamstring in the second game of the season, Graham missed 37 games, returning in early January. He never did find his shot, but his physical style and defense kept him in the rotation for much of the year. SUBTRACT: ALAN WILLIAMS
On a two-way contract, Williams played just five games for Brooklyn but was outstanding in the G League with Long Island, averaging 19.8 points and 12.9 rebounds.
DRAFT PICKS
Several future draft picks also changed hands in Brooklyn’s deals. The Nets added two 2020 first-round picks (Golden State, protected, and Los Angeles Clippers) and a 2021 second-round pick (Atlanta). They also sent their 2020 first-round pick to Atlanta with protections.
The Nets also acquired the draft rights to two 2015 second-round picks, Nemanja Dangubic and Aaron White, as part of a three-team trade with San Antonio and Washington that sent DeMarre Carroll to the Spurs.