Brooklyn Nets’ offseason spending ranks 11th in NBA

Despite embarking on a complete rebuild, the Brooklyn Nets have managed to find themselves among the league’s biggest investors. ESPN recently reported that the NBA’s total spending on free agents has surpassed $2.7 billion, up $600 million from last summer.

Brooklyn, which gave Nic Claxton $97 million of the $113.4 million listed, ranked 11th among the NBA’s biggest investors this offseason. The remaining $16.4 million came via deals with rookie Shake Milton and returning players Trendon Watford and Keon Johnson.

To put that number in perspective, the Philadelphia 76ers, who spent the most in the league at $506 million, added players like Paul George and Andre Drummond while also extending the contracts of Tyrese Maxey and Kelly Oubre Jr. While that amount is significantly more than what the Nets spent, the amount Philadelphia got was significantly more than what Brooklyn got.

Their situation could have been much worse. After the decision to send Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks, there was no benefit in throwing a lot of money at what were considered the best players available. George was widely considered the prize of this summer’s free agent class, and neither he nor anyone else would have been a smart acquisition for the Nets.

Brooklyn’s financial situation is actually more generous than it appears. While the 11th-most spending in the first year of a rebuild seems concerning, general manager Sean Marks and company are projected to have the most cap space in the league next season.

Ben Simmons’ contract will finally come off the books, and Dennis Schröder will become an unrestricted free agent, but Cam Thomas will need an extension. While it’s unlikely the Nets will be big investors next season, Thomas’ inevitable deal will take up a significant chunk of space in Brooklyn’s budget, just like Claxton did this summer.

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