Nets are in 'driver's seat' this offseason due to surplus of cap space

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The Brooklyn Nets are coming off one of the more disappointing seasons in franchise history this season, but they are also heading into arguably the most important offseason thus far. Brooklyn has laid down the groundwork of how they are going to rebuild the roster through the Draft and free-agency and one expert seems to believe that they are in control this summer.

"The Nets are in the driver’s seat this offseason with cap flexibility. Including the free agent holds of (Cam) Thomas, (Day'Ron) Sharpe and their four first-round picks, Brooklyn projects to have $45 million in cap room," ESPN's Bobby Marks wrote (h/t NetsDaily) in his offseason primer for all 30 NBA teams. As Marks points out, the Nets will have four first-round picks in the upcoming 2025 NBA Draft and they have the money to necessary to control most of what happens in free-agency.

"The $12 million hold of Thomas allows Brooklyn to use room first and then exceed the cap to sign the guard. The Nets do have a $23.3 million trade exception, but that goes away once they act as a room team," Marks continued. As has been done by teams recently, such as the Philadelphia 76ers with guard Tyrese Maxey, Brooklyn could wait to see what other free-agents they are able to attract before signing Thomas, maximizing their cap space in the process.

What will be interesting to see is how Brooklyn goes about the Draft and free-agency, especially when it comes to how many picks they will make and who they will bring back in free-agency. It's safe to say that the Nets won't be making all of those picks so there will probably be a trade of some sort. More to the point, Brooklyn has 10 players that are free-agents this summer, including the aforementioned Thomas and Sharpe.

"The Nets have until June 29 to exercise the team options of (Keon) Johnson, (Drew) Timme, (Tyrese) Martin and (Jalen) Wilson. The four contracts are not guaranteed even if the options are exercised. Besides cap space, Brooklyn has the $8.8 million room mid-level, second-round pick and veteran minimum exception. From now until June 30, Brooklyn is $2.3 million below the first apron and is not allowed to exceed the threshold."

As of this writing, the Nets have just $63 million in salary on the books for the 2025-26 season and that's assuming that they will pick up the team options on Johnson, Timme, Martin, and Wilson. Plenty of movement will happen between now and when the Draft comes around on June 25, but Brooklyn looks like they will be able to do whatever they want once the offseason begins.

This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets are in 'driver's seat' this offseason due to surplus of cap space

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