The Brooklyn Nets are bringing back both Day’Ron Sharpe and Josh Minott on two-year deals, according to reports Monday morning by Shams Charania and Mike Scott.
Sharpe will sign a two-year, $20 million deal, apparently without options, while Minott will sign a two-year, $9 million deal with the second year a team option. The two, aged 24 and 23, respectively, are seen as building blocks in the Nets continuing rebuild. At the moment, Sharpe seems likely to replace the departed Nic Claxton as the Nets starting
center while Minott will join the rotation upfront.
Shams was first with both signings, followed quickly by Scotto…
The Nets had a deadline of Monday to exercise team options on both — Sharpe for $6.3 million and Minott for $2.6 million — but chose instead to sign the two players to multi-year deals with significant raises. Sharpe was drafted by the Nets in 2021 while Minott was acquired from the Celtics in a salary dump at the trade deadline last February in return for $110,000 in cash considerations, the minimum permitted under the CBA.
There had been some speculation that the two, along with Ziaire Williams and Malachi Smith, would have their team options declined so that Sean Marks & co. could have more salary cap space to pursue other, bigger free agents starting Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. ET. Instead, the Nets took care of their own first while still retaining significant space. Williams had his team option, also for $6.3 million, declined and his future with the organization remains murky. The Nets could sign him later in free agency, but Dan Woike of The Athletic reported Sunday night that is hometown team, the L.A. Lakers may have interest.
As Yossi Gozlan of Third Apron tweeted not long after the Shams and Scotto reports the Nets are likely to use the MLE or cap space to sign Minott, rather than Bird Rights. He also put the Nets workable cap space at about $36 million, the third highest in the NBA this summer. (The Nets also have $3.9 million available from last season that could be used by Tuesday.)
The Nets are introducing their three rookies — Mikel Brown Jr., Joshua Jefferson and Tyler Bilodeau — this afternoon at a media availability in Brooklyn. Sean Marks is likely to get questions on the signings as well.
