The Brooklyn Nets came into the 2026 NBA offseason with the goal of improving the team as much as possible following a 2025-26 season in which they finished with a 20-62 record. Brooklyn made some interesting moves this summer, headlined by them trading for Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle, but there are some who aren't impressed with their other free-agent moves.
"There was no reason for them to give mutual options to Mo Wagner and Keon Ellis. They had more than enough cap space to just pay them more and get team options," Sam Quinn wrote of the Nets for CBS Sports in his front-office rankings. Two of the moves that the Nets made this offseason was signing guard Keon Ellis and center Moritz Wagner in free-agency, but both have mutual options in their
contract for the 2027-28 campaign.
"Why didn't they use their surplus cap space to try to steal a restricted free agent? This offseason made little sense. The strategy here is unclear," Quinn continued on the Nets. "The Nets have gotten far more right than they're credited for, but they'll have to chart a clearer course moving forward if they want to make it into the top half of these rankings."
Quinn ranked Brooklyn's front-office as the 16th-best in the NBA, but he took some time to explain why his ranking is as high as it is and how the Nets could improve their standing moving forward. With Quinn noting that Brooklyn could have paid Ellis and Wagner more money to avoid giving them a mutual option, it's fair to wonder if either player would have signed with the Nets if the mutual options were not included in their deals.
Ellis signed with the Nets for two years and $18 million while Wagner signed for two years and $19 million, placing both in the top-6 highest-paid players on the roster heading into next season. Both Ellis and Wagner are likely projected to be playing bench roles for head coach Jordi Fernandez, but if both of them impress over the course of next season, the mutual option may be a good move for the Nets if they want to keep those two around.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Did the Nets make a mistake with some of their free-agent signings?
