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 lowly 20-62 record. One of the moves that Brooklyn made was re-signing center Day'Ron Sharpe and that was regarded as one of the best moves that the Nets conducted this summer in the eyes of some people around the league.
"Sharpe has quietly emerged as one of the NBA's best backup centers, even as the Nets have declined around him. He has never reached 20 minutes per game in a season, but he has made the most of his time on the court," ESPN's Zach Kram wrote on Sharpe when discussing Brooklyn re-signing him. Kram gave the Nets an A- for re-signing Sharpe to a two-year, $20 million
deal pretty early in free-agency.
"Last season, Brooklyn had a minus-4.3 net rating with Sharpe on the floor, versus minus-12.3 without him, which was the best swing on the team," Kram continued on Sharpe. "In 2024-25, he had the second-best swing among Nets rotation players, behind only Dorian Finney-Smith (before his trade to the Lakers). And in 2023-24, Sharpe had the Nets' best on/off differential, too."
Sharpe, 24, is coming off a 2025-26 campaign in which he averaged only 8.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game while shooting 60.1% from the field and 67.8% from the free-throw line. Sharpe has spent most of his five-year career as the backup to Nic Claxton, but after the former Georgia Bulldog was sent to the Chicago Bulls in the Julius Randle trade, Sharpe is in the position to show what he can do as a starter.
Sharpe has made 21 starts over the course of his career and in this instances, he has averaged 11.2 points and 8.9 rebounds per game while shooting 57.6% from the floor and 73.9% from the charity stripe. There is an argument to be made that Sharpe could have commanded more money in free-agency if he didn't re-sign with the Nets, but since he did, the franchise gets an excellent grade for the move.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets get A- grade for re-signing Day'Ron Sharpe in NBA free-agency
