State of the Cap: New Jersey Nets
Grade: B+
2009-10 Payroll: $56.8 Million
Brook Lopez
Highlights: Nets' fans have to be optimistic about the direction of their team. After moving Vince Carter, the Nets' highest paid player is Bobby Simmons at $10.6M. How does this relate to highlights? Because his contract is up at the end of the year. Last year, Devin Harris was the best player in Jersey, averaging 21 points and almost 7 assists per game. He will make less than $9 million per year for the next two years. Harris is on the verge of stardom, making him a steal for the Nets.
The same can be said for Brook Lopez. Slipping to #10 in the 2008 Draft, the center from Stanford put up 13 points and pulled down 8.1 rebounds per game in his rookie season. Lopez will be paid a rookie salary until 2013.
Courtney Lee is another player from the 2008 Draft that had a good rookie year, earning a starting role at shooting guard for the Eastern Conference champs. Lee came over in the Vince Carter trade and will replace Carter at the 2 this year. He will make less than $1.5 million in each of the next two years. An athletic two-guard and a dangerous offensive player, Lee is the third piece of a good, young nucleus that the Nets will use to lure a star or two next summer. Right now, New Jersey only has $17.8 million in salary committed for the 2010 season. That will be almost $40 million below the salary cap, giving the Nets a lot of flexibility.
Other notable contracts: Yi Jianlian hasn't yet materialized into the player many thought he could be and
Courtney Lee only averaged 8.6 PPG in 61 games last season. With that said, at $3.1 million next year, he's not yet a bad contract. Eduardo Najera is the type of player that every good team needs, and his contract actually gets cheaper over the next three years; his salary goes from $3.1 million this year to $2.6 million for the 2011-12 season.
Lowlights: There isn't much fans in Jersey can complain about. Expiring contracts aside, Devin Harris is the only player on the roster that will make more than $4 million dollars next season. The following season, only Harris and Yi have salaries north of $4 million.
For the coming season, Bobby Simmons' contract is easily the worst on the team. He only averaged 7.8 points a game last year in 24 minutes. So to be making $2.3 million more than the star of the team, that's a lowlight.
The Future: Things are looking quite good for a franchise that hasn't been labeled a contender since the dawn of the new millenium. With ample cap space, the Nets have the assets to make a huge splash in the summer of 2010. As long as they don't make hasty decisions and spend money for the sake of spending it, this team could land a megastar and surround him with the type of talent necessary to make a run at a championship in a few years. Their young talent should be attractive to many free agents and will look even better under the bright lights of a new arena in Brooklyn. If I were psychic, I'd tell you to look out for the Nets as legitimate contenders in the Eastern Conference by 2012.
For the report on their Atlantic Division rivals, check out State of the Cap: New York Knicks.
Mike DeStefano can be reached at mike@hoopsdaily.com.
