D-Lo's max for the Nets is 5/156...do you pay it?

[karkinos]

Russell's a guy that would be a great piece at $15M/year and probably an OK investment at $20M/year, but any team signing him to a full max will likely regret that decision.

you're doing contract math like it's still the early 2000s

[dhsilv2]

4 years 50 millions with a team option for 4th year.
thats the MAX a team should risk.

That's good 6th man money under the current cap. Come on now....

[dhsilv2]

if Booker got the max why shouldn't D Lo?

not that I thought Booker should've gotten it, but that's another discussion.

Booker has more upside just due to being more athletic.

[dhsilv2]

Are there teams who have the cap space and are looking for a guard who could max him?

Maybe Utah and Indy? New York and LA most likely go after other names. Not sure about the need/fit in Sacramento, Dallas and Atlanta.

So yeah not sure if someone will max him. I would offer him a 4/100M deal which seems quite fair to me.

I know injury risks but why would a team not put a 22 year old on a 5 year? Age 26 and 27 are generally players peak seasons Why would you not lock in a likely peak level year?

[The_Hater]

If Sean Marks give Russell the max, it may undo a lot of the great work he’s done rebuilding this team. It immediately puts a lower cap on the ceiling of team. It really is an odd bind that Russell has put them into by showing improvement this season.

[Eskobar13]

With all the cap-space available this year, you better believe he'll get 4 year max offer sheet from someone, or at least very close.

If you feel like no big-time FA is going to join your team, than I guess you should at least think about it. The Nets will probably end up matching.

The thing is, even if the Nets don't get anyone this year, they could likely open up a max in 2020 again before having to re-sign Jarrett Allen. Unless of course, they also max Caris LeVert next year...

[pcbothwel]

Are we going to ignore the fact that he doesnt rebound, play defense, or draw fouls? That shows a serious lack of athleticism and IQ.
People should look at other PG's with Atkinson. Dinwiddie with his first 2 year in Detroit, and then 16-17 to now when he played under Atkinson is a completely different player... Napier as well.

Simply put, his system allows for 3's and easy assist. Both of which bloat a players value statistically.

[DiogoLandim]

what is this notion that dlo is better then booker because he’s not

Because Booker doesn't play within a system implemented through years by a top notch coach and with positive culture and enviroment around him, so that clouds people's perception. If D'lo is doing well, Booker would be doing great.

[Adam1221]

what is this notion that dlo is better then booker because he’s not

He's a lot better in my opinion.
His team is actually winning, he's a better defender (people dont pay attention to how much he improved in that area), he isnt undersized for his position and actually improves the guys around him all within the system.

Back to the topic at hand, not an easy choice at all, one has to see which top flight FA's wanna join them, of course the plans change if Kyrie and Durant give them an indication they might come.
I also wouldnt rule out the possibility that Dlo gives them a discount at like say 20m a year, he seems to really love playing there and BKN has already signed guys to contracts below market value (Joe Harris and Spencer Dinwiddie).
Either way Bkn should be happy a basketball guru like Marks is the one making the call on this one, whatever he decides will probably be the right decision.

[MrSparkle]

I wouldn’t want to tie myself to 5y to him. BRK can’t afford another big mistake franchise signing. $80m/3y seems fair. 100/5 would be my 5y offer.

[dhsilv2]

I think it's a darned if you do darned if you don't situation. If you can lock a 22 year old into a 5 year contract who you expect more from, you do it. Is he worth the max? Well this is the rookie max so about 40-50 players in the league likely ARE worth that. So is he a top 50 guy? Now if he is a 30-50 guy, that's paying his full "value" and you never really want to pay full value. Especially when there's as much downside as upside.

I think at the end of the day the safe call is to do it, but if you can save anything from the full max you gotta try to do that. As others have said 5 year 125 gives them so much more flexibility and that 5th year might be worth it for him to not chase the 4 year max elsewhere.

[SmartWentCrazy]

Unfortunately for Brooklyn, there are a lot of teams with cap space and someone will foolishly give him a good payday esp now with that wink*wink All-Star status.

Nets will of course match.

This.

There are too many teams with max space and not enough max-level FA’s. This is the same scenario that landed Otto Porter a max two years ago. Some team is going to offer him a 3+1 max deal and the Nets are going to be forced into matching it.

[Karate Diop]

There are flaws with D-Lo's game which make signing him to a big deal dangerous (lack of free throws, durability concerns, does not have elite efficiency) - but the Nets are stuck between a rock and a hard place.

D-Lo has become the heart and soul of the team, the other guys genuinely love playing with him and he's showing all the LEADERSHIP abilities that a lot of the bad (Knicks, Suns, etc.) and other mediocre teams (Wizards, Lakers, etc.) sorely lack... Couple that with his overall strong play and improvement from a year ago, it's hard for the Nets not to stand by him.

At the same time the posters who are commenting that D-Lo taking up 30% of your cap could be a recipe for disaster ARE NOT wrong. I truthfully don't have D-Lo as a true #1 option, and see his ideal role as that of a #2 scorer or a #3 that splits time between supplementary scoring duties and managing the offense when the #1 guy is out.

At this point if the Nets pay D-Lo despite the risks - I can't fault them, but I couldn't tell you with 100% confidence that he'll be worth every penny he's destined to make.

Phenomenal story though. Unfairly blamed for a franchise's toxic culture, cast-off to no-man's land and injured only to land his first all-star appearance the following year. Good stuff.

[John Murdoch]

No, but its great for him that its even a conversation at this point

[SpeedyG]

Brooklyn will bring him back, and he wants to come back. not sure for what money, but can't see how it doesn't happen.

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[zimpy27]

No one should pay him that much. He should be on 20m a season at the most. Too risky to pay this guy more since it's a contract year that he's performing like this.

[JJ_PR]

5/100 and he'll like it

Yeah & I'm not a huge fan of his game at all.

[kan_t]

I would give Marks the benefit of the doubt if he offers D-Lo a max. It's him and the coaches who find and develop D-Lo. It's him who rebuilds the Nets to a respectable level in such a short timeframe. If they're confident that D-Lo would be good enough to earn the max, I would definitely give him time to prove it.

[JJ_PR]

If I'm the Nets I'm letting him hit RFA. Do you really want to gamble your future again for a player that hasn't completely proven himself yet & whose jumper still looks kinda funky?

[dakomish23]

Where’s the Hellllllllll no option

He’s played well and he’s been a solid soldier. But that’s just way too much. At most, 5/125.

That might even be too much.