Brooklyn

Nets

Coming from an 18-month stretch where he underwent three surgeries, Whitehead is working off the rust in Las Vegas. The rookie wing did not shoot the ball particularly well on Sunday, but he displayed flashes of the athleticism and offensive ability that made him one of the top players in the Class of 2022. With the Nets pivoting to a rebuild, Whitehead will have opportunities to contribute as long as he remains healthy. The rookie is worth tracking for the remainder of summer league action.

After being on a two-way contract last season, Johnson is playing with the Nets as an unrestricted free agent. Simply put, there’s a lot on the line for the 2021 first-round pick. Johnson rose to the challenge on Sunday, lighting up the team that drafted him. He shot 4-of-8 from beyond the arc, scored on all three levels, and impacted passing lanes defensively. However, Johnson is not a player fantasy managers need to have on their radar, as he isn’t a lock to be on an NBA roster come Opening Night.

Watford played a smaller role with the Nets than he did with the Trail Blazers in his first two NBA seasons but got an opportunity to contribute more when Brooklyn’s roster was thin. The Nets’ rebuild could help Watford’s fantasy relevance, but pieces like Ben Simmons and others could need to be moved for him to build upon his averages of 6.9 points and 3.1 rebounds from last season.

While the NBA has not officially finalized the trade, the framework appears complete. In addition to Bojan Bogdanovic and multiple draft picks, the Nets are sending Diakite and Shake Milton (sign-and-trade) to Brooklyn in exchange for Bridges and Keita Bates-Diop. Adding the contracts allows New York to avoid being limited to the first salary apron; they can now spend up to $188.9 million on salaries for the 2024-25 season. Diakite did not play much while with the Knicks, and that’s unlikely to change in Brooklyn with Nic Claxton and Noah Clowney under contract.

Milton inked a three-year, $9 million contract (the final two years non-guaranteed) and was sent to Brooklyn as part of the Mikal Bridges deal. Keita Bates-Diop was also sent to New York in the process. Milton should have plenty of opportunities for a rebuilding Nets team, making Milton a name to monitor at the end of 2024-25 fantasy drafts. In his final season with Philly in 2022-23, Milton averaged 20.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 7.2 dimes across 11 starts.

The Nets may be shifting towards a tank after making two big trades on Tuesday, but they’ll retain Claxton for at least four more seasons. The athletic big should continue to be a strong fantasy asset, and he may get the chance to grow his offensive game on a tanking squad. Noah Clowney had a chance to move into the starting unit if Claxton walked, but he will still see a significant role next season.

The night before the 2024 NBA Draft, the Nets were busy restocking their draft assets while bidding farewell to Mikal Bridges (traded to the Knicks). The transaction with Houston gets Brooklyn back into the first round of the 2026 draft, with the 2027 pick they received from Phoenix in the Kevin Durant trade now heading to Houston.

Bogdanovic’s salary for 2024-25 was not fully guaranteed before this deal; that would likely have to change to make the trade work. More critical for Brooklyn is the draft capital they’ve received: four unprotected first-round picks from the Knicks (2025, 2027, 2029, and 2031), another 2025 first-rounder via Milwaukee (top-4 protected), and an unprotected first-round pick swap. In addition to Bridges, the Knicks will receive a 2026 second-round pick. Restocking the coffers was essential for lead executive Sean Marks, given the picks that Brooklyn surrendered in prior deals. As for Bogdanovic, while he’s been effective in the past as a starter, he’ll be coming off of foot and wrist surgeries when next season begins.

Bates-Diop spent 14 games with the Nets after being traded by the Phoenix Suns last season and played a minor role off the bench. He averaged just 1.6 points per game with Brooklyn.

Claxton will be a coveted free agent, but Brooklyn is expected to retain him on a deal that will cost them anywhere from $80-100 million over four years. He has been an excellent fantasy option the last two years, and that won’t change if he remains with the Nets. However, that will likely prevent Noah Clowney from moving into a prominent role in his second season with the team. They can legally begin negotiations with Claxton as soon as the NBA Finals conclude, so he may have a new deal in place within the next few weeks.