3. The Brooklyn Nets will sign Kyrie Irving and Tobias Harris
Let’s pretend all these bold predictions have been perfect so far. Kevin Durant stays with the Warriors, the Clippers and Knicks both strike out and the Brooklyn Nets loom with two max cap slots. Kyrie Irving to Brooklyn has felt like a done deal for awhile now, and although the Lakers recently tossed their name into the ring, Kawhi Leonard is a more sensible target for them anyway.
Bearing that in mind, let’s say Kyrie joins the Nets and D’Angelo Russell joins the Suns. The Nets want to put that other max cap slot to good use. They could use their remaining room on depth pieces to round out the rotation … or they could put the Plan “C” in “free agency” by signing Tobias Harris in one of the more underrated moves of the summer.
Brooklyn has a lot of young talent on the roster and is stacked in the backcourt, but the frontcourt situation could use some help. DeMarre Carroll, Jared Dudley and Ed Davis are all free agents this summer, and a rangy stretch-4 like Harris would be a perfect fit in head coach Kenny Atkinson’s system. The Athletic‘s Shams Charania confirmed Brooklyn could be a potential suitor.
Harris is coming off a career year in which he posted 20.0 points and 7.9 rebounds per game on 39.7 percent shooting from 3-point range. He and Kyrie might not be enough to contend for a title right away, but after all the suffering Nets fans have endured over the years, wouldn’t this be a more than acceptable outcome and great way to build on last year’s playoff appearance if Kevin Durant doesn’t fall into place?