After having been irrelevant for the entire 2025-26 season, the offseason is the Brooklyn Nets' time to shine. They will have the sixth, 33rd, and 43rd picks in the NBA draft and more than $80 million in salary cap space, per ESPN's Bobby Marks.
That gives them a golden opportunity to get back on track. Unfortunately, the Nets are setting themselves up for an expensive mistake. According to the Athletic's Dan Woike (subscription requred), the Nets are planning on offering Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves a 4-year, $178 million offer sheet this summer.
That would pay him $44.5 million on average and seems like a clear overpay for someone who is 28 years old and has yet to make an all-star team. Don't get me wrong, he is a terrific offensive player, having averaged 23.5 points per game last season.
In fact, he was likely the Lakers' second-best player at times last season. That is a testament to both their scouting and development and Reaves' work ethic. Nevertheless, he only excels on that end of the floor and perhaps might be a bit overrated considering he's played for the Lakers his entire career.
As a result, he seems like an odd choice for the Nets to throw money at.
The Lakers are setting the Nets up for a $178 million mistake
With the changes to the NBA Draft lottery, Brooklyn will no longer be rewarded for mediocrity. Therefore, pursuing Reaves as a floor raiser makes some sense. However, their reported offer would keep him on their books for four years.
They also have plenty of guards, with them having drafted three in the first round over the last two years. It might not make sense to slash their minutes and therefore their development for Reaves when he probably isn't the centerpiece of a good team.
Now, to be fair to Brooklyn, perhaps they see Reaves as the first piece in a larger plan to land a star player, i.e., Giannis Antetokoumpo. Maybe so, but would maxing out Reaves really be a selling point to an actual star?
The Nets have better options than Austin Reaves
Speaking of Giannis, perhaps they should be more aggressively trying to lure him to Brooklyn by offering the Milwaukee Bucks the sixth, 33rd, and 43rd picks.
They could even offset some of his salary by including Nic Claxton and Terrance Mann in a trade. Then possibly still pursuing Reaves as a possible second option for Giannis.
Or, hear me out, perhaps they try to sign both Reaves and Detroit Pistons all-star center Jalen Duren in restricted free agency. That way they'd at least have the starting blocks of a new era.
Worst-case scenario, they force the Lakers and Pistons to pay more for those players. The Nets would still have up to $80 million in cap space to sign or trade for players to improve their roster.
Both of those scenarios make more sense than them just targeting Reaves as their big offseason addition. Perhaps the Nets are cooking up something similar to what I proposed, and we won't have to wait long to see them put their plan into action.
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