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On to Free Agency: With limited options, Nets hope to make the most out of July

By Net Income
Brooklyn Nets/Adam Pantozzi

The Nets have or will have, with The Trade, 11 players under contract, not counting Andray Blatche or C.J. Watson.

That leaves four roster openings. Assume Blatche stays and the number of openings drop to three. Of those, one is likely to be a deep shooter, one is likely to be a back-up point guard and the other a development project. The Nets don't need leaders off the bench like Jerry Stackhouse. They have enough leadership in the starting lineup, or in uniform 21 to be specific.

The one name that keeps popping up is Kyle Korver, but even if they offer him the full mini-MLE, that will only pay him $3.2 million this year and $10 million over three. He hasn't made that little since his second year in the NBA. This is his last contract as well. So he has to be hoping for a big payoff. Of course, he and Deron Williams are close friends and it was Billy King who helped him get his start by paying the Nets $125,000 for his rights 10 years ago.

Bojan Bogdanovic's fate, as of now, hangs in the balance. There are options, but face it, Korver will take priority.

At the point guard, as we've mentioned, the names include Shaun Livingston, Sebastian Telfair, Jamaal Tinsley, Daniel Gibson, etc. None is likely to get more than the vets minimum and the Nets are now a desirable location, particularly for Telfair and Tinsley, Brooklyn natives. One thing to expect: the Nets are going to look at pass-first point guards first.

Development projects? There's the two guys who will be on the summer league roster: Damion James and David Lighty and who knows who else. Lighty would cost less and is a better shooter. James can play the 3 and 4; Lighty the 2 and 3.

Don't expect the Nets to have trade exceptions to play with. Word is that if there are any, they will be small. They will be left with the vets minimum, the mini-MLE and trades. They have until to midnight to use the $3 million from last year. Starting July 10, they will also have another $3 million to sweeten a deal.

Free agency opens at midnight and Billy King said Jason Kidd will have names to call shortly afterwards. By Monday as well, expect to read tweets about players agreeing to terms.

Here's a comprehensive list of free agents. You can always cross-check it with the list of Jeff Schwartz clients.

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