The Brooklyn Nets are going to have some tough decisions to make this offseason when it comes to their roster. They have to decide what to do with Kyrie Irving, who will be eligible for a five-year, $245.6 million deal should he decline his player option for the 2022-23 NBA season.
Can the Nets afford to commit that much money to him? He has not proven that he can be counted on for the entire season, as he has missed time because of injuries, social issues and not receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. There is no doubt that skill-wise Irving is a max player, but there is a lot more that goes into it.
The same can probably be said about Ben Simmons. Simmons is probably a max player with his playmaking and defensive versatility. If he ever gained confidence and performed offensively, he would be among the best players in the league. But he has some mental hurdles to overcome and an ailing back, which led to him missing the entire 2021-22 season.
Regardless of what happens with both of those players, the Nets have some clear needs on the roster. The frontcourt could certainly use an upgrade as they provided very little production during the playoffs. One player that should be on their radar is Carmelo Anthony.
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The leading scorers off the bench for Brooklyn in their first-round series against the Boston Celtics were Goran Dragic and Nicolas Claxton. Both players are going to be free agents this summer and could very well depart.
Carmelo Anthony would help compensate for their loss on the second unit when it comes to scoring. He has accepted roles off the bench with the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers and should be open to the same with the Brooklyn Nets.
No matter the role that he has been deployed in during recent seasons, he has shown that he can still put the ball in the basket. This past season with the Los Angeles Lakers he was arguably their most consistent player, averaging 13.3 points per game and knocking down 37.5 percent of his 3-pointers.
His 3-point shooting has improved with age. He has made at least 37.5 percent from long range the last three seasons, turning into a legitimate sniper playing off of the attention that other star players generate.
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Playing alongside Kevin Durant and Irving, Anthony should have plenty of wide-open shooting opportunities generated by them. He would be a sizable upgrade on what Brooklyn was getting from Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge and provide them with another player who can create his own offense, which they could rely only on Durant and Irving to consistently do.
Despite being 37-years old, he can still score the basketball with elite footwork, getting to his spots and making the most of those chances. Other contenders around the league will likely pursue Anthony as well.
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But Brooklyn can offer him the chance to be closer to his son, Kiyan, who plays high school basketball at Christ The King in Queens. The only other team that can offer that is the New York Knicks, but if Anthony wants to have a chance to win the NBA Finals, the Knicks likely aren’t on his prospective list.
While the defense should be the No. 1 concern for Brooklyn this offseason, you can never have too much offense. Carmelo Anthony is someone that the Nets should look into with a veteran’s minimum contract as a consistent spark plug off the bench to anchor the second unit.
