The Brooklyn Nets are riding high after Tuesday night’s victory over the Detroit Pistons and thinking big.
Okay, truthfully, they were thinking big way before that win. They have a ton of cap space this summer, and as a team without draft picks and the need or ability to win now, they’re perfectly positioned to overpay talent with undefined market value or chase expensive youngsters other teams might not waste their time on.
Enter Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, a restricted free agent this July. He has, unequivocally, become the Pistons’ best player, and the Nets have noticed, according to the New York Post‘s Brian Lewis:
Both scouts and former teammates told The Post that Caldwell-Pope, who had 19 points and four rebounds in a 98-96 loss to the Nets Tuesday, has become the most important piece on a Pistons roster that features All-Star Andre Drummond, and young standouts Reggie Jackson and Tobias Harris. That’s why Brooklyn is expected to make the two-way wing a top priority this summer.
Caldwell-Pope’s top-tier three-and-D skill set—he can also orchestrate pick-and-rolls, something the Nets value—is a perfect fit for what Brooklyn is doing. But he would be more of a flight risk if shelling out max money for his services was considered a reach. It’s not.
Though the Pistons might not be able to float his max salary while also paying Reggie Jackson, Andre Drummond and Tobias Harris, plus all their role players, they also cannot afford to let him walk for nothing. It makes more sense for them to match the Nets’ theoretical offer and figure out the rest later.
That’s the most likely outcome of Brooklyn’s interest. Still, given its current situation, it doesn’t hurt to try.
