With as much as $48 million in cap space this summer, the Brooklyn Nets have more flexibility than any team to make adjustments and improve the roster as they see fit. It’s anyone’s guess what they might have planned, but a pursuit of star shooting guard Austin Reaves is reportedly not off the table.
According to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, the Nets have emerged as a potential suitor for Reaves, should he decide to part ways with the Los Angeles Lakers this summer. The veteran sharpshooter is up for a massive payday, and the Nets are one of the teams best-equipped to meet his demands.
“One potential bidder to watch this summer, sources said, is the Brooklyn Nets, who will enter the offseason with more than enough salary cap space to accommodate a max-type player,” Tim Bontemps reported for ESPN on Thursday. “Several scouts and executives predict something in the range of five years, $200 million, but below his five-year max of $239 million, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks. ‘I’d be pretty surprised if the first year starts with a 3 instead of a 4,’ an East scout said, ‘but the Lakers need to keep him, and by all accounts he wants to be there, so I think they make it work.'”
The Nets were one of the worst teams in the NBA this season, going 20-62 to finish 13th in the East. Besides center Nic Claxton, their only bright spot was Michael Porter Jr., who had the best statistical season of his young career. In 52 games during the 2025-26 campaign, he averaged 24.2 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game on 46.3% shooting and 36.3% shooting from three.
Together, Porter Jr. and Reaves could form a powerful offensive duo, capable of outscoring even the most talented lineups. Plus, with Claxton in the paint, the Nets could have the first building blocks of a contender. Then again, just adding Reaves alone would hardly be enough to turn Brooklyn into a real title threat. With averages of 23.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game on 49.0% shooting this season, Austin’s impact is massive, but the Nets would still need more depth and star power to match the likes of the Knicks, Cavaliers, and Pistons in the East.
Regardless of how the rest would play out, acquiring a young sharpshooter like Reaves is an opportunity too lucrative for the Nets to pass up. The bad news for Brooklyn is that the Lakers won’t let him go without a fight. As their chosen co-star for Luka, the Lakers will do everything in their power to convince Austin to re-sign this offseason, and that means the Nets will likely have to look elsewhere for their dreams of a major acquisition.
Fortunately, with a loaded free agent pool, the Nets will have plenty of ways to spend their money, and they won’t waste the offseason waiting for Reaves’ decision. Thanks to the NBA’s new anti-tanking rules and draft lottery reform, the Nets have increased incentive to get better, and it will surely push them to be smart with how they spend their cap space.
