The Brooklyn Nets made one of the bigger moves this offseason when they reportedly acquired forward Julius Randle and the No. 28 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft via trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves. Brooklyn still officially doesn’t have Randle or Iowa State Joshua Jefferson (the No. 28 pick) on the roster due to the deal still pending, but there appears to be another reason as well.
“Brooklyn does still possess the cap space to furnish Watson with an offer sheet in his desired salary range, but I’m told that the Nets have been internally assessing how to utilize their available spending power before officially completing their multi-team trade,” NBA insider Jake Fischer wrote on the Nets for The Stein Line. Brooklyn is one of just a few teams that can offerDenver Nuggets forward Peyton Watson the kind of money he’s looking for in restricted free-agency.
Whether the Nets are pursuing Watson in free-agency will depend on how much they’re willing to pay him to bring him in the building following his breakout season. NBA salary cap expert Yossi Gozlan reported on July 6 that Brooklyn had nearly $25 million in cap space after signing center Day’Ron Sharpe, forward Josh Minott, and guard Keon Ellis. Watson reportedly is looking for his next deal to average $25 million per year.
“They could spend it, then go over the cap to sign Moe Wagner (room mid-level) and trade for Julius Randle (expanded TPE),” Gozlan wrote on X explaining the options that the Nets have at that moment. “That amount will be reduced if they do any of those two transactions first. They won’t have much time to use it, since they probably can’t hold up the four-team Nets-Hornets-Wolves-Bulls trade for too long.”
At this point in free-agency, Watson is considered one of the best free-agents on the market that is a realistic target for the Nets along with players like Los Angeles Clippers guard Bennedict Mathurin and Atlanta Hawks forward Jonathan Kuminga. Brooklyn still pending transactions involving Randle and Orlando Magic center Mo Wagner, but it seems like they’re to maximize what they can do with their cap space at the moment.
The Nets currently have $24.7 million in cap space after signing Keon Ellis, Day’Ron Sharpe, and Josh Minott.
They could spend it, then go over the cap to sign Moe Wagner (room mid-level) and trade for Julius Randle (expanded TPE).
That amount will be reduced if they do any of… https://t.co/fRQ34hexNw
— Yossi Gozlan (@YossiGozlan) July 6, 2026
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Report: Nets deciding how to use cap space before Julius Randle trade
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