Nets Emerge as 'Potential Bidder' for Lakers Star in 2026 NBA Free Agency

Brooklyn could steal a star from Los Angeles for $200 million this offseason.

Mar 10, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves (15) reacts during the third quarter against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The Brooklyn Nets have been loosely linked to many high-profile players ahead of the NBA offseason. This could be the summer in which they get back into postseason contention, and they certainly have the assets and cap space to do so.

As the 2025-26 season neared an end, there were rumblings that the Nets would attempt to move out of the rebuild in the offseason. The Houston Rockets have swap rights to their 2027 first-round pick, Brooklyn has the ammunition to pull off a blockbuster trade and it has immense cap space this summer. Between trades and free agency, there is plenty of flexibility.

Focusing on free agency, the Nets could be a major bidder for one emerging star. Austin Reaves is expected to opt out of his $14 million player option and enter the unrestricted market, but the Lakers will also be concerned with contracts regarding LeBron James, Rui Hachimura and Luke Kennard, among others. There's a very real chance Reaves is on his way out this summer.

ESPN's Tim Bontemps mentioned the Nets as a potential bidder should Reaves hit unrestricted free agency. According to league sources, the 27-year-old could land a deal upwards of $200 million, and Brooklyn has the cap space to make it happen.

"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," Bontemps wrote.

"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."

Reaves is coming off a season in which he averaged 23.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game on 49-36-87 shooting splits. If the career-Laker signs with the Nets for a projected range of $40 to $47 million annually, they'd still have money to land other veterans, while also being able to trade players and draft picks for bigger names.

Los Angeles managed to get to the second round of the playoffs despite injuries to Reaves and Luka Dončić. Reaves, in particular, had been dealing with an oblique issue since early April.

He was noticeably hampered in the Lakers' first-round series against the Houston Rockets, as well as the Western Conference Semifinals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, averaging 20 points, but doing so on 41% shooting from the field and 26% from three.