Nets 2026 Salary Cap Tracker: How Much Room, Flexibility They Have This Offseason

Brooklyn is back in the offseason groove, and with it, salary cap restrictions.

Apr 5, 2026; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Drake Powell (4) celebrates with forward E.J. Liddell (9) after defeafting the Washington Wizards at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Brooklyn Nets will have a lot of salary room to work with this offseason. ESPN's Bobby Marks projected their cap space at $31 million, the third most in the NBA.

The first key offseason event that will affect their cap space is the 2026 NBA Draft. The Nets will have three picks in the draft. Their unprotected first-round pick is the crown jewel. They currently have top odds at the No. 1 pick and won't fall lower than the seventh overall pick. The salary of that rookie for the 2026-27 season could be anywhere between $7-$14 million.

If Brooklyn uses both second-round picks, that could be another $4-$5 million in salary. Trades around the draft wouldn't be shocking either.

The Nets were a salary dump team last offseason, and that could remain the case this go around. The more likely strategy will be going after high-level free agents that can help bring them back into playoff contention. Brooklyn doesn't own its 2027 first-round pick, so there's little reason to have another rebuilding season.

The Nets are also likely already deciding which of their own free agents to retain. The biggest fish to fry is Michael Porter Jr. He had a career year in his first season with Brooklyn and expressed interest in making this destination his long-term home.

Porter Jr. is under contract next season with a $40.8 million cap hit and will become an unrestricted free agent in the 2027 offseason. He is eligible to sign a four-year, $234 million extension after the 2026 NBA Finals. The potential deal won't affect the Nets' 2026-27 cap allocations.

Other notable players that could potentially be extended are Noah Clowney, Day'Ron Sharpe, Ziaire Williams and Josh Minott.

Brooklyn already picked up Clowney's 2026-27 team option worth $5.4 million, but he will also become eligible for a rookie-scale extension in July. We projected his potential contract at 4 years, $52 million, a deal that wouldn't kick in until the 2027-28 season.

Both Sharpe and Williams signed 2 year, $12.5 million contracts last offseason with team options for the 2026-27 season. If either option is declined, then the Nets could work out new deals to keep the budding role players under contract long term. Minott also has a $2.5 million team option for next season, which could be picked up as a prove-it year for the 2025-26 late addition.

The majority of Brooklyn's roster will likely be on rookie contracts. There's no high-end contract that's going to kick in next season, which leaves it with the option of diversifying its assets amongst multiple contributors, or going after one or two above average starters. The 2026 free agent class isn't star-studded.