With free agency starting off at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, Nets targets J.J. Redick, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Otto Porter Jr. gave their first meetings to other teams. And if Brooklyn is going to land Redick, they’re reportedly going to have to convince him to not only play on a shorter deal, but do it coming off the bench.
Washington’s Porter and Detroit’s Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are restricted free agents, while Redick is unrestricted.
Porter and his agent David Falk met with the Wizards and left without reaching an agreement, according to TNT. The small forward is just 24 years old and plays the position general manager Sean Marks singled out as the Nets’ biggest need. Porter was second in the league in Offensive Rating (129.1) and fourth in 3-point shooting (43.4 percent).
Though the Nets can offer Porter a four-year, $106.5 million maximum deal, The Post cited a source Thursday saying the Wizards — who can give him five years — are intent on matching any offer sheet, even if it means owner Ted Leonsis has to pay the luxury tax for the first time.
Redick met with Philadelphia and is drawing interest from Houston as well. And though Brooklyn’s interest is genuine, they want to him to come off the bench behind D’Angelo Russell, whom they see as their franchise player. After giving up all-time leading scorer Brook Lopez to get Russell, 21, they’re committed to starting the former No. 2 pick in the backcourt alongside Jeremy Lin.
Though Redick wants a contract in the $18 to $20 million range, the Nets are willing to pay between $16 and $18 million. Adrian Wojnarowski reported on ESPN that the 76ers want to give Redick a huge one-year deal and fast-rising Minnesota a longer three or four-year contract. The Nets are willing to give Redick, 33, just a two-year deal and a bench role. Would he take that?
When judging Redick’s value, it is important to remember this: The Nets led the NBA in pace this season, and put up the sixth-most three-point attempts in history. After averaging just six three-point attempts this season, his production could spike even coming off the bench in coach Kenny Atkinson’s uptempo system.
Redick has a condo in Brooklyn — just 1 ½ miles from Barclays Center — and an open invitation from Lin to join the Nets’ offseason pickup games. He’s reportedly close with Nets Director of Player Development Adam Harrington, and spent time with him last week at Steve Nash’s Showdown in Chinatown.
Also 24, Caldwell-Pope is a solid defender and slasher and could emerge with an improved jumper. But a source said Detroit will probably match any offer sheet.
“I see myself as what I’m worth,” Caldwell-Pope told the Detroit Free Press in February. “If they see me as a max player, then that’s what I’m worth. If not, then I guess I’m not worth a max player.”
There have been changes to the collective bargaining agreement. Now teams can tender offer sheets by 12:01 a.m. Saturday instead of waiting until the moratorium ends at noon on July 6. Teams then have until midnight on July 8 to match offers extended during the moratorium, but two full days on offers extended after the moratorium. They used to have three days to match.
Tony Snell re-signed in Milwaukee. The Nets have been linked with Joe Ingles, Andre Iguodala and Amir Johnson. Serbian point guard Milos Teodosic, however, is no longer a target.
“We have an analytic value, we have a scouting value placed on these players, and if we feel comfortable with an offer to these players, whether restricted or unrestricted, we’ll make those deals,” Marks had said before free agency started. “But we’re not going to go chase things.”