Will the Nets use MLE to bolster defense? Could it be a family affair?

In thinking about what the Nets might do in the off-season, which will likely begin around Thanksgiving and end on Martin Luther King Day, Brian Lewis noted that Brooklyn is more likely to go for a 3-and-D wing that a third star.

At the top of his of those possibilities, Lewis put Andre Roberson at the top of the list. a 6’6” Thunder player who spent 918 days recovering and rehabbing from a knee injury, a ruptured patellar tendon in his left knee. After going down in January 2018, he didn’t play again until the “bubble.” Now, he’s reportedly ready and one Nets player thinks he’d be an ideal fit.

“Yeah, I think him being healthy, he’s gonna be a phenomenal addition to a contender,” Spencer Dinwiddie told The Post. “And obviously him being extended family will be dope to share that journey, and those high-level aspirations with him.”

Dinwiddie and Roberson aren’t just fellow Colorado Buffaloes. Andre’s sister, Arielle, is Dinwiddie’s long-time girlfriend; mother of his son, Elijah; and active in his foundation. Moreover, Dinwiddie relocated to San Antonio, the Roberson’s hometown, during the league hiatus..

Roberson of course does have the resume’ the Nets are looking for and he played three years with Kevin Durant in OKC. The Nets have the taxpayer MLE which permits them to sign a player up to $18 million over three years, starting at a little less than $6 million.

Roberson seems the most logical. The 6-foot-7, 220-pound Thunder wing was all-defensive second-team in 2016-17, and was a defensive player of the year candidate the next season before rupturing his left patella tendon,

Again, as long as he’s healthy.

Lewis points to a number of other candidates for all or part of the MLE:, De’Anthony Melton, a 6’2” 22-year-old who’s a restricted free agent in Memphis; Queens native Maurice Harkless, a 6’9” 29-year-old who’s unrestriced, as is Harry Giles III, a 6’11” 22-year-old big who the Kings declined to extend last summer; and Torrey Craig, a 6’7” 29-year-old wing who’s still in the “bubble” with the Nuggets. There’s also Tyler Johnson, the Nets free agent, who might need more than the $2 million vets minimum.

Putting aside the debate over a “third star,” Steve Nash has said defense will be a priority.

“Offensively won’t be our problem, the No. 1 thing for us is building a really solid defense,” Nash said on “Inside the NBA.”

• Why Nets may not chase third star this offseason - Brian Lewis - New York Post