As roster fills up, where do we go from here?

The Nets made two moves in the 10 days since they and Kevin Durant made peace in L.A., which in turn was not long after they made peace with his friend and teammate Kyrie Irving. Neither move was high profile, neither was guaranteed but spots are finally getting filled.

They first signed Yuta Watanabe to a non-guaranteed deal, meaning he gets no guaranteed money till January. Then, both The Athletic and ESPN reported that the Nets have reached a deal with Markieff Morris, also to a non-guaranteed deal. They’re not Exhibit 10 deals, we’re told, just basic prove-it deals.

Look for a David Duke Jr. decision in the next couple of days as well. He wants a standard deal. The Nets want to keep him on a two-way. The difference to him is about a million dollars this year. The difference to the Nets is greater than that because of the luxury tax, which will be more than $100 million by the time Sean Marks get done. The money is unlikely to the big impediment. It would seem the roster spot and the flexibility are.

So, as things stand, here is the Nets roster breakdown, starting with the 12 fully guaranteed standard deals: Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Ben Simmons, Joe Harris, Seth Curry, T.J. Warren, Royce O’Neale, Patty Mills, Nic Claxton, Kessler Edwards, Cam Thomas and Day’ron Sharpe. Irving, Curry, and Warren are on expiring deals.

Then, there’s the one partially guaranteed ($250,000) two-year deal Brooklyn gave Edmond Sumner and the two non-guaranteed deals: Watanabe and Morris. Alondes Williams is on a two-way deal for one year.

That’s 16 with Duke’s situation still unsettled. The Nets can bring 20 players to camp. The remainder are expected to be Exhibit 10 deals, normally players who did well in Summer League and who the Nets want to assign to Long Island. But with so many partial guarantees and non-guarantees — and that includes two-ways — things may be more wide open in training camp. Not to mention the various injury issues — none particularly serious from what we know — that are part of any roster decision-making process.

There are some often-cited deficiencies at center and point guard and a surplus of wings that might suggest a trade could happen before camp opens on September 27. The fan favorite for the big man job is Myles Turner, but that might require moving Joe Harris and various reporters, most recently Alex Schiffer and Shams Charania, have said the Nets are adamant in wanting to keep Harris. There was some rumblings about Jacob Poeltl, the 26-year-old Spurs seven-footer. San Antonio is in a house-cleaning mode and as an expiring at a modest $9.4 million, Poeltl might more easily fit into the Nets infrastructure.

The Nets can’t trade any first pound picks till 2027 and then they can move either their own 2027 pick or the 1-8 protected 76ers pick from the first Harden trade. They can also trade their own picks in 2028, 2029 an 2030 but not in sequential years because of the Stepien rule. (The Nets have three remaining trade exceptions, but only one, the $2.5 million remainder of the Harden TPE, is workable. The others are $1.3 million and $1.7 million.)

Point guard might be easier to fill with so many of them still on free agent lists, names like Dennis Schroeder, Rajon Rondo, D.J. Augustin. And of course, the needs at center and point guard will depend on where Simmons plays since those are the two positions he’s likely to man. Also, it should be noted that Morris can play back-up big in a small ball lineup and Sumner came out of Xavier as a point guard, offering some skills there as can Mills.

The Nets still have the taxpayers MLE which is $6.5 million this season. It can be cut into pieces and/or be used to sign players for up to three-year, $20 million deals. (After the midway point of the season, January 10, it is reduced in size, the value declining a little bit every day.)

The Nets are notoriously close-mouthed ... and notoriously active. The twin sagas of KD and Kyrie no doubt effected their ability to do deals, particularly with free agents, but those are passed by now and gaps can be filled. Of course, the best free agents are off the market now and the Nets will be limited to players who have tarnished images or injury histories or who are diamonds in the rough. what some front office folks collectively call, “fallen angels.”

We expect this story could even become perishable in the coming hours, things are have moved so quickly since the Nets brass met with Durant and got an agreement to continue their partnership.

• The Nets are two moves away from a complete roster - Kristian Winfield - New York Daily News
• Morris Signing Gets Marks Closer (But Not There Yet) To Properly Balancing Nets - Steve Lichtenstein - Steve’s Newsletter