Brooklyn Nets center Day’Ron Sharpe had somewhat of a breakout season last year for the Nets as he showed to be the backup center they were looking for behind Nic Claxton. Despite the fact that Sharpe was expected to command a significant pay raise on the free-agent market, he re-signed with Brooklyn last season for two years and $12.5 million, but that deal almost didn’t happen.
“It’s worth noting that Boston also planned to pursue Nets center Day’Ron Sharpe in free agency, league sources told HoopsHype,” HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto recently reported. Scotto discussed in his reporting roundup that the Boston Celtics were still looking for talent as they were trying to decrease their payroll at the same time, potentially thinking about trading guard Anfernee Simons to Brooklyn as well.
“The Celtics would’ve been limited to only a minimum offer for Sharpe, but were prepared to offer a chance to compete for the starting center spot this season,” Scotto continued. Given that the Celtics would have only been able to give Sharpe the minimum, $2.46 million, it makes sense why he re-signed with the Nets to continue in a familiar role.
Sharpe, 24, is having another solid season as Brooklyn’s backup center as he’s averaging 6.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game while shooting 58.4% from the field and 57.1% from the free-throw line. More to the point, Sharpe has played in 19 of the Nets’ 20 games this season, putting him on track to play the most games in a season by far.
While Sharpe will likely never post big numbers coming off the bench given that Claxton has been one of the more durable big men over the past few years. However, Sharpe has proven that he can produce when needed for more minutes as shown by his averages of 11.2 points and 9.4 rebounds per game in the 14 times that he has started a game for the Nets.