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Brooklyn Nets Agree To Offer Sheet With Allen Crabbe

By Kenneth Teape

Jan 26, 2016; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Allen Crabbe (23) passes the ball against the Sacramento Kings during the fourth quarter at the Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 26, 2016; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Allen Crabbe (23) passes the ball against the Sacramento Kings during the fourth quarter at the Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Brooklyn Nets continue to add talent to their roster, signing Portland Trail Blazers’ restricted free agent Allen Crabbe to an offer sheet.

The Brooklyn Nets continued to add building block talent to their roster late Thursday night. While many people on the East Coast are getting ready for bed, the Nets kept working with free agents and agreed to an offer sheet with Portland Trail Blazers shooting guard Allen Crabbe, who has signed the deal.

Like almost all NBA Free Agency news, the signing of Crabbe was first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. He reported that the deal is a four-year deal worth $75 million. If Crabbe reaches the plateau for bonuses, he could earn up to $83 million.

As Wojnarowksi mentions, Crabbe is a restricted free agent, which means the Trail Blazers now had three days to match the deal, or let Crabbe walk to the Nets. This puts the Blazers in a tough position, as they just signed Festus Ezeli of the Golden State Warriors to a two-year, $18 million deal.

While that deal doesn’t cripple the Trail Blazers, as they could match for Crabbe, they have to think about ramifications of this deal down the road. With breakout shooting guard C.J. McCollum ready to get paid next offseason, they have a tough decision on their hands; retain Crabbe this season to the big deal, risking the chance of losing McCollum next season, or let Crabbe go and increase their chance of giving McCollum big money next offseason.

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The Nets are hoping they decide on the second option, as they would have another building block on the roster and a potential steal on their hands. At only 24-years old, Crabbe could become a cornerstone piece for the rebuilding Nets going forward.

The 2015-16 season was the first time that Crabbe had a real shot at playing time, and he made the most of it. While Crabbe isn’t a household name for many casual NBA fans, hardcore ones know that this is a great deal for the Nets.

Last season Crabbe put up career numbers across the board, averaging 10.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists in only 26 minutes per game. He is durable, appearing in 81 total games with eight starts.

Despite the limited playing time early in his career, Crabbe has already established himself as an outstanding outside shooter. He has knocked down 38.5 percent from deep in his career, and is already an excellent defender. At 6-feet-6 inches, Crabbe has the size and athleticism to be very disruptive on that end of the court with the ability to play multiple positions.

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With the Blazers, he has played 66 percent of his minutes at small forward and 32 percent at shooting guard, giving head coach Kenny Atkinson some flexibility in lineups that he can deploy if the Blazers do not match an offer for Crabbe.

We have also seen Crabbe shine on the big stage, as the postseason was not too big for the young wing player. Against the Golden State Warriors, Crabbe saw 31 minutes per game and produced a magnificent 73.7 true shooting percentage. In the postseason overall, Crabbe shot 52.1 percent overall from the field and 42.3 percent beyond the three-point line for an effective field goal percentage of 62.3.

This is an outstanding signing for the Nets, as Crabbe is loaded with upside and still very young. If the Blazers do not match the deal, the Nets are getting a steal with Crabbe, as he is well worth the contract they gave him seeing what someone such as Evan Turner received on the open market this season.

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Crabbe would continue to give the Nets a major upgrade in the backcourt, where they look to go from Jarrett Jack, Shane Larkin, Donald Sloan, Markel Brown and Wayne Ellington to Crabbe, Jeremy Lin, Tyler Johnson, Isaiah Whitehead and Caris LeVert. That would be a huge upgrade provided by general manager Sean Marks in his first offseason with the organization.

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