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Feb 12, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Guerschon Yabusele (28) controls the ball against Brooklyn Nets center Day'Ron Sharpe (20) and forward Ziaire Williams (8) during the second quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Nets Improve Salary Cap Situation After Day'Ron Sharpe, Ziaire Williams Contracts

Originally posted on Brooklyn Nets on SI | By Jed Katz | Last updated Jun 30, 2025 5:00 PM ET

The Brooklyn Nets have begun to make moves as NBA free agency kicks off today, starting off with retaining two of their players. According to Shams Charania of ESPN, the Nets have re-signed both Ziaire Williams and Day'Ron Sharpe to new contracts after they declined to extend the qualifying offer yesterday to make both unrestricted free agents.

Williams and Sharpe each get a two-year, $12 million contract with a team option for the second year. Williams averaged 10 points and 4.6 rebounds this past season, while Sharpe put up 7.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.

The Nets appear to be fully committed to building a young core through the early stages of their rebuild. With the amount of cap space the team has, Brooklyn has been linked to stars over the last year or so. Re-signing Williams and Sharpe, along with keeping five first-round picks in this year's draft, signals the Nets are building organically.

The moves regarding Williams and Sharpe do a lot for the Nets' salary cap. They already had plenty of room to start free agency, but Williams and Sharpe had restricted free agency cap holds of $18.3 million and $12 million.

Nets offseason team salary

The purple are holds that count against the cap.

Cap space increases if the player is renounced, signs with another team or signs at lower number in Brooklyn.

Ex: Brooklyn gets $10M in additional room if Ziaire Williams year 1 salary is $8M. pic.twitter.com/BpyYrkmcsn
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) June 2, 2025

Brooklyn declined to extend the qualifying offer but managed to bring them back on cheaper contracts, each making $6 million for the 2025-26 season. The Nets save about $12.3 million on Williams and $6 million on Sharpe, as those would have counted against the salary cap.

According to NBA salary cap expert Yossi Golzan, Brooklyn is now expected to hit its projected $40 million in cap space, which was a major talking point leading up to free agency. The team can also get up to $46 million, which gives them major space to land talent.

Ziaire Williams has a $18.4 million cap hold. Nets had to renounce it and make him unrestricted or it would interfere with their cap space.

They project with $40 million in room with the ability to get up to $46 million.

Williams has veto rights in trades unless he waives it. https://t.co/u1vUfChZkm
— Yossi Gozlan (@YossiGozlan) June 30, 2025

The Nets aren't expected to go after established stars, rather up-and-coming pieces for the long term. Notable names rumored to be linked to Brooklyn include Jonathan Kuminga and Josh Giddey; however, the Nets still have to worry about retaining star scorer Cam Thomas. He is set to hit restricted free agency, so Brooklyn can match any offer he receives or use him in a sign-and-trade.

This article first appeared on Brooklyn Nets on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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