With green guards and precious little defense, the Nets needed to add a veteran in the backcourt and pressure at the point of attack. 

They’re hoping Keon Ellis can bring both — and on a team-friendly deal. 

The Nets and Ellis agreed to a two-year, $18 million contract Tuesday on the first night of free agency. It was first reported by ESPN and confirmed by The Post. 

The deal includes a full mutual option. It fully guarantees Ellis his $18 million, while still letting both sides negotiate a new deal next summer. Either can opt in. 

The Nets would still have nearly $35 million in salary cap space left, per Third Apron cap guru Yossi Gozlan, if they take Ellis and Josh Minott into cap space and Day’Ron Sharpe into the room mid-level exception. 

The Nets spent first-round picks on guards Egor Demin, Nolan Traore and Ben Saraf last season, and Mikel Brown Jr. last week. None are expected to be defensive stalwarts, while wing Drake Powell has yet to grow into that role. 

Point-of-attack defenders who can actually shoot — prototypical 3-and-D types — are pricey in the NBA, but Ellis may provide some of that archetype. 

The 26-year-old Ellis played for Cleveland after being traded midseason from Sacramento. Nets head coach Jordi Fernández was a Kings assistant for two years while Ellis was there, and now they’ll have a reunion in Brooklyn. 

Ellis went undrafted and has never earned more than the veteran’s minimum. But he’s a career 40.7 percent shooter from 3-point range and hit 35.5 percent last season for the Cavaliers en route to averaging 8.3 points. 

But after averaging 24 minutes in the regular season and notching a plus-4.5 net rating, he struggled in the postseason. He averaged just seven minutes and recorded a minus-15.9 Net Rating in 12 appearances. 

Still, playoff struggles are a luxury for the rebuilding Nets, a long way from those sorts of worries. Considering how defensively challenged they are — and how young their backcourt is — it’s easy to see Ellis earning a significant rotation role. 

Ellis was fifth in the NBA in steals per 100 possessions in 2024-25 and 15th this past season, when he ranked in the 93rd percentile in steals. 

The Nets still have plenty of cap space and even more needs. 

They’re unlikely to trade for Boston’s Jaylen Brown, league sources said. 

Despite the Nets being linked with the Celtics All-Star, The Post reported Monday that they weren’t likely to deal for him, a league source saying, “I wouldn’t put much stock in it.” The Stein Line confirmed the same Tuesday. But trading away Nic Claxton has left a hole at center and made Day’Ron Sharpe the nominal starter. 

Although the Nets have been linked with Jalen Duren and Walker Kessler, both are restricted free agents and seem rich for the Nets’ blood. 

So where could Brooklyn look? Across the East River, with The Post reporting the Knicks are unlikely to keep Mitchell Robinson and the Nets have interest. 

Robinson leads the NBA in offensive rebounds per 36 minutes and per 100 possessions; Sharpe is fifth in both. The Nets re-signed Sharpe to a two-year, $20 million deal, a team-friendly contract that looks even cheaper weighed against Jock Landale’s one-year, $14 million pact. But prying Robinson away from the Knicks would give the Nets the best rebounding 1-2 punch they’ve ever had. 

Robinson is widely expected to command an annual salary starting at $15 million and possibly as high as $20 million. 

Two other options are more offensively oriented, in Orlando’s Moritz Wagner and Toronto’s Sandro Mamukelashvili. But the Lakers are not only meeting with Duren but reportedly comfortable offering Mamukelashvili $10 million annually, per SNY. The latter won’t protect the rim, but he’ll pass the ball and space the floor, shooting 38.9 percent from deep this past season. 

Another target is Wagner, 29, who would stretch the floor and bring toughness. He averaged just 6.9 points and 3.2 rebounds in 11.9 minutes last season, seeing his playing time slashed in Orlando. He could see it rise in Brooklyn.