On Wednesday, recently-signed guards Jamal Crawford and Tyler Johnson practiced for the first time with the Nets down at Disney World, having cleared quarantine (Twitter link). Both veterans are candidates to play a significant amount of minutes for a Nets team that is missing Spencer Dinwiddie, DeAndre Jordan, and Taurean Prince due to COVID-19. Brooklyn will play its first game in Orlando on July 31 against the Magic.
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- The 40-year-old Crawford spoke with reporters on Wednesday night about getting another shot in the NBA with Brooklyn after not playing since the 2018/19 season. Crawford said he was surprised that they called because it looked like his career was over. “It didn’t feel real in some sense,” he said (via Nick Friedell of ESPN). “I was going to sleep that night, and I woke up like, ‘Did this really happen, or was I dreaming? Did the Nets really call and I really signed a contract with them or agreed to a contract?’ And it was real.”
- Celtics head coach Brad Stevens said on Wednesday that point guard Kemba Walker is on a “day-on, day-off” plan to build up strength in his knee. However, Stevens thinks Walker should be available when games begin (Twitter links).
- According to Marc Berman of the New York Post, multiple executives believe that current Sixers assistant coach Ime Udoka will be a future NBA head coach. Udoka is among 10 candidates who interviewed for the Knicks‘ head coach vacancy.
Brooklyn Over-the-Hill Gang, 2020 edition
Fitting since the original version is no longer the Skins.
Udoka is going to be a brilliant head coach. The team who gives him an opportunity will not regret it. He’ll be leading a team for the next 15-20 years. Multiple championships
Interesting and I’m not disagreeing with you. Can you give me reasons to support your opinion? Just because I’m curious. Thank you.
yem1979: I’m not familiar with him. What are his qualities, characteristics, and skills that lead you to that conclusion?
Gary and realsox, I’ve followed Udoka since I lived in Portland when he played for the Blazers. Udoka is a self made man who makes the most out of the opportunities he’s had. He hold himself accountable first, which is a great leadership quality. His basketball IQ is far superior to his playing abilities, but he was a grinder on the court. He has international experience with the Nigerian National team, he was hand picked by Popovich to be a top assistant for the Spurs, and recently snagged to be Brett Brown’s top assistant. Partially because of his IQ, but also because of how he connects with players, management and ownership. He’s a leader in every aspect of the word and a genuinely great person. He is young enough to relate the youth entering the league, and wise enough that veterans will listen to him. I haven’t heard a former or current player say a negative word about him. I could go on, but I think his experiences and character will take him and his future team to great heights. If Brett Brown fails in Philly, he could be the top choice to take over.
Does anyone else find it odd that all season long the debate has been whether the Sixers have underperformed because their roster is poorly constructed or because they’re poorly coached, but whenever there’s a FO or coaching vacancy a Sixers assistant is one of the top contenders?