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Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Brunson, Randle, Tsai, Marks

August 4th, 2024 at 1:45pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

After going 64-18 in the regular season and 16-3 in the playoffs en route to their 18th title this June, the Celtics already look like the team to beat next season. In a reader mailbag, Brian Robb of MassLive.com speculates as to which players could improve even more in 2024/25.

Robb believes that reserve big man Xavier Tillman, who has dealt with knee troubles in the last two seasons, still has room to grow at age 25. Robb also believes that Finals MVP swingman Jaylen Brown could improve his scoring efficiency.

Additionally, Robb touches on Tatum’s inconsistent postseason scoring, the team’s contracts, and what in-game elements the club can improve.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

Knicks All-NBA point guard Jalen Brunson inked a four-year, $156.5MM contract extension with New York this summer — far less than the five-year, $269MM contract he could have signed as an unrestricted free agent last year. In an Insider-only story, Bobby Marks and Tim Bontemps of ESPN reflect on how the superstar guard’s below-market deal could impact the future of All-Star power forward Julius Randle – who has just become extension-eligible himself – and the rest of the roster.
Nets owner Joe Tsai has “absolute confidence” that general manager Sean Marks can rebuild the club’s roster, a source informs Brian Lewis of The New York Post (subscription required). Marks’ history of finding talent outside of the draft lottery is a major factor in ownership’s belief in the team’s longtime GM. “[Tsai has] absolute confidence in the ability of the front office to draft well,” that source said. “Sean’s track record there is very good: Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert, Nic Claxton. [They took] Nic Claxton 31st in the draft. [Tsai] has every confidence in Sean.”
In case you missed it, new Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez believes his experience coaching the Canadian national team helped him book the Brooklyn gig.

Nets Notes: Fernandez, Bridges, Okoro, Training Staff

August 3rd, 2024 at 9:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

Jordi Fernandez spent 15 years working on NBA staffs and in the G League before the Nets gave him his first head coaching opportunity in April. In an interview with Marc J. Spears of Andscape, Fernandez speculates that his experience as head coach of the Canadian national team gave him an edge in Brooklyn’s hiring process.

“Everybody says that they value the G League experience, which I think was amazing,” he said. “And for me it was a big part of why I kept developing. But coaching Canada and qualifying for the Olympics, it was the last push to be a head coach in the NBA and I’ll always be thankful for the opportunity. But also thankful for these guys, how hard they play. They are the ones that qualified. They are the ones that got a medal, so I obviously benefited from it.”

The Olympic obligations have prevented Fernandez from concentrating full-time on his new job, but he tells Spears they haven’t been a major distraction. He says Nets officials have been “super supportive” about his Olympic duties, and he was able to monitor Summer League games and practices by watching film. He’ll be able to devote his full attention to the team once the medal round in Paris wraps up next weekend.

“I’ve been calling and texting the (Nets) players,” Fernandez said. “I talked to Dennis (Schröder). Talked to the young guys. I talked to (Trendon) Watford. We just we got him back on the team, which we were very happy about. It takes time to build relationships, but they’ve been responsive and they’ve been awesome.”

There’s more on the Nets:

Also in the interview, Fernandez addresses the fact that the team he expected to coach changed significantly when Brooklyn traded Mikal Bridges to the Knicks in June. Fernandez said he supports the deal, which brought back Bojan Bogdanovic, Mamadi Diakite, Shake Milton and a large collection of draft assets, signifying that the Nets are fully moving into a rebuilding stage. “It was one of the avenues that we’ve had in mind and how we wanted to do things,” Fernandez said. “Obviously, he’s an amazing player and have a lot of respect for him. Every good trade has to be a win-win. And this is one avenue that we were contemplating. I’m very excited because I know that we can build something more special.”
Despite speculation earlier this week, it doesn’t look like the Nets are in position to acquire Isaac Okoro from the Cavaliers, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports said on the “Ball Don’t Lie” podcast (hat tip to Sports Illustrated). Cleveland was rumored to be considering a sign-and-trade deal involving Dorian Finney-Smith. “I don’t think those talks got really, really substantial to my understanding,” Fischer said. “I just don’t think it can even happen right now after the salary stuff has all shifted out.”
Jonathan Felipe, the Nets’ head trainer, and Les Gelis, director of sports medicine (injury management) and co-head of the performance team, won’t be returning for the upcoming season, according to NetsDaily (Twitter links).

Four Under-The-Radar Players To Watch For 2024/25

July 29th, 2024 at 8:18pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Rosters for the 2024/25 season are far from being set, but it’s never too early to try to predict some of next season’s happenings. When considering players who are primed for breakouts, draft picks who immediately became stars like Paolo Banchero and Victor Wembanyama come to mind, but several more players in a tier below that will emerge as rotation mainstays for the first time.

Think players like Sam Hauser of the Celtics. Hauser gradually crept up Boston’s rotation over the past three years, eventually becoming a part of the title core and earning himself an extension. Likewise, Miles McBride was a second-round pick who showed promise, but eventually broke out after the ’23/24 deadline for New York. Isaiah Joe of the Thunder is another example, while Vince Williams of the Grizzlies and Simone Fontecchio of the Pistons also broke onto the scene earlier this year.

With that said, here are four players I think could “break out” next season in the sense that they go from a fringe rotation piece to a reliable regular for a team.

Day’Ron Sharpe

This might be cheating a bit, since Sharpe appeared in 61 games last season and averaged 6.8 points and 6.4 rebounds. However, he managed to record those numbers in just 15.1 minutes per night, improving across the board for the Nets. I expect Sharpe to play more this season even though he’s still behind Nic Claxton in the rotation.

For starters, the Nets pivoted toward a rebuild this offseason after trading away Mikal Bridges. With Bridges gone and players like Cameron Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, Bojan Bogdanovic and Dennis Schröder set up to be potential trade pieces, there should be more minutes to go around at some point in the season, at least in theory. That would put Sharpe, the No. 29 overall pick in 2021, in prime position to play more and continue to show off his improvement.

Sharpe is set to be a restricted free agent next offseason and, if he manages to continue to show linear growth, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him draw a bevy of suitors. If the Nets didn’t want to pay Sharpe after handing a contract to Claxton this offseason, Sharpe could draw interest at the deadline for a playoff team needing size or another young team looking for a mainstay.

Given his contract status, youth (heturns 23 this season), and team positioning, Sharpe seems like a solid candidate to “break out” for next season.

Max Christie

The Lakers have had a quiet offseason, with their only external additions being 2024 draftees Dalton Knecht and Bronny James. One move that flew under the radar was the long-term extension of Christie, a player who only played 14.1 minutes last season. While the 2022 No. 35 pick saw his responsibilities increase last season from his rookie year, he holds a career average of 3.8 points per game.

Clearly, the Lakers liked what they saw from the 21-year-old Christie, as they rewarded him with a $32MM deal. While he hasn’t played a ton at the NBA level, he holds solid upside as a three-and-D prospect. It was somewhat surprising, for my money, that a team with cap space didn’t try to price Christie out of the Lakers’ range.

The Lakers getting Christie back could be a huge win for a team that needs three-and-D players in their rotation. Given that the Lakers might still make a trade before the year and players ahead of him last year either fell out of favor or simply left in free agency, Christie seems like a lock for more minutes and production next season. He could have a key role for the Lakers in the final couple years of his contract if things play right.

Craig Porter Jr./Ricky Council IV

While Porter and Council are distinctly different players, both could improve and continue to work their way into the rotations of playoff contenders in the Eastern Conference, which is why they’re grouped together here.

Porter played more on a two-way contract last season before being promoted to a standard deal. He’s a small guard but has played well above his size both in college and in the pros. He works well as a secondary ball-handler and a solid defensive guard. While the Cavaliers still have three open roster spots and could add a player or two who may overtake Porter in the guard room, I could see him winning the ninth or 10th spot in the rotation and potentially being the club’s top backup lead guard.

Council didn’t play as much for the Sixers until the end of the season, but his high efficiency impressed the organization and they rewarded him with a standard contract.

While Philadelphia eventually re-signed Tyrese Maxey, Kelly Oubre, Kyle Lowry and KJ Martin, I find it telling that the Council was just one of two players from last year’s roster who stayed on the roster throughout the entire offseason. His contract for next season is non-guaranteed, so they easily could have waived him if they felt someone else better fit his role. Martin and draft picks Jared McCain and Adem Bona might not play much next season, which has Council and Eric Gordon looking like the team’s only true bench wings off the bench.

While it’s not a lock Porter or Council make an impact on the rotation this year — let alone make it through their contracts being guaranteed at the league-wide date in 2025 — their organizations have shown they value each respective player. To me, Porter and Council are some of the more likely candidates to follow Hauser’s footsteps of developing for a couple seasons before breaking into a rotation.

Coaches, Scouts, Execs Weigh In On NBA Offseason Moves

July 29th, 2024 at 3:05pm CST by Rory Maher

While there are still some noteworthy free agents who have yet to find new teams, we’re currently in a relatively slow period for NBA transactions, as most teams have a pretty good idea of what their rosters will look like ahead of the 2024/25 season.

With that in mind, Tim Bontemps of ESPN (subscription required) recently spoke to 18 NBA coaches, scouts and executives to solicit their (anonymous) opinions on the biggest moves made so far in the 2024 offseason.

Here are some highlights from Bontemps’ survey, which is worth reading in full for those who subscribe to ESPN+:

Which team had the best offseason?

Sixers (8 votes), Knicks (5), Thunder (3), Celtics.

“They took themselves to the next level,” an East executive said of the 76ers. “We’ll see if it’s good enough, but you went from Point A to Point B.”

Which team had the worst offseason?

Nuggets (6 votes), Bulls (5), Clippers (4), Lakers (1), Knicks (1), Pistons (1).

As Bontemps writes, Denver (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope), Chicago (Alex Caruso, DeMar DeRozan) and the Clippers (Paul George) received the majority of the votes for losing key players in free agency and/or trades.

Interestingly, while Philadelphia signing George to a four-year, maximum-salary contract received the most votes (six) for the best offseason move, it also tied for the most votes (three) for worst move. A total of 10 different answers were given for worst move, including the Bulls and Kings receiving three votes apiece for their parts in the DeRozan sign-and-trade.

As for the most surprising move, the Knicks’ blockbuster trade with the Nets for Mikal Bridges received the most votes (five) in Bontemps’ survey, followed by George leaving Los Angeles (three) and the swap of Caruso for Josh Giddey (two). Eight other moves each received one vote.

Bontemps also asked questions about the top offseason trend, the effectiveness of the new CBA, and whether there will be an increase in tanking ahead of the 2025 draft.

Nets, Cavs Have Discussed Okoro, Finney-Smith

July 29th, 2024 at 7:54am CST by Luke Adams

As the Cavaliers consider various scenarios involving restricted free agent forward Isaac Okoro, one option they’ve explored is a sign-and-trade deal with the Nets, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

Sources tell Scotto that, while no agreement is imminent, Brooklyn is considered a possible sign-and-trade destination for Okoro. Veteran Brooklyn wing Dorian Finney-Smith – who is known to be a potential Cavaliers target – has come up in discussions between the two teams involving Okoro, Scotto confirms.

With the Nets hitting the reset button to some extent, adding the 23-year-old Okoro on a longer-term deal may be a better fit for the organization than retaining the 31-year-old Finney-Smith, who can reach unrestricted free agency next summer if he declines his 2025/26 player option.

The Nets are one of several teams to have expressed some sign-and-trade interest in Okoro, Scotto writes, adding that the former Auburn standout could potentially earn an annual salary north of the mid-level exception ($12.8MM) if a sign-and-trade comes to fruition.

Recent reporting indicated that the Cavs have made Okoro a multiyear offer that would pay him less than his $11.8MM qualifying offer on an annual basis — that offer is estimated to be in the range of $8-10MM per year. However, Scotto hears that rival teams believe Cleveland would be prepared to match an offer sheet up to about the full non-taxpayer mid-level.

The Cavaliers are approximately $9.7MM below the luxury tax line, with at least two roster spots to fill, so re-signing Okoro and remaining out of the tax would require him to accept a starting salary slightly below $8MM. A higher starting salary – including his $11.8MM qualifying offer – would push team salary into tax territory.

It’s unclear if staying out of the tax is a priority for Cleveland this season, given that the team projects to above that line next season (and beyond) once Evan Mobley‘s new maximum-salary extension takes effect, Scotto writes. If the club brings back Okoro and wants to avoid the tax for one more year, trading a player like Caris LeVert or Georges Niang could be an option, Scotto speculates, though he notes that Niang is close with Donovan Mitchell, while LeVert is an important part of the second unit. Okoro himself could become a trade candidate later in the season too.

In Scotto’s view, the worst-case scenario for the Cavs would be for Okoro to accept his one-year qualifying offer, since that would give him trade veto rights for the 2024/25 season and he could potentially leave for nothing next summer. For that reason, Scotto expects the Cavs to either come to terms on a multiyear deal with the former No. 5 overall pick or to find a sign-and-trade scenario they like.

Community Shootaround: Underrated Remaining Free Agents

July 28th, 2024 at 8:48pm CST by Tristan Tucker

For the most part, standard roster spots across the league have dried up with the bulk of the top free agents having decided their destinations earlier in July. And some of the teams that do have open roster spots seem to be maneuvering to bring back some of the bigger names remaining in free agency.

Take the Grizzlies for example, who salary dumped Ziaire Williams in a move that seems to be setting up a return for Luke Kennard, one of the top players still available. The Cavaliers have three open standard roster spots, but figure to fill one or more of them once Isaac Okoro‘s restricted free agency is resolved (whether they’re keeping flexibility for a sign-and-trade or simply plan to bring him back remains to be seen). The Knicks, likewise, are the most likely destination for Precious Achiuwa but could still execute a sign-and-trade.

The remaining players on our top-50 list are Okoro (No. 20), Kennard (No. 29), Achiuwa (No. 37), Markelle Fultz (No. 43), Cedi Osman (No. 46) and Gordon Hayward (No. 49). While teams seem to have at least some level of plans in place for the top few remaining free agents, there are several others who have found recent success in the NBA and could help teams, but who appear to have been overlooked to this point.

A pair of Nets guards in Lonnie Walker IV and Dennis Smith Jr. are among the free agents who haven’t found new homes. Both are still relatively young and have shown promise in their careers. Smith, in particular, established himself as one of the better backcourt defenders in the league in his season with Charlotte in 2022/23, but he didn’t catch on for the long term. Walker has shown an ability to score in bunches and averaged 9.7 points in just 17.4 minutes last season (20.1 points per 36).

Likewise, Jordan Nwora is a young wing who can score in a pinch, but he hasn’t been brought back by the Raptors to this point. Though he’s shown flashes in Milwaukee, Indiana and Toronto, Nwora’s NBA future is unknown at this point. In 206 career appearances, the former No. 45 overall pick has averaged 7.6 points per game.

Talen Horton-Tucker made 11 starts for the Jazz last season and averaged 10.1 points and 3.5 assists per contest. While it’s possible the Jazz continue to develop the 23-year-old, there has been no indication so far that he remains in their plans.

Other young players like Omer Yurtseven, Dominick Barlow and Brandon Boston Jr. have had moments in the league, but none have found homes this offseason.

Davis Bertans feels likely to end up signing a deal with a contender, but his name hasn’t come up much in free agent conversations. Though he isn’t young, Bertans seemed to rehabilitate his value with Charlotte after averages 20.8 minutes last year after being acquired at the deadline, and he shot 37.5% from three on 6.3 attempts per game.

To be clear, the perceived lack of a market for the aforementioned players isn’t necessarily surprising. Tyus Jones and Gary Trent, though they reportedly passed on more lucrative offers, ended up only signing for the minimum. Teams are impacted by the CBA’s recent tax apron changes and a smaller-than-usual cap increase, resulting in a slower free agency this season.

Still, there’s always value to be found across professional basketball, and plenty of talented players are available to be signed by teams.

We want your input. Who do you think are the most underrated remaining free agents? Are there any players you feel are unfairly overlooked? Is there anyone we forgot?

Head to the comment section to let us know! We look forward to hearing your input.

Nets Notes: Clowney, Bridges, Fernandez, Training Camp

July 27th, 2024 at 10:26am CST by Dana Gauruder

Noah Clowney displayed in the Las Vegas Summer League that he’s ready for an expanded role. The second-year Nets forward averaged 13.8 points, 1.6 blocks and 1.4 steals per game and made 39% of his 3-point attempts, Brian Lewis of the New York Post notes. He’s also got the kind of shot-blocking skills to make him a dual threat alongside Nic Claxton.

“I liked the way Noah played,” said Steve Hetzel, who coached the Nets in Vegas. “When we talked about growth and learning, the physicality of it — it was his birthday (on July 14), so he’s still a young man — he’s done a great job in the weight room, but he’s going to continue to get stronger. So it’s going to come with time.”

We have more on the Nets:

Mikal Bridges flopped in his role as a leader last season, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Post (subscription required). Via his sources, Bondy reported that Bridges internalized the team’s struggles and became overwhelmed by the responsibility. He was neither the communicator nor the confident alpha the Nets needed from their best player, Bondy adds.
New Nets coach Jordi Fernandez is busy coaching Team Canada in the Olympics. Timberwolves coach Chris Finch believes he’ll thrive in that role. “It was a home-run hire (for Canada). … Sometimes in the national team game, less is more,” Finch told The Athletic’s Eric Koreen. “And I think he’s got great emotional intelligence to figure that out.”
The Nets will hold part of their training camp in California, Lewis writes. Brooklyn, which will play the Clippers in San Diego during the preseason, did the same thing three years ago.

Stein’s Latest: LaVine, Vucevic, Nembhard, Morris, C. Jones, More

July 26th, 2024 at 2:47pm CST by Luke Adams

While Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic remain trade candidates, it appears increasingly likely that both players will open the 2024/25 season as Bulls, Marc Stein writes in his latest Substack story.

League sources tell Stein that the Bulls are “resigned” to the fact that they’re unlikely to find a deal they like for LaVine before opening night and may have to try to help him rebuild some trade value early in the season.

As for Vucevic, his contract (two years for about $41MM) should be easier to move than LaVine’s, but the expectation is that it will be easier for Chicago to find a deal sometime after the season begins than before that, Stein explains.

Here are a few more items from within Stein’s latest look around the NBA:

According to Stein’s sources, Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard was only willing to accept a three-year extension from Indiana rather than a four-year deal. The contract will put Nembhard in position to sign his next contract in 2028 when he’s 28 and presumably right in his prime.
The Mavericks remain committed to re-signing forward Markieff Morris, even after filling their 15-man roster by adding Spencer Dinwiddie, Stein reports. As Stein observes, A.J. Lawson is the most vulnerable of the 15 players on standard contracts, since his 2024/25 salary is non-guaranteed.
Former NBA guard Carlik Jones, a key member of the South Sudan Olympic team, is committed to playing for KK Partizan next season after not exercising his NBA out by the July 25 deadline, according to Stein, who notes that Donta Hall‘s new two-year contract with Baskonia has an NBA out after the 2024/25 season.
Evan Fournier and Patty Mills, who finished last season on NBA rosters but don’t have contracts for 2024/25, are among the notable free agents to watch at the Olympics, according to Stein. Stein is also curious about whether a strong showing from Nets guard Dennis Schröder in Paris could help boost his trade value as the German enters a contract year.

Western Notes: Jazz, Clarkson, Draymond, Klay, Blazers, Kings

July 25th, 2024 at 8:39pm CST by Luke Adams

Within a look at the Jazz‘s potential depth chart, Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune says that Jordan Clarkson hasn’t drawn any real trade interest this offseason, so it appears the veteran guard will still be on Utah’s roster when the regular season tips off this fall.

In Larsen’s view, Clarkson, Collin Sexton, and Keyonte George all possess similar skill sets as score-first guards who aren’t particularly strong on defense or super-efficient as shooters. While each of them may be best suited as a sixth man, Larsen projects George and Sexton as the starters, with Clarkson coming off the bench.

Rather than trying to start John Collins again alongside Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler in the frontcourt, the Jazz should give 2024 lottery pick Cody Williams a shot in the starting five, Larsen contends, noting that the team needs to gamble on upside and adding that Williams looks capable of fitting in as an offensive connector.

In his hypothetical Jazz depth chart, Larsen has Isaiah Collier, Taylor Hendricks, and Drew Eubanks joining Clarkson and Collins on the second unit.

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

Appearing on the Club 520 Podcast with Jeff Teague (YouTube link), Warriors big man Draymond Green said he’s happy Klay Thompson was able to move on from Golden State this summer — for Thompson’s sake. “I’m happy as hell he’s gone, and the reason I’m happy he’s gone is because he wasn’t happy anymore,” Green said. “As a brother, I only want what’s best for you. Not what’s best for me, not what’s best for this team, not what’s best for the organization. … To see him unhappy – I wouldn’t even necessarily say unhappy, he was uneasy though, just bothered – and to see him that way… that bothered me. … I think it was time for him.”
The Trail Blazers have announced an addition to their coaching staff, issuing a press release to officially confirm the hiring of Ronnie Burrell as an assistant under Chauncey Billups. A former UNC Greensboro standout and a professional player in Europe, Burrell spent last season on Brooklyn’s staff after serving as head coach of the Long Island Nets in 2022/23.
Jim Moran, who coached the Rip City Remix in the G League last season, is joining Mike Brown‘s staff as a Kings assistant, league sources tell Sean Cunningham of FOX 40 Sacramento (Twitter links). Moran previously served as an assistant under Dwane Casey in Detroit and Terry Stotts in Portland, Cunningham notes.

Nets To Sign Killian Hayes

July 25th, 2024 at 5:20pm CST by Luke Adams

5:20pm: Hayes’ deal with the Nets will be a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contract, tweets Stefan Bondy of The New York Post.

4:25pm: The Nets have agreed to a deal with former lottery pick Killian Hayes, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that Hayes will sign a one-year contract and will have an opportunity to compete for a regular season roster spot in Brooklyn.

The seventh overall pick in the 2020 draft, Hayes spent three-and-a-half seasons with the Pistons before being waived this February at the trade deadline. He has been an unrestricted free agent since then.

Hayes, who will turn 23 on Saturday, entered the NBA with a reputation for being a solid defender and passer whose offensive game was a work in progress, and that’s essentially still the case, as his shooting percentages increased only marginally over the course of his four years in the league.

Hayes averaged 6.9 points, 4.9 assists, and 2.8 rebounds in 24.0 minutes per game across 42 appearances (31 starts) this past season, with a shooting line of .413/.297/.660. Those field goal and three-point percentages actually represent career bests. His career NBA averages are 8.1 PPG, 5.2 APG, and 2.9 RPG on .382/.277/.775 shooting in 210 games (145 starts).

While the exact details of Hayes’ deal have yet to be reported, it’ll almost certainly be a minimum-salary contract. And since he isn’t assured of a 15-man roster spot, I’d expect his salary to either be non-guaranteed or to include just a modest partial guarantee.

The Nets are carrying 15 players on standard contracts prior to officially signing Hayes. Of those players, 13 are on fully guaranteed deals. Keon Johnson has a $250K partial guarantee, while Jalen Wilson has a partial guarantee of $75K.