Brooklyn Nets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Rumors: Tucker, Sixers, Knicks, Robinson, Nets

June 28th, 2022 at 4:56pm CST by Luke Adams

With free agency still two days away, rumors about P.J. Tucker landing in Philadelphia continue to percolate. After Marc Stein reported earlier in the week that multiple executives believe the Sixers will sign Tucker to a three-year, $30MM contract, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer conveys a similar sentiment today.

According to Pompey, three sources believe Tucker to the 76ers is a “done deal,” while a fourth source said he’d be shocked if the veteran forward doesn’t end up in Philadelphia. Sources tell Pompey that Tucker’s three-year deal with the Sixers, assuming it materializes, could be worth $27MM with incentives that increase the value to $30MM.

The Sixers still need to do some cap work in order to realistically make that kind of offer to Tucker. If James Harden turns down his $47MM+ player option and agrees to a lesser first-year salary on a new contract, the team could create the cap flexibility necessary to use its full mid-level exception on Tucker. But Harden is expected to opt in and then sign an extension, which means Philadelphia would have to shed some salary. Furkan Korkmaz ($5MM), Matisse Thybulle ($4.4MM), and Georges Niang ($3.5MM) are among the club’s potential trade candidates.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

The Knicks are considering converting Jericho Sims‘ two-way contract into a standard NBA deal, sources tell Ian Begley of SNY.tv. If that occurs, second-round pick Trevor Keels would likely receive a two-way pact. Both moves were considered likely as of Tuesday afternoon, Begley writes.
Within the same story, Begley says he expects the Knicks to give strong consideration to re-signing Taj Gibson if they waive him this week as part of their cap-clearing efforts.
The four-year, $48MM contract Robert Williams signed with Boston last fall is viewed by rival executives as a fair comparable for Mitchell Robinson, according to Steve Popper of Newsday, who suggests the Knicks likely wouldn’t want to go much higher than that to retain Robinson this summer.
The Nets are expected to give David Duke a prominent role in summer league games next month and will give him an opportunity to compete for a roster spot in 2022/23, sources tell Chris Milholen of NetsDaily. Duke received a two-way qualifying offer from Brooklyn, as we relayed earlier today.

Kyrie Irving Came Close To Extension Agreement With Nets

June 28th, 2022 at 12:38pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kyrie Irving and the Nets were close to agreeing on a contract extension last week before negotiations stalled, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic. Without an extension and with limited prospects of an acceptable sign-and-trade deal, Irving will pick up his $36.9MM option for next season.

Before Irving reached the decision, his agent (and stepmother) Shetellia Riley Irving and Brooklyn’s front office had “productive extension discussions” over the past week, according to Charania. They considered multiple proposals, including a maximum extension that would have been limited to two years and would have provided incentives based on the number of games that Irving plays.

The sides also discussed a four-year max deal with two guaranteed seasons, along with triggers for years three and four based on Irving’s game totals for the first two seasons of the contract.

Irving was willing to accept a contract with incentives, Charania adds, but Brooklyn turned down his final offer, which was a short-term extension with protections for him and the team, along with a player option. Incentives based on how often Irving plays are important to the Nets because he has appeared in just 103 regular season games in his three seasons in Brooklyn.

According to Charania, three teams were had interest in Irving under an opt-in-and-trade scenario, but he decided not to pursue those opportunities. One of those teams may have been the Lakers, who were reportedly the only club on Irving’s wish list of six potential destinations that showed interest. However, Charania hears that L.A.’s preference was to sign Irving as a free agent rather than via trade.

Irving’s decision to opt in doesn’t guarantee that his future will be in Brooklyn, Charania adds. With unrestricted free agency looming in 2023, the Nets could explore deals for him this summer or once the season starts. Owner Joe Tsai and general manager Sean Marks will have to decide whether the current roster can contend for a title or if major changes will be needed.

Charania also suggests there are “matters of contention” among the Nets’ ownership, management, and stars that must be addressed as all parties move forward.

Several teams remain interested in acquiring Irving, according to Charania, but they may be inclined to wait until he reaches free agency rather than part with valuable assets in a trade. Sources tell Charania that Irving is now focused on winning a championship and rebuilding his reputation in hopes of earning a maximum contract from someone next summer.

Deandre Ayton, Marvin Bagley III Among Players Receiving QOs

June 28th, 2022 at 8:57am CST by Luke Adams

The Suns have issued a qualifying offer to center Deandre Ayton, making him a restricted free agent, reports Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). Ayton’s qualifying offer is worth $16,422,835.

Although there have been consistent whispers about the possibility of Ayton leaving Phoenix in free agency this summer, there was never any doubt that he’d receive a qualifying offer. That QO ensures that he doesn’t become an unrestricted free agent and gives the Suns the opportunity to match any offer sheet he signs with a rival team. Ayton also has the option of signing the one-year, $16.4MM deal if he wants to become an unrestricted free agent in 2023, though that’s considered very unlikely.

Here are a few more updates on qualifying offer decisions from around the NBA:

The Pistons have tendered a qualifying offer worth $7,228,448 to big man Marvin Bagley III, making him a restricted free agent, tweets Smith. Multiple reports in recent weeks and months have indicated that re-signing Bagley will be a priority for Detroit this offseason. His cap hold will exceed $28MM, but if the two sides agree to terms quickly once free agency opens, the Pistons will be able to maximize their cap room by reducing that $28MM cap hold to a first-year salary that will come in much lower.
The Nets have issued qualifying offers to center Nic Claxton and two-way guard David Duke, per Smith (Twitter link). Claxton’s QO is worth $2,228,276 while Duke’s is for another two-way contract. Both players are now restricted free agents.
The Nuggets have extended qualifying offers to forward Vlatko Cancar and two-way swingman Davon Reed, according to Smith (Twitter link). Like Claxton, Cancar has a $2,228,276 qualifying offer. Reed’s is for another two-way contract, though it’s possible he could generate interest from teams interested in giving him a standard roster spot.
Wizards forward Anthony Gill received a qualifying offer making him a restricted free agent, according to Smith (Twitter link). Gill’s QO projects to be worth $2,011,516, though that could increase or decrease slightly depending on where the salary cap for 2022/23 ends up.
The Warriors have made swingman Quinndary Weatherspoon a restricted free agent by giving him a two-way qualifying offer, reports Smith (Twitter link). Golden State reportedly agreed to a deal with Lester Quinones to fill the team’s other two-way slot.

New York Rumors: Knicks, Brunson, Burks, Nets, Claxton, Kyrie

June 28th, 2022 at 8:36am CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks have “legitimate optimism” about their chances of signing free agent point guard Jalen Brunson, Ian Begley of SNY.tv reports, citing people in touch with the organization since the draft.

Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report conveyed a similar sentiment during his latest podcast, suggesting that the Knicks may have moved ahead of the Mavericks as the favorites to lock up Brunson long-term this offseason (hat tip to HoopsHype).

As Begley observes, the Knicks still have some work to do if they want to create the cap room necessary to make Brunson a strong offer — trading either Alec Burks or Nerlens Noel may be the most likely path to opening up that space.

Burks underwent foot surgery this spring after the Knicks’ season ended, and while that procedure has reportedly hurt his trade value, Begley says there are still multiple teams with some interest in the veteran guard, including the Celtics.

Here’s more on the NBA’s two New York teams:

Fred Katz of The Athletic spoke to 16 officials in NBA front offices to get a sense of how much they’d be willing to offer RJ Barrett in extension talks this offseason if they were running the Knicks. According to Katz, the responses ranged from $15-30MM per year, with no one saying they would go up to the max. A four-year, $100MM offer was the most-cited suggestion, Katz adds.
In the latest episode of his Hoop Collective podcast, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said that restricted free agent center Nic Claxton appears likely to remain with the Nets (audio link via Jac Manuell of Nets Republic). “The word is amongst executives, I’ve talked to a couple of executives today who believe that Nic Claxton will be back with the Nets, that that’s been worked out,” Windhorst said. “I shouldn’t say it’s been worked out. There’s an understanding.”
In the same podcast, Windhorst wondered whether or not the standoff between the Nets and Kyrie Irving has truly been put to bed after Irving announced he’ll pick up his player option for 2022/23. “I was told that the option pick-up came as a total surprise to the Nets, that they found out when everybody else did,” Windhorst said, per NetsDaily. “… The people that I talk to in the league are skeptical that Kyrie is going to be ‘all for one and one for all’ on this. … The people who are in the business to earn the business are telling me, ‘No, Kyrie actually has leverage here,’ because now he’s making the $36 million, he’s got his money and he can make life hell.”
In an Insider-only story for ESPN.com, Kevin Pelton considers what’s next for the Nets now that Irving has decided to opt in.

Kyrie Irving Opts In To Final Year Of Contract

June 27th, 2022 at 10:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

10:30pm: Irving has officially opted in, according to RealGM’s transactions log.

5:50pm: Kyrie Irving has decided to opt in to his contract for 2022/23, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. By exercising the $36.9MM option, Irving is bypassing multiple opt-in-and-trade scenarios in order to fulfill his four-year commitment to the Nets and Kevin Durant, according to Charania (Twitter links).

Irving is entering the final year of his four-year, $136.5MM deal.

“Normal people keep the world going, but those who dare to be different lead us into tomorrow,” Irving said in a statement. “I’ve made my decision to opt in. See you in the fall. A11even.”

By exercising his option, Irving is now both extension- and trade-eligible, though it doesn’t sounds as if either is happening in coordination with the opt-in. The seven-time All-Star will remain extension-eligible up until next June 30 and could tack on up to four years to his expiring deal.

If Irving signs an extension exceeding two years, he would become ineligible to be traded for the next six months; if he’s traded, he would be ineligible to sign an extension longer than two years for the next six months.

Irving’s contract option technically has a base value of about $36.5MM, but the cap hit is $36.9MM due to likely incentives, and it can go as high as $37.7MM if he reaches all his incentives.

The opt-in closes the door on the possibility of Irving of taking a massive pay cut and signing with a new team, such as the Lakers, for the mid-level exception. However, it’s unlikely the drama surrounding Kyrie will end any time soon — since he’s now on track for unrestricted free agency in 2023, he could reemerge as a trade candidate within the next year if he and the Nets don’t agree to an extension.

The Nets, who were reportedly unwilling to offer Irving a long-term contract, have been playing hardball in negotiations with the 30-year-old and essentially threw it in his lap to find a viable sign-and-trade scenario. He was unable to do so, which has led him to exercising the option, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. Irving had until 5:00 pm ET on Wednesday to officially make a decision on that option.

Earlier in the day, it was reported that the Lakers were the only team willing to engage in serious sign-and-trade talks with Brooklyn and they lacked attractive pieces to ship back to the Nets in a potential deal.

With Irving’s future up in the air during the last week, multiple reports indicated that Durant was also mulling his options. But with Irving seemingly on track to return to the Nets for next season, Durant presumably won’t be looking for an exit ramp out of Brooklyn.

Windhorst: Nets, Kyrie Irving Engaged In “Grade-A Staredown”

June 27th, 2022 at 4:48pm CST by Luke Adams

With less than 48 hours remaining for Kyrie Irving to make a decision on his $36.9MM player option for 2022/23, he and the Nets are engaged in a “Grade-A staredown,” ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said during an appearance today on NBA Today (video links).

Since Irving and the Nets reached an impasse in their contract extension talks, there have been rumors suggesting that Kyrie is willing to walk away from the Nets and to potentially take a $30MM+ pay cut for the 2022/23 season by signing with the Lakers using their $6.4MM taxpayer mid-level exception.

However, the Nets haven’t backed down in their negotiations with the seven-time All-Star and are playing hardball themselves, even with Kevin Durant‘s future in Brooklyn potentially tied to Irving’s, according to Windhorst.

“The message that is being sent around the league – and before I say this, this could just be a negotiating position – but the message the Brooklyn Nets are sending is that they are willing to risk losing Kevin Durant if it means (not) going through what they went through last year with Kyrie Irving,” Windhorst said. “They just cannot have him back under the same terms that they had last year. I think they would be willing to welcome him back under different terms, both contractual and an understanding with the organization. But if it costs them both players to avoid a repeat of last year, they are sending the message that they are willing to do that.”

Irving’s decision not to get vaccinated against COVID-19, despite New York City’s vaccine mandate, was a major factor in him suiting up for just 29 of 82 possible regular season games in 2021/22. That mandate wasn’t lifted until late in the regular season and Irving’s inconsistent availability contributed not just to the Nets’ inconsistent play but to James Harden‘s decision to request a trade.

As Windhorst explains, the Nets’ stance in their negotiations with Irving – which has been driven not just by management by but owner Joe Tsai – has sent “ripple effects” across the NBA, as teams around the league consider where Kyrie could end up and what it might take to trade for Durant.

“I have talked to several star players’ agents in the last 24 hours whose teams have come to the star player and said, ‘How do you feel about playing with Kyrie Irving? How do you feel about playing with Kevin Durant?'” Windhorst said. “Teams are preparing for this contingency.”

The Nets are likely willing to take an aggressive stance in their talks with Irving at least in part because most of the teams he would be interested in joining either don’t appear eager to pursue him or would be hard-pressed to find a way to acquire him. The Lakers, Sixers, Heat, Mavericks, Clippers, and Knicks are reportedly on Irving’s wish list, but many of those clubs don’t reciprocate his interest, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Wojnarowski reported earlier today that only the Lakers have legitimate sign-and-trade interest in Irving, and their trade chips don’t appeal to Brooklyn, which is why accepting the $6.4MM taxpayer MLE might be Kyrie’s only viable path to Los Angeles.

If Irving picks up his player option for 2022/23, it would make him easier to trade, but the Nets would also be under no obligation to make a move at that point — the two sides would have all season to potentially negotiate an extension.

“It seems to me that the Nets want Kyrie to opt in because that relieves the pressure a little bit and it buys more time,” Windhorst said. “He can negotiate for a period of time. He doesn’t have to decide on the extension this week. They can try to figure things out — it removes the immediate pressure, and I think that’s probably the best. Because at the end of the day, the Nets don’t want to lose Kevin Durant. The Nets could have a very good team for next year. … They don’t want to blow this up, but they are willing to bring it to the precipice to blow it up to try to get what they want.”

Rockets Rumors: Draft, Gordon, Wall, Martin

June 27th, 2022 at 4:05pm CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets mulled the idea of trying to trade up from No. 3 in last Thursday’s draft, but given that the draft class featured three prospects (Jabari Smith, Paolo Banchero, and Chet Holmgren) considered top-tier options, they didn’t feel the need to give up the assets necessary to move up a spot or two, general manager Rafael Stone tells Kelly Iko of The Athletic.

“We thought about it a lot,” Stone said. “But it wasn’t clear who we’d be moving up to. You think about moving up in every spot of the draft. You always think about that, that’s part of the job. But one of the nice things — and we knew on lottery night — was that we were going to get somebody that we thought could be part of our organization for a long time and really help us take the next step in this process we’re trying to build.

“That doesn’t mean you foreclose conversations; you talk to everybody about everything, but we always felt comfortable picking where we were picking and were really excited.”

Here are several more Rockets-related notes and rumors from Iko:

The Rockets received calls when they were on the clock at No. 17 from teams looking to acquire the pick and would have been more inclined to entertain those offers if Tari Eason hadn’t been on the board, according to Iko.
Iko describes trade interest in Eric Gordon as having gotten more “fervent” within the last couple weeks and notes that teams were making offers during last week’s draft that included 2022 picks. The Sixers were one of the clubs that made a proposal, but the Rockets continue to value Gordon more highly than the packages they’ve been offered and aren’t desperate to move him, Iko writes.
Like Marc Stein, Iko has heard that the Rockets and John Wall may finally be gaining momentum toward a divorce, with a buyout considered more likely than a trade. The two sides are expected to meet this week, and Wall is hoping to come to a resolution by the start of free agency on Thursday, sources tell The Athletic.
The Trail Blazers and Nets are among the teams that have inquired on Kenyon Martin Jr., who reportedly wouldn’t be opposed to a trade.

Kyrie Irving Granted Permission To Explore Trade Scenarios

June 27th, 2022 at 12:17pm CST by Luke Adams

12:17pm: According to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report (Twitter link), sources with knowledge of the situation increasingly believe that Irving is willing to decline his player option and sign with the Lakers for the $6.4MM taxpayer mid-level exception.

In that scenario, Fischer writes, Irving could get a raise and a longer-term deal from the Lakers in 2023. The team still doesn’t project to have enough room to offer him a max contract at that point, but could theoretically get close.

Meanwhile, in his full story on the Irving situation, Wojnarowski writes that Durant “remained an advocate” for the Nets to give Kyrie a long-term deal.

11:42am: The Nets and Kyrie Irving haven’t made any real progress toward reaching an agreement that will keep him in Brooklyn going forward, writes Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News.

In fact, according to Winfield, Irving’s camp has requested and received permission from the Nets to speak to other teams about potential trade scenarios. Alex Schiffer of The Athletic and Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter links) have heard the same thing.

Although those reports suggest Irving’s camp is looking into possible “sign-and-trade packages,” many of the teams said to be on the point guard’s wish list wouldn’t have the ability to acquire him via sign-and-trade due to their proximity to the projected luxury tax line.

Sign-and-trade talks also technically aren’t allowed until free agency begins this Thursday evening, as ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski notes (via Twitter). While teams and agents often play fast and loose with those rules, they may be a little more hesitant to do so this year after two teams were penalized last year for “gun-jumping” violations related to sign-and-trade agreements.

Opt-in-and-trade scenarios – in which Irving picks up his $36.9MM player option for 2022/23 – would be more viable for many potential trade partners. Kyrie has until Wednesday to make a final decision on his option, and there’s a sense in both league and player circles that he may have played his last game in Brooklyn, says Winfield.

According to Wojnarowski, however, no teams besides the Lakers are seriously considering the idea of pursuing Irving, and Brooklyn isn’t believed to have interest in any trade package L.A. could realistically offer.

Wojnarowski’s report is similar to what he said during a TV appearance on Friday (hat tip to NetsDaily). At that time, Woj described the talks between the Nets and Irving as “acrimonious,” but suggested that no teams besides the Lakers were thought to have serious interest in the point guard. The other clubs reported to be on Irving’s wish list are the Mavericks, Heat, Clippers, Knicks, and Sixers.

“The interest isn’t mutual in several of these places,” Wojnarowski said on ESPN.

Here are more updates on the Irving situation:

According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, there are sources close to the situation who “strongly believe” Irving is trying to make his way to the Lakers. Amick, who gets the sense that LeBron James is “very open” to the idea, notes that most people around the NBA believe the Nets would have zero interest in taking on Russell Westbrook in any trade with the Lakers.
Amick has heard that the Knicks have no interest in Irving and expect him to end up remaining in Brooklyn. Amick describes the Clippers as in “wait-and-see” mode when it comes to Kyrie.
Even with the threat of Irving’s departure seemingly increasing and Kevin Durant‘s future uncertain, the Nets appear unlikely to relent and offer Kyrie a long-term maximum-salary contract, ESPN’s Zach Lowe said during a Monday appearance on Get Up (video link). “Everything I’ve heard, the max deal is not coming. The Nets are not going to be held hostage by the threat of Kyrie Irving (leaving) and then Kevin Durant following him out the door,” Lowe said. “They appear ready to actually take some kind of stand here. That doesn’t mean that there’s not going to be a fair compromise offer somewhere, wherever that lands.”
While Lowe did suggest that a compromise between Irving and the Nets is possible, he believes Kyrie’s flight risk is real: “I do think this is a precarious situation for the Nets. I don’t think this is the kind of thing where it’s actually kind of calm and the media is blowing this out of proportion. I do think there are scenarios where in a week he’s gone and the Durant situation is wobbly.”

Atlantic Notes: Tsai, Irving, Nets, Celtics, Thybulle

June 26th, 2022 at 10:20pm CST by JD Shaw

As of Thursday night, Nets owner Joe Tsai was supporting general manager Sean Marks‘ decision not to offer Kyrie Irving a max extension, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv. Irving has until June 29 to decide whether to exercise his $36.9MM player option for next season, and the two sides seem to be far apart in negotiations on an extension.

Should Irving leave, it could prompt Kevin Durant to further consider his situation with the Nets, as we previously relayed. Irving didn’t get vaccinated this season, so he only appeared in 29 games due to New York City’s vaccine requirement. He averaged 27.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 5.8 assists during those outings, shooting 47%.

We have more notes from the Atlantic Division to pass along:

Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype takes a look at how Irving’s list of interested teams can acquire him. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link), the Lakers, Clippers, Heat, Knicks, Mavericks and Sixers are among the teams on Irving’s list of preferred landing spots.
Yam Madar will no longer play for the Celtics during summer league, Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe tweets. Madar, Boston’s No. 47 pick in 2020, will use this time to focus on his Israeli national team commitments. The Celtics are bringing free agent big man Mfiondu Kabengele to Las Vegas, however, Himmelsbach tweets.
Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer explores how Matisse Thybulle will be remembered if he gets traded by the Sixers this offseason. Thybulle, a defensive-minded wing, started in 50 of his 66 games this past season for the team.

Kevin Durant Reportedly Losing Confidence In Nets’ Management

June 26th, 2022 at 9:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Kevin Durant hasn’t talked to anyone from the Nets in weeks and is losing confidence in the team’s ability to handle the contract standoff with Kyrie Irving, Logan Murdock of The Ringer said on a recent podcast (hat tip to NetsDaily).

There has been growing speculation over the past week that Durant may force his way out if Brooklyn can’t re-sign Irving. Murdock said that decision isn’t inevitable, but warned that concerns about the potential “destruction” of the current roster are legitimate.

“I don’t know if he’s at the stage of leaving but there’s a big uneasiness from not only from the Kyrie side, but the KD side as well,” Murdock said.

Brooklyn was lauded as the NBA’s next super team when Durant, Irving and DeAndre Jordan decided to sign there as free agents in 2019. James Harden was added in a January 2021 deal to form a Big Three, but things haven’t gone as planned. The Nets have captured just one playoff series in that span, Harden is already gone and the other two stars appear to be in danger of leaving as well.

Murdock explained that when Durant chose Brooklyn, he had a vision of competing for titles while playing alongside his friends. Because that hasn’t happened, Durant is beginning to consider his options, especially if Irving doesn’t return.

“His biggest beef is that he feels that the front office didn’t grow to understand Kyrie, whatever that means,” Murdock said. “I would push back on that when a guy leaves for two weeks at a time … Kyrie earns the lion’s share of the blame. But I think KD believes that ‘hey, you guys didn’t understand this guy. You didn’t try to figure out where he was coming from.’”

Durant is also unhappy about the Nets’ reported parting with Adam Harrington as an assistant coach and director of development. Harrington was Durant’s shooting coach with the Thunder and is a longtime friend.

Murdock adds that Durant chose not to be involved in the Nets’ free agent recruiting process this year after having been active on that front in past offseasons.