Brooklyn Nets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Kyrie Irving: Trade Request Out Of Brooklyn Was “Best Decision Of My Career”

October 27th, 2023 at 10:03am CST by Luke Adams

Ahead of Friday’s game vs. Brooklyn, his first as a member of the Mavericks, Kyrie Irving said that asking the Nets to trade him last season was “the best decision of my career,” according to Brian Lewis and Dan Martin of The New York Post.

“I was never on bad terms with the organization,” Irving told reporters on Thursday. “I just think there was a lot of chaos and noise, as usual, from the media. I’m not going to blame you guys or anything, but nobody really knew what was going on behind the scenes. I’m sure that people have their sources they go to [about] what was going on and what really happened.

“… But for me, it was the best decision of my career to ask for a trade. I knew I needed peace of mind.”

Irving, who joined the Nets along with Kevin Durant as a free agent in 2019, had a tumultuous stint with the franchise. He missed 142 of Brooklyn’s 298 total regular season and playoff games during his tenure with the team due to injuries, personal reasons, a refusal to adhere to New York City’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, and a suspension related to promoting an antisemitic film.

“It was rough all the way around,” Irving said. “After COVID and after the situations that took place there, there were circumstances that were either in my control or out of my control. And I didn’t want to play the blame game.”

Irving’s inconsistent availability due to his refusal to get vaccinated was reportedly one factor that caused James Harden to sour on playing for the Nets. After Harden requested and received a trade out of Brooklyn in 2022, Durant and Irving eventually followed suit and were both moved a year later, at the 2023 trade deadline.

Irving’s first couple months as a Maverick didn’t go according to plan, as Dallas went just 9-18 following his arrival, including 7-13 in games he played. However, the Mavs reaffirmed their belief in the backcourt duo of Irving and Luka Doncic by re-signing Kyrie to a three-year contract worth at least $120MM in July. The former Nets guard sounds happy to be in Dallas.

“Brooklyn should have just released me, and it would’ve made things a lot easier on everybody,” Irving said with a laugh when a reporter pointed out how much differently Texas handled COVID-19 than New York did. “But, [that’s] 20/20 hindsight.”

Atlantic Notes: Rajakovic, Boucher, Randle, Simmons

October 26th, 2023 at 9:01pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The Raptors defeated the Timberwolves on Wednesday in the team’s opening game and new coach Darko Rajakovic‘s impact on Toronto was immediately apparent, writes The Athletic’s Eric Koreen. Even if things didn’t go perfectly, the Raptors tried to adhere to Rajakovic’s style, playing fast in transition, taking just 10 shots between the three-point line and the paint, and moving the ball.

There are still things the Raptors need to clean up, including the fact they scored just 97 points in the win, Koreen observes. But Rajakovic played 10 players and was quick to adapt his rotation as the game went on.

“I thought we still needed to play faster. What I mean by that is there were moments that we were coming past half court, and then we did not get into offense early enough and quickly enough,” Rajakovic said. “That’s something that we are still going to work on. It’s one of those things [where] we cannot just be watching each other. We’ve gotta be able to cut and drive and collapse [the opposing] defense and find open people.”

It’s been a long journey to Rajakovic’s first NBA win, as detailed in a lengthy piece from Sportsnet.ca’s Michael Grange. Despite that, he’s focusing on the now.

“I’m really staying with both feet on the ground,” Rajakovic said. “This is [an] amazing opportunity that I have to represent my country, to represent European basketball. But all I can do is my preparation for the next thing that is coming. I am struggling [against] making something really big out of it. I’m trying to stay with both feet on the ground and to be present.”

Rajakovic began his coaching career at 16 years old as a youth coach before coaching in Spain, the then-NBA D-League, and eventually as an assistant in the NBA, where he had stints with the Thunder, Suns and Grizzlies.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

Grange further explores Rajakovic’s path to becoming the Raptors head coach, interviewing several of his former players. “I love picking apart the game, IQ-wise, and he has an extremely, extremely high basketball IQ,” current Wizards and former Grizzlies guard Tyus Jones said. “In games, practices, whenever we had a chance. He loves the game … and knows how to get the best out of people. I love Darko.” I recommend checking out Grange’s piece in full here.
Koreen notes that Chris Boucher was the odd man out of Rajakovic’s 10-man rotation on Wednesday, with Jalen McDaniels, Malachi Flynn and Gradey Dick the last three off the bench for the Raptors.
Knicks forward Julius Randle technically left money on the table two years ago by signing a four-year extension worth up to $117MM, as he would have been eligible to sign a five-year, $207MM deal by waiting a year, writes the New York Post’s Stefan Bondy. Then again, he had a disappointing 2021/22 season following a ’20/21 season in which he was All-NBA Second Team and would’ve been eligible for unrestricted free agency in 2022, so he may not have earned as much money by waiting anyway. Regardless, Randle has no regrets and is happy with the direction his decision sent the front office in. “I’ve always said, I want to win a championship here. Bring a championship here,” Randle said.
Nets guard Ben Simmons finished with 10 rebounds and nine assists in Brooklyn’s opener, looking effective for most of the night, The New York Post’s Brian Lewis writes. Even still, Simmons was benched in the fourth quarter of Brooklyn’s loss to the Cavaliers. Ultimately, head coach Jacque Vaughn played Dennis Smith Jr. over Simmons in crunch time. “Overall [Smith] was a part of that stretch that really got us back in the game,” Vaughn said. “It was the physicality which he played with that kind of permeated through the group.“

Nets Exercise 2024/25 Team Options On Cam Thomas, Day’Ron Sharpe

October 26th, 2023 at 1:59pm CST by Rory Maher

The Nets have exercised their 2024/25 team options on guard Cam Thomas and center Day’Ron Sharpe, the team announced on Thursday (Twitter link via Brian Lewis of The New York Post). Since their fourth-year options have been picked up, both players will now be eligible for rookie scale extensions next offseason.

Thomas, the 27th overall pick in the 2021 draft, will earn $4,041,249 in ’24/25. Sharpe, the 29th pick of the same draft, will make $3,989,122.

As Dan Martin of The New York Post writes, Thomas had an excellent offensive performance in Brooklyn’s season opener vs. Cleveland, getting the Nets back in the game by pouring in 36 points (on 13-of-21 shooting) in just 25 minutes off the bench. He missed his final attempt at the end of the game, however, and the Nets lost by one point.

“It felt good, obviously,” Thomas said of his performance. “Obviously, you want to win, but it’s good to always reflect on what you do well.”

Sharpe, meanwhile, played 12 minutes in his 2023/24 debut, notching four points, two rebounds and two blocks. He appeared in 80 games for Brooklyn over the past two seasons, averaging 5.3 points and 4.5 rebounds in 11.8 minutes per contest.

The full list of decisions on 2024/25 rookie scale team options can be found right here.

Nets Notes: DSJ, Bazley, Dinwiddie, Claxton

October 25th, 2023 at 12:26pm CST by Luke Adams

Nets guard Dennis Smith Jr., who was battling a sprained ankle in the preseason, has been removed from the team’s injury report and should be ready to go for its regular season opener on Wednesday, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post.
Although the Nets are one of two NBA teams with an open two-way slot, they won’t be able to use it to re-sign Darius Bazley, whose four years of NBA experience make him ineligible for a two-way contract, notes Lewis. “I do think Darius Bazley will have a place in this league,” head coach Jacque Vaughn said of the big man, who was in camp with Brooklyn until he was waived last Thursday. “I enjoyed coaching him. He’s still a young dude that can still play in this league and I was able to tell him that face-to-face.”
Speaking to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, Spencer Dinwiddie said his expectations this season for the Nets are to “make the playoffs and roll the dice from there and see how far we can take it.” Dinwiddie also expressed confidence in Ben Simmons‘ ability to have a bounce-back season and – perhaps most interestingly – weighed in on what Nic Claxton‘s contract as a 2024 free agent might look like. The Nets guard projected a four-year deal in the range of $70-110MM for Claxton.

And-Ones: ESPN Analysts, International Players, Award Eligibility, Nunn

October 24th, 2023 at 3:04pm CST by Luke Adams

After confirming last Friday that he has retired as a player, longtime NBA swingman Andre Iguodala has been named one of ESPN’s new studio analysts for the coming season, per Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports (Twitter link).

According to McCarthy, former Knicks general manager Scott Perry, veteran NBA guard Austin Rivers, former Spurs assistant and current Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon, and Connecticut Sun coach Stephanie White are also joining ESPN as studio analysts. Rivers is still just 31 years old and has given no indication that he intends to retire as a player, so presumably his ESPN gig won’t stand in the way if he gets an opportunity to join a team at some point this season.

In related news, former ESPN analyst Vince Carter will appear on Nets broadcasts on the YES Network in a part-time role this season, reports Andrew Marchand of The New York Post. Carter was part of the ESPN summer layoffs that also affected Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy, among others.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

The NBA announced on Tuesday that 125 international players are on rosters to open the 2023/24 regular season. That’s a new record, as are the numbers of Canadians (26) and Frenchmen (14) in the league. All 30 rosters feature at least one international player, and 40 non-U.S. countries and territories represented.
Although the 2023/24 regular season hasn’t quite tipped off yet, the league has already informed teams of its regular season start and end dates for the 2024/25 campaign, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Next season will begin on October 22, 2024 and wrap up on April 13, 2025.
Marc Stein clarifies in his latest Substack article that the new 65-game minimum for end-of-season awards only applies to MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player, All-NBA, and All-Defense. That means a player wouldn’t necessarily have to play 65 games to win Sixth Man of the Year or Rookie of the Year, or to be named to an All-Rookie team.
Having not claimed a spot on an NBA roster to open the season, will free agent guard Kendrick Nunn head overseas to continue his playing career? Alessandro Maggi of Sportando rounds up the latest rumors linking Nunn to European teams.

Three Players On Exhibit 9 Contracts Make Opening Night Rosters

October 24th, 2023 at 8:04am CST by Luke Adams

As we explain in a glossary entry, Exhibit 9 contracts are generally handed out by NBA teams to players who will only be with the team during training camp and/or the preseason.

The Exhibit 9 clause protects the team in case the player suffers an injury before the season begins. In that scenario, the club wouldn’t have to pay him his full salary until he gets healthy enough to play — it would only have to pay a maximum lump sum of $15K when it waives the player.

While most Exhibit 9 signees were released in advance of the regular season, three NBA veterans who signed Exhibit 9 contracts survived the cut and made their respective teams’ regular season rosters. Here are those three players:

Ryan Arcidiacono (Knicks)
Harry Giles (Nets)
Lamar Stevens (Celtics)

Note: Hornets guard Edmond Sumner was initially included in this list, but Charlotte waived him on Tuesday ahead of its season opener.

These three players will now be on one-year, minimum-salary contracts that will remain non-guaranteed until January 10. In order to secure their full-season salaries, they’ll have to stay under contract beyond January 7 (a player cut on Jan. 8 or 9 wouldn’t clear waivers prior to the league-wide salary guarantee date of Jan. 10).

As our list of non-guaranteed contracts by team shows, Arcidiacono, Giles, and Stevens are three of the 31 players on standard deals whose salaries for the 2023/24 season aren’t fully guaranteed.

Several of these players will receive partial guarantees by remaining on rosters through the start of the regular season, and a few more have November or December trigger dates that will increase their guarantees. However, none of those 31 players will lock in their full salary until Jan. 10.

Here are a few more items of interest about the NBA’s opening night rosters for ’23/24, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link):

The Spurs have the NBA’s youngest roster, while the Clippers have the oldest.
Players are earning a combined total salary of $4.8 billion for the 2023/24 season. The Celtics, Nuggets, Warriors, Clippers, Lakers, Heat, Bucks, Pelicans, Sixers, and Suns are the biggest contributors to that pool, as they’re all currently over the luxury tax line.
As our roster counts page shows, there are 12 open spots on standard 15-man rosters around the NBA. Those openings belong to the Celtics, Bulls, Cavaliers, Pistons, Warriors (two), Lakers, Heat, Timberwolves, Pelicans, Trail Blazers, and Kings.
The Nets and the Suns are the only two teams that haven’t filled all three of their two-way slots, as our tracker shows. They’re each carrying a pair of two-way players, meaning 88 of the 90 spots around the league are occupied.

Nets Notes: Giles, Whitehead, Bridges, Johnson

October 23rd, 2023 at 10:47am CST by Arthur Hill

Harry Giles was overcome with emotion when he learned that his battle to make an NBA roster was successful, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. The 25-year forward has undergone multiple knee surgeries since high school and hasn’t played in the league for two years.

Fighting back from a torn ACL that sidelined him for all of last season, Giles auditioned for several teams this summer before landing an Exhibit 9 contract with the Nets. That earned him an invitation to training camp and the chance to earn a roster spot, and he wasn’t sure that he did until after Brooklyn’s final preseason game. He was in the middle of a workout when general manager Sean Marks broke the news, and Giles had to fight back tears so he could finish.

“Oh, man, it was crazy, bro. I called my mom when I got to the room. I wanted to cry when I first found out, but I was around so many people and I was still lifting,” Giles said. “So I was trying to focus on my lift. I was sweating out hard and I was trying to get through the day. I was still kind of hyped about myself. So once I got to the room, I just laid on the bed and I’m like, ‘Oh my God.’

“My mom was like ‘Has it hit you yet?’ I’m like, ‘Nah, it still ain’t hit me. It still hasn’t hit me. I still feel like I’m in camp trying to make the team. That’s a good thing: keep me in that mindset. But I’m happy to be here and this is amazing.”

There’s more from Brooklyn:

First-round pick Dariq Whitehead, who is recovering from offseason foot surgery, has started playing two-on-two against teammates and assistant coaches, Lewis adds in the same story. “It’s reads, so you’re having him react in a setting that is not controlled,” coach Jacque Vaughn said. “You just keep going those uncontrollable settings for him to get him back to five-on-five.”
Vaughn is installing more plays to create open shots for Mikal Bridges, Lewis adds in a separate story for the Post. Bridges shot just 36.6% during the preseason while mainly being used in isolation sets. Vaughn said isolation made sense when the team had Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, but he plans to take a different approach to maximize the skills of Bridges and Cameron Johnson. “We don’t want to put Mikal in pick-and-roll every single time just to grow that part of his game because I’ll always do what’s best for the group,” Vaughn explained. “Now we can grow his game by having sets that put him in position where he’s playing pick-and-roll. … So it’s going to really dictate who’s on the floor of how we grow our guys and challenge them. Grab hold to what we can do and do that well.”
In a recent appearance on the “2nd Wind” podcast, Johnson talked about having more freedom to create in the Nets’ offense than he did during his time with Phoenix (hat tip to USA Today).

Nets Notes: Johnson, Simmons, Claxton, Walker, DSJ

October 22nd, 2023 at 8:56am CST by Arthur Hill

Cameron Johnson was a full participant at Saturday’s practice and the Nets expect him to be ready for Wednesday’s season opener, according to Bridget Reilly of The New York Post. Johnson has been dealing with a strained hamstring since the start of training camp and didn’t play during the preseason.

“I think his progression to get to this point has been pretty methodical and our approach (was) getting him to feel comfortable when he’s back on the floor,” coach Jacque Vaughn said. “So he’s done the work behind the scenes, to be in a position to practice today and hopefully he continues to. … We got three more days to get some more comfort and being on the floor and being out there with a different group.”

Vaughn added that he’ll be “smart” with Johnson early in the season and will only use him in short stretches. Saturday marked the first full practice for Johnson, who called the injury a “random” event. He said he was able to play without experiencing any more problems with the hamstring.

“It felt good getting up and down,” he said. “I’ve been watching, observing, seeing what we’re trying to put in, how we’re trying to execute things offensively and defensively. And so being able to get in there and put that observation to practice was fun today.”

There’s more from Brooklyn:

Teammates continue to rave about Ben Simmons, who seems fully healthy and more aggressive in practice, Reilly writes in another Post story. Vaughn said he isn’t concerned about playing Simmons and Nic Claxton at the same time, even though it means having two non-shooters on the court.“I’ve told this group we have to stop and we can’t look at it as a negative … if we have an open mind. In today’s game, with the five out, we can play five out still with those guys,” Vaughn said. “You saw the other night we had Nic Claxton in the corner. He’s more comfortable playing in the corner than he was a year ago. That’s a weapon for us. We get (Simmons) to play in the pocket. Those two can play together.”
Lonnie Walker‘s injured wrist is feeling better as opening night approaches, Reilly states in the same piece. The free agent addition is hoping to find ways to contribute in a reserve role. “As far as I know it’s on the more so end of just bringing energy onto that second unit whether it’s running, defensive aggressiveness, rebounding, transition,” he said. “Just doing what I know I can do. Just play by my strengths.”
Dennis Smith Jr. still wasn’t able to practice Saturday after hurting his ankle last week, Reilly adds, but Vaughn isn’t counting him out for Wednesday night.

Nets Sign, Waive Kennedy Chandler, Patrick Gardner

October 21st, 2023 at 9:19am CST by Luke Adams

October 21: The Nets waived both Chandler and Gardner, the team announced (Twitter link via Spotrac’s Keith Smith).

October 19: The Nets have signed guard Kennedy Chandler and center Patrick Gardner, according to the team (Twitter link via Brian Lewis of The New York Post).

In all likelihood, both players received Exhibit 10 contracts that will make them eligible for bonuses worth up to $75K if they’re waived by Brooklyn and then spend at least 60 days with the Long Island Nets. Neither player’s G League rights are held by another team, so the Nets will be able to make them both affiliate players. Exhibit 10 deals can also be converted to two-way contracts, and Brooklyn does have an open two-way slot.

Chandler, the 38th overall pick in the 2022 draft, signed a four-year contract with the Grizzlies last July that included three guaranteed seasons. However, the team opted to waive him in April to make room on the roster for Kenneth Lofton, eating his salaries for 2023/24 and ’24/25.

As a rookie, Chandler appeared in 36 NBA games, averaging 2.2 points and 1.6 assists in 7.8 minutes per night. He was more effective in 12 G League games with the Memphis Hustle (15.3 PPG, 6.2 APG) and this summer with Brooklyn’s Summer League team (14.0 PPG, 5.4 APG), though he continued to struggle with his outside shot — after hitting just 24.0% of 4.2 attempts per game in the NBAGL last season, he made 2-of-14 (14.3%) in Las Vegas.

Gardner, meanwhile, reached his Exhibit 10 agreement with the Nets back in July after playing for the Heat in Summer League and before representing Egypt at the World Cup. The big man, who transferred to Marist for his final year of college ball, averaged 19.1 points and 6.6 rebounds in 30.9 minutes per game (33 games) in 2022/23. He also had a three-point percentage of 38.3%, an impressive mark for a 6’11” frontcourt player.

Brooklyn had only been carrying 18 players on its preseason roster, so no cuts were necessary to make room for Chandler and Gardner. The club still has one opening on its 21-man squad.

Simmons: I'll Be Better Than Ever

October 19th, 2023 at 10:14pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Ben Simmons continues to brim with confidence during training camp. The Nets guard said he’ll be even better than what he showed early in his career, when he was named to the All-Star team three times.