Brooklyn Nets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Nets Sign Dennis Smith Jr. To One-Year Deal

July 1st, 2023 at 8:45am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 8: The Nets have officially signed Smith, per NBA.com’s transaction log.

JULY 1: The Nets have reached an agreement with Dennis Smith Jr., according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), who reports that the free agent guard will sign a one-year contract with Brooklyn.

The ninth overall pick in 2017, Smith struggled during his first few seasons to live up to the expectations that came with his draft slot, but has developed into a solid role player in large part due to his strong perimeter defense.

Smith isn’t much of a scorer, averaging 8.8 PPG on an underwhelming .412/.216/.736 shooting line in 54 games (25.7 MPG) for the Hornets this past season. However, he can handle the ball and can set up teammates, having dished 4.8 assists per contest in 2022/23. The 25-year-old will provide some depth in a Brooklyn backcourt that lacks consistent, reliable options behind Spencer Dinwiddie.

The Nets made Smith a priority in free agency, according to Charania, who reports that he was the team’s “first call” among outside targets. Brooklyn has also agreed to re-sign one of its own free agents, reaching a four-year, $108MM deal with Cameron Johnson.

The terms of Smith’s deal with the Nets have yet to be reported. Having created some breathing room below the tax apron by agreeing to trade Joe Harris and his $20MM salary to Detroit, Brooklyn could offer more than the veteran’s minimum using the mid-level or bi-annual exception.

Eastern Notes: Dinwiddie, Bol, Pistons, Harris, Heat, Maxey

June 30th, 2023 at 4:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Spencer Dinwiddie is eligible for an extension later this offseason and there’s support within the Nets organization to add years to his current contract, according to Ian Begley of SNY.TV.

Dinwiddie is entering his walk year with a cap hit of $20,357,143. After being reacquired from Dallas last season, Dinwiddie started 26 regular-season games and averaged 16.5 points and 9.1 assists in 35.3 minutes.

We have more from the Eastern Conference:

The Magic have pushed back their decision regarding Bol Bol‘s contract, Jamie Seh of WKMG-TV tweets. Bol has a non-guaranteed $2.2MM salary for next season and the original deadline to guarantee his deal was Friday. If they don’t guarantee his contract, he’ll end up on waivers.
By trading for Joe Harris and his expiring contract rather than pursuing a high-level free agent, the Pistons are protecting the cap space for next summer while avoiding a potentially bad contract, according to James Edwards III of The Athletic. Handing a huge offer sheet to restricted free agent Cameron Johnson, as had been anticipated, would have meant overpaying for a role player. They could easily have $60MM in cap space to play with next summer for a better free agent market. Detroit won’t give up a player to the Nets in the trade for Harris, who will provide shooting and wing depth.
Agent Mark Bartelstein said Harris has spoken with Pistons GM Troy Weaver, coach Monty Williams and executive Arn Tellem, Mark Medina tweets. According to Bartelstein, the Pistons have wanted Harris “for a couple of years” and “he’ll have a great role there.”
The Heat only have veteran’s minimum contracts to offer to free agents, Barry Jackson of Miami Herald tweets. The cap-strapped Heat don’t have a trade lined up to clear enough cap space to use exceptions within league cap rules.
While the Sixers aren’t expected to pursue a rookie scale extension with Tyrese Maxey, they haven’t made him available in trade discussions, Kyle Neubeck of Philly Voice tweets.

Trade Rumors: Harden, Bulls, Zubac, Brogdon, Osman, Morris

June 30th, 2023 at 2:16pm CST by Arthur Hill

There’s no urgency for the Sixers to complete a James Harden trade, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said Friday in an appearance on “Get Up” (video link). Even though Harden has asked to be dealt and seems to prefer the Clippers, Wojnarowski notes that the track record of president of basketball operations Daryl Morey suggests he’ll explore all available possibilities before committing to a deal.

“You may let free agency settle,” Wojnarowski said, “see where players land, see where needs arise for different teams that might not be interested today but could be in a few days. I don’t anticipate necessarily that this is going to be quick because it doesn’t have to.”

Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times also hears that a Harden trade may not happen right away. He cites league sources who said they’ll be watching how patient the Sixers decide to be and what they’ll be seeking in return. Greif names Terance Mann as a player the Clippers might be reluctant to include in a Harden deal.

There are more trade rumors to pass along:

The Bulls may be an option for Harden, sources tell Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. Chicago has already explored trade scenarios regarding Zach LaVine and might be willing to part with DeMar DeRozan to acquire Harden. Fischer also cautions that Morey has a lot of options to consider before deciding how to handle Harden’s trade request.
The Clippers, who would like to re-sign Mason Plumlee have let teams know that Ivica Zubac is available in a trade, Fischer adds. L.A. may also have interest in acquiring P.J. Tucker in a Harden deal, as Fischer notes that the Clippers previously reached out to him when he was a free agent.
The Clippers pulled out of an original version of the three-team Kristaps Porzingis trade because of medical concerns regarding Malcolm Brogdon, but they recently contacted the Celtics about Brogdon again, according to Fischer. L.A. was also willing to offer Norman Powell to the Wizards for Chris Paul before the Warriors landed him in exchange for Jordan Poole, Fischer states.
Fischer hears that the Cavaliers are engaged in trade talks regarding Cedi Osman and offered him to the Nets in a deal for Dorian Finney-Smith or Royce O’Neale.
Numerous teams have reached out to the Wizards about point guard Monte Morris, Fischer adds. The Timberwolves, Bulls, Pelicans, Jazz and Nets are all considered possibilities for Morris, and Fischer believes the Heat could be added to the list if they lose Gabe Vincent in free agency.

Eastern Notes: Simmons, Porzingis, Hawks, Fernando, Sixers

June 29th, 2023 at 9:30pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Nets guard Ben Simmons will not partake in this year’s World Cup, Basketball Australia has announced in an official statement (Twitter link).

According to Basketball Australia, Brooklyn and Simmons have opted to withhold the former No. 1 overall pick so that he can continue to rehabilitate his ailing back ahead of the 2023/24 NBA season. Net Income of Nets Daily writes that the club is hopeful Simmons will be recovered by the start of September, just in time for training camp.

The former All-Star appeared in just 42 games for Brooklyn in 2022/23 after returning from back surgery, averaging 6.9 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 6.1 APG, 1.3 SPG and 0.6 BPG in 26.3 MPG.

There’s more out of the Eastern Conference:

New Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis is excited about his new opportunity to play for a perennial Eastern Conference contender, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Porzingis explained his decision to opt into his $36MM option for next season, which helped enable his trade from the Wizards. “[It was] an opportunity to play for a really good team already and be able to add to that,” Porzingis said. “And hopefully to help these guys, make their life easier, and being on a high-level organization like Boston, historic franchise, iconic franchise, it made it extremely easy for me to make that decision.”
The Hawks have made some changes to their front office personnel, Atlanta has announced in a press release. Longtime league agent Chris Emens is joining the team as an executive advisor. The Hawks are also adding Blake Johnson as the club’s director of player engagement. Atlanta also revealed that a variety of executives have been promoted to new positions: vice president of player personnel Dotun Akinwale Jr.; senior vice president of salary cap administration Michelle Leftwich; vice president of basketball operations Grant Liffmann; senior vice president of team operations Dan Martinez; vice president of player personnel and basketball intelligence Tori Miller; principal advisor to the governor Nick Ressler; and vice president of cap strategy/player personnel Ryan Silverstein.
The Hawks have pushed back reserve center Bruno Fernando‘s salary guarantee deadline from June 29 to July 10, reports Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter). Upon being shipped to Atlanta in February from Houston, the 6’9″ big man appeared in just eight contests for the team, averaging 3.4 PPG and 1.9 RPG in 5.1 MPG. Fernando will receive his full $2.58MM salary for 2023/24 if he remains under contract through July 10.
Assistant coaches Fabulous Flournoy and Toure’ Murry are joining new Sixers head coach Nick Nurse‘s bench, a team source has informed Noah Levick of NBC Sports Philadelphia. The addition of another assistant, Doug West, had previously been reported.

Nets To Make David Duke Jr. Unrestricted Free Agent

June 29th, 2023 at 7:45pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Nets combo guard David Duke Jr.. is not going to receive a qualifying offer from Brooklyn and will thus enter unrestricted free agency, reports Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter link).

Nets shooting guard Dru Smith, inked to a two-way contract last season, was also not given a qualifying offer by Brooklyn, Lewis adds. He, too, will become an unrestricted free agent.

The 23-year-old Duke first joined Brooklyn on a two-way deal after going undrafted out of Providence in 2021. He returned to the Nets on another two-way contract for the 2022/23 season, but saw his agreement converted to a standard roster deal this past April, ending the year on the club’s 15-man roster.

Across 23 games for Brooklyn in 2023/24, Duke averaged 3.7 PPG, 1.3 RPG and 0.9 APG. In 22 games for Brooklyn’s G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, Duke averaged 22.9 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 3.8 APG, and 1.9 SPG.

Smith, 25, barely played for the Nets during his inaugural NBA season. In 10 games for Brooklyn, he averaged just 3.3 PPG, 1.7 RPG and 1.5 RPG across 9.1 MPG. Smith played 14 contests for the Long Island Nets, starting just three. He averaged 14.1 PPG on .500/.426/.667 shooting splits, along with 5.4 RPG.

Free Agency Rumors: Brown, Temple, Green, Suns

June 28th, 2023 at 10:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Lakers are strongly interested in signing versatile Nuggets free agent Bruce Brown, multiple sources tell Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter link). Brown, who is in line for a substantial raise after playing an important role in Denver’s first NBA championship, turned down his $6.8MM player option last week.

The Nuggets only hold Non-Bird rights on Brown, which limits them to an offer around $7.8MM — a 20% raise on what he made last season. L.A. may have access to its full non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which will be approximately $12.4MM.

Brown was an ideal addition when Denver picked him up as a free agent last summer. He averaged a career-high 11.5 points per game during the regular season and logged the most minutes of any Nuggets bench player in the postseason.

There are more free agency rumors to pass along:

The Pelicans have reached an agreement with Garrett Temple to extend the deadline for guaranteeing his $5.4MM contract for next season, moving it from Thursday to July 7, according to Andrew Lopez of ESPN (Twitter link). New Orleans is currently $2.8MM below the luxury tax, and pushing back Temple’s guarantee date provides time for other cost-cutting moves, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. Temple only appeared in 25 games last season, averaging 6.5 minutes per night. The Pelicans still face several decisions by Thursday, Lopez notes, as they have to determine whether to pick up team options for Herbert Jones ($1.8MM), Naji Marshall ($1.9MM) and Willy Hernangomez ($2.6MM), along with whether to make a qualifying offer to Jaxson Hayes.
Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian (Twitter link) is dismissing an internet rumor that Draymond Green traveled to Portland to meet with Damian Lillard about signing with the Trail Blazers. Fentress’ sources say Green is still considered very likely to re-sign with the Warriors.
Spurs forward Keita Bates-Diop and Nets forward Yuta Watanabe are free agents who might be interested in joining the Suns on minimum deals, tweets John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7FM.
The Sixers aren’t expected to give Louis King a qualifying offer, sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). The 24-year-old forward, who played in just one NBA game last season, will become an unrestricted free agent.

Raptors Notes: VanVleet, Poeltl, Siakam, Anunoby, Wieskamp

June 28th, 2023 at 5:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

In a look at where the Raptors stand heading into free agency, Eric Koreen of The Athletic expects the team to re-sign both Fred VanVleet and Jakob Poeltl, although it will be expensive to do so. Koreen projects a four-year, $130MM contract for VanVleet and a three-year, $63MM deal for Poeltl. That would give Toronto $164.8MM committed to 12 players for the upcoming season, leaving no way to fill out the roster without exceeding the projected luxury-tax threshold of $165MM.

The Rockets may be ready to offer VanVleet a maximum-salary contract, but they reportedly want to limit it to two years. Toronto’s willingness to commit to a longer deal could be enough to convince him to stay, although Koreen also explores sign-and-trade possibilities with the Bulls, Timberwolves and Nets.

The Thunder and Spurs appear to be the best options for Poeltl, Koreen states, although he’s not sure if either franchise will offer a big-money deal to a center with limited shooting range. Koreen also cites the Bucks, Bulls, Lakers and Mavericks as teams that might pursue a sign-and-trade.

There’s more on the Raptors:

Draft night was probably the best time to work out a trade involving Pascal Siakam or OG Anunoby, Koreen adds. A recent report that Siakam may not be open to re-signing with any team that trades for him should cool off his market, but Koreen expects Toronto to still get offers for Anunoby. He also believes it’s likely that both players will start next season with the Raptors, but they probably won’t agree to extensions this summer.
Anunoby has selected CAA Basketball as his new representative, the agency announced (via Twitter). If Anunoby doesn’t sign an extension, he could become a free agent in 2024 by turning down a $19.9MM player option.
Joe Wieskamp and the Raptors have reached an agreement to extend the guarantee date for next season’s contract to July 18, tweets Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca. The front office wants to see how he performs during Summer League before committing to another season, adds Murphy, who believes Wieskamp may get a small partial guarantee on the deal for agreeing to the change.

International Notes: Fernandez, Canada, Paris, Almansa, More

June 28th, 2023 at 10:10am CST by Luke Adams

Kings associate head coach Jordi Fernandez will replace Nick Nurse of the Sixers as the head coach of the Canadian national team, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Canada Basketball has officially confirmed the news, indicating in a press release that the leadership change will take place immediately. Nurse, who coached the Raptors – Canada’s only NBA team – for five seasons before being dismissed this spring, subsequently stepped down from his position with the national team. Fernandez will take the reins for the 2023 World Cup, which begins in less than two months.

Fernandez, who was born in Spain, was an assistant coach on the Nuggets’ staff from 2016-22 before joining the Kings under Mike Brown last year. He’s considered a rising head coaching candidate, having interviewed for the coaching vacancies in Phoenix and Toronto earlier in the offseason.

Here are a few more updates from around the international basketball world:

After playing a regular season game in France in 2020 and again in 2023, the NBA is on track to return to Paris in 2024, according to a report from L’Equipe, which states that the Nets and Cavaliers are the teams expected to compete in that game. There’s hope that French phenom Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs will play a game in Paris as soon as 2025, per L’Equipe.
Izan Almansa, a 6’10” Spanish big man who spent the last two years with Overtime Elite and projects to be a first-round pick in 2024, has signed with the G League Ignite, reports Jonathan Givony of ESPN. Almansa, the last prospect to join the Ignite for 2023/24, will be part of a star-studded group that includes potential top-five picks Ron Holland and Matas Buzelis.
Gianni Petrucci, the president of the Italian Basketball Federation, wasn’t thrilled by Paolo Banchero‘s decision to play for the United States instead of Italy at the upcoming World Cup, telling La Gazzetta dello Sport that the Magic forward “fooled us.” However, Petrucci clarified that he was more upset about a lack of communication from Banchero rather than the decision itself. “It was a legitimate decision, but he could have made a call to communicate that to us,” Petrucci said, per BasketNews.com. “Instead, we learned about his decision from the newspapers.”
German forward Louis Olinde, who has spent the past three seasons with Alba Berlin, is hoping to make the move to the NBA this offseason, writes Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com. According to Urbonas, Olinde has worked out for the Warriors and Thunder and has a session lined up with the Trail Blazers too. The 25-year-old is also expected to play for the Suns at the Las Vegas Summer League.

Cameron Johnson, Coby White Among Players Receiving QOs

June 28th, 2023 at 7:28am CST by Luke Adams

A series of players have been issued qualifying offers by their respective teams, making them restricted free agents, according to RealGM’s official NBA transaction log.

Nets forward Cameron Johnson and Bulls guard Coby White are among the most notable QO recipients within the last couple days. Johnson’s qualifying offer is worth $8,486,620, while White’s is worth $7,744,600.

For many restricted free agents, qualifying offers essentially function as placeholders, giving the team the right of first refusal on the player as long as that QO remains on the table.

It’s also a one-year contract offer that the player is free to accept at any time, which is a more viable route for some RFAs than others — Johnson, for instance, looks like a safe bet to secure a lucrative multiyear deal, so it would be a major surprise if he simply accepted his $8.5MM qualifying offer.

Besides Johnson and White, here are some of the players who have received qualifying offers this week and are now restricted free agents, per RealGM:

Ayo Dosunmu, Bulls ($5,216,324)
Jock Landale, Suns ($2,219,706)
- Note: This is a projected amount. Landale’s QO will be worth $200K more than his minimum salary.
Trent Forrest, Hawks (two-way)
Terry Taylor, Bulls (two-way)
Collin Gillespie, Nuggets (two-way)
Jack White, Nuggets (two-way)
Kendall Brown, Pacers (two-way)
Moussa Diabate, Clippers (two-way)
Saben Lee, Suns (two-way)

The deadline for teams to issue qualifying offers is Thursday, so we’ll likely get many more updates on QOs being extended to players today and tomorrow.

Fischer’s Latest: Jazz, Cavs, Wolves, DiVincenzo, Gallinari, More

June 27th, 2023 at 12:47pm CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz‘s trade for John Collins and the Timberwolves‘ extension agreement with Naz Reid are two transactions that could have a ripple effect on other offseason activity, Jake Fischer writes in his latest story for Yahoo Sports.

As Fischer explains, the Jazz were expected to be a player for forwards in free agency, with Celtics RFA Grant Williams among Utah’s rumored targets. The Jazz still project to have cap room available, especially if Jordan Clarkson doesn’t remain with the team, but after adding Collins to a frontcourt that now features Lauri Markkanen, Walker Kessler, and lottery pick Taylor Hendricks, it’s hard to see them spending big on another forward or center, Fischer observes.

As for Reid, the Cavaliers were among the teams that hoped to take a run at him in free agency, sources tell Fischer. It’s unclear whether Cleveland – which should have the full mid-level exception available – will pivot to pursuing another significant frontcourt addition to complement Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley or whether the club specifically valued Reid highly, Fischer writes.

Meanwhile, opposing executives are curious about how the Timberwolves’ new deal with Reid might affect the rest of their roster. In particular, Fischer says, rival teams are wondering if Minnesota might waive veteran wing Taurean Prince, whose $7.5MM salary for 2023/24 is non-guaranteed.

With Prince on the books, the Wolves likely won’t have access to the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception, and they’re believe to be in the market for a combo guard with size using that MLE, according to Fischer, who names Bruce Brown and Donte DiVincenzo as two possible targets.

Here’s more of Fischer’s latest reporting:

Minnesota is hardly the only team with interest in DiVincenzo. There has been “growing noise” among league personnel about the possibility of DiVincenzo joining the Knicks and teaming up with fellow Villanova alums Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart, says Fischer.
Teams with cap room, including the Pacers, Magic, and Pistons, are believed to be eyeing players like Grant Williams (RFA) and Max Strus, according to Fischer, though he has heard the same rumblings that Marc Stein has about Detroit potentially using its room to make a room at Cameron Johnson. If the Nets bring back Johnson, rival executives are prepared for Brooklyn to make a cost-cutting trade to help accommodate Johnson’s increased salary.
The Wizards are considered likely to reach a buyout agreement with Danilo Gallinari, freeing up the veteran forward to pursue a deal with a team closer to contention, Fischer reports. Gallinari would be ineligible to re-sign with the Celtics in that scenario.
The Rockets are considering high-salary, short-term deals in order to land their preferred targets in free agency, per Fischer, who suggests it might take a maximum-salary offer to lure Fred VanVleet away from the Raptors. VanVleet is rumored to be one of Houston’s top priorities in free agency.
In case you missed it, we passed along more of Fischer’s latest tidbits in a pair of stories earlier today.