Brooklyn Nets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Grant Williams Meets Starter Criteria, Increases QO

April 5th, 2023 at 8:44am CST by Luke Adams

After logging 29 minutes on Tuesday night in the Celtics‘ loss to Philadelphia, forward Grant Williams has now played more than 2,000 minutes this season, meeting the “starter criteria” for restricted free agents.

A player achieves the starter criteria when he starts at least 41 games or plays at least 2,000 minutes in the season before he becomes eligible for restricted free agency (or if he averages 41 starts or 2,000 minutes in the two seasons leading up to his free agency).

Williams made 21 starts and logged 1,875 minutes in 2021/22 and has started just 23 games this season, but has now surpassed the minutes-played requirement for ’22/23.

As a result of meeting the starter criteria, the 24-year-old will see the value of his qualifying offer increase by more than $2MM. The No. 22 overall pick in the 2019 draft, Williams had been on track for a QO worth $6,235,495, but that figure will be bumped to $8,486,620, which is the equivalent of what the No. 9 pick in his draft class would receive.

That modest bump may not have a tangible impact on Williams’ free agency. He’s considered highly likely to sign a new multiyear contract that exceeds $8.5MM in annual average value, so that qualifying offer would essentially just serve as a placeholder during his negotiations with the Celtics or rival suitors.

If Williams doesn’t get any multiyear offers he likes and is intrigued by the possibility of reaching unrestricted free agency in 2024, accepting a one-year, $8.5MM offer would certainly hold more appeal than signing a one-year, $6.2MM offer, but his restricted free agency seems unlikely to play out that way.

Williams is the sixth potential restricted free agent to meet the starter criteria so far this season, joining P.J. Washington, Tre Jones, and Ayo Dosunmu — Kenyon Martin Jr. and Herbert Jones also made more than 41 starts, but they have 2023/24 team options on their respective contracts and may not reach free agency this summer (Jones definitely won’t, based on the structure of his deal).

Nets forward Cameron Johnson could join that group by starting two of Brooklyn’s last three regular season games this week. Trail Blazers forward Matisse Thybulle will fall just short of the starter criteria after missing Tuesday’s game — he needs to make four more starts, but Portland now only has three games left on its schedule.

New York Notes: Bridges, Knicks’ Future, Randle, Toppin

April 4th, 2023 at 7:54pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Mikal Bridges outplayed Utah’s Lauri Markkanen, the favorite for the Most Improved Player award, in the Nets’ one-point win over the Jazz on Sunday. So why shouldn’t Bridges get consideration for the award? Brian Lewis of the New York Post makes that point.

Bridges has delivered 11 30-point games for the Nets, including three in his last four, after posting just two in 365 games before the Suns traded him. He was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week on Monday.

We have more on the New York teams:

The Knicks have exceeded expectations and their future is bright, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic. Jalen Brunson has been better than anyone anticipated, Julius Randle had a bounce-back campaign and some of their younger players have stepped up. They also have the means to get even better in the future, considering that no top-eight team in either conference has the surplus of first-round picks they do.
Is there a silver lining to Randle’s left ankle injury? Chris Herring of Sports Illustrated explores that topic and believes — assuming Randle can come back close to full strength once he’s reevaluated next week — it could be a blessing in disguise. In the midst of the Knicks’ current four-game winning streak, other players have filled the scoring void, including Josh Hart, Quentin Grimes, Obi Toppin and Immanuel Quickley. That should give Randle more trust in those players than he had in the offensively challenged group around him in the Knicks’ last playoff journey.
Speaking of Toppin, he could be auditioning for an extension this offseason while filling in for Randle, Jared Schwartz of the New York Post notes. He has scored 33 points in his first two starts this season. “Just playing to his strengths,” Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said. “Every player has strengths, every player has weaknesses. Stay away from your weaknesses, play to your strengths, understand who you are playing with.”

Anthony Davis, Mikal Bridges Named Players Of The Week

April 3rd, 2023 at 2:45pm CST by Rory Maher

Lakers big man Anthony Davis and Nets wing Mikal Bridges have been named the NBA’s players of the week, the league announced (via Twitter).

Davis, the Western Conference’s winner, averaged 38.7 points, 11.7 rebounds, 1.0 steal and 2.0 blocks on .652/.333/.806 shooting in leading the Lakers to a 3-0 record last week. After winning six of seven, L.A. is currently 40-38, the No. 7 seed in the West.

Bridges, the East’s winner, averaged 33.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.3 steals on .500/.455/.885 shooting last week as the Nets went 3-0. Brooklyn is close to locking up the No. 6 seed and a guaranteed playoff spot, currently sitting with a 43-35 record and a two-game lead (and the tiebreaker) on the No. 7 Heat.

According to the NBA (Twitter link), the other nominees in the West were Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Brandon Ingram and Domantas Sabonis, while Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday, Jalen Brunson, Immanuel Quickley, Donovan Mitchell and Jayson Tatum were nominated in the East.

New York Notes: Finney-Smith, Harris, Hartenstein, Playoff Rotation

April 2nd, 2023 at 4:11pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Following a lackluster offensive start to his Nets tenure, swingman Dorian Finney-Smith is finding his footing in Brooklyn, writes Jared Schwartz of The New York Post.

Smith had been scoring just 6.4 PPG on 31% field goal shooting across his first 22 games with the Nets prior to a 124-107 defeat of the Hawks. In that contest, he notched 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor, including 4-of-6 from deep, and eight boards.

“It feels good, man,” Finney-Smith said of his best scoring night with his new team thus far. “Especially when the whole team is yelling at me when I turn down shots to stay aggressive. It feels good when you got guys who believe in you, so I appreciate them.”

Finney-Smith continues to make a big defensive impact for the Nets. Head coach Jacque Vaughn has even employed the 6’7″ forward as a center in small ball lineups.

There’s more out of The City That Never Sleeps:

Nets wing Joe Harris has been demoted since Brooklyn added an influx of three-point shooting perimeter players at the trade deadline, and that’s just fine by Harris, per Schwartz in another piece. “It’s definitely a luxury of this team,” Harris observed. “A lot of space on the floor for primary ball-handlers, facilitators.”
Knicks backup center Isaiah Hartenstein is the only New York player to have been available for all 78 of the team’s games thus far, writes Peter Botte of The New York Post.
Though they have just four games left in their 2022/23 regular season run, the 45-33 Knicks still need to finalize their postseason rotation, says Ian Begley of SNY.tv. Begley notes that New York’s coaching staff is assessing both active rotation and deep-bench players with the playoffs looming. The Knicks seem to favor a nine-man rotation, Begley observes. Backup point guard Miles McBride became the team’s new ninth man with All-Star power forward Julius Randle out of the lineup for now.

Final Check-In On Open NBA Roster Spots

April 2nd, 2023 at 9:57am CST by Luke Adams

With just one week left in the NBA’s regular season, there are still a number of teams around the league with open roster spots, and there’s little downside to filling those openings before the regular season ends.

For playoff teams, adding one more player would create a little extra depth in the event of postseason injuries or garbage-time minutes. For non-playoff teams, it makes sense to try to convince a young player to accept a multiyear deal that includes little or no guaranteed money beyond this season, since it gives those teams another option for next year’s roster.

Even clubs over the luxury tax line or right up against it shouldn’t have a problem paying one more player a prorated minimum salary for the last day or two of the season — the prorated minimum for a veteran on a rest-of-season deal is just $10,552 per day, which is a drop in the bucket for NBA franchises.

With all that in mind, it’s safe to assume that some – if not all – of the teams with open roster spots should fill them by next Sunday. Here are those teams:

Boston Celtics
Brooklyn Nets *
Charlotte Hornets *
Houston Rockets
Los Angeles Lakers
New York Knicks
Phoenix Suns ^
Utah Jazz #

The two teams marked with an asterisk (*) here technically have full 15-man rosters as of today, but one of their players is on a 10-day contract. That’s Moses Brown for the Nets and Xavier Sneed for the Hornets. Both of those contracts run through Thursday night before expiring, so Brooklyn and Charlotte will have the opportunity to sign a player to a rest-of-season or multiyear deal at that time.

The Suns (^) have a full 15-man standard roster but have an open two-way contract slot alongside Saben Lee. It’s possible Phoenix won’t bother signing someone to fill that opening, since two-way players aren’t eligible to play in the postseason and the Suns don’t have a G League affiliate (the NBAGL season is just about over anyway).

As for the Jazz (#), they currently have one open spot on their 15-man standard roster and will open up a second when Luka Samanic‘s 10-day contract expires on Thursday night. So Utah could technically bring in two new players before season’s end without waiving anyone.

The rest of the teams on this list – the Celtics, Rockets, Lakers, and Knicks – are carrying 14 players on standard contracts, leaving one spot available.

Boston and New York are postseason-bound and L.A. is in good position to join them, but that doesn’t necessarily mean each of those teams will sign a “win-now” veteran as a 15th man. They already have enough depth on their respective rosters that they may prefer to promote a player from the G League on a multiyear deal, assuming they decide to fill those openings at all. Boston and L.A. are taxpayers, so a signing would cost them a little more than just $10,552 per day.

New York Notes: Toppin, Barrett, Claxton, Bridges, Simmons

April 1st, 2023 at 3:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Obi Toppin, who started in place of injured Julius Randle on Friday, had a heated exchange with RJ Barrett during the Knicks’ win over the Cavaliers on Friday night. However, the Knicks downplayed the incident afterward, Peter Botte of the New York Post reports.

Head coach Tom Thibodeau and his assistants had to keep Toppin away from Barrett during a third-quarter timeout. Toppin and Barrett hugged on the court shortly afterward.

“We’re brothers. And we’re good. We discussed it,” Toppin said.

We have more on the New York teams:

Nic Claxton signed a two-year, $17.25MM contract as a restricted free agent last summer. That contract is proving to be a bargain, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. Claxton has started 72 games and leads the Nets in blocks and rebounds. Claxton hopes he remains with the franchise beyond next season. “It’s human nature. It’s just in our business, you never really know what’s going to happen as far as trades, contracts and everything,” Claxton said. “But I’ve been here four years, and Brooklyn has been a huge [time], played a huge role in my growth. And I would love to be here.”
Nets forward Mikal Bridges is on track to play 83 regular season games this season, something that hasn’t been done since Josh Smith played that many games for Houston and Detroit in 2014/15, Nick Friedell of ESPN notes. Nets GM Sean Marks is impressed by Bridges’ durability during a time when players are frequently rested. “You look at how he plays the game,” Marks said. “Obviously, when he was playing in Phoenix, even dating back to college days, the length, the reliability — he’s nearing 400 games played in a row, it’s pretty unique in this day and age. And for somebody who actually wants to play at that clip is also certainly refreshing.”
With Ben Simmons declared out for the season by the Nets, Lewis interviewed a number of medical experts and Simmons’ agent to determine whether he’ll be healthier next season (New York Post subscription required). Lewis also explored the question of whether Simmons might require surgery to resolve his back and knee issues.

Suns Notes: Durant, Booker, Okogie

March 31st, 2023 at 8:28pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kevin Durant finally made his Suns home debut on Wednesday, scoring 16 points against Minnesota in a 107-100 victory. He admitted he was eager to show the Phoenix fans how he’s blending with his new teammates, Nick Friedell of ESPN relays.

“It was hard for me to get sleep (Wednesday),” Durant said. “It was hard for me to stop thinking about the game. Sometimes you can want it too bad. And you come out there and play like you start rushing and start being uncharacteristic. I’m glad I’m back. I’m glad I’m into the zone of playing again and being around the guys and being one of the guys again, just keep building from here.”

We have more on the Suns:

Durant told Shams Charania of The Athletic that he’s still rooting for the Nets and holds no ill will toward the organization. Durant asked to be traded before and then during the season. “I want the best for that organization. I wanted the best for us every game,” he said. “I hated it had to go down like that. I wasn’t trying to prove the Nets is a (bad) organization. I was trying to prove that the Nets are a great organization, that they care about their players, want the best for their players. Certain (stuff) just didn’t work out.”
Devin Booker told Sam Amick of The Athletic that he becomes even more of an offensive threat with Durant drawing defensive attention. “The thing about Kev is that he’s one of the best scorers – if not the best scorer – to ever play the game. But he still plays the right way,” Booker said. “He makes teams pay for double teaming, and he’ll get off it quick. We just hoop. We make reads We make plays, and we start with a structure and our sets. He fits right into that and he knows what we’re doing.”
Josh Okogie, a free agent after the season, has emerged as the team’s fifth starter. He knows his offensive contributions are simply a bonus, he told Dana Scott of the Arizona Republic. “I’m always focused on the defensive end,” Okogie said. “The opportunities that I saw early, it was just that I never really think about scoring. I just try to do my job just to get stops, being about position on defense, try to get the rebound and bring energy to the team.”

New York Notes: Randle, Quickley, Burrell, Johnson

March 31st, 2023 at 6:48pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Julius Randle‘s ankle injury came at a very bad time, but the Knicks believe they can keep winning while he mends, Nick Friedell of ESPN writes.

“I think it takes more focus being down an All-Star, but I’m very confident in our team and how we can handle things,” Jalen Brunson said.

The Knicks won their last two games heading into their showdown with Cleveland on Friday. “We have more than enough guys that are capable of helping out,” Brunson said. “That’s what a team is for and that’s what we do, we’re professionals.”

Obi Toppin started in Randle’s place on Friday, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News tweets.

We have more on the New York teams:

Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley shot 44.8 percent on two-point attempts last season. That stat is up to 52.9 percent this season and he credits associate head coach Johnnie Bryant and personal trainer Reese Whitley, according to Mark Sanchez of the New York Post. Whitley’s workout regimen has made Quickley stronger, while Bryant has devoted extra attention to his on-court effectiveness. “Before every game, I watch a lot of film of the team I’m about to play, spots on the floor that I can pretty much be effective,” Quickley said. “Johnnie Bryant has helped me a lot, just being able to work with him every single day and being able to pick his brain.”
Long Island Nets coach Ronnie Burrell has been named the NBA G League Coach of the Year, the NBA’s PR department tweets. After defeating the Cleveland Charge on Friday, Long Island advanced in the playoffs and will host Delaware in the G League Eastern Conference Finals on Sunday.
Cameron Johnson is thriving with a bigger offensive role than he had with the Suns, Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post writes. Since being traded in the Kevin Durant blockbuster, Johnson is averaging more minutes (30.4), shots (12.4), points (16.7), rebounds (4.7) and assists (2.1) per game than he did with the Suns. “That’s part of the beauty of the situation,” Johnson said of joining the Nets. He’ll be a restricted free agent this summer.

Ben Simmons' New Agent Discusses Outlook

March 29th, 2023 at 9:01am CST by Luke Adams

Speaking to Ian Begley of SNY.tv and Andrew Crane and Brian Lewis of The New York Post, Ben Simmons‘ new agent Bernie Lee said that Simmons’ back issues are part of the recovery process from the microdiscectomy he underwent last May, adding that the Nets guard/forward won’t require additional surgery and is on track to be ready for training camp in the fall. “Ben is a 26 year-old-guy who is just starting his career and clearly there have been some challenges recently,” Lee told Begley. “But like every truly great person I’ve observed, Ben is motivated internally to continue to develop himself and his talent and test his ability and, most importantly, compete. He simply needs to gain the opportunity to be healthy which we believe we’ve found.”

Ben Simmons Ruled Out For Rest Of Season

March 28th, 2023 at 11:45am CST by Arthur Hill

MARCH 28: The Nets are officially ruling out Simmons for the rest of the season and playoffs, Vaughn confirmed today (Twitter link via Alex Schiffer of The Athletic). Simmons will go through a rehab program for his back injury and is expected to make a full recovery, Vaughn added.

MARCH 25: The Nets are preparing for Ben Simmons to miss the remainder of the season, writes Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.

Talking to reporters before Saturday’s game, coach Jacque Vaughn admitted that Simmons is “probably not going to join us for the rest of the year,” although he added that a final decision won’t be made until Simmons meets with a back specialist. The former No. 1 overall pick is suffering from an impingement in his back, which happens when tissue or bone causes nerve fibers to compress.

“For me as a coach, there’s some things that I can control, some things that I can’t control,” Vaughn said. “What I can’t control is the impingement. What I can control is getting this group ready to play. And then in all honesty, the realism that he’s probably not going to join us for the rest of the year … certainty will come once he continues to be looked at by specialists.”

Simmons hasn’t played since February 15 because of his back condition, along with soreness in his left knee. He has been limited to 42 games in his first full season with the Nets, averaging career lows of 6.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 6.1 assists per contest. He’s shooting 56.6% from the field, but has connected at just 43.9% from the foul line and has missed his only two three-point attempts.

Simmons didn’t play at all last season because of physical and mental issues as well as a lingering dispute with the Sixers prior to being traded to Brooklyn. He will have a full offseason to try to regain the form that made him an All-Star in the previous three seasons.

Simmons has two years remaining on his contract at $37.9MM for next season and $40.3MM for 2024/25.