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Atlantic Notes: Morris, Knicks, Embiid, George, Nets

October 1st, 2024 at 2:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran forward Marcus Morris has decided not to rejoin the Knicks on a new training camp deal after being waived by New York over the weekend, tweets James L. Edwards of The Athletic. Ian Begley of SNY.tv confirms (via Twitter) that Morris has declined an offer to return to the Knicks.

Morris’ release appeared to be a logistical move that would allow the Knicks to open up the roster spots needed to complete the sign-and-trades involved in their Karl-Anthony Towns trade with Minnesota. There would be nothing stopping the veteran forward from re-signing with New York once that deal is official.

However, as Edwards explains, the financial restrictions created by the Towns trade will make Morris less likely to make the Knicks’ regular season roster, so he’s looking to join a new team before the NBA’s season begins three weeks from Tuesday.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

  • The Knicks made a series of splashy, ill-fated roster moves earlier in the 21st century, but the trade for Towns is something different, according to Howard Beck of The Ringer, who makes the case for why this big swing actually makes sense for the organization.
  • Having expressed on Monday that his number one goal this season is to make sure he’s healthy for the playoffs, Sixers center Joel Embiid told reporters that the quality and depth of the team’s roster should take some pressure off him during the regular season, as Aaron Carter of The Philadelphia Inquirer relays. “In the past, I felt like I had to (take over),” Embiid said. “This year, I don’t think I’m going to have to do it, unless I have to do it. So I really have a lot of confidence in these guys to figure it out and for me to just use myself as a decoy to allow (them) to be themselves and be good at what they do best.”
  • Discussing his fit in Philadelphia, new Sixers wing Paul George said this will be the first time that he’s played alongside “an elite point guard and elite big man all at once,” per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Like Embiid, George is bullish on the idea that the Sixers’ stars and quality role players can all make life easier for one another. “Having the floor spaced around (Tyrese Maxey) and myself, being able to play off a big man and play in transition with Tyrese, I think all three of us can flow and make the game easy for all of us,” George said. “I love sharing the ball and I love being aggressive to score. So I kind of think all three of us look at the game the same way.”
  • The Nets are using an unflattering over/under line from oddsmakers (19.5 wins) as motivation as they prepare for the 2024/25 season, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “I find it disrespectful. Just because we’ve got a lot of guys that people don’t know doesn’t mean we’re going to win just 19 games,” center Day’Ron Sharpe said on Monday. “You can’t be one foot out and one foot in. I’m trying to win as many games as possible and a lot of people are going to doubt us and we’re gonna show them.”
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And-Ones: NBAGL Trades, Extension Candidates, Woj’s Replacement, More

October 1st, 2024 at 9:29am CST by Luke Adams

Toronto’s G League affiliate – the Raptors 905 – has made a pair of trades in recent days, including a four-team deal that sent Kennedy Chandler‘s returning rights to the 905, according to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link). As we noted recently when the NBA’s Raptors signed and waived Chandler, their G League team still needed to acquire the guard’s rights in order to get him on the 905’s roster this fall.

That four-team trade also saw the Long Island Nets acquire Au’Diese Toney‘s returning rights and a 2025 first-round pick, the Birmingham Squadron (Pelicans) acquire Trhae Mitchell‘s returning rights, and the Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Rockets) land the rights to Devin Cannady and Markquis Nowell along with a 2024 first-round pick.

In the 905’s other trade, the Raptors’ affiliate sent Koby McEwen‘s returning rights to the Windy City Bulls in exchange for Evan Gilyard‘s rights, tweets Murphy.

  • Fred Katz of The Athletic identifies five of the most interesting extension-eligible veterans to keep an eye on this fall, singling out Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon, Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr., and Mavericks center Daniel Gafford, among others.
  • Who are the candidates to replace Adrian Wojnarowski as ESPN’s top NBA insider? According to reporting from Andrew Marchand of The Athletic and Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports, while big-name NBA reporters like Shams Charania and Chris Haynes are possibilities, it’s also not out of the question that one of ESPN’s other top news-breakers, such as Jeff Passan or Adam Schefter, could end up in the role. Marchand says Passan is a candidate to switch from MLB to the NBA, while McCarthy suggests it’s not out of the question for Schefter to take on a dual role covering the NFL and NBA.
  • In an in-depth Insider-only article for ESPN, Bobby Marks takes a look at all 30 teams’ training camp rosters and examines the key dates and deadlines coming up for each of those clubs.
  • Taking into account their projected regular season win totals, John Hollinger of The Athletic picks five teams he expects to exceed expectations in 2024/25, including the Cavaliers, Suns, and Pistons.
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Nets Notes: Simmons, Finney-Smith, Bogdanovic, Williams, Johnson

September 30th, 2024 at 1:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Nets only got 15 games from Ben Simmons last season, but he told reporters at Monday’s media day that he’s feeling good with training camp about to open, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Trainer Chris Brickley recently proclaimed that Simmons has fully overcome the back problems that have hampered him over the last three years and is ready to be an All-Star again. While Simmons didn’t make any promises, he seemed to agree with Brickley’s assessment.

“Yeah. I feel like when my body is healthy, that’s the confidence I always have, and that’s where I’m at right now,” he said. “I feel great and ready to go. … I’d have days where I’d have a tough day of playing. The next day I’d be locked up in my back. I haven’t had one of those setbacks since I’ve been back playing (over the summer).”

Simmons’ lack of availability combined with his huge contract have made him a liability in Brooklyn since he was acquired from Philadelphia in 2022. That contract is now a $40.3MM expiring deal, and Simmons understands that he has one last chance to make a positive impression before free agency next summer, Lewis adds (Twitter link).

“For me it’s important just to be healthy,” he said. “I want to play basketball I love and get the most I can out of my body. That’s the focus. The money’s nice and all that, but I want to play and play healthy.”

There’s more from Brooklyn’s media day:

  • After seeing Mikal Bridges get traded this summer, Dorian Finney-Smith knows there’s a strong chance he might not be with team all season, Lewis tweets. Finney-Smith holds a player option for 2025/26, and at age 31, he doesn’t fit the timeline of the rebuilding Nets. “It’s part of the business,” he said. “Nothing surprises me no more. I was with Mikal (when he got traded). There was a chance I may be moving, but all I could do was be professional and just come in ready to play.”
  • Bojan Bogdanovic confirmed that he hasn’t been cleared for 5-on-5 play, per Lewis (Twitter link). After undergoing offseason surgeries on his left foot and wrist, the veteran swingman said the wrist is fully healed but his foot needs more time.
  • Ziaire Williams is eager for a fresh start after being traded to Brooklyn in July, Lewis adds (Twitter link). The 2021 lottery pick felt like his career had stagnated in Memphis. “I feel like a loose bird let out its cage,” he said. “Some days I just felt like I was just trapped. So I definitely feel a lot more free, happy to be here.”
  • Cameron Johnson, who’s believed to be another strong trade candidate, has talked to general manager Sean Marks about his future with the team, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. “The conversations, from my point, without going too deep into it was just letting him know that I understand the business first and foremost,” Johnson said. “For me, I said there’s never a hard feeling on anything that happens. I like Sean a lot and I appreciate Sean a lot. That won’t change if I was traded two months ago, two months from now, and if I remain a Net the rest of my career. I really appreciate Sean. After that, it’s just let me know what’s going on. I’d like to be in the loop of what can happen and what he’s thinking, and that’s that. He was very good to have that conversation with. He gave me a lot of good feedback as well.”
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New York Notes: Towns Trade, Knicks, Simmons, Nets

September 29th, 2024 at 8:43am CST by Rory Maher

The Knicks are still working through the details of their blockbuster trade for Karl-Anthony Towns, which has yet to be finalized. Why did they choose to go all-in on the 28-year-old big man?

For starters, president of basketball operations Leon Rose was Towns’ representative when he was the head agent at CAA, notes Ian Begley of SNY.tv. Knicks executive William Wesley is also close with the Towns family, per Begley — clearly there’s an affinity between the two sides.

As Begley writes, the Knicks view Towns as an ideal complementary piece to their core roster, particularly on offense with Jalen Brunson. Towns’ presence should create more driving lines for Brunson and make it more difficult for opponents to trap him.

Begley confirms New York has coveted Towns for some time, but trade talks with Minnesota didn’t pick up steam until the Knicks signaled a willingness to include Donte DiVincenzo in the package. Begley isn’t sure why the Knicks changed their mind — they were opposed to dealing DiVincenzo for the majority of the offseason.

According to Begley, DiVincenzo wasn’t thrilled with the idea of playing a reduced role this season after he had a career year in 2023/24. Still, Begley doesn’t think that had much to do with New York’s decision. He speculates that Julius Randle‘s contract situation (he can be a free agent in 2025 if he declines his 2025/26 player option) and Mitchell Robinson‘s injury absence were likely bigger factors.

Here’s more on the two New York-based teams:

  • While all eyes will be on Towns with training camp about to begin, Stefan Bondy of The New York Post believes Mikal Bridges is the “most intriguing” player the Knicks acquired this offseason. Bondy projects a starting lineup of Brunson, Bridges, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby and Towns, with Miles McBride likely the team’s sixth man. With major roster changes and some players coming off injuries, Bondy expects the Knicks to look sluggish in preseason.
  • Ben Simmons‘ health is the biggest storyline to watch for the Nets as they enter training camp, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Simmons has appeared in just 57 of 246 regular season games over the past three seasons — including 15 in 2023/24 — and is coming off a second back surgery. However, he’s fully cleared for camp and has been one of the team’s standouts in pickup games, sources tell Lewis. Second-year big man Noah Clowney and offseason acquisition Ziaire Williams are two other players who have played well in informal games ahead of camp, Lewis adds.
  • In a pair of stories for The New York Post, Lewis examines the other Nets storylines ahead of training camp and provides a rundown of their 20-man roster, which is one player shy of the offseason limit.
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And-Ones: G League Trade, Brissett, Future Power Rankings, Lowe

September 27th, 2024 at 12:58pm CST by Luke Adams

The Suns‘ and Pacers‘ G League affiliates have completed a trade involving a former No. 3 overall NBA draft pick, per a press release from the Valley Suns. Phoenix’s new affiliate acquired the returning rights to guard David Stockton from the Indiana Mad Ants in exchange for the returning rights to forward Garrison Brooks and former lottery pick Jahlil Okafor.

Brooks and Okafor were among the Suns’ picks in June’s expansion draft, but it’s unclear if either one intends to play in the G League at all in 2024/25 — they both competed overseas last season.

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

  • Free agent swingman Oshae Brissett is believed to be drawing interest from a EuroLeague team, according to a report from Sportske.net. As Dario Skerletic of Sportando relays, the Serbian outlet says that the Belgrade-based club Crvena Zvezda has its eye on Brissett as a potential target. The five-year NBA veteran, who won a title last season with the Celtics, has been on the lookout for a new home since he turned down his player option with Boston in June.
  • ESPN’s Kevin Pelton, Bobby Marks, and Tim Bontemps (Insider link) have published the latest installment of their annual “future power rankings,” which are based on each team’s projected on-court success for the next three seasons. The Thunder top this year’s version of the list, while the Celtics drop from No. 1 to No. 2 despite their 2024 championship, since their salary cap situation may get untenable in the near future. The Knicks (third) Sixers (fourth), Mavericks (fifth), Rockets (seventh), Timberwolves (eighth), and Spurs (10th) each rose five or more spots to claim a place in ESPN’s top 10.
  • Howard Beck of The Ringer sorts the NBA’s 30 teams into six separate tiers based on how clear their plans are going forward. The Nets and Wizards, in full-on rebuilds, are among the teams in the “ever-clear” top tier along with championship hopefuls like the Mavericks and Sixers, while clubs with less obvious goals, like the Hawks, Bulls, and Raptors, find themselves in the lowest “fun-house mirror” tier.
  • ESPN has laid off senior writer Zach Lowe, sources tell Andrew Marchand of The Athletic. Lowe is the second noteworthy NBA reporter to depart the network in recent weeks, joining Adrian Wojnarowski, who unexpectedly announced his retirement from the news industry last week.
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Nets Notes: Thomas, Simmons, Bogdanovic, Core, Barrett

September 27th, 2024 at 9:38am CST by Luke Adams

Cam Thomas took a big step forward as a scorer last season, increasing his points per game from 10.6 in 2022/23 to 22.5 in ’23/24 without a significant dip in efficiency — his .554 TS% last season was only a tick below his .567 mark from the year before.

With Mikal Bridges no longer in Brooklyn, Thomas figures to take on even more offensive responsibilities in his fourth NBA season, and new Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez told reporters on Thursday that he’s looking forward to helping Thomas take on that challenge.

“Development is the No. 1 thing. For everybody, not just the young guys, but also the veterans. Everybody has to get better, there has to be a plan,” Fernandez said, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “And my conversations with Cam are ‘Can I help you be more efficient of a scorer?’ If you look at his numbers, the less he dribbles, the more efficient he is. Like, to the top of the NBA. It’s impressive.

“His superpower is to score the ball, and what we need to do is to help him do that, but in an efficient way. Same as his play-making, because he attracts so much attention, teams are going to try to blitz him, load to him, how he can kick that and create more assists. It’s on me and the rest of the coaching staff to help him, and we believe he can take that next step.”

Thomas, who is entering the final year of his rookie scale contract, is eligible to sign an extension at any time up until October 21. If he doesn’t sign a new deal by that point, he’ll be on track for restricted free agency in 2025.

According to Lewis, the Nets aren’t believed to have engaged in contract negotiations yet with either Thomas or Day’Ron Sharpe and Ziaire Williams, who are also extension-eligible. General manager Sean Marks didn’t get into specifics when asked about the possibility of new deals for one or more of those players.

“In terms of extension talks, there are several guys on our team that we could be having those same conversations with. So we’ll certainly engage with agents and the players,” Marks said. “It’s important to always have that door open. The window will certainly close on the extension if we can’t get something done, but it’s important for those players to know we care about them, and here’s where we see them, whether the timing is right this year or if it’s next offseason from an organizational standpoint and also from their standpoint.”

We have more on the Nets:

  • The Nets confirmed on Thursday that Ben Simmons – who underwent back surgery earlier this year – has been cleared for the start of training camp, as his agent recently announced. However, veteran forward Bojan Bogdanovic will be unavailable as he continues to recover after undergoing offseason surgeries on his left foot and wrist, Lewis writes for The New York Post. Although Bogdanovic was essentially just a salary-matching piece in the Bridges trade with the Knicks, he’s not believed to have had any discussions with Brooklyn about a buyout, Lewis notes.
  • Making sure Simmons is fully healthy will be the Nets’ top priority for the former No. 1 overall pick, new head coach Jordi Fernandez said on Thursday, per Erik Slater of ClutchPoints. As long as Simmons can stay off the injured list, Fernandez is optimistic about how the three-time All-Star will fit in his scheme. “We wanna play fast. He’s still one of the best play-makers to be able to do that,” Fernandez said. “If you can play fast, touch the paint, move the ball, reverse the ball, all that stuff, Ben really fits all that. Now, are playing like this because of Ben? No. We’re playing like that because that’s the style of play we want for our team.”
  • Although the Nets can’t realistically have championship aspirations in 2024/25, Marks observed on Thursday that it will be an important year for determining which of the team’s current players can be part of the long-term core. “For me, myself, from the front office side, we’re looking at it from, ‘Who are the next Nets?'” Marks told reporters, including Evan Barnes of Newsday (subscriber link). “Who do we look at and say, OK, this person can be part of this rebuild and this person is on the team for the next two, three years. That’s going to be important for us.”
  • NetsDaily has a full transcript of Marks’ and Fernandez’s comments from Thursday’s press conference.
  • Jordan Greene of NetsDaily spoke to Bronx native Andre Barrett, who was hired by the Nets as a scout this summer, about his new position, how he ended up in Brooklyn, and his thoughts on the team’s offseason moves.
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Nets Waive Patrick Gardner

September 22nd, 2024 at 3:35pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Center Patrick Gardner has been waived by the Nets, per Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter link). Brooklyn had initially signed the 25-year-old to an Exhibit 10 contract earlier this week.

Last year, the 6’11” big man inked the same training camp deal and was quickly waived after going undrafted out of Marist. He spent the 2023/24 season with Brooklyn’s G League affiliate club, the Long Island Nets. Across 28 Showcase Cup and regular season bouts, Gardner averaged 7.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game on .500/.364/.731 shooting splits.

It seems quite likely he is bound for the same fate with Long Island again this season as a returning rights player, Lewis notes. Should he report back to the G League and spend at least 60 days with the Nets’ NBAGL affiliate, Gardner will earn a bonus worth up to $77.5K.

Gardner recently played for Basketball Africa League champions Petro de Luanda of Angola at the FIBA Intercontinental Cup in Singapore. He appeared in three games for the team, averaging 11.7 PPG and 5.7 RPG on .444/.333/.727 shooting.

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Nets Sign Amari Bailey To Exhibit 10 Contract

September 21st, 2024 at 7:38pm CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 21: Bailey has officially signed with the Nets, according to RealGM’s NBA transaction log.

SEPTEMBER 19: Free agent guard Amari Bailey has agreed to sign a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contract with the Nets, agent Kevin Bradbury tells Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

A one-and-done college player at UCLA, Bailey was drafted 41st overall by the Hornets in 2023. He spent his rookie year on a two-way deal with the club, appearing in just 10 games at the NBA level for Charlotte but playing a significant role for the Greensboro Swarm in the G League.

In 36 Showcase Cup and regular season games for the Swarm, Bailey averaged 18.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.2 assists in 30.9 minutes per contest. His shooting line was .451/.358/.695.

The Hornets opted not to tender Bailey a qualifying offer in June. As a result, he became an unrestricted free agent.

Bailey is one of several players to have reached Exhibit 10 agreements with the Nets this offseason, along with Killian Hayes, Mark Armstrong, and KJ Jones. Brooklyn has a pair of two-way contract slots available, so it’s possible Bailey will get a chance to compete for one of those spots this fall.

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And-Ones: Sports Betting, NBA Offseason, Injury Returns

September 21st, 2024 at 12:10pm CST by Luke Adams

While the NBA is in favor of federal regulations for sports betting, the league doesn’t unequivocally support the bill introduced last week in Congress, which is considered to have both positives and negatives, per David Purdum of ESPN.

The Supporting Affordability and Fairness with Every Bet Act, also known as the “SAFE Bet Act,” would prohibit sportsbook advertising from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm (and during live sports broadcasts) and would ban in-game betting. The proposal to eliminate live wagering is one aspect of the bill likely to be opposed by the NBA and other sports leagues, given the increasing popularity of that form of betting, notes Purdum.

A league source tells Purdum that the NBA is keeping an eye on the legislation and views it as a “starting point to a very lengthy process.”

Here are more odds and ends from around the

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Northwest Notes: Cui, Braun, Caruso, Hartenstein

September 21st, 2024 at 10:57am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Trail Blazers did not want to hold back Yongxi Cui after he got a better offer from the Nets, Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report tweets.

Also known as Jacky, Cui officially signed a two-way contract with the Nets on Friday. He had previously agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal with the Blazers, but hadn’t officially signed it.

If he’d come to camp in Portland he would have been competing for a two-way spot, according to Highkin. When the Nets offered him one outright, Portland didn’t want to stand in the way of the undrafted rookie.

We have more from the Northwest Division:

  • In a subscriber-only piece, Harrison Wind of TheDNVR.com takes a look at how defenses will adjust to the Nuggets’ starting five with third-year guard Christian Braun replacing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Braun appeared in all 82 regular-season games last season but made just four starts and only played 28 regular-season minutes with Denver’s other four starters on the court. Caldwell-Pope signed with the Magic early in free agency.
  • There’s been plenty of talk regarding the defensive impact of newcomers Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein on the Thunder. However, their offensive contributions will be just as key, Esfandiar Baraheni of Sportscasting.com writes. Caruso will help the team in the underrated roles of screener and secondary play-making. Hartenstein’s solid screening and short-roll game will also add to the versatility of Oklahoma City’s offense.
  • In case you missed it, we took a look at every Northwest Division team’s roster as training camps approach.
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