Community Shootaround

All that drama surrounding the Nets this offseason can be filed under “Much ado about nothing.”

Kyrie Irving remains on the roster. So does Kevin Durant, who has rescinded his trade demand after potential suitors couldn’t meet the Nets’ astronomical asking price. Steve Nash is still the head coach and Sean Marks is still running the front office, even though Durant wanted them both fired a few weeks ago.

While the franchise appeared foolish and dysfunctional throughout the process, there’s one caveat: The Nets, on paper, have a really good team. In fact, they may be even better than they looked at the start of last season, when Durant, Irving and James Harden were expected to carry them to the Finals.

Irving won’t have to miss home games due to his vaccination status. Durant, who missed a chunk of last season due to a knee injury, will enter camp healthy and presumably motivated by all the drama he created.

Then, of course, there’s Ben Simmons, who never suited up last season due to mental health issues and a back injury that required surgery. From all indications, he’ll be ready to go by training camp. His passing skills and defensive versatility could make him a better fit alongside Durant and Irving than Harden was.

Joe Harris, the team’s highly-paid floor spacer, should be ready to stretch defenses again after rehabbing from an ankle injury that wrecked his 2021/22 campaign. Royce O’Neale was acquired from Utah to fill a “dirty work” role at forward and the front office took a flyer on T.J. Warren, who could provide an offensive boost off the bench if he’s finally recovered from his foot ailments.

Though they lost some role players (Bruce Brown, Goran Dragic), the Nets still have rotation pieces Seth Curry, Nic Claxton, Patty Mills, Cam Thomas and Kessler Edwards, plus some roster openings to add more depth.

That brings us to our question of the day: Now that the Nets and Durant have decided to continue their partnership, is Brooklyn once again a serious contender for the championship? Do you foresee them being a major factor in the postseason or will more turmoil and drama bring them down?

Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.

Nets head coach Steve Nash participated in the recent meeting between Kevin Durant and team leadership that ended with all parties agreeing to “move forward” with their partnership and focus on basketball. Nash also received a vote of confidence from team owner Joe Tsai earlier this month when word first broke that Durant had asked Tsai to trade him or to fire Nash and general manager Sean Marks.

Still, while Nash’s job may be safe for now, it’s hard to imagine he feels fully secure heading into a season in which the Nets are under pressure to finally deliver on their tantalizing potential and make a deep playoff run. Tsai wasn’t going to give in to Durant’s public request to fire Nash this summer, but it’s not as if Nash’s résumé in his two years coaching the club is spotless — if Brooklyn gets off to a slow start this season, his seat could start to get very hot.

Of the NBA’s 30 head coaches, Nash might be the one whose hold on his job is most tenuous, but there are others who will be worth keeping an eye on over the course of the 2022/23 season.

There was some chatter about Tom Thibodeau‘s job security during a disappointing Knicks season in ’21/22, and while it didn’t amount to anything at the time, that chatter will likely pick up again if New York underachieves for a second straight year after signing Jalen Brunson in free agency.

The Sixers are also under some pressure to take a major step forward this season, and while I’d be a little surprised if Doc Rivers is fired, it’s worth noting that he joined the team before president of basketball operations Daryl Morey did, so he wasn’t a Morey hire. If the 76ers fall short of their expectations and exit the postseason early, I could envision Rivers and the team agreeing to “mutually” part ways.

Chauncey Billups only has one year under his belt as the Trail Blazers‘ head coach, so he shouldn’t be in any immediate danger, but expectations will be significantly higher for Portland this year than they were at the end of last season. The same goes for the Hawks and head coach Nate McMillan, as well as Wizards and head coach Wes Unseld Jr.

Dwane Casey of the Pistons and Stephen Silas of the Rockets have been tasked with overseeing rebuilding projects, so it’s difficult to assess their job performances based on win-loss records. As those teams’ rebuilds begin to move into a new stage, it will be interesting to see if Detroit and Houston remain happy with the jobs that Casey and Silas are doing.

We want to know what you think. Are there any head coaches you believe are already on the hot seat, or ones whose jobs might be in danger if they get off to poor starts this season? Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts and predictions!

After taking a closer look last week at the most lucrative multiyear contracts signed during the NBA’s 2022 free agent period, we’re focusing today on some deals that may have flown more under the radar. These are the contracts that came in around the cost of the mid-level exception – or below it – and represent good values for the teams that signed them.

[RELATED: 2022 NBA Free Agent Tracker]

The Heat only held Non-Bird rights on Caleb Martin entering the offseason, which limited their ability to offer him much of a raise on last year’s minimum salary. However, Miami decided to use the full taxpayer portion of its mid-level exception to bring back Martin, determining that money was better spent on him than any outside free agent who would’ve signed at that price. I liked that three-year, $20.4MM deal for the Heat, as it allowed them to lock up an emerging wing who shot 41.3% on three-pointers and played versatile defense.

Kyle Anderson‘s two-year, $18MM contract with the Timberwolves was another mid-level signing I liked, since Anderson is the type of player who can help a team in a variety of ways on both ends of the court. He’s a solid defender and rebounder who can be a secondary ball-handler and play-maker on offense and has improved his three-point shooting in recent years (35.1% over the last two seasons). He’s a good complementary piece for a Wolves team that will have two or three ball-dominant scorers.

I thought Bruce Brown was a steal a year ago for the Nets when he signed a one-year contract worth $4.7MM and was surprised that he didn’t get much of a raise this year — he’ll fit in nicely as a Swiss Army knife-type player on a Nuggets team that was able to lock him up on a two-year, $13.3MM pact (the second year is a player option).

The Warriors lost some key bench pieces in free agency this summer, but did well to land Donte DiVincenzo (two years, $9.2MM; second-year player option) and JaMychal Green (one year, minimum salary) without breaking the bank. Both veterans are coming off down years, but have shown in previous seasons that they can be starter-caliber players.

Aaron Holiday (Hawks), Damian Jones (Lakers), T.J. Warren (Nets), and Robin Lopez (Cavaliers) are some of the other minimum-salary signings I liked.

What do you think? Which free agent signings do you think were this summer’s best bargains and will provide the most value going forward?

Although not much is known about the 2022/23 schedule, two Christmas Day games have already been leaked. According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Lakers are expected to visit the Mavericks for the holiday and the Warriors will host the Grizzlies.

All four teams are natural selections for the Christmas showcase, considering their popularity and talent level. LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Luka Doncic, Stephen Curry and Ja Morant should all be good for holiday ratings.

The NBA traditionally schedules five games for December 25, and it’s important to have a strong lineup this year because the league will be competing with three NFL games. With six slots left to fill, let’s look at some of the teams that will be under consideration.

As defending Eastern Conference champions, the Celtics seem like a lock for Christmas Day, as do the Heat, who lost in a seven-game conference finals. Both teams have last year’s lineups returning virtually intact and figure to be at the top of the East again.

The Sixers have perennial All-Stars in Joel Embiid and James Harden, while the Bucks are also a title contender and sport two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Knicks represent the league’s biggest television market and are in a strong position to trade for Donovan Mitchell. The Nets are the wild card in the East because of the uncertain future of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, who are a guaranteed ratings draw if they’re still on the team.

Out West, the Suns will get strong Christmas Day consideration after posting the league’s best record last season. The Clippers should be in the running if schedule makers expect Kawhi Leonard and Paul George to be fully recovered from last year’s injuries, and the Nuggets also have a two-time MVP in Nikola Jokic. A chance to showcase Zion Williamson could put the Pelicans in the running for a holiday game, while the young talent on the Timberwolves makes them an intriguing possibility as well.

We want to get your opinion. Which six teams would you add to the Christmas Day schedule and how would you match them up? Please leave your answer in the space below.

When we identified the top 50 highest-paid NBA players of 2022/23 on Thursday, four names on that list were free agents who signed new contracts this offseason. Those players, who received the four most lucrative free agent deals of 2022, are as follows:

• Bradley Beal, Wizards: Five years, $251,019,650. Fifth-year player option. 15% trade kicker. No-trade clause.
• Zach LaVine, Bulls: Five years, $215,159,700. Fifth-year player option. 15% trade kicker.
• Deandre Ayton, Suns: Four years, $132,929,128.
• Jalen Brunson, Knicks: Four years, $104,000,000. Fourth-year player option. 10% trade kicker.

As our tracker shows, five other 2022 free agents received multiyear contracts that will pay them at least $15MM per year. Here are those players, along with the details of their new deals:

• Anfernee Simons, Trail Blazers: Four years, $100,000,000.
• Luguentz Dort, Thunder: Five years, $82,500,000. Fifth-year team option. Includes $5MM in unlikely incentives.
• Jusuf Nurkic, Trail Blazers: Four years, $70,000,000.
• James Harden, Sixers: Two years, $68,640,000. Second-year player option. 15% trade kicker.
• Mitchell Robinson, Knicks: Four years, $60,000,000.

These nine contracts are what we’re considering the “big-money” deals of 2022 free agency. That term is subjective, but no other free agent received a contract worth more than $50MM in total, or with an annual average value of $15MM+, so these deals are in a class of their own.

With that in mind, we want to know which of this summer’s biggest free agent contracts you view as the best and worst values from a team perspective.

The Wizards have received some criticism not just for signing Beal to a contract exceeding $50MM per year but for handing him a series of perks that will give him significant leverage if the team wants to trade him down the road. But are there other contracts in the groups above that you’d consider even less team-friendly than Beal’s?

Harden, meanwhile, has been lauded for taking a pay cut that created the spending power necessary for the Sixers to sign P.J. Tucker and Danuel House, though his average salary ($34.32MM) is still the third-highest of any of this summer’s free agent deals. Does the short-term nature of that contract and his potential ceiling make it the most team-friendly contract of these nine, or is there another one you like more?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your two cents on this year’s best and worst big-money free agent signings!