Andrew Nicholson

Nets Notes: Lopez, Lin, Dinwiddie, Nicholson, McDaniels

Nets GM Sean Marks spoke to the press about Brooklyn’s trade deadline activity. While the team held onto Brook Lopez and Trevor Booker (each of whom have another year left on their contract), Marks was involved in a few lower-profile transactions.

“We’re very familiar with Andrew [Nicholson]…he’s a system fit for us,” Marks said. “He’s a stellar young man and another guy with high character and that’s exactly we’re trying to do.”

The Nets acquired Nicholson along with a first-round pick and Marcus Thornton (who was subsequently waived) in exchange for Bojan Bogdanovic and Chris McCullough. Bogdanovic performed well for the 9-47 Nets, but was a restricted free agent-to-be, and was dealt for an invaluable draft pick. Marks spoke about his team’s position in the upcoming draft.

“Now having two first round picks, it all helps,” Marks said. “It helps give us another vehicle where were can be systematic with the draft and see what happens. We obviously value the draft or we wouldn’t have done it. It’s about being strategic and having two picks now gives us an opportunity to move up with those picks, you can hold them where you are if your players are there at the time.”

More from Brooklyn…

  • One of the reasons Marks held onto Lopez at the deadline was to see how well he played with Jeremy Lin, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. Lin has been limited to just 13 games this season due to injury, and hasn’t had an opportunity to be properly assessed by coach Kenny Atkinson. “To have a healthy Jeremy and a healthy Brook out there together with this team, it’ll be nice to evaluate that,” Marks said. “It’s something we started the season off with, and unfortunately, we only got a handful of games under our belt seeing that. We all know what those two bring to the table: They lift everybody else’s play.”
  • Nick Kosmider of the Denver Post profiled Spencer Dinwiddie, a former collegiate star at University of Colorado Boulder. Dinwiddie suffered a torn ACL during his junior year at CU, falling to the second round of the 2014 NBA Draft. Still just 23 years old, Dinwiddie has averaged more than 20 MPG for the first time in his career with Brooklyn. “He’s steadily getting better,” Atkinson said of Dinwiddie. “He played pretty well before the all-star break, started shooting it better and getting to the rim. We like his defense. He’s been a pleasant surprise, quite honestly.
  • Nicholson and K.J. McDaniels– each acquired at the deadline- are ready to step in right now for the rebuilding Nets. “I feel like it’s a great opportunity for me,” McDaniels told Greg Logan of Newsday“I’ll be able to show Brooklyn what I do, and play both ends of the court and just try to bring energy.” McDaniels’ acquisition was commended by writers across the league. Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post gave the trade an “A” grade, describing the transaction as low-risk, high-reward. “If he doesn’t do anything, the Nets can simply decline his option for next season. If he does something, then it’s found money. For a team with no talent or assets to speak of, it’s a good move to make — and saves them money to boot, as they were below the salary floor.”
  • Dan Favale of Bleacher Report echoed Bontemps’ sentiments, praising Marks for taking a flier on McDaniels. “Getting K.J. McDaniels for absolutely nothing is a great encore to parlaying Bojan Bogdanovic and Chris McCullough into Andrew Nicholson and a first-round pick,” Favale wrote. “Although McDaniels is beyond raw, he has the length and lateral gait to be a lockdown defender across all wing positions.”

Nets Trade Bojan Bogdanovic To Wizards

7:53 PM: The trade is official, according to a Nets’ press release.

3:01 PM: The Nets and Wizards have agreed to a deal that will send Bojan Bogdanovic to Washington, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter). Wojnarowski had previously identified the Wizards and Kings as teams with interest in the Brooklyn sharpshooter.Bojan Bogdanovic horizontal

In exchange for Bogdanovic and Chris McCullough, who will also head to Washington in the deal, the Nets will receive Andrew Nicholson, Marcus Thornton, and the Wizards’ 2017 first-round pick, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter links). The pick will be lottery protected, per ESPN’s Zach Lowe (Twitter link).

Bogdanovic, who will turn 28 in April, was the 31st overall pick in the 2011 draft and eventually arrived stateside to join the Nets in 2014. The 6’8″ forward is is enjoying a career year this season, with 14.2 PPG and a .357 3PT% in 55 games so far.

Although Bogdanovic is on an expiring deal, he’ll be eligible for restricted – rather than unrestricted – free agency this summer. His matching rights will now be held by the Wizards, rather than by Brooklyn, and that has some value. The Nets know first-hand that it can be difficult to steal an RFA away from another team — the club had offer sheets for Allen Crabbe, Tyler Johnson, and Donatas Motiejunas matched in 2016.

Depending on whether the Wizards want to commit to Bogdanovic beyond the 2016/17 season, they may have to worry about re-signing two key RFAs in the summer, as Otto Porter is also on track for restricted free agency.

From the Nets’ perspective, the club gets another first-round pick in what’s expected to be a deep and talented draft. That probably makes the deal a win for GM Sean Marks, even though the Wizards’ pick currently projects to fall just 24th overall, as our reverse standings show. The Nets, of course, don’t have their own first-rounder, but they’ll also get Boston’s pick, setting them up for two selections in the 20s.

As for the financial details of the trade, the Nets had been well below the salary floor, but they’ll inch about $2.3MM closer to that mark by taking on Nicholson and Thornton, who combine to earn more than $7MM. Meanwhile, the Wizards will cut costs a little by taking on Bogdanovic ($3.57MM) and McCullough ($1.19MM). Washington should also be able to create a traded player exception in the deal worth about $2.5MM.

While Bogdanovic and Thornton are free agents at season’s end, Nicholson and McCullough are controllable through the 2018/19 season. McCullough will be eligible for restricted free agency in the summer of ’19, while Nicholson has a player option for the ’19/20 season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Southeast Notes: Porter, Heat, Plumlee, Magic

The Wizards may not be finished dealing after a multi-player trade with the Nets this afternoon, tweets Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post. Washington will continue to look for help through Thursday’s trade deadline at 3 p.m. Eastern. Today’s deal, which sent Andrew Nicholson, Marcus Thornton and this year’s first-rounder to Brooklyn in exchange for Bojan Bogdanovic and Chris McCullough, clears cap space to help the Wizards re-sign Otto Porter this summer, notes David Aldridge of TNT (Twitter link). Nicholson, who had fallen out of the rotation in Washington, still has three seasons and nearly $20MM left on his contract.

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

  • Bogdanovic has a 15% trade kicker, notes Bobby Marks of The Vertical (Twitter link). That amounts to $157K, which Brooklyn will pay, but his cap hit for the Wizards is now $3.73MM.
  • The Heat will avoid any deadline moves that would tie up their future cap space, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. That makes them unlikely to pursue the Nuggets’ Wilson Chandler or the Nets’ Trevor Booker, who both have contracts that extend beyond this season. Jackson cites a rival GM who has spoken to Miami about a deal and believes “they seem content to stand pat.”
  • Miami expects to have Josh Richardson back in the lineup for Friday’s game, according to a tweet from the team. A foot injury has kept him out of the lineup since January 8th. “He’s had a healthy approach the last 4-5 weeks to prepare,” said coach Erik Spoelstra. Justise Winslow won’t be back this season, but he is making progress from shoulder surgery, the Heat noted (Twitter link), as his sling has been removed.
  • Hornets center Miles Plumlee will be out of action for at least two weeks with a right calf strain, the team posted on its website. An MRI revealed the second-degree strain, and Plumlee will be re-evaluated in 14 days. He has played just five games for Charlotte since being acquired from the Bucks in a February 2nd trade.
  • Despite a 21-37 record, the Magic have no plans to tank the rest of the season, according to Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando is currently fourth in our Reverse Standings and would have an 11.9% chance of winning the lottery. Coach Frank Vogel believes it would be a mistake to try to improve those odds by losing on purpose. “As a coach, you worry about one thing, and that’s getting a group of guys that haven’t won in five years to learn how to win,” Vogel said. “That’s more important than any one player you can add.”

Hoops Links: Lowry, Embiid, Antetokounmpo, Porzingis, Nicholson

On Sundays, we link to some of the very best work from around the basketball blogosphere. Do you have a link to a great basketball blog post – either your own or someone else’s – that you want to see featured on Hoops Rumors? Send it to us at HoopsLinks@gmail.com. Here’s this week’s rundown:

Southeast Notes: Bazemore, Rudez, Wizards

As an unrestricted free agent this summer, Kent Bazemore drew serious interest from the Rockets and other teams, but ultimately re-signed with the Hawks on a four-year, $70MM contract. While Bazemore recognizes that there’s added pressure now that he’s on a lucrative new deal, he intends to get even better, telling Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he’s aiming to make the NBA’s All-Defensive team.

“I think, for me, if I do that then the [Hawks] will be in a great spot,” Bazemore said. “There are some very special teams this year with some very special players. If I can do well against them, we’ll have a great chance to win. … I’ve got to add to my Lefty Driesell Award from college. I’ve got a big gap in my defensive awards. I’ve got to put something else on the shelf.”

Here’s more from out of the Southeast:

  • As Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel details, the Magic kept two players on non-guaranteed contracts on their regular-season roster, including Damjan Rudez, who is thrilled to have made the team. According to Robbins, head coach Frank Vogel lobbied team executives to give the veteran forward a chance to earn a spot on the 15-man squad.
  • There were offseason rumblings about a potentially contentious on-court relationship between Wizards guards John Wall and Bradley Beal, but the backcourt duo is on the same page to open the season, per The Associated Press.
  • Andrew Nicholson could turn out to be one of the major free agent bargains of the summer for the Wizards, writes J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic.com.

And-Ones: Rose, Crawford, Rudez

Derrick Rose‘s civil trial concluded today and the eight-member jury found Rose and his two friends not liable for damages stemming from an alleged sexual assault. The Knicks excused Rose from team activities during the trial and he will likely rejoin them later this week, A. Sherrod Blakely of Comcast Sportsnet writes. However, there is no definite timetable for Rose to return to the lineup, as the team doesn’t want to rush him back and risk injury.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • The Grand Rapids Drive, the D-League affiliate of the Pistons, has acquired the rights to Jordan Crawford from the Mad Ants in exchange for the No. 6 overall pick in the D-League draft, Chris Reichert of Upside Motor reports (Twitter links). Reichert adds that Crawford will actually play for the Drive to begin the season.
  • Damjan Rudez is likely to make the Magic’s opening night roster, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel notes. Coach Frank Vogel, who coached Rudez during his time in Indiana, lobbied for the team to invite the big man to training camp. “There’s so many spread fours out there that are making big bucks,” Vogel said. “[We had] an opportunity maybe to get him without paying a huge contract, but you get the same value as some of these Channing Frye, Ryan Anderson types.” Orlando has 13 players with guaranteed deals and 16 total player under contract, as the team’s depth chart at Roster Resource indicates.
  • The Wizards are impressed by Andrew Nicholson‘s game so far during the preseason, Candace Buckner of The Washington Post writes. “He gets buckets,” Thornton said of Nicholson. “You throw it down to him, 90 to 95 percent of the time it’s going to be a foul or a bucket. We joke around about that every day. We call him a ‘walking bucket.’” Coach Scott Brooks called Nicholson “very fundamental sound” and added that the big man simply isn’t going to make many mistakes. The 26-year-old power forward signed a four-year, $26MM deal with the team during the offseason.

Andrew Nicholson To Sign With Wizards

Apr 1, 2016; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Orlando Magic forward Andrew Nicholson (44) shoots during the first quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Jeff Hanisch / USA TODAY Sports Images

Andrew Nicholson will sign a four-year, $26MM deal with the Wizards, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. He will have a player option on his final season, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.

The 26-year-old power forward became an unrestricted free agent this week when the Magic elected not to submit a qualifying offer. He spent four years in Orlando and averaged 6.9 points and 3.6 rebounds in 56 games this season.

The Wizards are in need of big men, entering free agency with only center Marcin Gortat and power forward Markieff Morris signed for next season. They reached an agreement with Pacers center Ian Mahinmi on Saturday.

 

And-Ones: Parsons, Humphries, Bass, Howard

Unrestricted free agent Kris Humphries, who split time last season between the Wizards, Suns and Hawks, is one of the players the Celtics are considering making a run at this offseason, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com relays (on Twitter). The Hawks, Nets, Wolves, Spurs and Hornets are also interested in the big man, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets.

With free agency now underway, here’s the latest happening from around the league:

  • The Trail Blazers intend to make a strong push to ink both Chandler Parsons and Dwight Howard this offseason, Jason Quick of CSNNW.com tweets. Parsons and Howard were former teammates with the Rockets and have remained friends, the scribe notes.
  • The Hawks made a strong impression on Howard during their meeting with him today, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical tweets. The scribe adds that the possibility of D12 joining Atlanta is gaining traction.
  • The Warriors are looking to bolster their bench and have expressed interest in unrestricted free agent Andrew Nicholson, who spent the past four seasons with the Magic, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders relays (Twitter link).
  • Former Wyoming head coach Larry Shyatt is joining Rick Carlisle‘s staff with the Mavericks, Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com tweets.
  • Former Nets forward Sergey Karasev signed a three-year deal with the Russian club BC Zenit Saint Petersburg, the team announced (translation by Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). The 22-year-old made 40 appearances for Brooklyn this season and averaged 2.4 points and 1.5 rebounds in 10.0 per contest while shooting .405/.297/.929 from the field.
  • Former Wizards forward Chris Singleton has signed with the Greek club Panathinaikos, international journalist David Pick relays (via Twitter). Singleton last appeared in the NBA during the 2013/14 season.
  • The Wolves have reached out to free agent power forward Brandon Bass to gauge interest, Darren Wolfson of 1500ESPN tweets.
  • With the Pacers reportedly reaching an agreement with Al Jefferson, unrestricted free agent big man Ian Mahinmi won’t be returning to the team next season, Nate Taylor of The Indianapolis Star relays (via Twitter).
  • The Mavericks have no immediate plans to target Bismack Biyombo or Howard after missing out on Hassan Whiteside, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com relays (ESPN Now link).

Magic Won’t Extend QO To Andrew Nicholson

The Magic will not extend a qualifying offer to Andrew Nicholson before this week’s deadline, meaning the 26-year-old will hit the open market as an unrestricted free agent rather than as an RFA, reports Zach Lowe of ESPN.com (via Twitter).

Nicholson, the 19th overall pick in the 2012 draft, had a solid rookie season in Orlando, averaging 7.8 points and 3.4 rebounds in 16.7 minutes per game, with a .527 FG%. However, his role didn’t increase at all over the course of the next three seasons, and he has yet to repeat his PPG and FG% marks from that rookie year.

If the Magic had elected to make Nicholson a restricted free agent, it would have meant extending him a qualifying offer worth about $3.395MM, and it would have given the team the opportunity to match any offer sheet he signed with another team. Instead, Nicholson will be free to sign anywhere. His cap hold of approximately $5.951MM will still apply to Orlando’s books until the team renounces his rights or he signs a new contract.

While Nicholson won’t exactly be one of the most-coveted free agents on the market in July, he may draw interest from teams that believe he can be used better than he was in Orlando. After shooting no three-pointers in his rookie year, Nicholson did try to develop a long-distance shot in subsequent seasons — he made 41 of 114 three-point attempts (36.0%) in 2015/16, which could appeal to potential suitors.

Southeast Notes: Dedmon, Wizards, Sefolosha

It’s no secret that the Magic are poised to make a qualifying offer to retain the right to match competing bids for Evan Fournier this summer, but they’re also likely to make a qualifying offer, worth nearly $1.216MM, to Dewayne Dedmon, too, according to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. It’s unclear whether that’ll be the case with Andrew Nicholson, the other Magic player eligible for restricted free agency, Robbins writes. Nicholson, a former 19th overall pick, has yet to have a breakout season, but Robbins identifies Brandon Jennings, set for unrestricted free agency, as the soon-to-be Orlando free agent who’s had the roughest year. “It’s definitely going to be a big summer for me,” Jennings said. “I definitely would’ve wished things would’ve went a little differently, but they didn’t with the trade. So I guess I just have to take it for what it is this summer. Actually, the positive side of it is I get a whole summer. I get a whole three, four months just to get ready and play basketball all summer, work on my game, work on my body.”

See more from the Southeast Division:

  • Questions about commitment dogged the Wizards this season, one in which the team’s soon-to-be free agents have known they’re essentially rentals amid plans to open cap space to chase Kevin Durant this summer, writes Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post. That plus defensive regression, a new and ill-fitting perimeter-oriented attack, the uncertain status of coach Randy Wittman, a lack of leadership and injuries combined to doom the team this season, Castillo observes.
  • Thabo Sefolosha filed a civil suit this week against five New York City police officers and the city, as expected, notes Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com. It stems from the incident a year ago today in which Sefolosha emerged with a broken leg after a scuffle with police. The suit levies charges of false arrest, excessive force, malicious prosecution and false imprisonment, and it alleges the incident was a “a racial matter,” as Arnovitz relays. It also claims the encounter and injury jeopardized and shortened his basketball career and negatively affected the market value for his services, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. Sefolosha, who saw an increased role for the Hawks this season in the wake of DeMarre Carroll‘s departure, is under contract for next season at $3.85MM.
  • Tyler Johnson wouldn’t guarantee he’d return this season in the immediate wake of surgery on his left rotator cuff in early February, but this week he pegged his chances of returning for regular season games at a minimum of 70%, notes Jason Lieser of the Miami Herald. The Heat, who are reportedly planning to fill their two open roster spots by Wednesday’s deadline to sign players, have four regular season games left.