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Northwest Rumors: Wolves, Gobert, Murray, Beasley, Brown, Micic

July 1st, 2022 at 12:55pm CST by Arthur Hill

Thursday’s agreement with Kyle Anderson will give the Timberwolves 15 players under contract, but they’re not done with offseason moves, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Minnesota remains in the market for another big man and has talked to the Jazz about Rudy Gobert, sources tell Krawczynski.

Although the Wolves used a first-round pick on Auburn’s Walker Kessler, they want to add a veteran center so there’s not too much pressure on Kessler to produce right away. They were interested in free agents JaVale McGee and Isaiah Hartenstein, but they both reached deals with other teams Thursday night.

Minnesota’s talks with Utah about Gobert began before the draft, but the Jazz are asking a lot in return for their perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate. If the Wolves can’t work out a trade for Gobert, Krawczynski cites the Pacers‘ Myles Turner and the Hawks‘ Clint Capela as other options, although he adds that Minnesota’s talks with Atlanta haven’t gotten very far.

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

  • The Timberwolves talked to the Spurs about Dejounte Murray but weren’t willing to meet the asking price, Krawczynski confirms. There was also skepticism that Murray would re-sign with Minnesota once his contract expires in two years.
  • Teams have been making calls to gather background info on Timberwolves wing Malik Beasley, but no deal is imminent, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. Beasley, who will make $15.45MM next season, carries a team option for his $16.52MM salary in 2023/24.
  • Bruce Brown possibly could have made more than the $13+ million he’ll receive from the Nuggets over the next two years, but he believes he’s entering a good situation in Denver, per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link). A source tells Reynolds that “fit” was more important to Brown than money.
  • Vasilije Micic‘s representatives are pressing the Thunder to trade him, but Oklahoma City isn’t willing to give the European star up cheaply, according to Aris Barkas of EuroHoops. The Nuggets, Bucks, Bulls and Spurs have all expressed interest in Micic, Barkas hears.
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Nuggets Sign Bruce Brown To Two-Year Deal

July 1st, 2022 at 9:25am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 7: The deal is now official, the Nuggets announced in a press release.

JULY 1: The Nuggets have reached an agreement to sign free agent wing Bruce Brown to a two-year, $13MM+ contract, according to Malika Andrews of ESPN (Twitter link). The deal will include a second-year player option, Andrews adds (via Twitter).

Denver appears likely to use the taxpayer portion of its mid-level exception to complete the signing — a two-year deal worth the full taxpayer MLE would come in at around $13.3MM.

Brown became eligible for unrestricted free agency this summer after accepting his $4.7MM qualifying offer from Brooklyn a year ago. He spent his first two NBA seasons in Detroit from 2018-20 and has been a Net for the last two years.

Brown does a little bit of everything on the court, playing and guarding multiple positions while providing some scoring (9.0 PPG), play-making (2.1 APG), rebounding (4.8 RPG), and even three-point shooting (40.4%) in 2021/22.

The 25-year-old is the type of player who doesn’t need the ball on offense and can switch onto virtually anyone defensively, making him an ideal fit for a Nuggets team that has been looking to upgrade its defense around stars Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Michael Porter Jr.

According to Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter link), the Nuggets had Brown high on their list of targets and love his defensive versatility. As Singer notes (via Twitter), it looks like Brown will essentially take Austin Rivers‘ place on the roster, since Denver now has a projected 14 players under contract for 2022/23, plus restricted free agent Vlatko Cancar.

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Trail Blazers Eyeing Gary Payton II, Bruce Brown

June 30th, 2022 at 11:01pm CST by Rory Maher

The Trail Blazers are pursuing free agent guard Gary Payton II with an offer in the range of $8MM, but there’s still mutual interested in a return to the Warriors, sources tell Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). Fischer adds that the Blazers are also eyeing Bruce Brown, another free agent guard, who has been with the Nets the last couple of seasons.

After bouncing between the G League and the NBA in his first five seasons and never finding a consistent home or role, Payton had a terrific season for the Warriors in 2021/22, appearing in 71 regular season games (16 starts) while averaging 7.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals on .616/.358/.603 shooting. Though he averaged only 17.6 minutes per night, his impact was clear when he had opportunities, showcasing jaw-dropping athleticism, a knack for the ball, hustle, and excellent defense.

The 29-year-old played a key role during Golden State’s championship run, averaging 7.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.6 steals in five Finals contests (18.5 minutes per night) after returning from a fractured left elbow. In his first six playoff games (18 minutes) prior to the injury, he averaged 7.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1 steal on .727/.750/.667 shooting.

Like Payton, Brown is one of the better perimeter defenders in the league, and the Nets trading for Royce O’Neale was viewed as an indication that Brown was unlikely to return to Brooklyn. In 71 regular season games (24.6 minutes) last season, Brown averaged 9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals on .506/.404/.758 shooting.

Despite being swept by the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs, Brown was arguably Brooklyn’s most consistent postseason performer, averaging 14 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.3 steals on .568/.429/.800 shooting.

Anthony Slater and Sam Amick of The Athletic report that both Kevon Looney and Payton are searching for more money than the Warriors are willing to offer, thus increasing the chances that Payton, in particular, bolts in free agency. Both players want to return to Golden State, but at the right price, which is where the separation currently exists, according to The Athletic’s duo.

The chance of a reunion between Otto Porter and the Warriors is still possible, per Slater and Amick, who say that Porter is contemplating whether to return on a minimum deal or take a larger offer elsewhere.

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And-Ones: CBA, Top FAs, Trade Value Ranks, Rookies

June 8th, 2022 at 1:17pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association are meeting in Boston on Wednesday to discuss the Collective Bargaining Agreement, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

As Wojnarowski explains, the league and union both have the ability to opt out of the current CBA this December, so the two sides are having a preliminary meeting as they prepare to engage in more serious talks about a new CBA in the coming months.

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

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Nets Notes: Claxton, Brown, Van Gundy, Dinwiddie

May 22nd, 2022 at 10:57am CST by Arthur Hill

The Nets are prepared to match any offer to keep restricted free agent Nic Claxton, according to a report from Heavy.com. A second-round pick in 2019, the 23-year-old center will be on the market this summer after spending three years in Brooklyn. He averaged 8.7 points and 5.6 rebounds this season, mostly in a backup role, and his numbers have improved each year.

An Eastern Conference general manager told Sean Deveney that there’s interest in Claxton on the open market, speculating that the Hornets or Bulls might give him an offer above the mid-level exception, possibly around $35MM over three years.

“(The Nets) are not sold on him as the big guy of the future but at that number, they’d keep him around, and know they can move him in a deal next summer if they have something better in mind,” the GM said. “Trouble is, they’ve got a short window here so they can’t wait for him too long. But (Brooklyn GM Sean Marks) is a believer in development and they are not going to give up on him that fast.”

There’s more on the Nets:

  • The Celtics could be Brooklyn’s main competition for free agent Bruce Brown, Deveney adds in a separate story. Brown will be unrestricted after accepting the Nets’ qualifying offer last summer, and Boston coach Ime Udoka got to know him while serving as an assistant coach for Brooklyn last season. “He might be out of their price range in the end and maybe he goes back to Brooklyn,” a rival executive told Deveney, “but Ime was an assistant there and we’ve seen that carries some weight with who they bring in. He was good in that Celtics series. If he can’t get a big offer, they could sneak in with him on a one-and-one (one year, with a player option) deal and put him to good use.”
  • Former NBA coach and current TNT broadcaster Stan Van Gundy believes the Nets have to overcome trust issues to be successful next season, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Brooklyn has a talented roster, but Van Gundy hasn’t seen the cohesion necessary to win in the playoffs. “Over time … are guys going to look around and really have trust for other guys? Or will they be looking around saying, ‘You know what, that dude is going to let us down. I know he is. We can’t count on him,’” Van Gundy said. “And so they’ve got a lot to overcome in that way, which I think may even be more important than the talent they put out on the floor.”
  • In another story, Lewis retraces the fall of the Nets’ Big Three and suggests that things may have gone differently if Spencer Dinwiddie hadn’t been injured. Dinwiddie underwent knee surgery on January 4, 2021, and Brooklyn traded for James Harden nine days later.
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Atlantic Notes: Tatum, Irving, Brown, Knicks Draft

May 14th, 2022 at 11:05am CST by Dana Gauruder

When the Celtics signed Jayson Tatum to a five-year max extension in November 2020, they were looking for him to deliver superstar performances in the postseason. He did just that in Game 6 against Milwaukee on Friday, Jared Weiss of The Athletic writes. Tatum saved Boston’s season and forced a Game 7 with his 46-point outburst.

“It’s why he gets paid the big bucks. That’s it right there, for moments like that,” Celtics guardMarcus Smart said. “I was telling him the whole game, ‘Just be you, man,’ and he was. That’s what he gets paid to do. That’s what we lean on him to do.”

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

  • Kyrie Irving‘s tumultuous season will apparently cost him a lucrative sponsorship. Nike is unlikely to extend Irving’s signature shoe contract beyond next season, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Adrian Wojnarowski report. The Nets guard has had a business relationship with the company since 2014. It’s still expected Nike will offer some product associated with him in the future, such as retro shoes from previous collections.
  • Re-signing free agent Bruce Brown for anything less than $10MM should be a priority for the Nets, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic. Hollinger also believes Brooklyn will defer the first-round pick Philadelphia owes them until next year in order to retain its flexibility on trades. Hollinger and Alex Schiffer explore the Nets’ offseason extension and free agent decisions in this analysis piece.
  • With the lottery approaching on Tuesday, Fred Katz of The Athletic looks at five mock draft scenarios for the Knicks, depending upon where they end up in the first round.
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Nets Notes: Irving, Tsai, Brown, Simmons

April 30th, 2022 at 9:41pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Nets won’t have much leverage in negotiations with Kyrie Irving if he decides to opt out of his contract for next season and seek a five-year maximum deal worth nearly $250MM, writes Sean Deveney of Heavy. The option year was used to attract Irving in 2019 when he came to Brooklyn along with Kevin Durant and DeAndre Jordan to turn around a struggling franchise.

However, the results have been mixed over the the past three years, with just one playoff series win and several incidents that call into question the wisdom of a long-term deal for Irving, who played just 29 games this season because of his refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

Deveney expects the Nets to drop public hints that they’re unsure about giving Irving a full max contract, hoping to convince him to opt in for next season or negotiate an extension for less money. However, Deveney believes Irving’s representatives would see that as a bluff and would insist on getting maximum value.

Brooklyn officials have a pattern of allowing Irving to do whatever he wants, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said in an appearance this week on “NBA Today” (video link). He points out that the team was originally unwilling to accept Irving as a part-time player and got off to a 21-9 start without him. The trajectory of the season changed when the front office reversed that decision.

There’s more from Brooklyn:

  • The Nets and Barclays Center suffered losses this season estimated between $50MM and $100MM, a source tells Brian Lewis of The New York Post. That led owner Joe Tsai to force out John Abbamondi, the CEO of Brooklyn Sports Entertainment, which oversees both operations, and he’s now seeking his third top executive in less than three years. Although the Nets set records for attendance, they don’t have enough other revenue to support their $174MM payroll.
  • After a strong second half and an impressive performance in the playoffs, Bruce Brown may be able to land a contract starting in the $8-10MM range, Lewis adds in a separate story. Brown will be an unrestricted free agent after accepting the team’s $4.7MM qualifying offer last summer.
  • Brooklyn may have no other choice than to keep Ben Simmons and see how he can fit into the team next season, according to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer. Teams were hesitant to make offers to the Sixers prior to the deadline, and there are even more doubts about Simmons’ condition after he failed to play at all for the Nets.
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Nets Notes: Irving, Brown, Simmons, Draft Picks, Durant, Nash

April 25th, 2022 at 10:04pm CST by Dana Gauruder

After the Nets got swept out of the playoffs by the Celtics on Monday night, Kyrie Irving said he plans on remaining in Brooklyn. Irving can become an unrestricted free agent if he declines his $36.9MM option. Whether he opts in or negotiates a new free agent contract, Irving doesn’t see himself playing elsewhere, Brian Lewis of the New York Post tweets.

“In terms of my extension, man, I don’t really plan on going anywhere,” he said. “So this is just added motivation for our franchise to be at the top of the league for the next few years.”

Irving made an eyebrow-raising comment that he and Kevin Durant will essentially work in tandem with owner Joe Tsai and GM Sean Marks to improve the team, Scott Cacciola of the New York Times tweets.

“When I say I’m here with Kev, I think that really entails us managing this franchise together alongside Joe and Sean,” he said.

We have more on the Nets:

  • Swingman Bruce Brown is heading toward unrestricted free agency and was noncommittal about his plans, Lewis tweets. The Nets hold his Bird rights. “The season just ended; I’m not thinking about it,” Brown said. “If there’s a chance to stay, we’ll talk about it. But we’ll see.”
  • Ben Simmons wasn’t even at the arena when the Nets’ season ended. After promising reports that he’d make his team debut on Monday, Simmons didn’t play due to “physical and mental issues.” He wasn’t in the building due to his back ailment, Howard Beck of Sports Illustrated tweets.
  • Some league executives are skeptical of Simmons’ mental health claims, according to Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com. “To me, that’s the only untouchable excuse that they could have to get his money back (from the Sixers),” a source told Bulpett. There’s also skepticism that any head coach can get through to him. “He’s been enabled his entire life. He’s very aloof,” the source told Bulpett. “He’s a great player, but it’s all the extra stuff that no one’s held him accountable for, that’s just made it difficult.”
  • The Nets hold the Sixers’ 2022 and 2027 first-round picks and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski believes there’s a good chance they’ll move them to upgrade the roster, NetsDaily.com relays. “Ultimately, they may never use a player from those draft picks. They’re going to be trade assets,” he said.
  • Durant said coach Steve Nash remains the right man for the job, Lewis tweets. “Steve has been dealt a crazy hand the last two years, he’s been having to deal with so much stuff as a head coach for the first time, COVID, trades,” Durant said. “I’m proud of his passion for us.”
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Nets Notes: Durant, Irving, Nash, Brown

April 24th, 2022 at 8:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Kevin Durant was left searching for answers after another frustrating offensive performance Saturday left the Nets in a 3-0 playoff hole, writes Nick Friedell of ESPN. Durant, who is shooting 19-of-52 against the Celtics’ relentless defense, thought he might have overcompensated to Boston’s focus on him. He handed out eight assists, but only took 11 shots and finished with 16 points.

“I feel like the first two games I was trying to be too aggressive,” Durant said. “A team that’s loading up on me, that’s trying to take me out of all my actions. I felt like I was still trying to force the first two games and watching film, a lot of my teammates were open and they were knocking down shots, so I felt my approach to this game was to play off of everybody — get in the flow of the offense and let the ball move and find me.”

The Celtics have taken a physical approach with Durant and are using multiple defenders to keep him off balance. He played at an MVP level in March and April, averaging 30 points per night to help Brooklyn climb into the seventh seed, but has been limited to 22 PPG in the first three games of the series. Now he faces a monumental task just to get the Nets out of the first round.

“Man, we know what it is,” Durant said. “I don’t think no speech or anything will do it at this part of the year. You know what it is — we down 3-0. … On Monday, we’ll come out and play.”

There’s more from Brooklyn:

  • The chaos that surrounded the Nets all season might be catching up with them, suggests Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports. Between Kyrie Irving‘s long absence due to the vaccine mandate, the James Harden trade that shook up the roster at midseason and Durant’s injury, Brooklyn had little chance to develop into a cohesive unit. “We’re all trying to jell and usually you’re jelling around the right time,” Irving said. “And that team in the other locker room is jelling at the right time, been jelling since Christmas. We’re just in a new experience as a group, and we have to respect that.”
  • Steve Nash has been badly outcoached by Ime Udoka, argues Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. Mannix notes that the Nets’ offense features constant isolations with very little movement, and when they do force switches the Celtics are able to adapt quickly. He also questions whether Nash will return next season if things don’t turn around quickly.
  • One bright spot for Brooklyn has been Bruce Brown, who led the team in scoring Saturday with 26 points. He took the rare gamble during the offseason of accepting a $4.7MM qualifying offer and now is in position to cash in as an unrestricted free agent, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. The Nets own his Bird rights and can go over the cap to keep him.
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Atlantic Notes: B. Brown, Nets, Celtics, Rivers, Joerger

April 13th, 2022 at 10:04am CST by Luke Adams

After Brooklyn defeated Cleveland on Tuesday to secure the No. 7 seed and lock in a first-round matchup against Boston, Nets guard Bruce Brown expressed confidence about how the team matches up against the Celtics.

“They don’t have Robert Williams, so they have less of a presence in the paint,” Brown said, per Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. “We can attack Al Horford and (Daniel) Theis. Them not having Robert Williams is huge.”

Although Brown expressed a little enthusiasm about how the Nets could attack the Celtics’ defense, his comments weren’t especially spicy — it’s not as if he was guaranteeing a series win. Still, his star teammate Kevin Durant wasn’t thrilled about Brown giving any extra bulletin-board material to their first-round opponents.

“That’s caffeine pride talking, taking some before the game,” Durant said when he addressed reporters following Brown’s media session. “Them two dudes (Horford and Theis) can do the same stuff (as Williams). It ain’t going to be that easy, I’ll tell you that.”

Asked why Brown’s comments rubbed him the wrong way, Durant explained that the Nets “respect their opponents,” as Nick Friedell of ESPN relays.

“We don’t need to talk about what we’re going to do to them,” Durant said. “I just don’t like that, but that’s how Bruce is. He comes in and keeps the same energy throughout the whole season so — but we don’t need to say s–t like that. Let’s just go out there and hoop.”

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

  • In an in-depth Insider-only story, Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN traces the evolution of the Nets from the young upstart team coached by Kenny Atkinson to the current veteran-heavy squad seeking a championship. Sources tell Arnovitz, whose feature includes several behind-the-scenes tidbits from over the years, that the disconnect between James Harden and the Nets began when the former MVP showed up to training camp out of shape, which irked Kevin Durant.
  • Multiple recent reports have identified Doc Rivers as a possible candidate for the Lakers‘ head coaching job, but the Sixers head coach dismissed those rumors on Tuesday and said he and his staff are happy with in Philadelphia. “I have a job,” Rivers said (Twitter link via Tom Moore of The Bucks County Courier Times). “We want to win here.”
  • Sixers assistant Dave Joerger was away from the team for over two months this season, leaving in November to undergo cancer treatments before returning to the bench on a full-time basis in February. Speaking to Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Joerger opened up on what he has gone through in the last year. “Where I’ve been, it runs the gamut,” he said. “There’s times you feel, ‘This is not going to stop me. There’s nothing that can stop me. I’ve got such a great support system,’ and then there’s times you just don’t know if you can go on anymore. Physically, mentally, it’s like, ‘This hurts.’ It’s given me a great appreciation for all the gifts and all the things that we have been given.”
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