Day’Ron Sharpe

Nets Notes: Claxton, Simmons, Thomas, Lawson

October 22nd, 2024 at 12:19pm CST by Luke Adams

Sixth-year center Nic Claxton will enter the 2024/25 season as the Nets‘ longest-tenured player. Although he’s still just 25 years old, he’s ready to take on the challenge of being a veteran leader on a Brooklyn roster that features 10 players younger than him, as Peter Botte of The New York Post writes.

“I had a lot of really good vets since I’ve been in the league, and I’ve been able to soak up a lot of knowledge from a lot of different players (and) coaches,” Claxton said on Monday. “DeAndre Jordan, Blake (Griffin), KD (Kevin Durant), Kyrie (Irving), James (Harden), Caris (LeVert), It’s so many dudes and I’m a sponge. I’m always just listening, and I remember things. So just using what I’ve learned from those guys and from all the things that I’ve seen out there on the court, helping others, and also just taking my game to another level.”

Claxton missed the entire preseason due to a hamstring injury, but he went through a full practice on Monday and said he’ll be “ready to go” for the season opener in Atlanta on Wednesday, according to Botte. Head coach Jordi Fernandez declined to say whether or not his starting center will be on a minutes restriction to open the season.

“That’s a good question and I’m not answering for obvious reasons because I’m not giving out secrets, but he’s doing very well,” Fernandez said. “We’re very happy with where he’s at physically right now. Health is the No. 1 priority for us and he’s done a really good job.”

Here’s more on Claxton and the Nets:

After signing a four-year, $97MM contract as a free agent in July, Claxton said he feels like a “weight has been lifted” from his shoulders entering this fall, per Botte. “It’s my first time I feel like I’m not worried about the contract, I’m not worrying that I need to stay healthy, I just need to go out here and just have fun playing the game of basketball,” Claxton said. “I just wanna feel like a kid again and just enjoy this with a younger group.”
The Nets’ front office is trying to tank, their new head coach is looking to build a winning culture, and many of their players will enter the year with something to prove, Brian Lewis writes for the New York Post (subscription required) in a preview of Brooklyn’s season. Figuring out who will and won’t be able to achieve those seemingly contradictory goals will go a long way toward determining what sort of year it will be in Brooklyn, as Lewis details.
Lewis also published a Nets season preview for non-subscribers of The Post, posing five burning questions for the team, including whether Ben Simmons can stay healthy and whether Cam Thomas can establish himself as a franchise cornerstone. Lewis’ preview includes several other predictions for the season and suggests the most important decision Brooklyn makes in 2024/25 will be determining who to trade — and when.
Former Mavericks guard A.J. Lawson, who was waived by Dallas (twice) ahead of the regular season, is expected to join the Long Island Nets, Brooklyn’s G League affiliate, for the start of the 2024/25 campaign, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Lawson appeared in a total of 56 NBA games for the Mavericks during his two seasons with the team, including 42 in 2023/24. He averaged 3.4 points and 1.3 rebounds in 7.4 minutes per contest and posted a shooting line of .457/.307/.548 at the NBA level.
Day’Ron Sharpe (hamstring), Trendon Watford (hamstring), and Bojan Bogdanovic (foot) are expected to be the only Nets players not available for the regular season opener on Wednesday, tweets Lewis. Everyone else should be available.
In case you missed it, three Nets – Thomas, Sharpe, and Ziaire Williams – were among the 13 players eligible for rookie scale extensions who didn’t sign new contracts ahead of Monday’s deadline and are now on track for free agency in 2025.

Extension Rumors: Nets, Hyland, Mitchell

October 21st, 2024 at 1:57pm CST by Rory Maher

Three Nets players — Cam Thomas, Day’Ron Sharpe and Ziaire Williams — are eligible for rookie scale extensions until Monday at 5:00 pm CT. Sources tell Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter link) that none of the three are expected to reach agreements, which means the trio will hit restricted free agency next summer if they receive qualifying offers.

Thomas, who turned 23 years old last week, led Brooklyn in scoring last season (22.5 PPG) and could see his role expand further after the Nets traded Mikal Bridges in the offseason. Sharpe has spent most of the past three seasons as Brooklyn’s backup center, while former lottery pick Williams was acquired in an offseason trade with Memphis (it was a salary dump for the Grizzlies).

The Nets project to be one of the few teams with significant cap room in 2025 free agency, so Lewis’ report isn’t exactly surprising, but it’s certainly noteworthy that they seem to be aiming to preserve as much financial flexibility as possible heading into the 2025/26 league year.

Here are a couple more rookie scale extension rumors heading into today’s deadline:

Fourth-year guard Bones Hyland will not be signing an extension with the Clippers, according to NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link). Hyland only appeared in 37 games last season, posting career lows in most major statistics, and was reportedly unhappy with his limited role. He’ll earn $4.16MM in ’24/25 ahead of possible restricted free agency next summer.
The Raptors and point guard Davion Mitchell are not expected to reach an agreement on an extension, tweets Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. The No. 9 overall pick of the 2021 draft, Mitchell was sent to Toronto from Sacramento in a salary-dump deal over the offseason. As Grange observes, holding off on a new contract makes some sense for both parties — Mitchell will get a chance to prove his value, while the Raptors will get a full season to evaluate whether the former Baylor star should be in their plans going forward. Like the other players mentioned, Mitchell will be a RFA in 2025 if he’s tendered a qualifying offer.

Kuminga, Suggs, Giddey Among Extension Candidates Seeking $30MM+ Annually

October 19th, 2024 at 10:43am CST by Tristan Tucker

The deadline for teams to sign players to rookie scale contract extensions falls on Monday and will force several clubs to make tough decisions.

The Warriors have two players under consideration for rookie scale extensions: Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody. As we relayed Friday evening, Moody appears more likely than Kuminga to receive an extension by Monday. Moody is in line to receive minutes at the wing spot in the wake up Klay Thompson‘s departure, and NBA insider Jake Fischer reports he could earn more than $10MM per season on his extension (Threads link).

However, Kuminga is seeking a near-max contract that would pay him north of $30MM annually. According to Fischer, the Warriors have “never seemed intent” on paying the forward that kind of money ahead of the season. That tracks with earlier reporting, which suggested that both sides are content to wait to see if Kuminga takes another step forward in 2024/25 and helps propel the team back into contention as its second- or third-best player. In that scenario, he would presumably be rewarded in restricted free agency next offseason.

Moody averaged 8.1 points and 3.0 rebounds per game last season while Kuminga broke out, averaging 16.1 PPG on 52.9% shooting from the field.

We have more on this year’s rookie scale extension candidates:

According to Fischer, Atlanta’s Jalen Johnson is facing a similar situation to Kuminga. However, there’s “far more optimism” that the Hawks and Johnson will finalize a deal worth north of $30MM each year, which is said to be the starting point for negotiations with the former Duke standout. Johnson broke out in a big way last season, jumping from 5.6 PPG and 4.0 RPG in 2022/23 to 16.0 PPG and 8.7 RPG. He’s primed to be a long-term fixture in Atlanta as one of the Hawks’ franchise cornerstones.
Magic guard Jalen Suggs is seeking an extension worth more than $30MM annually in talks with Orlando, NBA insider Marc Stein reports (Twitter link). It’s unclear whether or not Orlando is prepared to make that sort of offer, but Suggs emerged as one of the best defensive guards in the league last season, earning a spot on the All-Defensive Second Team, averaging 12.6 PPG and 1.4 SPG, improving his outside shooting to 39.7%, and helping the young Magic to a 47-win season.
Immanuel Quickley‘s five-year, $162.5MM contract with the Raptors is said to have set a benchmark for young guards across the league, Fischer says, confirming previous reporting. Bulls guard/forward Josh Giddey is also seeking at least $30MM per year on his next extension. However, the Bulls are more interested in seeing how Giddey fits with the team before committing that kind of money to him. Chicago traded Alex Caruso for Giddey in June.
The Rockets haven’t been willing to this point to approach a maximum-salary deal for either Jalen Green or Alperen Sengun, according to Fischer. We relayed Friday that the Rockets have held productive conversations with both players, submitting offers to each, but that those offers were below the max. Fischer indicates that Houston is completely fine with not agreeing to terms with either before the year begins.
Clippers guard Bones Hyland and Nets young players Cam Thomas and Day’Ron Sharpe are not expected to agree to terms on a rookie scale extension, according to Fischer. However, there remains some optimism that Hornets guard Tre Mann, Pacers forward Isaiah Jackson and Wizards wing Corey Kispert will be able to sign extensions by Monday’s deadline.
Quentin Grimes has emerged as a real candidate to receive an extension by Monday, according to Stein (Twitter link). Grimes was acquired by the Mavericks in exchange for Tim Hardaway Jr. this offseason and he’s averaged 8.5 PPG across three NBA seasons. His deal would presumably be in the ballpark of Moody’s, perhaps a bit more than $10MM per year.

Nets’ Sharpe, Watford Out Multiple Weeks With Hamstring Strains

October 7th, 2024 at 1:11pm CST by Rory Maher

A pair of Nets players sustained left hamstring strains during practices last week, the team announced in a press release (Twitter link via Ian Begley of SNY.tv). According to the Nets, forward Trendon Watford will be reevaluted in two weeks, while center Day’Ron Sharpe will be reexamined in six weeks.

The timing of the injury is very unfortunate for Sharpe, who is eligible for a rookie scale extension until Oct. 21, the day before the NBA’s regular season begins. In addition to missing Brooklyn’s preseason contests, he will also be sidelined for at least 14 regular season games (through Nov. 17), and he’ll likely miss additional time beyond that, even in a best-case scenario.

Sharpe, 22, was the 29th overall pick of the 2021 draft. He appeared in 61 games for the Nets last season, averaging 6.8 points and 6.4 rebounds in 15.1 minutes per contest.

Watford’s injury appears to be far less severe. Assuming things go well in his recovery, he might only miss a few regular season games; two weeks from today is Oct. 21, a couple days before Brooklyn’s regular season opener vs. Atlanta.

If Sharpe doesn’t sign an extension in the next couple weeks, he’ll be eligible for restricted free agency next summer, while Watford will be an unrestricted free agent.

Starting center Nic Claxton is also dealing with hamstring soreness and will miss Tuesday’s preseason opener vs. the Clippers, though the injury is considered relatively minor.

With Sharpe and Watford sidelined, second-year big man Noah Clowney seems primed to earn significant rotation minutes. The 20-year-old has been one of Brooklyn’s standouts during training camp, per Brian Lewis of The New York Post.

“Noah, he’s getting better, man. He’s getting real good,” veteran forward Dorian Finney-Smith gushed of Clowney. “He’s getting real good. You know, the game is slowing down for him. That tends to happen in your second year after you get some bump. He’s shooting the ball a lot more, and with a lot more confidence. So, again, he’s going to have a great year. He’s been getting better all summer.”

Nets Notes: Schröder, Simmons, Claxton, Williams, Hayes, Sharpe, Watford

October 5th, 2024 at 9:56pm CST by Arthur Hill

Dennis Schröder and Ben Simmons will both be in the starting lineup Tuesday when the Nets open the preseason against the Clippers, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Much of the training camp discussion has been focused on which player will be used as the starting point guard, but coach Jordi Fernandez has decided to try them together.

“It’s something that it gives us a different look right now, playing with size, but not a true big and a lot of play-making and shooting,” Fernandez explained. “So it’s going to be fun. It’s going to very fun to give it a look.”

Schröder wanted to be used in tandem with Simmons after being acquired from Toronto in February, but Simmons’ back issues limited them to 16 total minutes together in three games. Schröder believes they have skills that complement each other.

“He wasn’t healthy the last couple of years, but when he’s healthy, we know what he can do,” Schröder said. “He’s an All-Star-type player, so he’s going to push the ball. (He’s) unselfish. On the defensive end, he’s playing with grit. And that’s what we need here. So, a lot of speed. He can bring it up, I go to the corner. If not, me and him in pick-and-roll, him setting the screen or me setting the screen. I think we can do a lot of things. And today we worked on it, and we try to keep building forward, going forward, try to build. Yeah, we’re going to keep working.”

There’s more on the Nets:

Nic Claxton will be held out of the preseason opener due to hamstring soreness, according to Bridget Reilly of The New York Post. Fernandez called the move precautionary, adding that Claxton also didn’t participate in a scrimmage at Thursday’s practice. “We’re not concerned about it,” he said. “We’re just more aiming [for] the first game of the season and doing what we believe is best just for him to be ready there.”
Former lottery picks Ziaire Williams and Killian Hayes have a chance to revive their careers after being let go by their original teams, Reilly notes in a separate story. Williams was traded to Brooklyn in July after three years in Memphis, and Hayes was signed last month after Detroit waived him in February. “A fresh start is good, but at the end of the day, you need consistency because you cannot keep having fresh starts,” Fernandez said. “You cannot say, ‘Oh, I’m done here. I’ll go somewhere else.’ Sometimes, when you get hit in the mouth, it’s good to recover and then start and look at yourself in the mirror and say, ‘What did I do wrong that I can fix myself?’”
Day’Ron Sharpe and Trendon Watford remained in Brooklyn to be evaluated for injuries rather than accompanying the team to San Diego for training camp, Lewis tweets. Updates on both players are expected soon.

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.

Four Under-The-Radar Players To Watch For 2024/25

July 29th, 2024 at 8:18pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Rosters for the 2024/25 season are far from being set, but it’s never too early to try to predict some of next season’s happenings. When considering players who are primed for breakouts, draft picks who immediately became stars like Paolo Banchero and Victor Wembanyama come to mind, but several more players in a tier below that will emerge as rotation mainstays for the first time.

Think players like Sam Hauser of the Celtics. Hauser gradually crept up Boston’s rotation over the past three years, eventually becoming a part of the title core and earning himself an extension. Likewise, Miles McBride was a second-round pick who showed promise, but eventually broke out after the ’23/24 deadline for New York. Isaiah Joe of the Thunder is another example, while Vince Williams of the Grizzlies and Simone Fontecchio of the Pistons also broke onto the scene earlier this year.

With that said, here are four players I think could “break out” next season in the sense that they go from a fringe rotation piece to a reliable regular for a team.

Day’Ron Sharpe

This might be cheating a bit, since Sharpe appeared in 61 games last season and averaged 6.8 points and 6.4 rebounds. However, he managed to record those numbers in just 15.1 minutes per night, improving across the board for the Nets. I expect Sharpe to play more this season even though he’s still behind Nic Claxton in the rotation.

For starters, the Nets pivoted toward a rebuild this offseason after trading away Mikal Bridges. With Bridges gone and players like Cameron Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, Bojan Bogdanovic and Dennis Schröder set up to be potential trade pieces, there should be more minutes to go around at some point in the season, at least in theory. That would put Sharpe, the No. 29 overall pick in 2021, in prime position to play more and continue to show off his improvement.

Sharpe is set to be a restricted free agent next offseason and, if he manages to continue to show linear growth, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him draw a bevy of suitors. If the Nets didn’t want to pay Sharpe after handing a contract to Claxton this offseason, Sharpe could draw interest at the deadline for a playoff team needing size or another young team looking for a mainstay.

Given his contract status, youth (heturns 23 this season), and team positioning, Sharpe seems like a solid candidate to “break out” for next season.

Max Christie

The Lakers have had a quiet offseason, with their only external additions being 2024 draftees Dalton Knecht and Bronny James. One move that flew under the radar was the long-term extension of Christie, a player who only played 14.1 minutes last season. While the 2022 No. 35 pick saw his responsibilities increase last season from his rookie year, he holds a career average of 3.8 points per game.

Clearly, the Lakers liked what they saw from the 21-year-old Christie, as they rewarded him with a $32MM deal. While he hasn’t played a ton at the NBA level, he holds solid upside as a three-and-D prospect. It was somewhat surprising, for my money, that a team with cap space didn’t try to price Christie out of the Lakers’ range.

The Lakers getting Christie back could be a huge win for a team that needs three-and-D players in their rotation. Given that the Lakers might still make a trade before the year and players ahead of him last year either fell out of favor or simply left in free agency, Christie seems like a lock for more minutes and production next season. He could have a key role for the Lakers in the final couple years of his contract if things play right.

Craig Porter Jr./Ricky Council IV

While Porter and Council are distinctly different players, both could improve and continue to work their way into the rotations of playoff contenders in the Eastern Conference, which is why they’re grouped together here.

Porter played more on a two-way contract last season before being promoted to a standard deal. He’s a small guard but has played well above his size both in college and in the pros. He works well as a secondary ball-handler and a solid defensive guard. While the Cavaliers still have three open roster spots and could add a player or two who may overtake Porter in the guard room, I could see him winning the ninth or 10th spot in the rotation and potentially being the club’s top backup lead guard.

Council didn’t play as much for the Sixers until the end of the season, but his high efficiency impressed the organization and they rewarded him with a standard contract.

While Philadelphia eventually re-signed Tyrese Maxey, Kelly Oubre, Kyle Lowry and KJ Martin, I find it telling that the Council was just one of two players from last year’s roster who stayed on the roster throughout the entire offseason. His contract for next season is non-guaranteed, so they easily could have waived him if they felt someone else better fit his role. Martin and draft picks Jared McCain and Adem Bona might not play much next season, which has Council and Eric Gordon looking like the team’s only true bench wings off the bench.

While it’s not a lock Porter or Council make an impact on the rotation this year — let alone make it through their contracts being guaranteed at the league-wide date in 2025 — their organizations have shown they value each respective player. To me, Porter and Council are some of the more likely candidates to follow Hauser’s footsteps of developing for a couple seasons before breaking into a rotation.

Nets Notes: Johnson, Finney-Smith, Sharpe, Claxton, Bridges

June 26th, 2024 at 9:04am CST by Luke Adams

Mikal Bridges was the first player the Nets agreed to trade this offseason, but he seems unlikely to be the last. According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, Cameron Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, Dennis Schröder, Ben Simmons, Day’Ron Sharpe, and newcomer Bojan Bogdanovic are among the potential trade candidates to keep an eye on Brooklyn going forward.

Johnson, in particular, could appeal to teams in the market for shooting help, Scotto notes. The former Sun has made 39.2% of his career-three point attempts and is under contract for three more seasons on a deal that declines to $22.5MM in 2024/25 and to $20.5MM in ’25/26 before returning to $22.5MM in ’26/27.

Here’s more on the Nets:

The package Brooklyn is receiving for Bridges doesn’t include any 2024 draft picks, but the Nets still believe they’ll be able to move into the 20s on Wednesday night if there’s a specific player they like in the range, according to Scotto, who points to Finney-Smith as a player who may be dangled in that scenario.
Sharpe has drawn trade interest from teams around the league beyond just the Grizzlies. Executives who spoke to Scotto believe Brooklyn could demand multiple second-round picks in exchange for the young big man, who is entering the final year of his rookie scale contract.
The Nets’ desire to re-sign free agent center Nic Claxton doesn’t appear to have diminished, according to Scotto, who hears from sources that the team wants to hang onto the big man going forward. The Pelicans – who were among the teams pursuing Bridges, sources tell HoopsHype – have “several admirers” of Claxton in their front office and are one of the clubs curious to see if he might become available via sign-and-trade, Scotto adds.
While there were conflicting reports on Tuesday about whether Bridges explicitly requested a trade to the Knicks, Brian Lewis of The New York Post hears that the forward at least “quietly angled” to get to Brooklyn’s cross-town rivals. The deal – along with the Nets’ trade to regain control of their 2025 and 2026 first-round picks – has “turbocharged” the organization’s rebuild, Lewis writes.

Moore’s Latest: Kings, Kuzma, Bulls, Bridges, Sixers, Jones, Grizzlies, More

June 19th, 2024 at 4:08pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings are expected to return to the trade market this offseason with the same assets they offered Toronto for Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby earlier in 2023/24, writes Matt Moore of ActionNetwork.com: Harrison Barnes, Kevin Huerter, and draft compensation.

While Sacramento will do its best to re-sign Malik Monk, the team only holds his Early Bird rights and will be limited to offering him up to $78MM over four years. If Monk ends up getting away, the Kings will likely feel some additional pressure to make a trade to upgrade its rotation — and will have some additional financial flexibility to add salary.

The Kings will likely circle back to the Wizards to discuss Kyle Kuzma, according to Moore, who says Sacramento has also talked to the Bulls about Zach LaVine and Alex Caruso. LaVine, whose price tag is believed to be lower now than it ever has been, could become a more attractive target if Monk departs, Moore adds.

Here are a few more items of interest from Moore’s latest look at free agency and the trade market:

The Sixers are expected to have interest in forward Miles Bridges in free agency, according to Moore. Philadelphia would have more than enough cap room to make a competitive offer for Bridges, especially if it misses out on its top targets. Moore reports that the Hornets are “known to be” fans of Bulls restricted free agent Patrick Williams, so he could be a target for Charlotte if the team loses Bridges.
Veteran point guard Tyus Jones, who was a full-time starter this past season for the Wizards, is expected to seek a deal worth north of $15MM annually, two sources tell Moore. Jones is the No. 15 free agent on our top-50 list.
There’s an expectation that the Grizzlies will look to add multiple centers this summer, Moore writes, noting that Nets big man Day’Ron Sharpe is a name to watch for Memphis. A Grizzlies offer for Sharpe could consist of a second-round pick and one of their bench wings, Moore adds.
The Grizzlies are also among the teams that have expressed interest in Hawks center Clint Capela, along with the Wizards, Pelicans, and Bulls, Moore says.
The free agent market for Heat forward Haywood Highsmith is expected to start around the taxpayer mid-level exception ($5.2MM), two team cap strategists tell Moore.

Nets Notes: Clowney, Finney-Smith, Ollie, Mitchell

April 6th, 2024 at 9:45pm CST by Arthur Hill

With the play-in tournament now out of reach, the Nets are giving more minutes to first-round pick Noah Clowney, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post (subscription required). The 19-year-old power forward, who spent most of the season in the G League, had 22 points and 10 rebounds Wednesday against Indiana, becoming the youngest player in the league to reach those numbers in a game this season.

“I always say, ‘They bleed the same blood, they put their shorts on just like I do,’” Clowney said. “Yeah, [the Pacers] are a good team, but I’ve got to play with the same confidence I play with in the G [League] that I do here. I don’t want to start playing shy, and then I’m playing bad, tripping over mistakes. Just play confident.”

Lewis notes that Clowney has been taking minutes away from Day’Ron Sharpe in the Nets’ big man rotation as the team starts looking ahead to next year. Clowney has shown an ability to score when facing up to the basket, and although he’s still not strong enough to match up with centers, Brooklyn believes he’ll eventually be able to handle that spot as well.

“He’s position-less, and we want him to play like that,” interim head coach Kevin Ollie said. “He’s sticking one-through-five. I got some clips of him sticking, going over the pick-and-roll and blocking [Jordan] Poole, and switching out onto big men, got a charge [the other day]. I mean, he’s done all of those small things, and when he got comfortable shooting his three-point shot, look out. He’s going to open up all of our offense.”

There’s more from Brooklyn:

The father of Nets forward Dorian Finney-Smith got to watch him in person tonight for the first time since he started playing basketball, writes Dennis P. Gorman of The Associated Press. Elbert Smith had been in prison since 1996 after being convicted of second-degree murder. The Virginia Parole Board voted unanimously last year to release Smith, who was freed in December. He had to wait for his travel restrictions to be lifted before he could go to Brooklyn to watch his son. “It’s exciting,” Finney-Smith said before the game. “It’s exciting knowing it’s (going to) be his first time ever seeing me play in person. But definitely want to get his win for him, so just try and focus on getting the win.”
The Nets will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2017/18, but the organization is still placing value on ending the season the right way, Lewis states in a separate story. Ollie and general manager Sean Marks want to see who keeps competing even though there’s not much at stake. “You can still grow in the season, you can still grow now,” Ollie said. “You can ask yourself what are you really made of? Because a lot of people will quit in this situation. But you can ask yourself what kind of man am I? What kind of team do we want [the] Brooklyn Nets to be? And these are the times — and the challenging times — when you really see your true character.”
Brooklyn will definitely have interest in Donovan Mitchell if the Cavaliers decide to trade him this summer, Lewis adds in another piece. Rumors surrounding Mitchell have heated up since he sidestepped a question about signing an extension with Cleveland.

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