Kyrie Irving

Atlantic Notes: Irving, Harden, Horford, Knicks

May 4th, 2022 at 12:46pm CST by Luke Adams

Appearing on The ETCs with Kevin Durant podcast, Nets guard Kyrie Irving said he never felt like he was fully “back” during the 2021/22 season. Irving’s decision to not get vaccinated against COVID-19 meant he didn’t make his debut until January and only appeared in a total of 29 regular season games. It also meant he was uncertain in the first couple months of the season about whether he’d even suit up for Brooklyn again.

“I was wondering at home what my future was going to look like, you know?” Irving said, per Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “Whether I was going to be traded, whether I was going to be released, whether I was going to get the opportunity to be on another team, how I was going to spin this for myself in a positive way.

“So, I kept affirming to myself things are going to change. I had people around me — and I’m grateful for them — affirming that things were going to change. But I never felt like myself throughout the season, because I’m usually sustaining a level of growth throughout the year, instead of trying to catch up with everybody that’s been playing for four or five months. They’ve been at it every day since October or September.”

Irving has an opportunity to become an unrestricted free agent this summer if he turns down his 2022/23 player option, but has indicated he has no plans to leave the Nets.

Let’s round up a few more items from out of the Atlantic…

During a discussion on The Athletic NBA Show about what the Sixers‘ roster will look like beyond this season, Sam Amick said he wouldn’t be shocked if James Harden‘s next contract with the team is worth a little less than the max. “When the Sixers got (Harden), their intel was that he would potentially be willing to take less,” Amick said (hat tip to RealGM). “And obviously, you know, nobody knows him better than (Sixers president of basketball operations) Daryl (Morey).”
Al Horford‘s $26.5MM salary for 2022/23 is only partially guaranteed for $14.5MM, but that doesn’t mean the Celtics will necessarily part with him this offseason, writes Sean Deveney of Heavy.com. “He has been so valuable to them, the way he has defended, the way he passes, the way he shoots,” a rival executive told Deveney. “He has helped develop Robert Williams, too. He is a leader.” As that exec pointed out, Horford’s partial guarantee would also increase to $19.5MM if Boston makes the NBA Finals, which would affect the team’s decision.
ESPN draft analyst Seth Greenberg identifies Baylor forward Jeremy Sochan as a player the Knicks should seriously consider if they’re picking at No. 11 or 12 in this year’s draft, per Marc Berman of The New York Post. Greenberg also singled out Arizona’s Bennedict Mathurin and Wisconsin’s Johnny Davis as other logical targets for New York.

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.

Nets Rumors: Simmons, Irving, Harris, Curry, Dragic

April 27th, 2022 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

When Ben Simmons and agent Rich Paul met with Nets leadership – including GM Sean Marks – earlier this week, Simmons told the people in the room that he’s experiencing a “mental block,” which is creating stress that could be exacerbating his back problems, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.

The setback Simmons experienced prior to his anticipated Nets debut in Game 4 of the team’s first-round series vs. Boston was initially described as a physical one — he was said to be suffering from renewed back pain. But Charania’s report suggests there are still mental obstacles to clear before Simmons returns to the court.

Reporting this week from Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report and Michael Scotto of HoopsHype backs up that idea. Fischer wrote that it’s “quite clear that the mental aspect of Simmons’ return to game action is the biggest hurdle” he has to overcome, while Scotto has heard from a source close to Simmons that the 25-year-old is “going through it right now mentally.”

According to Charania, Nets officials told Simmons in this week’s meeting that the franchise is willing to do whatever is necessary to support him, and Scotto hears that the team has indeed been “supportive at every turn,” making the three-time All-Star more comfortable than he was in Philadelphia. Simmons didn’t end up making it back this season, but Scotto’s source is “very confident” he’ll return to action next season.

Here’s more on the Nets:

Echoing Jake Fischer’s reporting from earlier in the week, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer suggests a Simmons trade this offseason is unlikely because teams are warier than ever about his condition. A source from a non-playoff team that was previously interested in Simmons told O’Connor, “We’re at the point we’d want to see him play first.”
Within his story on the Nets, O’Connor writes that there were “crickets” earlier in the 2021/22 season when the team was reportedly willing to listen to trade inquiries on Kyrie Irving.
The Nets had some interest in acquiring an athletic wing defender such as Dorian Finney-Smith, Royce O’Neale, or Marcus Smart prior to this year’s trade deadline, according to Scotto, who thinks the team could explore the trade market for that type of player again this offseason. Scotto speculates that Brooklyn might dangle one of its sharpshooters – Joe Harris or Seth Curry – in those talks.
Goran Dragic, who turns 36 next Friday, isn’t considered retirement. The veteran point guard said this week that he’d like to play for two or three more seasons, tweets Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. Dragic will be a free agent this summer after signing a rest-of-season contract with Brooklyn in February.

Nets Notes: Nash, Simmons, Irving, Durant, Offseason

April 26th, 2022 at 10:39am CST by Luke Adams

Veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein wrote on Monday that Steve Nash will likely keep the Nets‘ head coaching job despite a disappointing season, as long as he retains the confidence of star forward Kevin Durant and team owner Joe Tsai. Durant expressed his support for Nash following Monday’s loss and there’s no indication that Tsai is considering a change.

According to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, if a coaching change does occur in Brooklyn, it seems more likely to happen because Nash steps away from the job, not because he’s fired. There has been speculation about the possibility in league circles, says Fischer, since the former NBA MVP has had to deal with more drama and adversity than expected since taking over the position in 2020.

However, sources tell Fischer that Nash is acting as if he plans to remain in Brooklyn going forward, and he that was the message he conveyed when speaking to reporters on Monday after the Nets’ season ended.

“I loved doing this and love these guys, love my staff, love all the departments. Really have a great working environment, really enjoyed it and want to continue doing it,” Nash said, per Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “Ben Simmons and Joe Harris will give us a big lift and we’ll see how the rest of the roster rounds out, but we should be excited by that. Getting two of your top four guys back — two guys with size, one who’s an All-Star and one who’s one of the best shooters in the league — that gives us a big boost.”

Here’s more on the Nets:

Fischer’s latest story for Bleacher Report includes a closer look at the Ben Simmons situation, with sources telling Fischer that people around Simmons had wanted him to make his Nets debut this spring to establish more of a connection with his new teammates. Nets staffers are hoping he’ll spend plenty of time this summer around the team’s practice facility, rather than “enjoying a celebrity vacation mindset,” Fischer adds.
According to Fischer, there has already been some speculation around the league about whether the Nets would consider trading Simmons this offseason, but that scenario appears unlikely. “Brooklyn just has to play it out a little bit. You don’t really have a choice,” a rival general manager told Bleacher Report. “I just don’t think (Simmons) has any real trade value. He hasn’t been accountable for two franchises. He hasn’t played an entire season due to a back injury. How can you do a trade with the chance he reports and then says he can’t play because of the back again?”
Kyrie Irving admitted on Monday that his inability to play for much of the season due to his vaccination status was a “distraction at times” for the Nets, writes Nick Friedell of ESPN. “I felt like I was letting the team down at a point where I wasn’t able to play,” Irving said. “We were trying to exercise every option for me to play, but I never wanted it to just be about me.” The star point guard remains optimistic about the future in Brooklyn: “We lost a franchise player (James Harden) and we got a franchise player back (Simmons). But we didn’t get a chance to see him on the floor. There was no pressure for (Simmons) to step on the floor with us either. Ben’s good. We have Ben, we have his back. He’s going to be good for next year. But now we just turn the page and look forward to what we’re building as a franchise and really get tougher.”
Speaking to Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports, Kevin Durant admitted that he was frustrated by Irving’s vaccine-related absences this season and wished Harden’s situation had played out differently, but said his bond with Irving remains strong and he wasn’t mad at Harden. Durant also pushed back against the notion that franchise players like him and LeBron James dictate roster moves for their respective teams. “I feel like that’s a narrative that (the media created). I don’t even think LeBron does that,” Durant told Goodwill. “He might have input or know some information. But him saying, ‘This is who you should get, that’s who you should get,’ I don’t think it works like that.”
Ramona Shelburne of ESPN takes a look back at what went wrong for the Nets in 2021/22, explaining why the franchise must take responsibility for several of its setbacks, which weren’t just the result of bad luck.
ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link) and Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype preview the upcoming offseason in Brooklyn, with a focus on Kyrie Irving’s free agency, while Alex Schiffer of The Athletic lays out 10 important questions for the organization to answer this summer.
In case you missed it, we also passed along several Nets notes on Monday night.

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.”

Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Embiid, Celtics, Griffin, Irving

April 24th, 2022 at 8:06pm CST by JD Shaw

In order to maximize their chances of winning a championship, the Sixers need to reinvent themselves around an injured Joel Embiid, David Murphy of the Philadelphia Inquirer opines. Embiid is dealing with ligament damage to his thumb and will undergo surgery after the playoffs.

As we relayed, he has no intention of sitting out, but he clearly seemed bothered by the injury in Game 4. The MVP candidate still finished with 21 points and eight rebounds, but he was frequently grabbing at his hand during stoppages of play.

The Sixers have enough talent around Embiid to close out their series against the Raptors, but advancing beyond the second round without his usual level of production would be difficult. Embiid is coming off a season in which he averaged a career-high 30.6 points, 11.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks on 50% shooting.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe takes a look at the Celtics’ hopes to bring the All-Star Game back to Boston. The Celtics are preparing a bid, Washburn notes, as Boston hasn’t hosted an All-Star Game since 1964. The team would likely look to host in 2025 or 2026.
Nets veteran Blake Griffin provided a lift off the bench in Game 3 against Boston, Peter Botte of the New York Post writes. Griffin played for the first time since April 2, recording eight points in nearly eight minutes. He could see action again in Game 4 on Monday.
A trio of ESPN hosts — Stephen A. Smith, Jalen Rose and Michael Wilbon — ripped Nets star Kyrie Irving and believe the team shouldn’t sign him to a long-term deal, as relayed by Adam Zagoria of NJ.com. Irving didn’t get vaccinated against COVID-19 and couldn’t play in home games until late March this season due to New York City’s vaccine requirement. That, combined with a midseason James Harden trade and key injuries, have harmed the Nets’ ability to build chemistry. Irving could decline a $36.5MM player option for next season and become a free agent this summer.

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.

Celtics Notes: Smart, Irving, Team Chemistry, Brown

April 19th, 2022 at 8:54pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Celtics point guard Marcus Smart reflected on Monday on his new 2022 Defensive Player of the Year hardware, per Jared Weiss of The Athletic.

Weiss notes that Smart is the first guard to win the award since SuperSonics guard Gary Payton earned it in 1996. Payton, who also played for the Celtics during the 2004/05 season, was present to celebrate Smart’s victory at a Monday practice.

“To be able to win this award, I’m ecstatic, it means a lot,” Smart said. “It shows that the hard work I’ve been putting in has finally paid off and the recognition has finally come.”

This season, with a defense led by Smart and center Robert Williams, the Celtics ranked first in opponent points allowed per game, with 104.5, and second in defensive rating, at 106.9 points permitted per 100 possessions.

Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston makes the case for why Smart was the right choice for the award, citing not just his defensive metrics but also his savvy actions that can’t quite be quantified, such as his impressive switching and layup contesting.

There’s more out of Boston:

Marcus Smart broke down his defensive matchup Sunday against former Celtics teammate Kyrie Irving with Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe. “All I was thinking about was, ‘OK, it’s just me and you Kyrie,” Smart said. “‘Here we go.’” Boston beat Irving’s Nets, 115-114, to take a 1-0 lead in the series. Though Irving had a stellar night in scoring 39 points on 12-of-20 shooting from the floor, Smart and his fellow Boston defenders pressured Irving to get rid of the ball and blanketed him in the paint during a decisive fourth quarter.
The Celtics appear to have taken significant leaps in team chemistry since their 4-1 first-round 2021 playoff loss to the Nets last season, writes Jared Weiss of The Athletic. Last year, star shooting guard Jaylen Brown was sidelined with a wrist fracture, while Robert Williams was playing through turf toe. “I think that’s one of the bigger progressions of our team, just when something breaks down,” All-Star forward Jayson Tatum said of the difference between that 2020/21 Boston club and this year’s model. “They go on a run, we have a couple slip-ups on defense. We care. It’s an emotional game. So it’s not going to be a quiet huddle, we got to talk it out. But the main thing is we figure it out right then and there. And we all on the same page and we come out of the huddle and move on to the next play.”
Celtics swingman Jaylen Brown dealt with nose bleeds after Game 1 on Sunday, telling reporters that it kept bleeding about every 45 minutes that night, per Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). “But that’s playoff basketball,” Brown said. “It’s survival of the fittest.” Brown took contact to the face multiple times throughout the game Sunday, but played through to finish with 23 points on 9-of-19 shooting from the floor.

Kyrie Irving Fined $50K By NBA

April 19th, 2022 at 1:15pm CST by Luke Adams

Nets guard Kyrie Irving has been fined $50K by the NBA, the league announced today in a press release.

According to the statement, Irving was penalized for “making obscene gestures on the playing court and directing profane language toward the spectator stands.” The incidents occurred during Game 1 of the Nets’ first-round series with the Celtics, as Irving got into it with some of the fans in Boston.

Irving, who played for the Celtics from 2017-19 before departing for Brooklyn in free agency, spoke to reporters after Sunday’s game about his interactions with the Boston faithful, as Nick Friedell of ESPN relays.

“Look, where I’m from, I’m used to all these antics and people being close nearby,” Irving said. “It’s nothing new when I come into this building what it’s going to be like — but it’s the same energy they have for me, I’m going to have the same energy for them.

“And it’s not every fan, I don’t want to attack every fan, every Boston fan. When people start yelling ‘p—y’ or ‘b—-‘ and ‘f— you’ and all this stuff, there’s only but so much you take as a competitor. We’re the ones expected to be docile and be humble, take a humble approach, f— that, it’s the playoffs. This is what it is.”

Irving previously likened Celtics fans to a “scorned girlfriend” following a March game in Boston.

While $50K is a drop in the bucket for a maximum-salary player like Irving, it’s worth noting that $50K is the largest amount the NBA can fine a player without opening the door for the player to appeal the decision and take the issue to a grievance arbitrator.

Celtics Notes: Smart, Trade Deadline, Udoka, Horford

April 17th, 2022 at 4:03pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Ahead of today’s first playoff game against Brooklyn, starting Celtics point guard Marcus Smart expressed his plan to defend Nets starting point guard (and Smart’s former Boston teammate for two years) Kyrie Irving, per Steve Popper of Newday.

“It’s just making every shot and every possession that he has the ball as hard as possible for him,” Smart said. “He’s one of the greatest to do it for a reason. We understand that we’re not going to shut his water off all the way completely. We understand we’re not going to stop him. He’s going to score. He’s going to make tough shots. But we’re going to make those shots as tough as possible.”

There’s more from Boston:

As the Celtics saw improvement in their roster leading up to the February trade deadline, the front office decided to prioritize building for the present, not just the future, writes Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe. Himmelsbach takes a detailed look at Boston’s decision-making at the deadline. Team owner Wyc Grousbeck held a meeting with team management and head coach Ime Udoka. “Wyc came to us and said, ‘I think this team could be really good,'” vice president of basketball operations Mike Zarren said. “He said, ‘Let’s go for it. We’re not sellers. We’re buyers.'” The team finished the season as the second seed in the East with a 51-31 record, in part thanks to the bolstered bench depth it added via trade in reserves Derrick White and Daniel Theis.
Udoka has his players buying in thanks to an excellent conclusion to the 2021/22 NBA season, per Marc J. Spears of Andscape. “One thing I’ve always admired about him, especially as a first-year head coach, was how hungry he was,” Celtics All-Star forward Jayson Tatum said of his first-year head coach in March. “You could tell how hard he was going to work. We always stuck with him, and he stuck with us and changed our history around.”
Returning Celtics big man Al Horford is enjoying his second stint with Boston, and the growth he has witnessed in the teammates with whom he has reunited, per Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald. “They inspire me,” Horford said. “Everything has worked now because, not only did those guys grow, but [Robert Williams] came into his own, and there were other things that helped the group to get in the position we’re in today.”

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