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Kevin Durant Expected To Return On Thursday

March 2nd, 2022 at 3:14pm CST by Luke Adams

Nets star Kevin Durant is expected to return to action on Thursday after being sidelined for the team’s last 21 games due to a knee injury. As Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets, Durant isn’t listed on the injury report for Thursday’s game in Brooklyn vs. the Heat.

Durant was diagnosed with a sprained medial collateral in his left knee on January 16. At the time, an ESPN report stated that team officials were optimistic the former MVP would be able to get back on the court in about four-to-six weeks. The Nets played it safe with their leading scorer — Thursday will represent the seven-week mark since that diagnosis.

In 36 games (36.5 MPG) so far this season, Durant is averaging 29.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 5.8 assists with a shooting line of .520/.372/.894.

His return will be significant for a Nets team that only has Kyrie Irving available on a part-time basis due to his vaccination status and is still waiting for three-time All-Star Ben Simmons to make his Brooklyn debut. The club slumped badly with Durant out of action, winning just five of its last 21 games and slipping from the No. 2 seed in the East to No. 8.

Simmons is reportedly being considered “week to week,” and Irving is still waiting for some good news regarding the vaccine mandate that applies to New York City’s private sector. The Nets are hopeful that the roster will be at full strength before the postseason begins in mid-April. Of course, as things stand, Brooklyn will have to win a play-in game to even earn a playoff berth.

Nets Notes: Curry, Drummond, Simmons, Irving, Nash

February 28th, 2022 at 7:41pm CST by Dana Gauruder

While Ben Simmons remains out of action, two other players dealt from the Sixers to the Nets have been productive, Brian Lewis of the New York Post notes. In five starts with Brooklyn, Seth Curry is averaging 19.2 PPG on 47.4% shooting from deep, while Andre Drummond is posting a double-double (11.2 PPG, 11.0 RPG) in 22 MPG. Curry’s contract runs through next season, while Drummond will be a free agent this summer.

We have more on the Nets:

Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers is pleased to see Drummond take on an expanded role in Brooklyn, Tim Bontemps of ESPN tweets. Rivers was happy the way Drummond accepted a backup role with the Sixers and said the former All-Star is missed from a chemistry standpoint.
Simmons’ back soreness that caused a delay in his return is a minor issue and he’ll try once again to work his way into playing shape this week, according to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne (video link). “This is the same back issue he had at the beginning of training camp when he returned to Philadelphia,” she said. “This is something he’s had for a couple of years. … The plan is the same this week, ramp it up and see where you’re at.” However, coach Steve Nash has already ruled out Simmons from practicing this week, Lewis tweets.
As we noted last week, Kyrie Irving is excited by the possibility of vaccine mandates being relaxed in New York City. However, mayor Eric Adams reiterated in a CNBC interview he’s in no rush to do so, according to an ESPN report. “We want to find a way to get Kyrie on the court, but this is a bigger issue,” Adams said. “I can’t have my city closed down again. It would send the wrong message just to have an exception for one player when we’re telling countless number of New York City employees, ‘If you don’t follow the rules, you won’t be able to be employed.'”
Nash did not coach on Monday after being placed in the league’s health and safety protocols, Lewis tweets. Jacque Vaughn filled in for him.

Eastern Notes: Kuzma, Oladipo, Morris, Bridges, Irving

February 27th, 2022 at 7:15pm CST by JD Shaw

The Wizards may have found something special in Kyle Kuzma, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington writes. Kuzma is having a career-best season with Washington so far, averaging 17.0 points and 8.8 rebounds in 33.5 minutes per game.

“He’s shown a steady progression where it seems like every month he’s getting better. He’s playing with more confidence,” head coach Wes Unseld Jr. said.

According to Hughes, Kuzma has averaged 21.5 points and 9.9 rebounds per game since December 22, raising his play on both ends. Washington acquired the 26-year-old in a trade involving star guard Russell Westbrook back in July.

Here are some other notes from the Eastern Conference:

The potential returns of Victor Oladipo and Markieff Morris offer intrigue for the Heat, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes. Oladipo hasn’t played this season, while Morris hasn’t played in over three months. Miami owns the best record in the East (40-21) despite their absences. “I just love to see everybody try to get healthy and do what they love to do, what they’ve been doing their entire life,” Jimmy Butler said of the duo. “The fact that they’ve been out for a little bit, but still are coming in smiling and working, I think that’s the most important thing. Yeah, they want to get back. Yeah, we want them back. But in due time, they will be back and we’ll be even better.”
Hornets forward Miles Bridges likely would’ve accepted the team’s $60MM extension offer last fall if it wasn’t for his agents, as relayed by Rohan Nadkarni of Sports Illustrated. Bridges, who is averaging 19.9 points and 7.3 rebounds per game this season, will likely be in line for a far more lucrative contract as a restricted free agent. “If it wasn’t for them I probably would’ve taken the deal,” Bridges said of his agents. “They got more confidence in me than I have sometimes.”
New York City will lift its “Key2NYC” vaccine mandate on March 7, but the private sector mandate still restricts Nets star Kyrie Irving from playing in home games, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. The private sector mandate could be dropped eventually, but for now, Irving still can’t play in New York.

Nets Notes: Irving, Vaccine Mandate, Durant, Dragic

February 27th, 2022 at 8:56am CST by Arthur Hill

With the Nets desperate for a victory, Kyrie Irving delivered his best game of the season Saturday night in a win over the defending champs, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Irving scored 38 points and carried Brooklyn’s offense in crunch time in a 126-123 victory at Milwaukee.

Not only was the win significant in the standings for the Nets, who moved to within three-and-a-half games of escaping the play-in tournament, it helped erase some bad memories for Irving, who suffered an ankle injury that knocked him out of the playoffs in his last trip to Fiserv Forum.

“I haven’t been back in this building since then, and I tried my best not to wear my emotions on my face or on my shoulder, but sometimes they get the best of me,” Irving said. “But it definitely felt like there was a weight lifted just getting back here, being healthy, getting a win and knowing that there’s a possibility we could see them down the line again. So it makes our competition in our league that much more fun.”

There’s more on the Nets:

After the game, Irving addressed comments this week from New York City mayor Eric Adams, who is thinking about lifting the city’s vaccine mandate, per Nick Friedell of ESPN. Whenever that happens, Irving will instantly become eligible to play in the Nets’ home games. “I’m glad that things are kind of settling down and there’s light at the end of the tunnel here,” Irving said. “Hopefully, I can get back on that home floor playing in the Barclays and now we can finally have that conversation that you’ve been dying to have just about turning the page and moving forward beyond this.”
Brooklyn is 5-14 since Kevin Durant suffered an MCL sprain on January 15, but there’s optimism that he won’t be out much longer, according to Greg Joyce of The New York Post. The Nets put Durant through a second high-intensity workout Saturday, and if he doesn’t show any ill effects he’ll just need one more to be medically cleared. Coach Steve Nash doesn’t expect Durant to be available for back-to-back games with the Raptors Monday and Tuesday, but said he may play later in the week.
Goran Dragic made his debut with the Nets Saturday, playing 14 minutes and scoring six points. It was his first game action since November 13 and he admits being tired and having to come out after six minutes, Lewis tweets.

Nets Notes: Dragic, Durant, Simmons, Curry, Irving

February 25th, 2022 at 7:20pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Goran Dragic is probable to make his Nets debut on Saturday against Milwaukee, Ian Begley of SNY TV tweets. Dragic has been reconditioning since signing with the club after passing through waivers. Dragic played five games for Toronto this season but hasn’t been active since November 13. Kevin Durant (left knee – MCL sprain) remains sidelined.

We have more on the Nets:

Ben Simmons‘ team and season debut has been held back due to conditioning, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. “It’s been a long layoff, right?” coach Steve Nash said. “So he hasn’t played NBA basketball for a long time, so just trying to work through that.”
While some have suggested there was friction between Seth Curry and Simmons in Philadelphia, Curry says that’s inaccurate, ESPN’s Nick Friedell reports. They’re now teammates in Brooklyn, as Curry was included in the blockbuster deal. “I don’t take anything personal,” Curry said. “When we’re on the court, we’re teammates. Everything’s fine. And we depend on each other to do good things. There’s been nothing negative he’s done to me personally, so I’m fine.”
Kyrie Irving is excited by the possibility of New York City relaxing its vaccination rules and allowing him to play home games, Friedell writes in a separate story. “I sense a real focus and urgency from (mayor Eric Adams),” Nash said. “And so if that’s any indication, I would say he is getting excited at the prospect of being allowed to play in all our games and hopefully in the short term.” However, there are no set dates regarding a rollback of the mandates, as Adams urges caution, Lewis reports.

Nets Notes: Irving, Dragic, Nash, Harris

February 23rd, 2022 at 12:09pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nets and point guard Kyrie Irving got some promising news today, as New York City mayor Eric Adams told reporters that he “can’t wait” to phase out the city’s COVID-19 vaccine requirements for indoor spaces.

Irving has been unable to play home games all season long due to the local regulations that apply to unvaccinated athletes, but the mayor’s comments today suggest those regulations could be adjusted in the coming weeks.

“I’m not going to get ahead of the science,” Adams said (video link via The Glue Guys). “… They gave us benchmarks. We’re going to follow those benchmarks. But I look forward to the next few weeks going through a real transformation. … We’re moving in the right direction. We’re going to do it in a safe way.”

For now, New York City’s vaccine mandate remains unchanged, so Irving will be ineligible to suit up when the Nets host Boston on Thursday night. But if the city plans to phase out the mandate within the next several weeks, that bodes well for Kyrie’s chances of suiting up in the postseason, which begins in mid-April.

Here’s more on the Nets:

While Goran Dragic is looking forward to playing alongside stars like Kevin Durant, Ben Simmons, and Irving, his decision to sign with the Nets was ultimately influenced by his relationship with head coach Steve Nash, who assured Dragic he’d be an important part of the team, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. “If it wasn’t for Nash, Dragic would be either with the Bucks or Clippers,” a source told Scotto.
A source tells Scotto that the Nets and Joe Harris will likely make a decision on whether or not the forward needs a second ankle surgery after seeing how things go this week with his recovery process.
His roster doesn’t look like he expected it to when the season began, but general manager Sean Marks hasn’t adjusted his expectations for the Nets, as Brian Lewis of The New York Post writes. “Championship. That’s it,” Marks said to a group of season-ticket holders. “I’d be doing 17 players and another 60 staff members over there a massive disservice if I said anything other than that, because that’s what we’re all here for.”

Adam Silver Says Sixers Aren’t Being Investigated For Tampering In Harden Trade

February 19th, 2022 at 8:47pm CST by Arthur Hill

There were some complaints around the league regarding the circumstances that led to the Sixers’ trade for James Harden, but the team isn’t under investigation for tampering, writes Joe Varden of The Athletic.

Some executives in rival front offices considered asking for tampering charges based on suspicions that Philadelphia was talking to Harden about signing in the offseason if a trade with the Nets couldn’t be completed, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reported recently. Harden has a close relationship with Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey and chief executive officer Tad Brown from his time in Houston, and he’s a friend of co-owner Michael Rubin.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver addressed the situation tonight during his annual All-Star Weekend press conference and confirmed that no investigation is being conducted.

“It’s no secret that I’ve expressed my unhappiness with public trade demands,” Silver said. “I think you’re dealing with a situation where you have players with literally a unique skill on the planet, and that’s always going to give them leverage. And you have teams with leverage. … I mean there may be tools that we can think of to create stronger incentives for players to comply with those agreements, but there’s no silver bullet here, that we’re going to go in and collectively bargain and say, ‘now we fix this problem.’”

Silver touched on numerous other topics during the media session:

He continues to express optimism about an in-season tournament, saying the play-in tourney has helped build momentum for change, Varden adds. “In some ways, the players have been more receptive to the possibility of an in-season tournament because the play-in has been a bit more successful,” Silver said.
Silver expressed concern about the situation involving Rockets guard John Wall, saying, “Of course I think it’s a problem when players are paid not to play,” tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Wall hasn’t played at all this season under a mutual agreement with the rebuilding team.
With COVID-19 regulations easing around the country, Silver hopes a resolution can be reached involving the New York City vaccine mandate that has prevented Nets guard Kyrie Irving from playing in home games, tweets Tim Bontemps of ESPN.
Silver confirmed that the investigation into the Suns organization and owner Robert Sarver is still ongoing, but didn’t offer any updates, according to Bontemps (Twitter link).
Silver said no regular-season games will be played in Europe next year, but some teams may travel there during the preseason, Bontemps adds (via Twitter).
The halftime ceremony for Sunday’s All-Star Game will honor the 75th anniversary team, and Silver expects about 50 of the 61 living members to be on hand, tweets Marc Stein of Substack.

Atlantic Notes: Tatum, Smart, Achiuwa, Irving

February 19th, 2022 at 3:00pm CST by JD Shaw

Celtics star Jayson Tatum still holds a strong desire to play with Jaylen Brown, he said on J.J. Redick’s podcast, The Old Man & The Three (Twitter link). The Celtics have faced questions over the last year or two about their ability to win with Tatum and Brown leading the way, but Tatum insisted that he and Brown are committed to making it work.

“I think we’re both still very far from our prime,” Tatum said as part of a larger quote. “And I think what people don’t understand is like, alright, if you want to break us up, the grass is not always greener. There’s not a lot of guys in the NBA like JB [Jaylen Brown].”

Tatum and Brown have combined to average 49.4 points per game this season. The duo has played five seasons together and has led Boston to a 34-26 record this year.

“I couldn’t imagine why you wouldn’t want to have two of the best players that are under 25 on your team,” Tatum continued. “And, yeah, there are certain rough patches, but we’ve won way more games together than we’ve lost.”

Here are some other notes from the Atlantic:

During the same appearance on Redick’s podcast, Tatum discussed Marcus Smart‘s early-season criticism, adding that the Celtics are “past it now,” Brian Robb of MassLive.com writes. As we wrote in early November, Smart called out Brown and Tatum for not passing the ball more. “I wasn’t angry or mad or anything,” Tatum said. “I just waited to the next day. I saw Marcus at the facility and we sat down and talked. It was a great talk actually. We had some time to sleep. The adrenaline was gone from the game. He apologized for what he said and that was something he shouldn’t have said in the media and that they got his words mixed up. I didn’t take offense.”
Raptors big man Precious Achiuwa is optimistic that his breakout is coming, Doug Smith of The Toronto Star writes. Achiuwa is in his first season with Toronto after being acquired in a sign-and-trade with Miami. “I want to be lethal,” Achiuwa said. “Being lethal on both sides of the ball game, both offense and defense. I think I have the physical abilities and God’s given abilities to evolve into that player.”
Zach Lowe of ESPN.com (Insider-only) examines 10 noteworthy stories around the NBA, including Kyrie Irving‘s future with the Nets. Irving has only appeared in 14 games this season, averaging 24.1 points and 5.4 assists per contest. He holds a $36MM player option for next season.

Nets Notes: New Rivalry, Curry, Drummond, Irving

February 19th, 2022 at 10:59am CST by Rory Maher

The Nets/Sixers matchup has the making of the league’s next great rivalry, Brian Lewis of The New York Post opines. There could be some bad blood between the two sides after the James Harden/Ben Simmons trade, as Harden and Simmons both clearly left on poor terms.

Simmons refused to suit up for the Sixers this season and didn’t exactly get along well with Joel Embiid, while Harden appeared to stop trying towards the end of his stint in Brooklyn after becoming frustrated with the team’s performance and Kyrie Irving‘s part-time status.

The two teams clashed in the playoffs in 2019, creating some animosity, but Brooklyn’s roster is very different now. Lewis thinks a feud could be great for the league.

“Yeah, it could,” Patty Mills said. “Or not; we’ll have to see. And if it is, then, awesome, it’s great. I mean, we’re trying to get better as a team; if that brings the best out of us, great. Vice versa. Good for the fans. Good for TV. Good for basketball around the world.”

Here’s more on the Nets:

Seth Curry and Andre Drummond are integrating quickly with their new team, as NetsDaily.com relays. Brooklyn has gone 2-1 since the trade was officially completed, and both players have started all three contests. “I think in our league today it’s so important to have shooters who can space the floor [and] having him to do so for Kevin [Durant], Ky [Kyrie Irving] and Ben [Simmons] is really important,” coach Steve Nash said of Curry. “It gives us depth in shooting, spacing, but I think he’s a better player than just that. He’s pretty good in pick-and-roll, pretty good at scoring out of pick-and-roll situations or playing that game taking space to create offense and he can deliver the ball pretty well in those scenarios as well.” Curry is eligible for an extension this summer. He’ll earn $8.5MM in 2022/23, the final year of his four-year deal.
Nash expects Drummond to play a larger role with Brooklyn than he did with Philadelphia, per the same article from NetsDaily. “I think he fills needs that our group is looking for, and we’re excited for him to continue to get more comfortable in the way we play and also really get in great shape,” Nash said. “He’s going to play more minutes for us as far as the way we project things to go, so he’s used to (playing behind Embiid, but we’re going to ask him to) play more. I think part of it is adapting to the new role.” The Nets were interested in Drummond last season after he reached a buyout agreement with the Cavaliers, but he ultimately finished the season with the Lakers before signing with the Sixers on a minimum deal as a free agent last summer. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
ESPN’s Zach Lowe (Insider link) ponders what the future holds for Irving. He has a player option for 2022/23, but no one knows what his plans are. Only a few teams project to have money to spend on free agents this summer, and given Irving’s volatility, Lowe questions whether other teams would even offer a long-term deal. Will the Knicks make another run at Irving if he opts out? A short-term contract with the Nets could make sense if Irving opts out, Lowe posits, assuming they want him back.

Nets Notes: Durant, Harris, Adams, Irving, Mills, Simmons

February 17th, 2022 at 5:24pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Nets will face the Celtics next Thursday in their first game after the All-Star break. Don’t expect Kevin Durant to be in uniform for that game, according to Brian Lewis of the New York Post. Coach Steve Nash said Durant will be eased back into action from his knee injury.

“I’m not like, ‘He’s going to play right when the break ends.’ There’s obviously a small chance, but we want to be really careful because a setback would be tough when there are 20 or so games left,” Nash said. “We don’t want to jeopardize there and have a setback where he misses another six to 12 games, so I think we’ll be cautious coming out of the break. There’s a chance he could play, but I think it’s more likely that we don’t get our hopes that he’s going to play the first game out of the break.”

Durant hasn’t played since January 15.

We have more on the Nets:

It’s been two weeks since reports revealed that Joe Harris was mulling a second ankle surgery. Nothing has changed in that regard, Lewis notes in the same story. “I think everything’s on the table at this point,” Nash said. “We hope that he comes back, but we have no idea where this is going to go at this point.”
New New York City mayor Eric Adams agrees with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver that current city rules barring Kyrie Irving from playing home games, while opposing players don’t face the same sanctions, are unjust, Sam Raskin of the New York Post writes. “First of all, I think the rule’s unfair. I believe that we are saying to out-of-town athletes that they can come in and not be vaccinated, yet New York athletes do have to be vaccinated,” Adams said. However, Adams is concerned about “sending the wrong message” by lifting the sanctions altogether for fear of another outbreak.
Veteran point guard Patty Mills hasn’t been teammates with Ben Simmons for very long but senses that his fellow Australian is hungry to reestablish himself, Nick Friedell of ESPN relays. “His demeanor and his desire not only to get back on the floor but make a significant impact — he’s got a lot of, I believe, fire built up underneath him that has a desire to get back and be the player that he is, and even get better, and even grow and even develop,” Mills said. “And that’s one thing that I’m excited to be in the same room and locker room as him to do my part to help him develop and help him grow and help in any way possible there.”