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Nets Notes: Pelle, Shumpert, Claxton, Big Three

February 5th, 2021 at 11:56am CST by Arthur Hill

Norvel Pelle could make his debut with the Nets in tonight’s game against the Raptors, writes Peter Botte of The New York Post. Pelle signed with the team last week to add size in the middle, where Brooklyn has been short-handed since parting with Jarrett Allen in the James Harden trade.

“My career is based off of defense,” Pelle said. “I’m a big rim protector my whole life, so just coming in and filling a role.”

Pelle was preparing to head to Orlando for the G League bubble when his agents told him the Nets were interested, Botte adds. The 28-year-old had to quarantine for a week, but he participated in his first practice Thursday and may see some playing time tonight as a backup to DeAndre Jordan. Pelle played 24 games for the Sixers last season, but he admits feeling “a little nervous” being in the same locker room with Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Harden.

“It’s hard to explain, you have all these great individuals that are all on one team and sometimes you’re just in awe of the things that they do,” Pelle said. “Sometimes you have to realize you’re playing, too.”

There’s more Nets news to pass along:

Iman Shumpert, who signed with Brooklyn on Sunday, is “completely available” for tonight’s game, coach Steve Nash told Botte for the same story. The Nets concentrated on defense with both free agent additions, hoping to improve a unit that is currently ranked 27th in defensive efficiency. Second-year center Nicolas Claxton, who hasn’t played this season because of a knee injury, is “still a few weeks away,” Nash added. “Nothing imminent with him. … I don’t want to put a timeline on it because he’s not that close,” Nash said. “He’s getting there. He’s definitely improving. Hopefully he can start playing with the guys next week.”
Sam Amick of The Athletic talks to three NBA scouts about the Big Three experiment in Brooklyn. While they’re impressed by the Nets’ talent level, they raise concerns about the on-court fit, overall defense and the lack of size.
A NetsDaily story examines the trade assets the team has left after giving up so much to acquire Harden.

Nets Notes: Harden, Irving, Claxton, Roster Spot

January 16th, 2021 at 6:03pm CST by Arthur Hill

The four-team deal that brought James Harden to Brooklyn is now official, and Nets coach Steve Nash put him in the starting lineup right away, writes Malika Andrews of ESPN. Harden hasn’t been able to practice with his new team, but he was on the court for today’s game against the Magic.

“I think everyone’s excited,” Nash said. “We welcome one of the best players in the game to our team, so the mood is great. This is a moving target that we have to try to incorporate him as we go here and learn on the fly, adapt and try to jell.”

Nash doesn’t expect much of a learning curve for Harden, who is among the most gifted offensive players in the league. Harden won’t be on a minutes restriction, but Nash plans a “see as we go” philosophy on how much to play him.

“(He is) more or less a full go,” Nash added. “But we don’t want to run the batteries down on our new Christmas present this early.”

There’s more from Brooklyn:

Completion of the deal means the Nets’ new Big Three is almost together. Kyrie Irving is missing another game today due to health and safety protocols, Andrews tweets, and his return may be a few days away. Nash wants Irving to go through a few workouts before returning to the lineup (Twitter link).
Nicolas Claxton could be ready next month, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post. The second-year center has been sidelined with tendinopathy in his right knee. “I think Nic is probably closer to the midseason break than he is to now,” Nash said. “Sometime in February for sure. But no setbacks, just working through it.” (Twitter link)
An article on NetsDaily examines some of the options for filling the team’s three open roster spots. The Nets expect to have point guards Jeremiah Martin and Elie Okobo on the roster of their G League affiliate in Long Island, and both have NBA experience. Shooting guard Kaiser Gates and center Tariq Owens, a pair of G League veterans, are two other possibilities. Some other names to consider are Michael Beasley and Jamal Crawford, who both signed with Brooklyn before the summer restart, along with Andre Roberson, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Dewayne Dedmon.

Health Updates: Leonard, Trent, Okoro, Claxton, Gallinari

December 30th, 2020 at 8:41pm CST by Arthur Hill

Clippers star Kawhi Leonard will return to the lineup tonight, five days after being struck in the face by an accidental elbow from teammate Serge Ibaka, tweets Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Coach Tyronn Lue made the announcement in a pre-game session with the media.

Leonard missed two games with the injury, which caused him to bleed profusely from his mouth and required eight stitches. L.A. split the games, defeating the Timberwolves Tuesday night and losing by 51 points to the Mavericks on Sunday.

A second-team All-NBA selection last season, Leonard is off to another strong start, averaging 23.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 3.0 steals in his first two games.

There’s more injury-related news to pass along:

The Trail Blazers will face the Clippers tonight without guard Gary Trent Jr., Portland coach Terry Stotts told reporters (Twitter link from Vardon). Trent suffered a strained calf in Monday’s game with the Lakers.
Rookie swingman Isaac Okoro didn’t travel with the Cavaliers as they start a six-game road trip, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. The fifth pick in this year’s draft suffered a sprained left foot in Saturday’s game and was recently placed into the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocol. The league announced today that there have been no new positive tests since December 24, so Fedor believes Okoro likely came in contact with someone who tested positive, which limits his ability to travel. The Cavs hope he can join them before the trip ends January 9.
Nets coach Steve Nash said Nicolas Claxton is “steadily improving,” but remains “weeks away” from playing, tweets Malika Andrews of ESPN. The second-year center is dealing with tendinopathy in his right knee and hasn’t played yet this season.
Hawks forward Danilo Gallinari had to leave tonight’s game with a sprained ankle, according to Andrews (Twitter link). It was his first game since suffering a contusion in his left foot in last week’s season opener.

Health Updates: Zion, Ross, Claxton, Warriors

December 7th, 2020 at 1:17pm CST by Luke Adams

Zion Williamson‘s NBA debut last season was delayed by knee surgery and he dealt with minutes limitations upon returning, but the Pelicans forward said he has “no restrictions” for the 2020/21 season, according to Andrew Lopez of ESPN. Williamson’s comments came shortly after new head coach Stan Van Gundy told reporters that the former No. 1 pick easily passed his conditioning test and had “no limitations” in practice.

“Me and Coach Van Gundy have talked and from what I know now, there are no restrictions,” Williamson said. “None.”

As a rookie, Williamson was often limited to four- or five-minute “bursts” and found himself being subbed out of games at key moments. He’s looking forward to playing for longer stretches and hopes to look more like his old self this season, as Lopez details.

“I want to show that I’m a basketball player. I’ll do whatever the team needs me to do on offense or defense no matter what it is to win. I’m just a competitor,” Williamson said. “When I’m healthy and competing, I’m just a different kind of player. I think that’s the player everyone fell in love with.”

Here are a few more health updates from around the NBA:

Having undergone an MRI, Magic swingman Terrence Ross has been diagnosed with a minor, non-displaced hairline fracture in his left big toe, the team announced today in a press release. Ross is continuing to participate in non-contact work during practices. According to the team, his return to full contact will depend on how his toe responds to treatment.
After the Nets announced over the weekend that Nicolas Claxton is dealing with right knee tendinopathy, head coach Steve Nash said today that he expects the second-year big man to be out for “weeks,” tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post.
The two Warriors players who tested positive for the coronavirus aren’t expected to be able to participate in group practices until next week at the earliest, writes Anthony Slater of The Athletic. The identities of those two players are still unknown.

Nets Notes: Dinwiddie, LeVert, Claxton, Irving

December 6th, 2020 at 11:04am CST by Arthur Hill

Having a healthy Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving will mean major changes for Spencer Dinwiddie and Caris LeVert, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Both players had the ball in their hands a lot last season, but they will have to adjust to complementary roles as the Nets‘ offense focuses on the two stars.

“One is the greatest scorer of all time,” Dinwiddie said. “You’ve got to really recognize that, and get the ball where it needs to go. So you know everybody else needs to process and act accordingly, and then do what’s best to help the team win. There hasn’t been any explicit conversations, but to think that you’re going to be trying to take the ball out of KD’s hands probably isn’t the smartest thing.”

LeVert ranked fourth in the league in isolation attempts last season and had a 29.5% usage rate, which was the highest of his career. He spent the offseason working on his catch-and-shoot game to try to capitalize on the open opportunities that Durant and Irving will provide.

“I haven’t really been asked to do that stuff in the NBA,” he said. “So I love playing off the ball. It’s fun for me. I can’t wait to do that this season; it’s going to be very beneficial for all of us.”

There’s more from Brooklyn:

Power forward/center Nicolas Claxton has been diagnosed with right knee tendinopathy and may miss the rest of training camp, Lewis tweets. Claxton felt discomfort in the knee while working out this week, according to the team. He will begin a rehabilitation and strengthening program, and any updates on his status “will be issued as appropriate.” It’s the latest injury concern for Claxton, who wasn’t able to participate in the NBA’s restart after having shoulder surgery in June.
Head coach Steve Nash understands that improvement on defense will be necessary to compete for a title, Lewis adds in a separate story. That part of the game will be entrusted to former interim coach Jacque Vaughn, who is now Nash’s lead assistant. “Jacque started to put his imprints and adjustments into the defense in the bubble,” Nash said. “I think that many of them were similarly aligned with the way I see things, so we’ve had a really enjoyable process going through the film and looking around the league and figuring out what suits our team and the game the way it’s played nowadays.”
The written statement that Irving gave to reporters this week in lieu of interviews doesn’t mean he plans to bypass traditional media all season, tweets Ian Begley of SNY.tv.

Nicolas Claxton Has Shoulder Surgery, Out For Season

June 24th, 2020 at 6:59pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Nets reserve rookie big man Nicolas Claxton has undergone arthroscopic labrum repair surgery on his left shoulder, per a team statement captured by Ian Begley of SNY (Twitter link). Claxton is expected to miss the entire Orlando 2019/20 season resumption, but will return for training camp ahead of the ’20/21 season.

The No. 31 overall pick in the 2019 draft out of Georgia, Claxton played sparingly for the Nets during his debut season. The 6’11”, 215-pound 21-year-old holds averages of 4.4 PPG, 2.9 RPG, and 1.1 APG in 12.5 MPG across 15 games.

Claxton joins his starrier All-NBA teammates Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in sitting out for the Orlando restart. The Nets will have just 14 healthy players in Orlando, and two of those healthy players are on two-way contracts, per Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link).

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 2/19/20

February 19th, 2020 at 10:04pm CST by Arthur Hill

Here are Wednesday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

The Timberwolves assigned Jacob Evans, Omari Spellman and Jarred Vanderbilt to their affiliate in Iowa, the team announced in a press release. All three were acquired two weeks ago in deals at the trade deadline, with Evans and Spellman coming from the Warriors and Vanderbilt being obtained from the Nuggets.
The Hornets assigned Dwayne Bacon to their Greensboro affiliate, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer.
The Nets assigned Nicolas Claxton to Long Island, according to the G League transactions log.

Also on the transactions log:

The Knicks assigned Ignas Brazdeikis to Westchester.
The Jazz sent Miye Oni to Salt Lake City.
The Sixers assigned Zhaire Smith to Delaware.

Nets Notes: Lineups, Bryant, Claxton, Levy

February 17th, 2020 at 10:53am CST by Luke Adams

As the Nets prepare for Kyrie Irving‘s return to action, the team seems to be mulling the idea of leaning more heavily on small-ball lineups, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. While it’s possible not all of Irving, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Caris LeVert will be in Brooklyn’s starting five, there’s a chance that all three guards could play together at the end of games.

“The big question, the big thing is who’s going to finish; that’s the one, how do you finish?” head coach Kenny Atkinson said. “We have opportunities to play small, really small, too. That’s within our possibilities. We’ll just figure it out. It’s hard to know until you have it in your hands what exactly you’re going to do.”

As Lewis notes, a lineup that features the Nets’ top three guards alongside Joe Harris at the four and Jarrett Allen at the five has only played 18 minutes together this year, but it has been one of the club’s most effective five-man units, outscoring opponents by 20.5 minutes per 100 possessions. Harris told Lewis that he “wouldn’t be surprised” if Brooklyn opts for smaller lineups more often the rest of the way.

“I would’ve never thought in my life I’d be playing power forward in the NBA, but that’s the direction the NBA is going,” Harris said. “And as the year wears on, teams are doing whatever it takes to win games. Sometimes that’s going with a smaller lineup.”

Here’s more on the Nets:

Alex Schiffer of The Athletic takes a look at how Travon Bryant, who had a decade-long career as a player in international leagues, has become a key member of Atkinson’s coaching staff. Bryant, who works with Brooklyn’s frontcourt players, has had an impact on rookie big man Nicolas Claxton this season. “I enjoy working with him every single day,” Claxton said. “I have to give some credit to him. He’s extremely knowledgeable of the game, and I think he’s going to be a good coach in this league for a while.”
Back in November, the Nets parted ways with CEO David Levy after just two months. Speaking recently to Ira Boudway of Bloomberg (hat tip to Brian Lewis of The New York Post), Nets owner Joseph Tsai explained that he and Levy had different expectations for what that job would entail. “He was already looking ahead at how to grow the J Tsai sports portfolio, but we also needed someone to do the nuts and bolts,” Tsai said. “Maybe he thought that he wanted to do something that’s bigger and he could just bring in other people to do it, and I’m of a view that before you outsource something you should do it yourself.”
After getting a week off for the All-Star break, the Nets will make a concerted effort to avoid a repeat of their post-Christmas-break struggles, Lewis writes in a separate story for The New York Post. Following a four-day Christmas break, Brooklyn lost seven consecutive games and 12 of 14. A similar post-All-Star run could jeopardize the club’s hold on a playoff spot.

New York Notes: Ntilikina, Mills, Shumpert, Claxton

November 17th, 2019 at 2:25pm CST by clarkcrum

A starter in seven straight games, Knicks point guard Frank Ntilikina is finally trending in the right direction, writes Ian Begley of SNY.tv, largely because of his newfound mental approach to the game that began last season and continued this summer.

“I think the work I put in all summer and even last season while I was injured, allows me to be more comfortable and everything else in life be more comfortable here in this country, this situation as an NBA player, said Ntilikina. “And everything is set now, so my mind is all the way into basketball and do what it takes to get to the next level.”

There’s more from the Big Apple this afternoon:

Lesser-used players like Theo Pinson and Dzanan Musa rewarded Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson with his trust in them during the team’s recent win over Chicago, writes Brian Lewis of the New York Post. “That’s what we’re about,” Atkinson said. “We’ve got to trust these guys. They put in the work, they’ve been in our program a while so they understand what we’re doing. We can’t burn out our other guys, our top eight. We can’t play them 45 minutes. So, those guys’ contributions were huge.”
Stefan Bondy of the Daily News opines that allowing president Steve Mills to choose the Knicks’ next head coach (should David Fizdale be fired) is a silly proposition, as Mills has already failed time and time again to find the right candidate to lead the team moving forward.
Atkinson says the Nets are looking for new addition, veteran swingman Iman Shumpert, to fill a need with his perimeter defense, writes Brian Lewis of the New York Post. “He fits a need right now. Perimeter defense, that’s always been his calling card. I … know him well, know the personality. He gets after it defensively. That will be his role for us.”
According to Marc Berman of the New York Post, at least one former Knicks player did not like how MSG fans booed his former teammate, Mavs’ forward Kristaps Porzingis. “I think everybody can think what they want but I feel bad for KP,” said Hornets’ big man Willy Hernangomez. “He’s my brother. We spent too many nights in this amazing arena. I understand what people [do]. The people always treated me good when I was here and appreciated. But I was sad when I saw that.”
SB Nation’s Nets Daily takes a look at how Nets rookie power forward Nicolas Claxton is set to earn additional minutes at the NBA level as a result of the recent poor play of teammate Rodions Kurucs. “We’ve got to get our best talent on the floor,” Atkinson said Friday. “I think (Claxton’s) a talented guy. We need to find a way to play him.”

Atlantic Notes: Claxton, Porzingis, Ennis, Sixers

November 10th, 2019 at 2:33pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Spencer Dinwiddie, speaking after the debut of Nets rookie center Nicolas Claxton on Friday night in a 119-115 victory against Portland, called the 20 year-old the team’s second-most talented player. Claxton, drafted 31st by Brooklyn this summer, scored eight points on three-of-five shooting from the field and pulled down six boards in just 12 minutes of action.

“So, I still believe [starting center Jarrett Allen] is going to be an All-Star, but Nic is the second-most talented player on this team,” Dinwiddie said, per Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “[First] is [Kevin Durant], either the first or second most talented scorer of all-time. But Nic’s got game. He’s got a chance [to be great].”

Those comments reflect just how high Dinwiddie is on the rookie, considering he apparently has him ahead of Kyrie Irving on his informal list of Brooklyn’s most talented players. Irving, the Nets’ only healthy current All-Star, is averaging 31.9 points, 7.5 assists, and 5.8 rebounds per game for the 4-4 squad.

Meanwhile, Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson lauded Claxton’s defensive awareness: “Just understanding the coverages,” Atkinson noted. “I think one time in the first half we were switching everything and he handled that fantastically. That was part of the reason we drafted him, that he was versatile and could guard five positions, so he proved that.”

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

As Kristaps Porzingis prepared to suit up last week against the team that drafted him in 2015, The Athletic’s Frank Isola explored the Knicks front office’s alienation of the team’s former franchise player. Trouble began to brew when Porzingis blew off an April 2017 season exit interview with then-team president Phil Jackson and then-GM (now team president) Steve Mills. When pressed about the messy breakup Thursday, Porzingis said, “I’ll probably get in more trouble if I start talking about that stuff.” Isola observes that the Knicks’ returns in the deal have yet to bear much fruit: center DeAndre Jordan joined Brooklyn over the summer, point guard Dennis Smith Jr. was booed in the team’s first home game, and the Knicks have yet to use their two Dallas future first-rounders acquired in the deal.
It’s been a season of streaks for the Sixers. After starting out 5-0, the 76ers have lost three straight games on a Western Conference road trip, falling to the fifth seed in the East. Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer posits that the Sixers’ current troubles can be credited to their summer roster overhaul, and that they have too many new faces for continuity at present. New power forward Al Horford and long-term starting center Joel Embiid are still developing their on-court chemistry. When questioned about the team’s recent struggles, Horford observed, “What’s going to help us is the more games we continue to play, the more we get used to playing with one another, everything is going to come together.”
Veteran point guard Tyler Ennis made his triumphant return to a basketball game for the Raptors‘ G League affiliate, Raptors 905, 13 months after suffering a gruesome leg injury for Turkish team Fenerbahce. Doug Smith of The Toronto Star has the story and the details on Ennis, who feels that the time off had some unexpected developmental benefits. “I had six, seven, eight months of nothing, so I was able to think, ‘When I get back this is what I want to work on,’ ” Ennis said. “I want to be able to shoot better off the dribble and that’s how we kind of did it, in stages.” Though Smith observes that the parent Raptors could use a third point guard and liked Ennis as far back as the 2014 draft, Ennis is nursing a zen calm about the prospect of a callup: “I kind of just want to let it manifest.”