Four-year NBA veteran Edmond Sumner is planning to bring grit to the Nets this season, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. Sumner signed with Brooklyn in free agency this offseason.
At 6’6″, the 26-year-old established himself as a valuable rotation player before tearing his Achilles’ last year. He averaged 7.5 points per game with the Pacers in 2020/21, shooting 40% from deep in 53 contests.
“He just doesn’t miss days, he doesn’t skip workouts,” Sumner’s trainer, Mike Robertson, said. “That’s a testament to who he is and the kind of guy that you’re getting there. He’s just a great human being. He’s going to punch the clock, he’s going to continue to not just work hard for himself but to lift the others up around him. And he’s just a world-class human being. [Nets fans] are going to love him.”
Here are some other notes from the Eastern Conference:
- Nets owner Joe Tsai made a personal recruiting pitch to Markieff Morris before Brooklyn signed him, Marc Stein writes for Substack. Morris is expected to provide the Nets with frontcourt depth and could play small-ball five at times. He dealt with a neck injury after an altercation with Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic last season, playing only 17 games with Miami.
- Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel examines whether the Heat could have interest in Russell Westbrook in the event that he’s eventually bought out by the Lakers or another team. While Westbrook’s future with Los Angeles is unclear, he may not be a stellar fit alongside Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. The 33-year-old is currently on track to reach free agency next summer.
- Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com explores a number of Celtics-related topics in his latest mailbag, including Jaylen Brown‘s ball-handling. Brown struggled to take care of the ball at times last season, averaging 3.5 assists and 3.1 turnovers per game during the postseason. He still held respectable playoff averages of 23.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per contest, shooting 47% from the floor.
Brown was the best Celtic in the finals. But he does have to improve his handles if he is to move the next level.
Hope Jaylen & Jason both improved their handles this past off season! Hopefully Tatum worked on his cross court passes as well.
Go Celtics!
Markieff Morris as a small ball five is pretty despersate.
Just won a title w/ LAL as their small ball 5
Absurd. Ever hear of Lebron?
Ever heard of kevin durant? Or kyrie irving? Or ben simmons?
Sure. None of them play the 5 either.
As a Laker, Morris essentially just shot threes, and Montrezl or Lebron was always on the court with him when they played small ball.
Nets are going to find out pretty quickly what having Claxton and Sharpe as their only 5s means.
Lol ofc Bron was usually on the court with him. He was the star of the team. Exact same thing is true with KD & these Nets. Just take your L dude & be more careful about what you say if you’re gonna be a hater. Are you old enough to remember ppl saying the same things about GSW’s frontcourt that you’re currently saying about Brooklyn’s? Lol you were probably 1 of those ppl & just refuse to learn your lesson
When the Lakers played small ball that season, Montrezl or Lebron played the 5. So you’re wrong about Morris playing the 5 there, and it’s your L. They even started Lebron at center when AD was out under Vogel in subsequent seasons.
“It’s just unbelievable, the level he’s playing at,” Vogel said of Friday’s game. “Maybe after all these years, him playing center was the best way to utlitze him. Because that’s he’s been doing it, playing the center position with AD out, doing whatever the team needs to win games.
link to bleacherreport.com
Morris took 70% of his FGAs in the playoffs from three – that’s not playing the 5.
Comparing Kieff on the bubble Lakers to GSW (as if Draymond, Looney or whoever was their backup 5 took most of his shots from three) is funny.
smh if you’re guarding the other teams 5 then you’re playing the 5. Basketball 101 smh. If you don’t know stuff like this then you really shouldn’t be so definitive in the things you say about basketball bc you’ll end up looking dumb. Ofc Kieff shoots treys. I’m not sure if you’ve heard but 5s shoot treys now. Stretch 5 is the term. You’ll do well to remember that. Mehmet Okur, Spence Hawes, Myles Turner are all examples that you might wanna look up… when ppl talk about Kieff as a small ball 5 they’re specifically referencing the fact that he plays differently (smaller) than other 5s. Here’s some visual evidence. Kieff is guarding Jeff Green in this clip. Green was Houston’s small ball 5 & LAL went with Kieff instead of Dwight/Javale bc he’s more mobile. Bron was in the game as the 4, guarding Rob Covington. I understand it’s a tough pill to swallow to admit you’re wrong to somebody like me that you obv dislike lol but continuing to double down on obviously wrong statements truly makes u look dumb lol… link to m.youtube.com
So a short clip showing Morris shooting 4 threes is somehow supposed to prove Morris was defending the 5? It shows him in an (uncalled) defensive 3 second violation in the 1st defensive sequence, and on the perimeter in the 2nd and 3rd ones.
(6’7″ Covington was the Rockets small ball 5 with Capela injured (backup Green is 1″ taller). Lakers switching on everything defensively.
6:28 in the 2nd Q, Morris fouls PG Harden, his only foul in the game. Green only took 2 shots, missing both.
Enjoy your L!
Lol dude u are hopeless
Russ Westbrook would be a great fit with Jimmy & Bam. He’d be an upgrade from Lowry tbh
Westbrook and heat?
Is there another player in the nba that is less heat-like than Westbrook?
When i think of the heat. I think foremost of adaptability and learning new skills.