Brooklyn Nets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Celtics Notes: R. Williams, Irving, Tatum, Smart

April 13th, 2022 at 5:23pm CST by Arthur Hill

The schedule for the Celtics‘ first-round matchup with the Nets increases the chances that injured center Robert Williams will be available before the series is over, writes Darren Hartwell of NBC Sports Boston.

The series will open Sunday, with two off days following Game 1 and Game 2. Hartwell notes that Williams was given a four- to six-week prognosis when he underwent surgery for a torn meniscus in his left knee on March 30. The reports on Williams’ progress have all been positive, Hartwell adds, and the four-week mark will be April 27, which is the night of Game 5.

Coach Ime Udoka gave another encouraging update on Williams after today’s practice, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac. “Doing a little bit more every day. He’s looking good,” Udoka said. “We’re happy with the progress. He’s out on the court. Doing some shooting drills, some touch work. We’re still preparing for a series without him.”

There’s more from Boston:

Nets guard Bruce Brown made headlines with a statement about the prospect of attacking the Celtics without Williams in the middle, but Udoka has confidence in Al Horford and Daniel Theis to protect the basket, per Brian Robb of MassLive. “We still have two high-level defenders back there, big guys with Daniel and Al, and we have layers to our defense,” Udoka said. “… Obviously we played quite a few games without him now and have done good enough beating some good teams.” Boston went 4-3 after Williams got hurt, but Robb points out that several starters were rested in two of those losses.
Kyrie Irving has been a villain in Boston since he left the city as a free agent in 2019, but that animosity doesn’t extend to Celtics players, according to Souichi Terada of MassLive. Jayson Tatum said Irving was very helpful during his rookie season, adding that Irving has shared some regrets over what happened in Boston. “We’ve talked and there are some things that he probably told me he wished he would have done differently,” Tatum said. “But I think that’s a part of life. No one is perfect, you just got to move on from it as you get older.”
Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston examines how Marcus Smart has thrived as a point guard after Udoka allowed him to play that role on a full-time basis for the first time in his career. Smart, who received a four-year extension during the offseason, has become an on-court leader and is in the mix for Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Atlantic Notes: B. Brown, Nets, Celtics, Rivers, Joerger

April 13th, 2022 at 10:04am CST by Luke Adams

After Brooklyn defeated Cleveland on Tuesday to secure the No. 7 seed and lock in a first-round matchup against Boston, Nets guard Bruce Brown expressed confidence about how the team matches up against the Celtics.

“They don’t have Robert Williams, so they have less of a presence in the paint,” Brown said, per Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. “We can attack Al Horford and (Daniel) Theis. Them not having Robert Williams is huge.”

Although Brown expressed a little enthusiasm about how the Nets could attack the Celtics’ defense, his comments weren’t especially spicy — it’s not as if he was guaranteeing a series win. Still, his star teammate Kevin Durant wasn’t thrilled about Brown giving any extra bulletin-board material to their first-round opponents.

“That’s caffeine pride talking, taking some before the game,” Durant said when he addressed reporters following Brown’s media session. “Them two dudes (Horford and Theis) can do the same stuff (as Williams). It ain’t going to be that easy, I’ll tell you that.”

Asked why Brown’s comments rubbed him the wrong way, Durant explained that the Nets “respect their opponents,” as Nick Friedell of ESPN relays.

“We don’t need to talk about what we’re going to do to them,” Durant said. “I just don’t like that, but that’s how Bruce is. He comes in and keeps the same energy throughout the whole season so — but we don’t need to say s–t like that. Let’s just go out there and hoop.”

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

In an in-depth Insider-only story, Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN traces the evolution of the Nets from the young upstart team coached by Kenny Atkinson to the current veteran-heavy squad seeking a championship. Sources tell Arnovitz, whose feature includes several behind-the-scenes tidbits from over the years, that the disconnect between James Harden and the Nets began when the former MVP showed up to training camp out of shape, which irked Kevin Durant.
Multiple recent reports have identified Doc Rivers as a possible candidate for the Lakers‘ head coaching job, but the Sixers head coach dismissed those rumors on Tuesday and said he and his staff are happy with in Philadelphia. “I have a job,” Rivers said (Twitter link via Tom Moore of The Bucks County Courier Times). “We want to win here.”
Sixers assistant Dave Joerger was away from the team for over two months this season, leaving in November to undergo cancer treatments before returning to the bench on a full-time basis in February. Speaking to Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Joerger opened up on what he has gone through in the last year. “Where I’ve been, it runs the gamut,” he said. “There’s times you feel, ‘This is not going to stop me. There’s nothing that can stop me. I’ve got such a great support system,’ and then there’s times you just don’t know if you can go on anymore. Physically, mentally, it’s like, ‘This hurts.’ It’s given me a great appreciation for all the gifts and all the things that we have been given.”

Contract Details: Gabriel, K. Edwards, Cannady, More

April 12th, 2022 at 8:35am CST by Luke Adams

During the final three days of the regular season, five NBA players who had been on two-way contracts were promoted to their respective teams’ 15-man rosters.

Three of those five players – Jazz guard Trent Forrest, Suns forward Ish Wainright, and Cavaliers Moses Brown – received straight conversions, having their contracts turned into one-year, minimum-salary contracts, Hoops Rumors has learned. Forrest, Wainright, and Brown will be eligible to play in the postseason with their respective teams, but won’t be under contract beyond the 2021/22 season.

The other two – Lakers forward Wenyen Gabriel and Nets forward Kessler Edwards – signed two-year, minimum-salary deals that include team options for the 2022/23 season. Their clubs will have the opportunity to bring them back for another year if they pick up those options before the June 29 deadline. Gabriel’s salary will remain non-guaranteed even if his option is exercised.

Here are a few more details on contracts signed in recent days:

The Magic used a portion of their mid-level exception to give Devin Cannady a three-year deal and a $100K rest-of-season salary on Sunday, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac. A minimum-salary contract would’ve been limited to two years and would’ve resulted in a rest-of-season salary of just $8,558. Smith adds that Cannady’s second- and third-year salaries (worth the minimum) are non-guaranteed, with a team option on the 2023/24 season.
The Bucks dipped into their mid-level exception in order to give Rayjon Tucker a three-year, minimum-salary deal, according to Smith (Twitter link). The contract is non-guaranteed beyond this season.
Juwan Morgan‘s new two-year deal with the Celtics includes a minimum-salary team option for 2022/23, tweets Smith. Morgan’s salary will remain non-guaranteed even if the option is exercised.
Chaundee Brown‘s new two-way contract with the Hawks is a two-year deal, while the two-ways signed in recent days by Mac McClung (Lakers) and RJ Nembhard (Cavaliers) were just rest-of-season agreements, Hoops Rumors has learned. The majority of the players on two-way deals will be free agents this summer, but Brown is one of 13 who is also under contract for 2022/23, as our tracker shows.

Dragic Clears Protocols, Available Tuesday

April 11th, 2022 at 5:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Nets will have their veteran point guard available for Tuesday’s play-in matchup against Cleveland. Goran Dragic has cleared the league’s health and safety protocols, Marc J. Spears of ESPN tweets. Dragic hasn’t played since March 31. Dragic’s backcourt partner, Seth Curry, will also play on Tuesday, Nick Friedell of ESPN tweets. Curry has been dealing with an ankle injury.

Bruce Brown comes into the postseason in top form, Zach Braziller of the New York Post writes. Brown racked up 18 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and four blocks in a key win over the Cavaliers on Friday. The Nets swingman followed that up with 21 points against Indiana. Brown has made 12 three-pointers in the last six games. “Just all mental for me,” he said. “Just having confidence to shoot the ball. I got a lot of reps up this summer and during the year.”

Poll: Tuesday’s NBA Play-In Games

April 11th, 2022 at 10:56am CST by Luke Adams

A year ago, the NBA scheduled its first two Eastern Conference play-in games for the Tuesday after the regular season ended, with both the Western Conference games taking place on the Wednesday.

The league has tweaked that schedule this time around — Tuesday’s slate of games will feature one from each conference, with the Nos. 7 and 8 teams all in action. The Nos. 9 and 10 teams in both conferences will play on Wednesday.

That means we’ll know by the end of the night on Tuesday which two teams will claim the No. 7 playoff seeds, securing first-round matchups against the Celtics in the East and the Grizzlies in the West.

The Nets are eight-point favorites over the Cavaliers in the first of Tuesday’s play-in games, according to BetOnline.ag, and for good reason. The game will be played in Brooklyn, where Kyrie Irving is now eligible to play despite not having received a COVID-19 vaccine. And after a strong start to the season, Cleveland didn’t play well down the stretch, posting a 9-16 record since the All-Star break.

Injuries will also be a factor in this game. Irving and Kevin Durant are both healthy, which is more than can be said about the Cavs’ All-Stars. While Darius Garland is good to go, center Jarrett Allen continues to battle a fractured finger and there’s pessimism he’ll be available on Tuesday. Ben Simmons and Joe Harris will be sidelined for Brooklyn, but the Nets have gotten used to playing without those guys — Harris hasn’t played since mid-November and Simmons has yet to make his Nets debut.

Over in the West, the Timberwolves will host the Clippers after finishing four games ahead of them during the regular season. Still, BetOnline.ag only lists Minnesota as a three-point favorite for the time being.

The Clippers are getting healthy at the right time, which is one reason why they’re viewed as a candidate to make a little noise in the postseason. Kawhi Leonard continues to recover from his ACL surgery, but Paul George has been back in the lineup since late March and Norman Powell returned last week.

Winning in Minnesota will be a tall order for L.A. though. The Wolves have been one of the NBA’s most dangerous teams since the new year, having gone 30-16 following a 16-20 start to the season. The trio of Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards, and D’Angelo Russell has been tough to stop on offense, while Patrick Beverley and Jarred Vanderbilt helped anchor an above-average defense.

We want to know what you think. Which teams will win Tuesday’s play-in games and become this season’s No. 7 seeds?

Vote in our poll below, then head to the comment section below to share your thoughts!

Atlantic Notes: Durant, Nash, Barrett, Siakam, Knicks

April 10th, 2022 at 6:48pm CST by JD Shaw

Nets superstar Kevin Durant praised head coach Steve Nash for the job he’s been doing in his second season, as Chris Milholen of NetsDaily relays. Nash, hired in 2020, has pushed through a tumultuous season, which has included Durant missing time due to injury, Kyrie Irving‘s part-time availability and James Harden‘s trade request.

“I think he’s done a great job. The last two years, he’s been dealt a wild hand: injuries, trades, disgruntled players, guys in and out of the lineup, and stuff that he can’t control,” said Durant, his “disgruntled” player comment apparently referring to James Harden. “I felt like he’s handled it the best as he could.”

Nash spent 18 seasons in the league as a player, retiring in 2014. That career included eight All-Star appearances, though the former MVP never served as an assistant coach after retirement. Still, Brooklyn owns the seventh-best record in the East (44-38) and won four straight games to end the season.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division tonight:

Knicks swingman RJ Barrett suffered a knee injury against the Wizards on Thursday, but Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News (Twitter link) hears it isn’t serious. New York ruled Barrett out for its finale on Sunday, calling it a right knee sprain. The 21-year-old raised his scoring average from 17.6 to 20.0 points per game this season, but his shooting numbers slipped from last year (44% to 41% from the field and 40% to 34% from deep).
Michael Grange of Sportsnet examines how Raptors star Pascal Siakam reclaimed his place among the NBA’s elite players. Siakam finished the regular season, the best of his professional career, averaging 22.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. The 28-year-old also shot 49.4% from the floor and 34.4% from three-point range, leading Toronto to the fifth-best record in the East.
Marc Berman of the New York Post explores the potential futures for each player on the Knicks, terming the roster as “broken.” New York failed to make the play-in tournament after a successful season last year, finishing the campaign on a disappointing note.

Ben Simmons Could Return During First Round Of Playoffs

April 10th, 2022 at 2:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Ben Simmons could be back in action this season after all. There’s optimism that Simmons could make his debut during the first round of the playoffs as long as his progression continues in strengthening his legs and back, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Simmons has been ramping up his workload and is expected to continue doing so, Charania adds.

Of course, there’s a caveat to this update — the Nets have to make it out of the play-in tournament to reach the first round. They’re currently tied for seventh place with Cleveland entering the regular season finale for all teams on Sunday.

Simmons was on the court doing some shooting prior to their game against Indiana on Sunday. During his pregame press conference, coach Steve Nash said Simmons still needed to take a number of steps to suit up from the back injury that has kept him on the sidelines since he was dealt from Philadelphia, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets.

“He’s doing a little bit of movement, still 1-on-0 stuff,” Nash said. “He’s still got a lot of milestones to reach, but it’s positive.”

Nets Waive James Johnson, Promote Kessler Edwards

April 10th, 2022 at 8:40am CST by Rory Maher

APRIL 10: Edwards’ new contract is now official, the Nets announced (via Twitter). It includes a team option for next season, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

APRIL 7: The Nets have waived forward James Johnson, our JD Shaw tweets, and plan to promote rookie Kessler Edwards to a standard deal so he’s eligible for the postseason, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Johnson, 35, is a 13-year NBA veteran who’s appeared in a total of 747 regular season games. In 62 games (10 starts) with the Nets this season, he averaged 5.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists on .469/.271/.527 shooting in 19.2 minutes per night.

Edwards, 21, was the 44th overall pick of the 2021 draft after three seasons with Pepperdine. He’s been on a two-way contract this season, and clearly the Nets like what they’ve seen from the young forward, because they want him to keep contributing for a potential playoff run.

Through 46 games (22 starts) this season, Edwards is averaging 5.8 points and 3.5 rebounds on .412/.359/.824 shooting in 20.1 minutes. He took advantage of his opportunity over the winter months when the team was ravaged by players in the health and safety protocols, as he’d rarely seen action to that point.

Edwards is known as a strong, versatile defender and is a better spot-up shooter than Johnson, as evidenced by their respective three-point percentages. Because Johnson was waived so late in the season, he will not be eligible to play in the postseason with another team.

Ben Simmons Might Miss Entire Postseason For Nets

April 9th, 2022 at 9:00am CST by Rory Maher

After having been ruled out for the play-in tournament earlier this week, time is running out for Ben Simmons to return to action for the Nets, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Sports+ link).

Simmons is suffering from a herniated L-4 disc in his lower spine and received an epidural last month to treat the injury. He’s starting to feel better, and there’s hope he’ll avoid surgery, but it appears increasing unlikely he’ll be able to return for the playoffs.

“It looks like he’s doing a little bit better,” a league source told Lewis. “You know, it’s just a timing thing. The problem is the season is running out. But he’s doing [more]. He’s starting to do a little bit more movement, AlterG (an anti-gravity treadmill), stuff like that. So … we’ve got to be patient with it. I don’t think he’ll need a procedure, though. But you’ve just got to be patient with it.”

Lewis reports that this is the fourth back flare-up Simmons has dealt with over the past few seasons, including earlier this season with Philadelphia. Nets star Kevin Durant said the team isn’t going to pressure Simmons to return if he isn’t healthy.

“He’s doing good,” Durant said. “He looks good as far as just walking around and being around the team. Haven’t seen him do anything on the basketball court as much, but a couple walk-through things.

“But I think his spirits are in the right place and he’s excited to be a part of the group and [we’re] looking forward to having him out on the floor. I definitely don’t want him to rush back for us and his back is not right, so take all the time he needs to get his body right. And once he’s out there, we’re ready to rock and roll.”

Simmons has missed the entire season after his prolonged stalemate with the Sixers finally led to a trade to Brooklyn at the February deadline. The three-time All-Star has played in 275 career games, holding averages of 15.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 7.7 assists and 1.7 steals in 33.9 minutes per contest.

As Petter Botte of The New York Post relays, the Nets moved into seventh place after Friday’s 118-107 victory over Cleveland, led by 36 points from Durant. The Nets control their own fate for their final seeding in the play-in tournament — if they beat Indiana at home on Sunday, Brooklyn will finish as the No. 7 seed and get home-court advantage in the tournament.

Knicks Notes: Durant, Irving, Barrett, Quickley, Toppin, Draft

April 7th, 2022 at 2:26pm CST by Arthur Hill

The decision by Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to join the Nets instead of the Knicks as free agents in 2019 set the two franchises in opposite directions, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. The difference in star power was evident Wednesday night as New York built up a big lead before Brooklyn seized control in the fourth quarter for a 12-point win.

“That helps,’’ Knicks coach Tom Thobdeau said about having two superstars after Durant posted a triple-double and Irving scored 24 points. “But I love our young guys. I love what they’re doing and they’re getting better and better. Hey look, those guys over there were once young guys, too. It’s part of this league. Trial and error. Kyrie, Kevin, throw in Patty (Mills) and (Seth) Curry, you get that through experience. The more we go through it, the better we’ll get at it.’’

The Nets are headed for the play-in tournament and appear to be in good position to claim a spot in the playoffs. The Knicks, meanwhile, are wrapping up a disappointing season at 35-45 and are moving into what Berman considers a “make-or-break offseason” for team president Leon Rose. Fans are hoping for a franchise-altering move, possibly involving Donovan Mitchell or Zion Williamson, two clients of Rose’s former CAA agency. Unless something major happens, Berman suggests that owner James Dolan may reconsider his decision to put Rose in charge of the team two years ago.

There’s more from New York:

Irving told reporters after Wednesday’s game that the Knicks were in a strong position to sign himself and Durant in 2019, but the two stars opted to make an imprint on the Nets (video link from SNY.tv). “They had a good chance of getting us back in free agency,” Irving said, “but we just felt like we wanted to build here and just make our mark on this franchise.”
RJ Barrett has improved his chances for a rookie scale extension, says Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. The Knicks will have to decide this summer whether to give Barrett the offer, which would be worth a projected $181MM over five years. No matter what happens, Barrett is hoping for a long-term future with the team. “I’ve said it since day one that I wanted to come here. I didn’t work out for any other team (in the draft),” Barrett said. “This is where I wanna be. I love playing for the Knicks. I love playing in the Garden. I love how we got to the playoffs last year and looking to do that again. I love everything about being a Knick. Yeah, 100% the place I wanna be.”
Strong late-season performances by Immanuel Quickley and Obi Toppin may be changing the Knicks’ offseason plans, according to Mark W. Sanchez of The New York Post. With several veterans sidelined for the rest of the season, Quickley is showing signs that he can handle point guard duties, while Toppin has excelled without Julius Randle on the court, Sanchez notes.
Fred Katz of The Athletic examines the Knicks’ draft options under five different lottery simulations.