Brooklyn Nets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Nets’ Nash Not Planning To Bench Blake Griffin

November 1st, 2021 at 9:36pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Blake Griffin is off to an extremely slow start but Nets coach Steve Nash has no plans to bench the former All-Star, according to Brian Lewis of the New York Post.

Griffin has scored in single digits in every game this season while starting all six games. He has posted averages of 4.8 PPG on 28.6% shooting and 4.8 RPG in 20.0 MPG. Griffin has made just two of 17 3-point attempts while LaMarcus Aldridge has scored 37 points over the last two games.

“There’s no (plan to pull him). We’re not really thinking about changing roles,” Nash said. “BG’s been successful there for us in the past, and LaMarcus is successful coming off the bench right now. So there’s no reason to make any big changes.”

Nicolas Claxton has missed the last three games due to a non-COVID-19 illness. He’s expected to miss at least one more week, which gives Griffin more time to find his offensive game.

“We all go through different periods where we won’t have our rhythm, our confidence; and that’s what he’s going through right now. So it’s normal. We just don’t expect it from him because he’s shot the ball well for us,” Nash said.

Griffin re-signed with the Nets on a one-year, veteran’s minimum contract. He reached a buyout agreement last year with the Pistons, who have the remaining $29.7MM from that contract on their cap this season.

Nets’ Claxton Out At Least One Week

November 1st, 2021 at 5:02pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Nets big man Nicolas Claxton is expected to miss at least another week of action, according to Chris Milholen of NetsDaily.com.

Claxton has a non-COVID-related illness which has sidelined him for the last three games.

“Nic is going to be out a little bit. He’s not feeling well,” coach Steve Nash said. “Nothing to be concerned with but I don’t think he’s going to be back in the next week or 10 days. Just an illness, but it’s nothing major or nothing we’re overly concerned with. It’s just a little more severe illness than we thought initially and I think he’ll miss a little more time.”

Claxton, who will be a restricted free agent next summer, has struggled with his conditioning throughout the preseason and during the early portion of the regular season, Milholen notes. Claxton has appeared in four games, including three starts, averaging 6.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG and 1.0 BPG in 19.0 MPG. He provides some youthful legs, energy and shot-blocking to Brooklyn’s frontcourt.

Examining Whether LaMarcus Aldridge Could Become Nets' Third Scorer

October 31st, 2021 at 6:28pm CST by JD Shaw

Brian Lewis of the New York Post examines whether Nets big man LaMarcus Aldridge could become a reliable third scoring option for the team. Aldridge has averaged 12 points in 20 minutes per game, and with Kyrie Irving still out, Brooklyn will need continued production from the veteran.

Nets Notes: Irving, Tsai, Offense, Durant

October 30th, 2021 at 6:25pm CST by Arthur Hill

Nets owner Joe Tsai hasn’t talked to Kyrie Irving since the organization decided against letting him be a part-time player and there’s no indication that the standoff will be resolved soon, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. The basics of the situation haven’t changed — Irving still refuses to get the COVID-19 vaccine and New York City still has a vaccination mandate in place that doesn’t allow him inside Barclays Center for home games.

“Obviously Kyrie has his own belief so I respect that. But we have to make a team decision,” Tsai said. “This is not a decision about him. This is a decision about where we go as a team. And it is just not tenable for us to have a team with a player that comes in and out, no home games, only away games. What do you do in practice then?

“This week we have a whole stretch of six home games, so we won’t have Kyrie. So it became pretty clear to us. We are very much aligned among myself, (general manager) Sean (Marks), coaching staff that this has to be (the decision), especially since we’re a team with pretty lofty aspirations. We don’t see any other way of running this team.”

Tsai refused to discuss a possible extension for Irving, who is eligible for a new contract worth $187MM over four years. There have been reports that the offer is off the table amid the vaccine controversy, but Youngmisuk notes that Tsai referred to Irving as part of the Nets’ future several times during the interview.

“I hope that Kyrie can be part of the team, part of Brooklyn long term,” Tsai said. “But I am not going to get into the extension thing. I think we have an immediate question of whether he can play this season, and I hope he gets vaccinated as soon as possible.”

There’s more from Brooklyn:

Tsai believes he has shown that he’s willing to spend whatever it takes to keep the Nets in title contention every year, tweets NetsDaily. “Is that still a question?” he asked. “I’m going to pay $100 million in luxury taxes this year!”
The absence of Irving, a slow start by James Harden and the challenge of working in 10 new players has left the Nets’ offense sputtering, notes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Although Brooklyn has a wealth of talent, its current offensive rating is 101.0, which is 25th in the league. “At times (the offense) can look bad,” Kevin Durant said. “But for the most part I think we’re generating solid shots. We’re still trying to figure out what players, what best position to put different players in, which lineups work the best, where guys should be spaced out on the floor.”
Durant was fined $25K for throwing a ball into the stands during Friday’s game, the NBA announced (via Twitter).

Eastern Notes: Harden, Gafford, Simmons, Barnes

October 29th, 2021 at 8:35am CST by Luke Adams

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday about his slow start to the season, Nets guard James Harden explained that he’s still shaking off the rust since he didn’t get to play much during an offseason that was mostly spent rehabbing his hamstring injury.

“I had no opportunities to play pickup or nothing this summer,” Harden said, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “Everything was rehab for three months, from a Grade 2 injury that happened three times in one season. So this is my fifth game of trying to just play with competition against somebody else. And as much as I want to rush the process and be back to hooping and killing, (you have to) take your time.”

Harden, who has rarely had to deal with injuries since entering the league in 2009, admitted it was “frustrating” and “draining” to battle the hamstring issue down the stretch last season and over the summer. However, he said that he thinks he’s “getting better every single game.”

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

Wizards center Daniel Gafford appears to have avoided a major injury after undergoing an MRI on his right quad contusion. Head coach Wes Unseld Jr. said on Thursday that he expects Gafford to be back in a mater of days, not weeks (Twitter link via Ava Wallace of The Washington Post).
There’s no set timeline for Ben Simmons, who told the Sixers last Friday that he’s not yet mentally ready to play, but he has been at the team’s practice facility during the last week, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “He’s been working out,” head coach Doc Rivers said on Thursday. “Today he was at shootaround, did a lot of shooting and a lot of stuff with (skills development coach) Spencer (Rivers).”
With the Raptors set to face the Magic for the first time this season on Friday, the Scottie Barnes/Jalen Suggs debate has resurfaced, but fans in Toronto have to be happy with what they’ve seen from Barnes so far, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. Barnes, whom the Raptors picked over Suggs at No. 4 in this year’s draft, has averaged 17.0 PPG and 8.2 RPG on 53.7% shooting in his first five NBA games while taking on some challenging defensive assignments.

Patty Mills Has Been Timely Addition For Nets

October 28th, 2021 at 8:17am CST by Arthur Hill

The Nets didn’t know they wouldn’t have Kyrie Irving available when they added Patty Mills in free agency, but he has turned out to be exactly what they need, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Mills, who signed for the mid-level exception, was considered one of the top bargains of the summer. “He’s a winner,” coach Steve Nash said. “He plays the right way, he’s experienced. Obviously he’s skilled, but he just brings a great feel to the game, with (or) without the ball. And defensively, he makes our team communicate better. He organizes us (on) both sides of the ball. So, he just brings a lot to the table, and he’s a great addition to our team.”

Nets’ Zegarowski, Gray Sign G League Contracts

October 26th, 2021 at 9:20am CST by Luke Adams

Nets 2021 second-round picks Marcus Zegarowski and RaiQuan Gray are among the players on the training camp roster announced on Monday by the Long Island Nets – Brooklyn’s G League affiliate – for the 2021/22 G League season.

Zegarowski (this year’s No. 49 pick) and Gray (No. 59) were the only two 2021 draftees who hadn’t either signed an NBA contract or headed overseas for their rookie seasons, so our assumption had been that they would sign G League contracts and report to Long Island. The team’s announcement this week confirms that’s the case.

The “draft rights player” rule allows a G League club to add a player who was drafted by its parent NBA team, assuming that player signs an NBAGL contract. If a player takes that path, his NBA rights are retained by the team that drafted him, as if he were a draft-and-stash prospect.

In other words, Brooklyn could sign Zegarowski or Gray to a standard or two-way contract at some point down the road, but no other NBA team would be able to do so unless Brooklyn renounces their rights.

Taking the G League route has had mixed results for second-round picks in recent years. Isaiah Hartenstein earned an NBA contract with Houston in 2018 after playing for the Rockets’ G League affiliate as a rookie, and Kevin Hervey got a two-way deal with the Thunder in 2019 after spending a year in the NBAGL.

However, Jaron Blossomgame (Spurs), Justin Jackson (Magic), and Jaylen Hands (Nets) are among the recent draftees who never played an NBA game for the teams that drafted them after signing first-year G League contracts. While Blossomgame appeared in 27 games for Cleveland, Jackson and Hands still haven’t seen any action at the NBA level.

Chuma Okeke (Magic) and Vit Krejci (Thunder) got NBA contracts after signing G League deals as rookies, but both players were coming off major injuries and only started in the NBAGL for rehab purposes.

Nash: Never Considered Using Dinwiddie

October 25th, 2021 at 9:06pm CST by Dana Gauruder

There was speculation last spring that Spencer Dinwiddie might return from his partially torn ACL during the playoffs. However, Nets coach Steve Nash said that was never on the agenda, Brian Lewis of the New York Post tweets. “I personally don’t like it, I don’t think anyone in the medical staff thought it was fair to Spencer…So we didn’t bring it up,” Nash said. “We thought it was best to let him have his time to heal and further his career.” Dinwiddie has gotten off to a strong start with Washington this season.

New York Notes: Nets, Irving, Durant, Noel, Samanic

October 25th, 2021 at 2:09pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nets lost for a second time in three games on Sunday, prompting reporters to press Kevin Durant on whether he believes the team has enough firepower to seriously contend without Kyrie Irving available, as Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN details.

“While we are playing in a game, I am not going to sit there and say … when we get down or it is a tight game, like ‘Damn, we don’t have enough,'” Durant said. “We are not going to be thinking about (that) during the game. We definitely want Kyrie Irving out here on the floor. And he is a huge part of what we do. But it is not happening right now. So we got to figure it out.

“… It’s three games in. Of course we have enough.”

With Irving on the shelf until he agrees to be vaccinated or New York City drops its vaccine mandate for indoor public venues, the Nets will have to make up his scoring elsewhere. The first step will be getting James Harden on track — the former MVP is averaging just 18.3 PPG on 38.8% shooting through three games, both well below his career marks.

Here’s more on the NBA’s two New York teams:

Nets head coach Steve Nash said on Sunday that the plan is to have Durant play both games in back-to-back sets most of the time this season, tweets Youngmisuk. However, Durant may sit out the occasional game during back-to-back sets to keep him fresh.
After signing a lucrative new three-year contract with the Knicks in the offseason, Nerlens Noel has yet to make his 2021/22 debut due to a knee injury. However, head coach Tom Thibodeau said today that Noel is “doing more” in practice and has a 50-50 shot at playing on Tuesday vs. Philadelphia, tweets Fred Katz of The Athletic.
Thibodeau doesn’t expect Luka Samanic to play for the Knicks anytime soon, suggesting the former first-round pick will begin the season in the G League, as Marc Berman of The New York Post relays. “I think it’s for the Westchester team,” Thibodeau said of signing Samanic to a two-way contract. “We’re excited to have him. We’ll get a look at him once they get going.”

New York Notes: Uptempo Knicks, Quickley, Irving, Nash

October 23rd, 2021 at 7:42pm CST by Arthur Hill

The defensive-minded Knicks that were a surprise No. 4 seed in the East last season have been transformed, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Coach Tom Thibodeau’s team has a combined 259 points in its first two games and leads the NBA with 41 made three-pointers.

Thibodeau urged his players to commit to the three-point shot over the offseason, but some of the Knicks’ transformation has occurred out of necessity. The team is short-handed in the middle with Nerlens Noel dealing with a hamstring issue and Taj Gibson on paternity leave, so Thibodeau will have to decide whether to continue the new approach once they return.

“What we’re seeing in the NBA today is the premium that’s put on shooting,’’ he said. “Oftentimes, there’s at least four 3-point shooters on the floor. Now we’re seeing that there’s five. One of the things why I think we’re effective when Julius (Randle) is at the five and Obi (Toppin) is at the four is because the floor is opened up and now we have driving gaps where we can get to the basket. The great value in our team is the versatility.’’

There’s more from New York:

Immanuel Quickley understands that he needs to keep his offensive game sharp to stay in the Knicks‘ rotation, per Steve Popper of Newsday. Quickley got an opportunity as a rookie because New York needed scoring punch, but after signing Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier and drafting two guards, the team has a lot more options for backcourt scoring.
The Nets are “clearly sitting tight” in regard to a Kyrie Irving trade, a Western Conference executive tells basketball writer Jordan Schultz (Twitter link). Schultz doesn’t expect a deal for Irving to happen until much later in the season, if at all.
Nets coach Steve Nash is tinkering with lineups as the team gets used to playing without Irving, according to Tim Bontemps and Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Brooklyn is already dealing with a revamped roster that features 10 players who weren’t with the team at the end of last season. “It is not just the new pieces, it’s the void that we are used to playing with,” Nash said. “It is a lot for us to take on at this moment in time. But hopefully in the weeks coming, we start to clear some of the debris so to speak and figure out how we can best play together.”