Nets Sign LaMarcus Aldridge, Waive Alize Johnson
6:43pm: The Nets have officially signed Aldridge, according to a team press release.
4:19pm: The Nets are signing veteran power forward LaMarcus Aldridge and have waived Alize Johnson, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Brooklyn has officially announced the release of Johnson.
Aldridge will receive a veteran’s minimum contract worth $2.6MM for one year. That was all the Nets could offer due to salary cap constraints.
Aldridge retired last season due to an irregular heartbeat, but received medical clearance to resume his career on Thursday and Brooklyn was considered his likely destination. He played five games with the Nets before the condition forced him to temporarily end his career.
“I retired in April based on what I believed was the wisest precautionary decision for my personal health at the time, but further testing and evaluation by several top physicians has convinced the doctors, myself and the Nets that I’m fully cleared and able to return to the rigors of the NBA,” Aldridge said in a statement to ESPN. “I loved my brief time with Brooklyn and am excited to rejoin the team in pursuit of a championship.”
Aldridge, who also dealt with heart issues in 2017, started talking about a comeback last month. He averaged 13.7 points and 4.5 rebounds in 21 games last season with the Spurs as the team’s starting center. San Antonio opted to go with younger players and ultimately reached a buyout agreement, allowing him to sign with Brooklyn in late March. He was waived after announcing his retirement.
Johnson, 25, appeared in 18 games for Brooklyn in 2020/21, averaging 5.2 PPG and 5.0 RPG in just 10.5 minutes per contest.
Since he was on a three-year, minimum-salary contract, Johnson can’t be claimed off waivers using the minimum salary exception, but a team with a trade exception big enough to absorb his non-guaranteed $1.76MM salary could submit a claim. If he goes unclaimed, Johnson will become an unrestricted free agent on Sunday.
Brooklyn has been quite busy this week. The team reportedly reached an agreement with free agent forward Paul Millsap and has also agreed to trade DeAndre Jordan to the Pistons along with four second-round picks and $5.78MM in cash in exchange for Jahlil Okafor and Sekou Doumbouya.
After officially adding Millsap and Aldridge and completing their trade with Detroit, the Nets will have 16 players on guaranteed contracts and one (DeAndre’ Bembry) on a partially guaranteed deal, meaning more roster moves will be necessary to set the 15-man regular season roster next month.
Additionally, Brooklyn is carrying a two-way player (Kessler Edwards) and another (David Duke) on an Exhibit 10 deal. The club also has two unsigned second-round picks (RaiQuan Gray and Marcus Zegarowski).
Trading Jordan Was Best Option
- By trading DeAndre Jordan rather than waiving him and using the stretch provision over five years, the Nets made a wise financial move, as Bobby Marks of ESPN’s explains (Twitter link). The agreed-upon trade with the Pistons allows Brooklyn to avoid have dead money on the cap, which is essential for a luxury tax team. They also shed his salary over the next two seasons and acquired players on smaller contracts, which will reduce their tax liability in the short run.
Schiffer Examines Nets' Frontcourt, Vanterpool's Future
- In a pair of articles for The Athletic, Alex Schiffer examines the Nets‘ frontcourt situation, exploring what Paul Millsap will bring to the team, and weighs whether David Vanterpool‘s new job with Brooklyn will be his last role as an assistant coach before he gets a shot at a head coaching position.
LaMarcus Aldridge Cleared To Resume NBA Career
LaMarcus Aldridge has received medical clearance to start playing basketball again, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. The Nets are considered the favorites to sign him, Charania adds.
Aldridge’s career came to an abrupt end in April when doctors diagnosed him with an irregular heartbeat. The discovery prompted him to announce his retirement after playing just five games with Brooklyn, but he has passed all the medical tests necessary to resume his career, according to Charania.
Aldridge, who also dealt with heart issues in 2017, started talking about a comeback last month. The seven-time All-Star now appears ready to return for a 16th NBA season.
He was productive last year in 21 games for the Spurs, averaging 13.7 points and 4.5 rebounds as the team’s starting center. However, San Antonio opted to go with younger players and took Aldridge out of the rotation before ultimately reaching a buyout agreement. He signed with Brooklyn in late March, but experienced the health scare two weeks later and was eventually waived.
The Nets are facing a potential roster crunch after reportedly reaching an agreement with free agent forward Paul Millsap earlier today. However, Brooklyn could open up room with a rumored buyout of veteran center DeAndre Jordan. The Nets can only offer Aldridge a veteran’s minimum contract.
Paul Millsap To Sign With Nets
The Nets are landing one of the top free agents left on the market, agreeing to a deal with Paul Millsap, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. The deal was confirmed by Millsap’s agent, DeAngelo Simmons.
Numerous teams had expressed interest in the 36-year-old power forward, who spent the past four seasons in Denver. According to Charania, Millsap considered other contending teams, such as the Warriors, Bulls and Clippers, before deciding on Brooklyn (Twitter link).
The Nets were only able to offer a veteran’s minimum salary, but Millsap is looking for a chance to win a title, and Brooklyn is among the favorites for the upcoming season.
Millsap remained a productive player for the Nuggets last year in his 15th NBA season, averaging 9.0 points and 4.7 rebounds in 20.8 minutes per night. He started 36 of the 56 games he played, although his usage declined in the postseason.
The addition of Millsap would bring the Nets to 20 players heading into camp if they sign second-round draft picks Marcus Zegarowski and RaiQuan Gray. The team still has one of its two-way slots open.
Having another big man on the roster should lead to further speculation of a potential buyout for DeAndre Jordan. There has been talk that Brooklyn wants to get out from under Jordan’s contract, which will pay him $19.7MM over the next two seasons.
Nets, Knicks, Warriors Affected By Local Vaccination Policies
Unvaccinated NBA players in markets where local governmental policies prohibit unvaccinated individuals from entering indoor venues won’t be permitted to enter their home arenas or practice facilities without an approved medical or religious exemption, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links).
As Charania explains, this means that players in New York and San Francisco – members of the Nets, Knicks, and Warriors – won’t be able to play in home games unless they’re vaccinated or have an approved exemption. Visiting players would be exempt from the vaccination requirements in New York and San Francisco, Charania adds.
After dealing with the coronavirus pandemic in both the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons, the NBA is still determining how to handle the virus in ’21/22 now that vaccines are widely available. The league won’t make vaccinations mandatory for players, but is requiring personnel who interact with players – including referees – to be vaccinated. Charania reports (via Twitter) that fans within 15 feet of the court must also be fully vaccinated or register a negative COVID-19 test prior to the game.
While New York and San Francisco are the two major NBA markets with local restrictions in place on unvaccinated individuals, it’s possible more cities could join that list before or during the regular season. It’s also possible New York’s or San Francisco’s policies could be adjusted at some point. In each case, the NBA would have to abide by the market’s local regulations.
NBPA executive director Michele Roberts told Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports in early July that 90% of players had been vaccinated, and it’s possible that number is even higher by now. Still, there are likely a handful of holdouts, so it will be interesting to see whether any players are impacted by these rules once the season begins.
Scotto’s Latest: Cavs, Bulls, J. Smith, D. Jordan, Dudley, More
There were some “intense” talks in the Lauri Markkanen sign-and-trade negotiations between the Cavaliers and Bulls for several days leading up to their agreement last week, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype said in his latest podcast with Yossi Gozlan.
According to Scotto, Cleveland originally wanted to include three second-round picks in their offer for Markkanen, but Chicago insisted on receiving a first-rounder, and the Cavs were able to get one from Portland for Larry Nance Jr. and reroute it to the Bulls.
Even after securing that first-round pick, the Bulls held out for a second-rounder on top of that, according to Scotto, who says some of the parties involved in those negotiations were frustrated by what they perceived to be a moving of the goal posts. Eventually though, the Cavs sent a protected second-round selection to Chicago to get the deal done.
Here’s more from Scotto:
- Second-year big man Jalen Smith has been made available by the Suns, multiple sources tell Scotto. Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report stated last month that Phoenix was gauging interest in Smith, and I speculated earlier this week that the former lottery pick could be in play if the Suns make a trade offer for Spurs forward Thaddeus Young.
- Scotto reports that the Nets have offered a first-round pick swap in trade talks involving center DeAndre Jordan, but haven’t found any takers. The two sides are reportedly exploring a buyout.
- Jared Dudley told Scotto that he planned to retire if the Lakers didn’t re-sign him, since he didn’t want to play anywhere else. When L.A. chose to move on, Dudley accepted an assistant coaching job with the Mavericks.
- The Bulls are among the teams that have shown some interest in free agent wing James Ennis, according to Scotto.
- When he re-signed with the Knicks, Nerlens Noel wasn’t assured the starting center job, but he’ll get a chance to compete for that role and will “definitely” play meaningful minutes, says Scotto.
Nets May Have Interest In Stanley Johnson
The Nets are eyeing free agent forward Stanley Johnson and may have interest in signing him, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Johnson has been around Nets players and staff members in Southern California for his offseason workouts, Scotto adds.
Johnson, 25, was the eighth overall pick in the 2015 draft and spent the first three-and-a-half seasons of his NBA career in Detroit before being traded to New Orleans. He played for the Raptors from 2019-21, earning a spot in the team’s regular rotation this past season.
Johnson’s 2020/21 numbers (4.4 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 1.5 APG, .382/.328/.800 shooting) in 61 games for Toronto don’t exactly jump off the page, but he did provide some energy and defensive versatility off the bench. The Nets aren’t exactly lacking for offense, so a defense-first player like Johnson could be a fit.
Currently, Brooklyn has 13 players on fully guaranteed contracts, with DeAndre’ Bembry on a partial guarantee and Alize Johnson on a non-guaranteed deal. If the team buys out or trades DeAndre Jordan, a roster spot could open up for Johnson or another veteran free agent, such as Isaiah Hartenstein. Unsigned second-round picks Marcus Zegarowski and RaiQuan Gray are also in the picture, though the Nets already have two rookies on their 15-man roster and might not want to add any more.
Bucks Co-Owner Lasry Talks Budenholzer, Jrue, Tax, More
After watching the Bucks win a championship for the first time in 50 years during the 2020/21 season, co-owner Marc Lasry is confident that the team will remain in the mix for a title again in ’21/22. Lasry told Sam Amick and Anthony Slater of The Athletic that he views the Bucks and Nets as the top two teams in the East entering the fall.
Asked if the Heat – who eliminated the Bucks from the playoffs in 2020 – are in that top tier alongside Milwaukee and Brooklyn, Lasry praised Kyle Lowry, Jimmy Butler, and P.J. Tucker, calling Miami a “really good” team. However, he said he believes the Bucks are better.
“Ultimately at the end of the day I’d rather have our team,” Lasry said. “… If we’re healthy, you know we should go pretty far.
“But I would say the same thing (about other teams). If the Nets are healthy, they should go pretty far. It’s who’s going to be the healthiest when you get there. And it’s been interesting trying to figure out (that part) because I bet you there’s going to be a lot of gaming of this… You want to be the No. 1 seed, but do you want to be the No. 1 seed, or do you want to make sure you’re the healthiest going into the playoffs?”
Lasry’s appearance on The Athletic’s Tampering podcast touched on several other topics of note. The discussion is worth checking out in full, but here are a few highlights from the Bucks’ co-owner, via Amick and Slater:
On head coach Mike Budenholzer getting a contract extension after being on the hot seat:
“Bud is really good. I mean, he is. He does have that quiet confidence, which is nice. So I think you go through all of this, and one of the things that I saw — and I told this to Bud — was I said, ‘Look, there was a huge amount of pressure on us, on him, on all of us, because everybody expects you to win.’ And what he showed us during that time is how well he handled the pressure, how well he prepared the team, and what a great job he did, so that after we won, we were like, ‘Look, it’s not like we want to reward you; we want to keep you.'”
On the 2020 acquisition of Jrue Holiday and how it influenced Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s decision to sign a long-term extension with the Bucks:
“(General manager) Jon Horst felt that (Holiday) was going to be the missing piece, and he was dead right. You know, I remember the first practice and Jrue is covering Giannis. And same thing — Giannis knew Jrue by reputation. After practice that day, Jon says to me, ‘Yeah, Giannis now knows how good he is. (Holiday’s) covering him. He’s good.’ It was actually great. It was. And I think 100 percent it was a huge factor in Giannis re-signing because he saw what we were willing to do.”
On the Bucks becoming a taxpayer in 2020/21 and going further into the tax in ’21/22:
“Look, (the tax) is a big part. I’m not going to tell you it’s not. I mean, it’s just — if you sign somebody for $5MM, you’re not signing him for $5MM, you’re signing him for $25MM, $20MM. You sort of look at that, and you’re trying to figure out, ‘Alright, look, if we’re going to do that, OK, there is a cost to it. Yeah, we want him, but that’s going to cost us $25MM or that’ll cost us $35MM.’ I mean, whatever the numbers are. And I think we’re very focused on that.
“Look, we’re a small-market team. It’s expensive. I mean, for us, this year we’re going to lose quite a bit of money. … But at the end of the day, the goal is that you want to keep winning a championship, so you’re going to spend the money.”
Bulls, Clippers Among Teams Interested In Paul Millsap
We can add a couple new teams to the list of clubs eyeing Paul Millsap, as Shams Charania of The Athletic reports that the Bulls have pursued the veteran power forward and the Clippers have also expressed interest.
Charania confirms that the Warriors and Nets remain in the mix for Millsap, who has previously been linked to the Hawks, Pelicans, Sixers, and Timberwolves as well.
Millsap’s decision could ultimately come down to which factors are most important to him, since some teams cited as suitors could offer more money than others, some could offer a bigger role, and some are in better position to compete for a title right away.
The Bulls, for instance, still have their $3.7MM bi-annual exception available, so they could offer Millsap more than a handful of teams limited to the minimum salary exception. The Clippers, on the other hand, are limited to a minimum-salary offer, but are closer to title contention than Chicago.
Both teams could have regular frontcourt minutes available for someone like Millsap, since the Bulls just lost Lauri Markkanen and the health of Serge Ibaka remains a question mark for the Clippers. Chicago has just 13 players on guaranteed contracts, while Los Angeles is carrying 14.