Brooklyn Nets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Charania’s Latest: Nets, Roberson, Ball, Simons, Faried

February 15th, 2021 at 2:39pm CST by Luke Adams

Before they signed veteran swingman Iman Shumpert in an effort to improve their wing defense, the Nets considered longtime Thunder forward Andre Roberson, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic. According to Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter link), the Nets’ interest in Roberson wasn’t just cursory — the team actually worked him out before signing Shumpert.

Roberson, who is limited on offense but has a reputation as a defensive stopper, returned last August during the NBA’s summer restart after having missed over two full years due to knee issues. However, his contract expired at season’s end and he has yet to catch on with a new NBA team. Given how many of Brooklyn’s end-of-roster players have non-guaranteed salaries, it’s possible the Nets could open up a spot and circle back to Roberson later in the season, as Lewis notes.

Here’s more from Charania:

The Raptors and Nets – who were both mentioned by Charania as possible Andre Drummond suitors via trade or buyout – are viewed as two teams in the market for frontcourt help. Charania suggests the Mavericks, Lakers, and Trail Blazers are among the clubs likely to join that list.
Charania confirms that the Bulls have some interest in Pelicans guard Lonzo Ball, but says the two teams haven’t engaged in any dialogue about a possible trade.
Rival teams are keeping an eye on Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons, according to Charania. There’s no indication Portland has interest in moving Simons, but other clubs may envision a larger scoring and play-making role for him than he has in Portland, where he backs up an All-NBA point guard.
Veteran big man Kenneth Faried, 31, is working out in Los Angeles and hopes to make an NBA comeback, per Charania.

Cavs Plan To Sit Andre Drummond As They Pursue Trade

February 15th, 2021 at 10:06am CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers are planning to keep Andre Drummond on the bench as they work on finding a trade destination for the veteran center, according to Adrian Wojnarowsi and Brian Windorst of ESPN. As ESPN’s duo explains, Jarrett Allen is considered the Cavs’ center of the future and the team believes it’s unfair to Drummond to limit his minutes as the transition to Allen takes place.

According to Wojnarowski and Windhorst, general manager Koby Altman discussed the decision with Drummond and his agent, Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports. While Schwartz wouldn’t confirm or deny ESPN’s report, he offered the following statement:

“Whichever direction this goes, Andre is 27, in his prime, and I believe strongly that he has a great deal to add to a team building toward a postseason run.”

Drummond was ruled out of Sunday’s game for “rest” purposes, but sources told Shams Charania of The Athletic that the center sat on Sunday in part due to his recent “attitude and play.” Charania adds that head coach J.B. Bickerstaff has had multiple sit-down discussions with the 27-year-old, who has been frustrated by the Cavaliers’ recent slump.

According to Charania, the Raptors and Cavs are engaging in trade discussions about Drummond. However, a deal could take a while to come together as Toronto and Cleveland navigate through cap-related challenges and the possibility of incorporating other teams, so nothing is imminent.

Wojnarowski tweets that, while Cleveland is gauging the Drummond market, there are no “serious” ongoing talks taking place. Addressing the Raptors possibility specifically, Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca confirms (via Twitter) that Toronto has interest, but says discussions have only been exploratory and notes that matching Drummond’s $28.75MM salary would be difficult.

Other teams, including the Nets and Mavericks, would have interest in Drummond if he’s bought out, sources tell The Athletic. It’s unclear how many clubs besides Toronto would be interested in pursuing the big man via trade.

Cleveland’s obvious preference would be to avoid a buyout, especially since the team remains in the hunt for an Eastern Conference playoff spot and wouldn’t want to essentially hand Drummond to a conference rival for nothing, Charania writes. No buyout discussions have taken place to this point, sources tell ESPN.

Meanwhile, Drummond may not be the only Cavs center who is traded prior to the March 25 deadline. Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com reports that the club has received trade offers for all of its centers, though only Drummond and JaVale McGee are considered available — Allen isn’t going anywhere.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Kevin Durant Out At Least Two Games With Hamstring Strain

February 15th, 2021 at 8:01am CST by Luke Adams

Nets star Kevin Durant has been diagnosed with a mild left hamstring strain and will miss at least the next two games, the team announced (via Twitter).

Brooklyn’s next two games are in Sacramento on Monday and in Phoenix on Tuesday. If Durant’s absence doesn’t extend beyond those two contests, he’d be able to return for a Thursday showdown in Los Angeles against the Lakers on TNT.

It has been a stop-and-start year so far for Durant, who missed the entire 2019/20 season as he recovered from an Achilles tear. The Nets have played it safe with the former MVP in the early going, holding him out of half of some back-to-back sets to manage his return from that injury. Durant has also been sidelined for several games due to two separate week-long stints in the NBA’s health and safety protocols.

Since James Harden made his Nets debut on January 16, the team’s Big Three – Durant, Harden, and Kyrie Irving – has been active for just seven of 15 games, and Durant was forced to exit one of those games early due to COVID-19 protocols.

On the plus side for Brooklyn, DeAndre Jordan, who missed Saturday’s game vs. Golden State for personal reasons, is listed as probable to play on Monday against Sacramento.

Atlantic Notes: Green, Nets, Milton, Boucher, Raptors

February 14th, 2021 at 6:35pm CST by JD Shaw

Warriors forward Draymond Green said he believes the Nets are “the team to beat” in the East after losing a 134-117 game to Brooklyn on Saturday night, as relayed by Peter Botte of The New York Post.

Green tallied six points, seven rebounds, and eight assists in the contest, playing against former teammate Kevin Durant for the first time since Durant left Golden State in the summer of 2019.

“They’ll be really dangerous in the East. I think there are some other good teams in the East that pose a threat to them, but they’re the team to beat in the East, if you ask me,” Green said. “It’s my opinion. That doesn’t mean anything, but that’s my opinion, they’re definitely the team to beat in the East.”

As it stands, the Nets hold the third-best record in the East at 16-12, trailing only Milwaukee (16-10) and Philadelphia (18-9) in the conference standings.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division tonight:

Sixers guard Shake Milton will miss Monday’s game against the Jazz due to an ankle injury suffered last week, head coach Doc Rivers said, per Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). Rivers didn’t offer a specific return timetable for Milton, who has already missed the last two games.
Raptors big man Chris Boucher has been the team’s most improbable success story, Michael Grange of Sportsnet writes. Boucher has proven to be effective on both ends of the floor this season, averaging 13.8 points and 6.9 rebounds in 23.3 minutes per game.
The Raptors are striving to maximize their practice time as the season progresses, Doug Smith of The Toronto Star writes. Naturally, Toronto is also concerned with maintaining a balance and ensuring its players don’t get injured by increasing the workload too much, as guard Fred VanVleet explained. “It’s a fine line, because we have a very inexperienced team in some regards,” VanVleet said. “We’re not the sharpest team at times this year, so it feels like we need those reps. But at the same time it’s been a grind and we need to manage the schedule, manage guys’ bodies.”

Pacific Notes: Kuzma, Walton, Saric, Durant

February 13th, 2021 at 2:21pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma signed a three-year, $40MM rookie scale extension in December. All other players who signed similar extensions before the season got bigger contracts but Kuzma has no regrets, according to Bill Oram of The Athletic.

“Of course, guys got paid,” the Lakers forward said, “and obviously as a competitor of who you are as a player, you always look at things like that. But at the end of the day, I love the situation that I’m in. … I know a lot of guys that are making $20, $23, $24 million and they’re not really that happy because they go to work every day, you may not be winning, you have to deal with certain other things. For me, I’m happy.”

We have more from the Pacific Division:

Kings coach Luke Walton doesn’t mind taking heat if it takes pressure off his players, Jason Jones of The Athletic writes. “When we’re behind closed doors and we’re in film sessions and we’re in practices and we’re in team meetings we’re going to be honest and brutal about where we need to get better at, who’s messing up, how do we fix it and we’re going to drill it, drill it, drill it,” Walton said. “But to me, that type of information doesn’t need to be given out in a way that’s going to make any of our players feel bad about themselves,” he said. “That’s not part of the culture we want to build here. … So I’ll take the hits all day long as long as we’re getting the type of work and effort from the players that we need.”
Suns forward Dario Saric confirmed that he tested positive for COVID-19 last month, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic tweets. Saric hasn’t played since January 11 and his return was further delayed by an ankle sprain, Gina Mizell tweets. He took a bad step during sprints after recovering from the virus but he was active against Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon.
Kevin Durant faces the Warriors on Saturday, the first time he’ll play against his former team in Golden State since signing with the Nets. ESPN’s Nick Friedell takes a look back at what caused the breakup between Durant and the Dubs.

Kevin Durant Cleared To Return

February 12th, 2021 at 12:32pm CST by Luke Adams

After missing three full games – and parts of a fourth – due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols, Nets star Kevin Durant has been cleared to return. Head coach Steve Nash confirmed that Durant was able to practice today and said he’ll be a “full go” for Saturday’s game against the Warriors, per Malika Andrews of ESPN (Twitter link).

Durant was placed in the league’s COVID-19 protocols last Friday after being in close contact with someone who tested positive for the virus. The two-time Finals MVP has continued to test negative for the coronavirus during the last week, allowing him to get back in Brooklyn’s lineup on Saturday. It will be his first time playing in Golden State since he left the Warriors as a free agent in 2019.

While the Nets will have Durant back, they’ll be without DeAndre Jordan, who will miss the game for personal reasons unrelated to the coronavirus, according to Nash (Twitter link via Andrews). The expectation is that Jordan will continue to be tested for COVID-19 during his absence and will be able to rejoin Brooklyn during its West Coast road trip, which runs through February 21.

With Jordan out, both the Nets and Warriors will be extremely shorthanded at the center position, so we could see plenty of small-ball when the two teams take the court tomorrow.

James Harden Discusses Exit From Houston

February 12th, 2021 at 12:20pm CST by Luke Adams

It has been nearly a month since word broke that the Nets had reached a deal to acquire James Harden, a move that was preceded by a press conference in which the former MVP declared that the Rockets were just “not good enough” and that he didn’t believe the situation in Houston could be fixed.

In a sit-down interview with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols (video link), Harden reflected on his actions during the weeks leading up to his exit from Houston, from his trade request to his late arrival at training camp to that final press conference. He admitted that the way his last month or two with the Rockets played out isn’t how he envisioned his eight-year tenure with the franchise ending.

“I don’t like it at all, because that’s not who I am,” Harden said. “The drama, the extra — whatever you want to call it, the negativity. I don’t really like negative energy, it’s draining. I don’t like how it necessarily happened. I feel like it could have happened a lot smoother, a lot easier, but it is what it is.”

While Harden would’ve preferred a cleaner break with the Rockets, he also told Nichols that he wouldn’t necessarily want to go back and do things differently, since the outcome was ultimately the one he wanted.

“I wasn’t trying to be disrespectful, I wasn’t trying to be selfish. I feel like the front office knew where I stood and what I wanted,” Harden said. “I apologize for how it went down, but I guess I had to do what I had to do in order to get to where I wanted to go.”

When Harden’s trade request first broke in November, he was said to be focused on getting to the Nets. The Sixers were later reported as a favorable landing spot, and he eventually added several more teams to his wish list, but he told Nichols that he appreciated the Rockets being able to work out a trade that sent him to the destination he preferred from the start.

“Credit to Houston. They didn’t necessarily have to trade me to Brooklyn,” Harden said. “They could’ve traded me anywhere, but those are some stand-up guys over there. It ended up the right way. I just didn’t like how that month or two played out.”

Nets Hope To Improve Big Three's Dynamic

February 11th, 2021 at 8:24pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Nets still hope to improve the on-court dynamic between their new Big Three of All-Stars Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden now that everybody is healthy, writes Brian Lewis of the New York Post. “It’s funny,” head coach Steve Nash noted. “[It’s been] four weeks already, Kevin and [Irving] and James have played 5 ½ games, if you include the Raptors game, together.”

Nets Notes: Irving, Jordan, Eastern Contenders

February 11th, 2021 at 2:21pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nets suffered a third consecutive loss on Tuesday, dropping a 122-111 decision to the last-place Pistons, prompting some self-reflection from star guard Kyrie Irving and head coach Steve Nash, among others. Irving said the team looked “very average,” as Malika Andrews of ESPN writes, while Nash said the club needed to improve its “competitive spirit,” per Brian Lewis of The New York Post.

The Nets responded on Wednesday with a 104-94 victory over Indiana — it was just the second time since acquiring James Harden on January 17 that Brooklyn had allowed fewer than 100 points in a game.

That game, which Brooklyn led by as many as 36 points, was an encouraging sign, but the Nets will need to string together more wins like it to show that they’re truly elite, says Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post. The team, which has a modest 15-12 overall record, has too often looked discombobulated and disinterested, according to Vaccaro.

Here’s more on the Nets:

Although Kyrie Irving‘s injured right index finger only forced him to miss one game, he admitted that it bothered him in his return on Tuesday, as Brian Lewis writes for The New York Post. “It’s uncomfortable, but at the same time I don’t want to make any excuses,” Irving said. “I’m out there, put myself out there, do a lot of treatment on it and we’re down a few players obviously, as well, so you just want to go out there and compete and worry about the pain later.”
Nets center DeAndre Jordan bounced back nicely after sideline clashes with James Harden and Steve Nash on Tuesday, Lewis notes in a separate story for The Post. “If I’m honest, it was an emotional night (Tuesday),” Nash said. “D.J. and I got upset at each other for a minute. I know D.J. got upset a few times during the game. So I’m proud of him because he bounced back with an incredible attitude, effort, performance.”
Tim Bontemps of ESPN polled a handful of coaches, scouts, and executives from around the league on which Eastern teams are capable of reaching the NBA Finals and found that the Nets and Bucks are still considered the two frontrunners, despite the fact that the 76ers are currently the conference’s No. 1 seed.

Nets To Allow Fans At Barclays Center Later In February

February 10th, 2021 at 5:50pm CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks announced plans today to allow approximately 2,000 fans at their home games beginning on February 23 (Twitter link). The announcement came on the heels of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo permitting large sports venues to reopen at 10% capacity, which will pave the way for the Nets to begin allowing fans at Barclays Center later this month as well, as Malika Andrews of ESPN writes.