Brooklyn Nets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Nets Sign Norvel Pelle

January 22nd, 2021 at 1:17pm CST by Luke Adams

JANUARY 28: The Nets have made it official, issuing a press release confirming the signing of Pelle. Brooklyn now has two open roster spots and will have to fill at least one of them within the next couple days.

JANUARY 22: The Nets intend to fill one of the openings on their 15-man roster by signing free agent big man Norvel Pelle, agent BJ Bass tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Pelle will have to clear the NBA’s health and safety protocols before officially joining the team.

Pelle, who will turn 28 in February, spent last season with the Sixers, first on a two-way contract and later on a standard deal. He averaged 2.4 PPG, 2.2 RPG, and 1.3 BPG in 24 games (9.7 MPG) for Philadelphia in 2019/20, then was waived in the offseason before his salary for 2020/21 became guaranteed.

Pelle has had the opportunity to show off his defensive upside in the G League during the last two seasons, appearing in 44 games for the Delaware Blue Coats and averaging an eye-popping 2.9 blocks in just 22.8 minutes per game. He also contributed 11.6 PPG and 8.7 RPG in those 44 NBAGL contests.

The Cavaliers signed Pelle to an Exhibit 10 contract last month with an eye toward having him play for the Canton Charge this season, but it seems that won’t happen now that he’s headed to the Nets.

Given his relative lack of NBA experience, Pelle is unlikely to play big minutes in Brooklyn. However, his defensive skills and his ability to play the five should be of use to a more offensive-minded Nets team that lost some frontcourt depth by giving up Jarrett Allen in the blockbuster trade for James Harden.

Brooklyn will still have two open roster spots after signing Pelle and must fill at least one of them by next weekend.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Kevin Durant To Sit Out Friday's Game

January 22nd, 2021 at 1:02pm CST by Luke Adams

Nets star Kevin Durant, who played 50 minutes in Wednesday’s double-overtime loss to Cleveland, will be held out of Friday’s rematch due to injury management, per the team (Twitter link). Friday’s game is the first half of a back-to-back set, so Durant should be available on Saturday vs. Miami.

Atlantic Notes: Nets Big Three, Tatum, Curry, TD Garden

January 21st, 2021 at 7:58pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Nets general manager Sean Marks is hopeful that the team will be able to extend Brooklyn’s new Big Three of forward Kevin Durant and guards James Harden and Kyrie Irving, per Brian Lewis of the New York Post. The three stars, all of whom can become free agents in 2022, will not be eligible to ink contract extensions until the new league year commences in August.

“We’re definitely committed to these guys,” Marks said in a local radio interview on WFAN. “We’ll continue to build with this group, and we’ll just see where it goes. But hopefully it’s a lot longer than a year-and-a-half.”

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

Though Celtics All-Star small forward Jayson Tatum remains closer to an on-court return for Boston, he will remain unavailable for at least Friday’s tilt with the Sixers, Tim Bontemps of ESPN tweets. Tatum has not played for Boston since the team’s 116-107 win over the Wizards on January 8.
Sixers starting shooting guard Seth Curry has seen his health status upgraded to probable ahead of Philadelphia’s Friday game against the Celtics, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Curry has not played since injuring his right ankle in a 122-109 January 6 defeat to the Nets. Since then, he tested positive for COVID-19, but has since cleared league protocols and now is working on his conditioning ahead of a return.
The Celtics have inked a 15-year extension on their current lease with their home arena, TD Garden, per Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe. The contract will keep Boston home games located at TD Garden through the 2035/36 season.

LeVert Alerted Trade Was Possible In August

January 20th, 2021 at 9:21pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Nets-turned-Pacers wing Caris LeVert was notified by Brooklyn GM Sean Marks during their 2020 offseason that he might be traded in 2020/21, according to J Michael of the Indianapolis Star. “Sean was very honest with me from the first time the rumors came out. He told me don’t rule it out,” LeVert said. “I didn’t know it was going to happen. I just knew that it was a possibility and there was a lot of speculation.”

Nearly Half Of NBA’s Teams Have Open Roster Spots

January 20th, 2021 at 12:16pm CST by Luke Adams

After the NBA’s transactions wire remained relatively quiet for the first few weeks of the 2020/21 season, teams have begun making moves with a little more frequency as of late.

While one recent transaction – the four-team trade that sent James Harden to Brooklyn – was clearly a higher-impact move than the rest, a number of clubs have made smaller changes to their rosters by waiving players this week. The Raptors and Wizards cut big men Alex Len and Anzejs Pasecniks from their 15-man rosters, while the Sixers opened up a two-way slot by releasing Dakota Mathias.

As a result, there are now 12 teams across the NBA that have at least one open 15-man roster spot. One of those teams – the Trail Blazers – also has an open two-way contract slot, as do two others, leaving just 16 clubs who are carrying the maximum of 17 players.

With so many clubs facing roster shortages recently and the NBA and NBPA discussing the possibility of adding a third two-way slot to rosters for the rest of the season, it’s a little surprising that more teams aren’t making use of all 17 available spots, but it will likely just be a matter of time before those many of those openings get filled.

Here’s the current breakdown of teams with open roster spots:

Teams with an open 15-man roster spot:

Brooklyn Nets
- Note: The Nets have three open roster spots and will need to fill at least two of them within two weeks of completing the Harden trade.
Charlotte Hornets
Los Angeles Clippers *
Los Angeles Lakers *
Milwaukee Bucks *
Minnesota Timberwolves
New Orleans Pelicans
Portland Trail Blazers
San Antonio Spurs
Toronto Raptors
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards

Note: An asterisk (*) denotes that the team can’t currently sign a 15th man due to the hard cap.

Teams with an open two-way slot:

Philadelphia 76ers
Phoenix Suns
Portland Trail Blazers

Community Shootaround: Nets’ Title Chances

January 19th, 2021 at 9:11pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The oddsmakers and NBA bettors have spoken and they’re sold on the James Harden trade.

With the addition of Harden, the Nets are now a 3-1 proposition to win the NBA title, according to VegasInsider.com. Only the defending champion Lakers have lower odds at 5-2. In terms of the Eastern Conference, the Nets are a clear favorite over the other main contenders, the Bucks (7-1 to win it all), Sixers (14-1) and Celtics (18-1).

The trio of Harden, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving makes the Nets nearly impossible to guard, as long as they’re willing to make some sacrifices. The early returns on the Harden-Durant combo were promising, as they led the team to a two-point win over Milwaukee on Monday. They combined for 64 points, 18 assists and 15 rebounds.

Irving is expected to return to action on Wednesday after missing several games for personal reasons. No one quite knows what to expect from Irving at this point or his level of commitment. Just a few days ago, there was speculation he might even retire.

If Irving is focused on pursuing a championship, the Nets can overcome a number of other issues. They have no depth in the middle at the moment, with DeAndre Jordan being the only experienced hand on deck. Their defense could be suspect – Jordan is the only veteran who has been named to the league’s All-Defensive First or Second Team and his most recent appearance was five years ago.

Brooklyn’s bench looks a lot less imposing than it did at the start of the season. They gave up Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince in the trade and lost Spencer Dinwiddie to a season-ending injury.

There’s also the volatility factor – will three headstrong stars like Durant, Harden and Irving be able to mesh their skills and leave their egos at the door during crunch time in the playoffs? And what happens when they face some adversity – will there be finger pointing or cohesiveness?

If the Nets win at least one championship with this group, the Harden trade will be considered the final piece to the puzzle and worth all the assets Brooklyn surrendered in the deal. If they come up short, they’ll be paying the price for the next decade with all the draft picks and players they sacrificed to bring in the former Most Valuable Player.

That leads us to our topic of the day: Will the addition of James Harden result in a Nets championship? Or will the combination of Harden, Durant and Irving turn out to be a toxic mix?

Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.

Hollinger Examines Nets' Open Roster Spots

January 19th, 2021 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

John Hollinger of The Athletic expects the Nets to take their time filling their open roster spots so as not to unnecessarily increase their projected luxury tax bill, which is already substantial. Hollinger also suggests that promoting Reggie Perry from his two-way contract would be a good way to fill one of those slots, since Perry – a 2020 second-round pick – would only count for the prorated rookie minimum for cap and tax purposes.

Kyrie Irving Practices With Nets, Expected To Play Wednesday

January 19th, 2021 at 1:14pm CST by Luke Adams

Nets guard Kyrie Irving, who hasn’t appeared in a game since January 5, returned to practice on Tuesday and is expected to be back in action on Wednesday when Brooklyn takes on the Cavaliers, head coach Steve Nash told reporters today (Twitter link via Ian Begley of SNY.tv).

Irving was required to quarantine for several days after violating the NBA’s health and safety protocols, and more recently has been going through workouts in an effort to get his conditioning level back to 100%. Before that, he had been away from the team on personal leave.

Asked today about his absence, the star point guard declined to go into much detail, telling the media – including Malika Andrews of ESPN (Twitter link) – that he’s had “a lot of family and personal stuff” going on during the last two weeks.

“I’m happy to be back, I’m happy to be with these guys,” Irving said, per Adam Zagoria of Forbes (Twitter link). “I addressed the team and ready to move on.”

Irving also apologized to the fans he disappointed by not playing, explaining that he “just needed a pause,” according to Andrews (Twitter link). He added that he’s excited about joining the Nets’ new-look lineup alongside James Harden, and is looking forward to letting his “game speak for itself.”

Assuming Irving returns to the court on Wednesday, it’ll be the first time we see Brooklyn’s new Big Three (Irving, Harden, and Kevin Durant) in action, as well as the first time Kyrie has played a game in Cleveland since October 17, 2017, as Marc Stein of The New York Times notes (Twitter link). A longtime Cavalier, Irving played in his first game for the Celtics on that date over three years ago.

Nets Notes: Harden, Durant, Kyrie, Allen, Prince

January 19th, 2021 at 11:41am CST by Luke Adams

The superstar duo of James Harden and Kevin Durant has looked terrific in Harden’s first two games with the Nets, wins over Orlando and Milwaukee.

Durant has averaged 36.0 PPG in those two victories, while Harden has contributed 33.0 PPG, 13.0 APG, and 9.0 RPG. Their 138 combined points are the highest total since 1961 for any two teammates in their first two games with a franchise, according to Malika Andrews of ESPN.

Harden and Durant, of course, played together with the Thunder earlier in their respective NBA careers, and Nets coaches and management have said they’d lean on the two stars’ previous chemistry in the early going this season. As Andrews details, Harden believes the increased maturity level of the two former MVPs has helped them quickly reestablish that chemistry.

“We were young in Oklahoma City,” Harden said. “We are grown men now. We know what we want. We really know the game of basketball now. We are not those young guys that want to run around and just shoot and dunk all day. And then for me, I sit back and I know what player Kevin Durant is. He’s one of the best players to ever touch a basketball.”

While Durant said the Nets still have “room to improve,” he told reporters after Monday’s game that incorporating Harden into the lineup has been “pretty seamless,” per Andrews.

Here’s more on the Nets:

Head coach Steve Nash said that Kyrie Irving will “hopefully” be available to return to the Nets’ lineup on Wednesday against Cleveland, tweets Andrews. Irving is back with the team and has been cleared from COVID-19 protocols, but is still ramping up his conditioning. “What you want to see is him to get some time in his legs so he’s more able to adapt back to playing,” Nash said.
Asked on Monday if they would have pulled the trigger on the trade that brought Harden to Brooklyn if they were running the Nets, both Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince admitted they would have, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “Look at what happened with the Lakers, they did the same thing,” Allen said, referring to the Lakers’ 2019 acquisition of Anthony Davis. “The next year they went and got their ring. So take myself out of it, I’d love to stay in Brooklyn, but I understand in the opportunity like that you have to go do it.”
Both Allen and Prince also said on Monday that while they understand the business side of the NBA, that understanding didn’t necessarily make it easier to be traded. “It was definitely rough on me,” Allen said, according to Lewis. “Even though you say it’s the business of basketball, it never makes it easier. But it’s the business and I had to move on.”
In case you missed it on Monday, we relayed a report indicating that the Nets shopped Landry Shamet in an effort to avoid including Allen in the Harden blockbuster. We also passed along a series of NBA franchise valuations that estimate the Nets’ worth to be $3.4 billion, fourth-highest in the league.

Nets Shopped Shamet Before Harden Swap

January 18th, 2021 at 9:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Nets shopped guard Landry Shamet for a first-round pick prior to the James Harden blockbuster deal, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on his podcast (hat tip to RealGM).

The motivation for Brooklyn was to forward another first-rounder to the Rockets and hold onto young center Jarrett Allen. Brooklyn gave up three first-rounders to Houston in the deal and a fourth one might have allowed them to retain Allen.

The Cavaliers were motivated to acquire Allen, a restricted free agent after the season, and gave up an unprotected 2022 first-round pick that Milwaukee owed them as part of the complex four-team swap. Cleveland also took on Taurean Prince‘s multiyear salary.

“I talked to two different teams that the Nets offered Landry Shamet to in the last week, attempting to get a first-round pick,” Windhorst said. “They were trying to keep Jarrett Allen, as you can imagine. To get the fourth first-round pick, they were trying to find a team that would give them anything. And so they shopped Landry Shamet pretty hard from what I understand.”

Without Allen, the Nets are left with DeAndre Jordan as the only true center on the roster and it will be difficult for them to trade for another of consequence.

“I just don’t see a lot of assets on the roster. And of course they have no first-round picks they can trade,” Windhorst said.

Shamet was acquired from the Clippers in a three-team trade during the offseason. Brooklyn exercised its $3.77MM 2021/22 option on Shamet prior to this season. He’s making roughly $2.1MM this season.

Shamet will have difficulty getting minutes behind Harden and Kyrie Irving, who is expected to return as early as Wednesday from his personal absence. He played 11 minutes off the bench in the Nets’ two-point win over Milwaukee on Monday. Shamet is shooting just 34.3% from the field in a reserve role this season.