Nets Have Internally Discussed Pursuing Bradley Beal
With Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant locked into long-term deals, the Nets may be in the market for a third star and have internally discussed potential avenues of acquiring Wizards guard Bradley Beal, reports Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News.
The fact that these conversations have only happened “internally” is an important detail, since it’s unlikely the Wizards would actually engage in any trade discussions for Beal at this point. He signed a two-year contract extension last fall and there have been no indications that he wants to leave D.C., even as the club appears set to miss the playoffs again in 2019/20. The 26-year-old spoke in March about wanting to finish his career with the franchise.
Additionally, even before Beal extended his contract with Washington, new general manager Tommy Sheppard talked repeatedly about having no desire to consider trading the star shooting guard. Now that Beal is locked up through at least 2021/22, that stance is unlikely to change this offseason.
Still, in the event that anything does change for the Wizards and Beal, Brooklyn is worth monitoring as a possible trade partner, given the team’s cache of intriguing assets. In addition to possessing all of their own first-round picks starting in 2021, the Nets could make productive players like Caris LeVert, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Jarrett Allen available if it means adding another star. They should be well equipped to make a run at any impact player who might hit the trade market in the coming months, even if that player isn’t Beal.
With John Wall out for the season, Beal enjoyed the most productive year of his career in 2019/20, averaging 30.5 PPG, 6.1 APG, and 4.2 RPG in 57 games (36.0 MPG). Wall is expected to be ready to go for the start of the ’20/21 campaign, increasing the likelihood that the Wizards will push for a return to the postseason next year rather than breaking up their star backcourt.
Eastern Notes: Knicks, Play-In Tournament, Irving
The Knicks would technically make the 2020 postseason under a proposed play-in tournament, as I detailed for Heavy.com. The tournament, which is just one of the options being discussed for the NBA’s return, would have the 8-12 seeds in each conference battle for the right to play the No. 1 seed in a series.
New York sits 12th in the Eastern Conference and would take on the Wizards, who hold the ninth spot. The Hornets (10th) would take on the Bulls (11th) and the winner of this bracket would face the Magic to decide which team gets a typical first-round playoff series against the Bucks.
Again, the scenario is just one of many being floated and is nowhere near concrete, though seeing the Knicks in the postseason would nonetheless be an unexpected sight.
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Bradley Beal would arguably be the best player on the Eastern Conference side of the bracket, as I explained in the same piece. I’d speculate that Washington—a team that overachieved this season—would be favored in the first-round matchup against New York.
- Roughly 11 weeks after undergoing shoulder surgery, Nets guard Kyrie Irving published an Instagram story today suggesting he has returned to the gym, as Anthony Puccio of Nets Daily relays (Twitter link). Irving is in year one of a four-year deal with Brooklyn — it’s not clear if he’d have an opportunity to return if the NBA season resumes this summer.
- Thunder coach Billy Donovan had a major impact on Jaylen Brown‘s game, as the Celtics forward explains (h/t Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald). Donovan coached Brown on Team USA’s Under-18 team a few years back. “He told me he wasn’t playing me because he said I didn’t play hard,” Brown said. “… He told me you’re only going to be in the league for three years because you don’t play hard…I was so mad I was crying. But I think Billy Donovan had a big impact on my drive for sure. I’m in the NBA now, and hopefully I have a couple more years now to go, so we’ll see.”
New York Notes: Team Options, P. Jackson, Russell, Dinwiddie
ESPN’s Bobby Marks predicts all 29 players with options will exercise them this offseason, potentially creating a favorable situation for the Knicks, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Huge losses in revenue are expected, even if the season can completed, and a reduction in the salary cap and luxury tax threshold could benefit New York, which holds several team options that it will likely decline.
“If I was the Knicks I would want the cap and tax to crash,’’ Marks said. “It would give them a huge advantage. They can collect the tax money and also have flexibility while few do.’’
The Knicks have a $15MM team option on Bobby Portis and would owe $1MM each to Elfrid Payton, Wayne Ellington, Reggie Bullock and Taj Gibson if they are let go. Marks also notes that New York will be in a group of four teams that will have enough cap room to take advantage if players sign for less than their normal market value.
There’s more from New York City:
- Phil Jackson was warned not to take the job as Knicks president by writer Charley Rosen, his biographer and longtime friend, Berman adds in a separate story. Rosen was concerned that Jackson would tarnish his legacy by going into a “crazy” atmosphere and believes the failure to find the right coach doomed any chance of success. Rosen also states that Carmelo Anthony could have been a huge star under the triangle offense, but refused to embrace the system. “Carmelo undercut him, telling (Kristaps) Porzingis not to say anything in public about how good the triangle was,’’ Rosen said. “Carmelo refused to run the triangle — which is why Phil re-signed him: There was a lot of pressure from (owner James) Dolan. But if Carmelo would’ve run the triangle, he’d be open on the weakside. … He’d be a killer. He’d be Michael Jordan. He’d be unstoppable. But Melo was catch and shoot and didn’t want to do other things.’’
- Even though former Nets guard D’Angelo Russell refuses to credit coach Kenny Atkinson with helping him become an All-Star, D-Lo’s time in Brooklyn was positive for both him and the team, writes Zach Braziller of The New York Post. “Brooklyn was a place that he needed as well as Brooklyn needed him,” said his older brother, Antonio Russell Jr. “They were able to mold each other and build each other up.”
- Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie is willing to let fans choose his next team, but only if they meet a Bitcoin goal of $24,632,630 on GoFundMe, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. “Shoe companies and endorsers influence team decisions all the time,” Dinwiddie said in explaining the semi-serious offer. “My/our biggest endorsers will always be the fans, so I want to have some fun with this while we’re all under quarantine. I hope no owners/team personnel participate so there’s no impropriety on this one-of-a-kind endorsement deal.”
Durant On Possible Return; Nets Facilities May Remain Closed Longer Than Most
Nets forward Kevin Durant addressed the possibility of his suiting up if the 2019/20 season resumes in a conversation with Lil Wayne’s Young Money Radio on Tuesday, as NetsDaily recounted. However, KD didn’t offer many details about his potential return timeline. “It is what it is man. Everybody (is) waiting on me to come back,” Durant said. “But I’ll be back when it’s time.”
In 2019, Durant inked a four-year, $164MM maximum free agent deal with Brooklyn in a sign-and-trade with the Warriors for point guard D’Angelo Russell. Durant continues to recover from an Achilles tear suffered in the 2019 NBA Finals that has kept him off the floor for the Nets’ entire 2019/20 season thus far.
- Due to stricter state and city guidelines for reopening businesses in New York than many other teams’ home cities, the Nets appear unlikely to return anytime soon to their practice facility, the HSS Training Center in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park, per NetsDaily’s Net Income and Anthony Puccio. 22 of the 30 NBA teams hope to have their practice facilities open by Monday.
Woj On Durant, Schedule, NBA Finances, More
Although Nets general manager Sean Marks isn’t willing to close the door on the possibility of Kevin Durant returning to the court if the 2019/20 season resumes this summer, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski sounds prepared to slam that door shut.
In the latest episode of his Woj Pod, speaking to guests Rachel Nichols and Bobby Marks, Wojnarowski suggested that we still shouldn’t expect to see Durant make his comeback until the 2020/21 season gets underway.
“Kevin Durant’s not coming back to the Nets this year,” Woj said. “That’s not happening… They’re not playing him.”
While Wojnarowski didn’t go into detail on the Durant situation, his comment came during a discussion about teams being wary of rushing players back this summer, following a brief ramp-up period. The implication in Durant’s case is that the potential reward for the seventh-seeded Nets wouldn’t be worth the risk of possibly compromising the star forward’s health for next season.
Here are a few more takeaways from the latest Woj Pod episode:
- Asked by Nichols if the NBA might play a shortened season in 2020/21 – particularly if it starts around Christmas – Wojnarowski stressed that’s very unlikely. As he explains, the league will be doing all it can to recoup lost revenue next season, which will mean playing as many games as possible (ideally 82) in ’20/21. In other words, if the regular season starts in December, it will likely run into June, with the Finals potentially ending next August.
- During the podcast – and in a subsequent article for ESPN.com – Wojnarowski observed that the coronavirus pandemic has the potential to create major imbalances throughout the league. For instance, if certain states permit fans in arenas at the start of next season and others don’t, that could create a major earnings disparity between many of the league’s franchises, which could lead to competitive imbalance.
- Additionally, as Woj details, a number of smaller-market teams rely on the NBA’s revenue-sharing model and benefit from huge gate receipts from markets like Los Angeles, New York, and Golden State. If franchises in those big markets still can’t allow fans in arenas when the 2020/21 season begins – or have to do so on a limited basis – it would have a ripple effect throughout the rest of the league.
- Discussing the potential resumption of the 2019/20 season, Wojnarowski noted that the NBA will have to sell many of its lottery teams on prioritizing the “greater good” of the league — even if some of those teams would benefit (financially and otherwise) from simply canceling this season and focusing on 2020/21. Warriors head of basketball operations Bob Myers addressed this subject last week, vowing that his team would be “good partners” if and when the season resumes.
More Details On David Levy's Brief Stint With Nets
- The Nets parted ways with former CEO David Levy back in November, just two months after hiring him. As Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News reports, Levy’s stint with the franchise was short-lived because his contract stated he’d have some influence in the basketball operations department and that didn’t sit well with members of the team’s front office. According to Bondy, the “pushback” Levy received led to the Nets essentially buying him out.
- Neither the Knicks nor Nets will open their practice facilities on Friday, and neither team has specified a target date for when that may happen, per Jeff Zillgitt and Mark Medina of USA Today.
Draft Notes: McClung, Henry, Big Boards
Despite a claim from Georgetown coach Patrick Ewing that he’ll be back with the program this season, Mac McClung continues to test the draft waters and hasn’t informed the school of any official decision yet, agent Daniel Hazan tells Ben Standig of The Athletic.
As Standig details, McClung’s energy and athleticism make him an intriguing prospect worth monitoring, but he’s not considered likely to be drafted if he goes pro this year. One general manager said he’s still not clear on what position or role McClung would play at the NBA level.
Still, NBA teams are doing their homework on the sophomore guard. Hazan said on Tuesday that McClung has had virtual meetings with 11 teams, with more to come — a source informs Standig that the Rockets, Bulls, and Nets are among those 11 clubs.
Here are a few more draft-related items:
- Michigan State forward Aaron Henry has signed with agent Aaron Reilly of AMR, according to Jeff Goodman of Stadium (Twitter link). Because Reilly is NCAA-certified, Henry can continue to test the draft waters without forfeiting his remaining two years of college eligibility.
- Goodman has published the second version of his 2020 mock draft at WatchStadium.com, forecasting a top five of James Wiseman (Warriors), Anthony Edwards (Cavaliers), LaMelo Ball (Timberwolves), Obi Toppin (Hawks), and Deni Avdija (Pistons).
- With last week’s early entrant deadline behind us, Jeremy Woo of SI.com and Sam Vecenie of The Athletic have each updated their respective big boards for the 2020 draft. Both draft experts have Ball, Edwards, and Wiseman ranked as their top three prospects, but disagree on some other lottery prospects. Vecenie has Toppin (No. 4) and Cole Anthony (No. 8) several spots higher than Woo does, but is less bullish on Isaac Okoro (No. 11), who is sixth on Woo’s board.
Jeff Van Gundy A Potential Coaching Candidate For Rockets
Unlike the Nets and Knicks, who have interim head coaches in place, the Rockets aren’t necessarily a lock to conduct a coaching search of their own later this year. However, with Mike D’Antoni in a contract year, there has been plenty of speculation that Houston will go in another direction.
With that in mind, and in the wake of a recent report linking Tom Thibodeau to the Rockets, Kelly Iko, Mo Dakhil, and Sam Amick of The Athletic discussed the situation on Tuesday’s edition of the ‘Brodie and the Beard’ podcast, with Amick suggesting that another former NBA coach – Jeff Van Gundy – has been frequently connected to the Houston job.
“Jeff Van Gundy’s name is the one that I have heard consistently as a very possible replacement for Mike,” Amick said (hat tip to RealGM). “It’s interesting to see Thibs’ name in there now because you’ve got a guy who was Jeff’s top assistant when Jeff was the Rockets’ coach. … Van Gundy and Thibs being from the same tree, whatever happens next, I think you’re starting to get a sense of what might be prioritized. Obviously defense first. Discipline.”
Amick cautioned that there’s no guarantee the Rockets will move on from D’Antoni after the 2019/20 season, especially if the team makes a deep playoff run. However, he does still think this will probably be D’Antoni’s last year in Houston.
“Barring a championship if they do save the season, I do not get the sense that Mike D’Antoni is going to be back,” Amick said. “They’ve had a major divide in the contract negotiations.”
As Amick explains, the decisions to part with Van Gundy in 2007 and to hire D’Antoni in 2016 were largely driven by former Rockets owner Leslie Alexander. With the franchise under new ownership and GM Daryl Morey believed to be a fan of Van Gundy – who reportedly received strong consideration from Houston in ’16 before the hiring of D’Antoni – it’s possible a reunion could be in the cards. Van Gundy had a 182-146 (.555) record as coach of the Rockets from 2003-07.
Of course, for that reunion to come to fruition, Van Gundy would have to decide he wants to leave a comfortable broadcasting job with ESPN and ABC to return to coaching. And even then, he’d likely draw interest from other teams — the Knicks and Nets are each believed to have JVG on their list of potential candidates.
Atlantic Notes: Durant, Raptors, Knicks, Celtics
ESPN analyst Jay Williams doesn’t profess to have any inside info on whether his friend Kevin Durant will aim to return this summer from an Achilles tear, but suggested to Marc Berman of The New York Post that the condensed nature of a resumed 2019/20 schedule may be a deterrent for the injured Nets star.
“It’s one thing to come back and start the beginning of next season where there’s time and space between games and (you can) keep your body ramped up the right way,” Williams said. “But someone coming back off an injury and (going) right into a playoff scenario, I don’t think it’s feasible or fair on Kevin himself. But Kevin is his own man. He’ll do what he wants to do.”
Durant’s return from last year’s Achilles injury had initially been expected to happen at the start of the 2020/21 season, but there has been speculation during the hiatus about the possibility of him making it back this summer. KD’s manager Rich Kleiman has repeatedly stated it’s not realistic to expect the star forward to return before next season, though neither he nor GM Sean Marks has entirely ruled out the possibility.
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- The Raptors are in touch with officials at the city and provincial level in the hopes of being able to reopen their practice facility for individual workouts, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. As Smith notes, Toronto Mayor John Tory hopes to have an answer for the team by the end of the week. “A couple of athletes and a couple of trainers, quite literally, so you’d have a very small group of people in there,” Tory said. “That proposal, that we worked on back and forth with the Raptors, is under very active consideration. I think the discussions have been going well.”
- In his latest mailbag, Ian Begley of SNY.tv answers questions on Leon Rose‘s roster-building philosophy, the Knicks‘ decision to retain GM Scott Perry, and where the team stands on Frank Ntilikina, among other topics.
- In a pair of articles for The Athletic, Jay King and John Hollinger examine Gordon Hayward‘s contract situation and a potential max extension for Jayson Tatum, and Hollinger explains why he’s not particularly bullish on the Celtics‘ group of rookies.
Mark Jackson Says He Wants To Coach Again
It has now been six full years since Mark Jackson last coached an NBA game, but the former Warriors head coach confirmed during a Tuesday appearance on ESPN’s First Take that he still has interest in returning to the NBA sidelines.
Asked by hosts Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman about the Knicks‘ head coaching job and the rumors linking him to the position, Jackson didn’t specifically address the possibility of replacing Mike Miller in New York. However, he joked that he appreciates “the chatter” and confirmed he’d welcome the opportunity to coach an NBA team again, whether or not that team is the Knicks.
“There are 30 NBA jobs. I don’t minimize myself to one,” Jackson said (video link). “I look forward to one day coaching again, it’s a dream of mine. … I had an incredible time in Golden State coaching for three years, developing incredible relationships, and having some success. And I look forward to the challenge of doing it once again somewhere.”
Jackson was hired by the Warriors in 2011, and after winning just 23 games in the strike-shortened 2011/12 campaign, he guided the team to 47- and 51-win seasons in the next two years, winning a playoff series in 2013. Golden State ultimately didn’t get over the hump until the following season, when Steve Kerr took over and led the team to the first of three titles in a four-year stretch.
Over the last several years, Jackson has been an analyst for ABC and ESPN. However, his name continues to pop up for certain high-profile coaching jobs. Besides being identified as a possible option for the Knicks, Jackson is also rumored to be on the Nets‘ preliminary list of potential candidates.