Eastern Notes: Oladipo, DSJ, Jackson, Pinson
Victor Oladipo remains on track to return to the court next Wednesday when the Pacers take on the Bulls, a source tells Hoops Rumors. Oladipo, who has spent time this month in the G League rehabbing, hasn’t played since January of last year after he ruptured his quad tendon in his right knee, but has had January 29 circled on his calendar for the last few weeks.
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Knicks guard Dennis Smith Jr. could get moved prior to the trade deadline for the second straight season but he’s not focused on the rumors, as Peter Botte of the New York Post writes. “Everything happens for a reason, you know what I’m saying?” Smith said. “It was already written, God’s plan, I just gotta execute my part, put my work in and everything will work out…It’s a business. I’m here, playing for the New York Knicks, that’s my job right now, so that’s what I’m focused on. You realized [last year] anything can happen, so you just gotta be the best version of yourself.”
- Reggie Jackson recently returned to the court and Pistons coach Dwane Casey is looking for ways to incorporate him with Derrick Rose, according to Rod Beard of The Detroit News. Both point guards could get serious run on the court together. “That’s what today’s NBA is about and that’s what a lot of my offense is about: multiple ballhandlers — and sometimes we get stuck. We have some options in case we do have a non-ballhandler involved in a situation, but it works a lot more fluid,” Casey said.
- Theo Pinson, who has struggled with his shot this season, spoke about his up-and-down sophomore campaign with the Nets, as Chris Milholen of NetsDaily relays. “Just listening to the vets. It is not going to be highs the whole season. It’s a long season. Just take everything and embrace it and I’m always telling myself that the Lord won’t put me in situations I couldn’t handle. I just try to remember that,” Pinson said.
NBA Trade Candidate Watch: Atlantic Division
Over the course of the 2019/20 NBA season, up until February’s trade deadline, we’re keeping an eye on potential trade candidates from around the NBA, monitoring their value and exploring the likelihood that they’ll be moved. Each of these looks at possible trade candidates focuses on a specific division, as we zero in on three players from that division.
The Atlantic is perhaps the most confounding NBA division when it comes to the trade deadline. The Raptors, Celtics, and Sixers are all potential contenders to come out of the East and may theoretically be looking to make upgrades, but their contract situations make it tricky to identify specific moves that would help.
The Nets are essentially in a holding pattern until they get their full roster healthy next season. The Knicks as sellers appeared to be the only safe bet on the board in the Atlantic, but they’ve resisted that label to some extent.
As we wait to see how the Atlantic teams approach the deadline, here are three (or four) more potential trade candidates from around the division…
Dennis Smith Jr., PG
New York Knicks
$4.5MM cap hit; $5.7MM guaranteed salary in 2020/21; RFA in 2021
A report last month indicated that teams, including the Timberwolves, had expressed some interest in Smith. There are plenty of factors complicating a potential deal though. For one, he was sidelined for a month with an oblique strain before returning last night, and will probably have to show he’s fully healthy before the deadline to increase the odds of a trade. That means the Knicks will have to give him more playing time than the four minutes he received on Wednesday.
Even then, Knicks management may be reluctant to move Smith without a decent return, since doing so would represent a further admission that last year’s blockbuster with the Mavs isn’t working out. The team already failed to land a star with the 2019 cap room created in that deal, and the two future first-round picks owed to New York almost certainly won’t be as valuable as initially hoped, given Dallas’ improvement.
Considering how poorly Smith has played in limited minutes this season, it’s hard to see the Knicks netting more than a low second-round pick and salary filler in exchange for Smith. The club may decide it would rather take its chances on DSJ turning things around and recapturing some of the potential that made him a top-10 pick in 2017.
A trade before the deadline is a possibility, but I think it’d be more likely if the same executives who acquired Smith a year ago weren’t the same ones tasked to decide whether or not to move him.
Raul Neto / Trey Burke, PG
Philadelphia 76ers
$1.62MM cap hit; UFA in 2020
Neither Neto nor Burke has really been involved in any rumors yet, but they’re trade candidates in a roundabout way. The Sixers have been linked to point guards who could be on the trade block, and if the team actually acquires a point guard, either Neto or Burke would become expendable.
The 76ers have gone back and forth this year between Neto and Burke as the primary backup to Ben Simmons, so it’s not entirely clear who would be the odd man out if the team makes a move to fortify its backcourt.
Both players are on minimum-salary contracts that expire at season’s end, meaning there’s no financial incentive to move one over the other. Neto is the better defender and perhaps the steadier floor general, but he doesn’t possess Burke’s play-making or scoring ability. The on/off-court numbers favor Burke — the Sixers have a +7.2 net rating when he plays, compared to +1.2 for Neto.
If the 76ers end up standing pat or focus on improving another area, both Neto and Burke could certainly finish the season in Philadelphia. But if they go out and acquire another guard, I’d expect the Sixers to try to find a trade partner interested in acquiring Neto or Burke as a third point guard.
Rodions Kurucs, F
Brooklyn Nets
$1.7MM cap hit; $1.8MM guaranteed salary in 2020/21; $1.9MM team option for 2021/22
After a promising rookie season, Kurucs has taken a step backward in 2019/20. Despite a series of injury creating a path to a regular role for the Latvian forward, he doesn’t seem to have fully earned Kenny Atkinson‘s trust. His minutes per game have dipped from 20.5 to 13.3 and he’s received several DNP-CDs.
There are some promising numbers in this year’s small sample, including a .439 3PT%, and teams monitoring the Nets may view Kurucs as a buy-low candidate. However, off-court concerns may scare those teams away, since the 21-year-old was arrested during the offseason on a domestic violence charge.
We heard in December that there are teams doing their homework on Kurucs to see if he makes sense as a trade target. Presumably, that research centers on the domestic violence allegation — if it’s credible, clubs will be less enthusiastic about the idea of making a deal for the former second-round pick.
Kurucs is due back in court on February 11, meaning there will be no resolution in his legal case by the February 6 trade deadline. As a result, it’s hard to see him being moved.
Revisit the rest of our 2019/20 Trade Candidate series right here.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Nets' G League Team Trades Ellenson For Anderson
- The Nets‘ and Raptors‘ G League teams swapped a pair of players with NBA experience, as the Raptors 905 traded swingman Justin Anderson to the Long Island Nets for big man Henry Ellenson. Ellenson was a two-way player for Brooklyn earlier in the season, while Anderson was on a 10-day contract with the Nets this month. Kelsea O’Brien of Raptors Republic first reported the deal (via Twitter).
Nets Being Cautious With Kyrie's Hamstring Issue
- After Kyrie Irving was a late scratch on Monday due to a tight hamstring, Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson explained that the team is just being “cautious” with the star guard, per Brian Lewis of The New York Post. However, Atkinson did acknowledge that the issue had been nagging Irving for a few days.
- Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News says it’s ridiculous to claim the Nets are better without Irving and argues that some of the criticism Kyrie is facing for recent comments is unfair.
Nets Notes: Allen, Irving, Chiozza, Martin
- As Anthony Puccio of Nets Daily details, Jarrett Allen isn’t holding any sort of grudge toward Kyrie Irving after the Nets‘ point guard failed to mention the big man when he listed several of the team’s core players. “What do I expect him to do, name the whole team? That’s really the only comment I have on that,” Allen said. “… We talked about it. He ended up saying everything is fine, so no bad blood.”
- In a pair of stories for NetsDaily, Chris Milholen checks in on Nets youngsters Chris Chiozza and Jeremiah Martin. The two point guards are aiming to earn a longer look from the NBA club after recently replacing Henry Ellenson and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot as Brooklyn’s two-way players.
Kevin Durant “Progressing” In Rehab Work
The Nets are happy with Kevin Durant‘s progress in rehabbing his surgically repaired Achilles, even though there are still no plans for him to play this season, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post.
Durant went through a 25-minute workout this afternoon at Barclays Center and told Lewis that it went well. Coach Kenny Atkinson said seeing him on the court is having a positive effect on his teammates.
“He’s progressing. I know he’s working extremely hard,” Atkinson said. “He’s a quiet personality, but when he needs to say something, he says it. Usually what he says is spot-on. We don’t want to bother him too much because he’s locked into his rehab. He’s a guy who likes to work in the shadows. He doesn’t want all the attention, but he’s working his tail off.
“When he walks in the room, we all become more confident even though he’s not playing — it’s just that way. I enjoy talking to him about the game and his opinions about what’s going on in the league. ‘Hey, what is this team doing? Did you see this? What do you think about this player?’ It’s a real treat for me to have a guy like that around and for our players. They love it. He’s around all the time, so it’s great.”
When the Nets signed Durant in July, they understood it was very unlikely he would be able to suit up for them this season. The ruptured Achilles that he suffered during the NBA Finals comes with a long recovery process, and both parties agreed the best way to protect Brooklyn’s four-year, $164MM investment in Durant was to let him take the entire season to recover.
Atkinson confirmed to Lewis tonight that the plan hasn’t changed.
“No, I think we’re all on the same page. That’s not going to happen,” he said. “Progressing. I don’t have my medical book up here. I can’t give you what stage or any of that. It’s great when you’re there every day. You see incremental progress. That’s all I can give you.”
Nets’ DeAndre Jordan To Be Reevaluated In One Week
Nets‘ center DeAndre Jordan suffered a dislocated middle finger earlier this week but the injury will not require surgery, tweets ESPN’s Malika Andrews. Instead, the veteran big man will be re-evaluated next week.
Without Jordan in its lineup, Brooklyn will need to rely heavily on the young tandem of Jarrett Allen and Nicolas Claxton. The Nets will face the Bucks, Sixers and Lakers in their next three contests, so the absence of Jordan will sting.
In the first year of a four-year, $40MM deal he signed with Brooklyn, the veteran has been a stabilizing influence. Primarily a backup for the Nets, Jordan has served as a mentor while averaging 8.0 PPG and 9.7 RPG in 21 minutes per contest.
Kyrie Irving Isn’t Demanding Changes Before Trade Deadline
Nets guard Kyrie Irving clarified comments he made earlier in the week and insisted he wasn’t pressuring the front office to make significant changes before next month’s trade deadline, Malika Andrews of ESPN reports. However, he did hint that changes need to be made in the long run in order to become a serious title contender.
Irving said on Friday that in his previous comments he was simply giving a forthright assessment of the team’s current plight. Brooklyn is four games below .500 and currently sits in the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference.
“I think we have championship aspirations,” Irving said. “Do we want to be the eighth seed going into the playoffs? The seventh seed? But you’re able to be real with the team that you have here, and you’re able to collectively, cohesively come together as a group. That is what you figure out. But the goals are still to win a championship. I don’t come in every day to be mediocre or to be in the middle of the standings.”
Irving told the media on Wednesday after back-to-back losses that the team’s weaknesses were “glaring” and that additional pieces were needed in order to reach the next level. At the time, Irving named Kevin Durant, DeAndre Jordan, Garrett Temple, Spencer Dinwiddie and Caris LeVert as key pieces but left out other rotation players, including Jarrett Allen, Taurean Prince, and Joe Harris.
Irving spoke with teammates about those comments and said that failing to mention certain players was just an oversight on his part. However, he does believe the roster as currently constructed won’t be enough to put the Nets over the top.
“I reached out to make sure nothing was taken out of context — making sure that the guys knew exactly what I meant,” Irving said. “And that is the only thing that matters. Everyone can say, ‘If I was in this position, I would’ve said this, I would’ve done this.’ … The most important thing is making sure these guys — they have the belief in themselves and I continue to reiterate that confidence we have as a team. It is going to come down to that in order to be at a championship level to compete against the West, we need more.”
Kyrie Irving: Nets Have “Glaring” Needs
Following the Nets‘ second loss in two nights on Wednesday, Kyrie Irving told reporters, including ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, that the team needs to do more work on its roster to become a championship contender.
“I mean, it’s transparent. It’s out there. It’s glaring, in terms of the pieces that we need in order to be at that next level,” Irving said. “I’m going to continue to reiterate it. We’re going to do the best with the guys that we have in our locker room now, and we’ll worry about all the other stuff, in terms of moving pieces and everything else, as an organization down the line in the summer.”
Of course, the Nets are currently missing their most talented player, as Kevin Durant will spend the entire 2019/20 season recovering from a torn Achilles. However, it didn’t sound as if Irving’s comments applied specifically to this season. The star point guard implied that Brooklyn would need more help even after Durant returns.
“Collectively, I feel like we have great pieces,” Irving said. “But it’s pretty glaring we need one more piece or two more pieces that will complement myself, K.D. (Kevin Durant), D.J. (DeAndre Jordan), G.T. (Garrett Temple), Spence (Spencer Dinwiddie), Caris (LeVert), and we’ll see how that evolves.”
Irving’s comments are interesting for a few reasons. For one, his list of core players who need to be complemented didn’t include guys like Jarrett Allen, Taurean Prince, and Joe Harris. Allen is viewed as a young building block for the franchise, Prince signed a contract extension in the fall, and the Nets are expected to try to re-sign Harris later this year. It’s possible that Irving not mentioning any of those players was just an oversight, but it’s still worth noting which names he listed and which he didn’t.
Additionally, the Nets’ flexibility to make roster upgrades going forward will be limited, based on the commitments they made this past offseason to players like Durant, Jordan, and Irving himself. Brooklyn projects to be well over the cap and perhaps over the tax threshold in 2020/21, and general manager Sean Marks and team owner Joseph Tsai have both recently said that the team is prepared to go into the tax in order to build a roster capable of contending for a championship.
Still, spending at that level means the Nets would only have the taxpayer mid-level exception available to make a meaningful addition in free agency. Trading rotation players may be the club’s only other avenue to an upgrade.
With Durant out for the season, the Nets are unlikely to make major changes to their roster at this season’s deadline in an effort to push for a title immediately. But it will be interesting to see how the front office responds in the summer to Irving’s assessment of the roster.
Nets Sign Jeremiah Martin To Two-Way Contract
G League guard Jeremiah Martin has signed a two-way contract with the Nets, the team announced on Twitter, barely beating the deadline for this season.
An opening was created earlier tonight when Brooklyn gave a 10-day contract to two-way player Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot after letting Justin Anderson‘s 10-day deal expire.
Martin, 23, signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Heat over the summer after going undrafted out of Memphis. He was waived before the season began and joined Miami’s G League affiliate in Sioux Falls, where he averaged 18.5 PPG in 21 games.