Incentive Details For Taurean Prince
- Taurean Prince can earn a $334,375 annual bonus on his new contract with the Nets if the team posts a defensive rating of 105 or better in his minutes, per Hollinger. Prince can also receive another $334,375 annually if he attempts at least 7.6 three-pointers per 36 minutes and makes at least 41.5% of those tries, Hollinger adds. Prince’s extension reportedly maxes out at $29MM over two years.
DeAndre Jordan Struggles In Nets Debut
- New Nets center DeAndre Jordan was “largely an afterthought” in his debut in Brooklyn, recording just two points and three rebounds in 16 minutes, writes Howie Kussoy of The New York Post. Jordan, who admitted he was “a little surprised” to be coming off the bench, is confident he’ll find a rhythm in his new role. “We’re basketball players,” he told Kussoy. “We have to learn how to adjust.”
2019 Offseason In Review: Brooklyn Nets
Hoops Rumors is breaking down the 2019 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2019/20 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Brooklyn Nets.
Signings:
- Standard contracts:
- Kevin Durant: Four years, maximum salary ($164.26MM). Fourth-year player option. Acquired via sign-and-trade.
- Kyrie Irving: Four years, $136.49MM. Fourth-year player option. Includes unlikely incentives. Signed using cap room.
- DeAndre Jordan: Four years, $39.96MM. Signed using cap room.
- Garrett Temple: Two years, $9.77MM. Second-year team option. Signed using room exception.
- David Nwaba: Two years, minimum salary. Second year non-guaranteed. Signed using minimum salary exception.
- Theo Pinson: Two years, minimum salary. Second-year team option. Signed using minimum salary exception.
- Wilson Chandler: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
- Two-way contracts:
- Non-guaranteed camp contracts:
- Deng Adel: One year, minimum salary (Waived).
- Devin Cannady: One year, minimum salary (Waived).
- John Egbunu: One year, minimum salary (Waived).
- C.J. Massinburg: One year, minimum salary (Waived).
- Lance Thomas: One year, minimum salary (Waived).
- C.J. Williams: One year, minimum salary (Waived).
Trades:
- Acquired the Sixers’ 2020 first-round pick (top-14 protected) and the draft rights to Jaylen Hands (No. 56 pick) from the Clippers in exchange for the draft rights to Mfiondu Kabengele (No. 27 pick).
- Acquired Taurean Prince and the Hawks’ 2021 second-round pick from the Hawks in exchange for Allen Crabbe, the draft rights to Nickeil Alexander-Walker (No. 17 pick), and the Nets’ 2020 first-round pick (top-14 protected).
- Acquired the draft rights to Aaron White and the draft rights to Nemanja Dangubic in a three-team trade with the Spurs and Wizards in exchange for DeMarre Carroll (sign-and-trade; to Spurs).
- Acquired Kevin Durant (sign-and-trade) and the Warriors’ 2020 first-round pick (top-20 protected) from the Warriors in exchange for D’Angelo Russell (sign-and-trade), Treveon Graham, and Shabazz Napier.
Draft picks:
- 2-31: Nicolas Claxton — Signed to three-year, minimum salary contract. Fully guaranteed. Signed using cap room.
- 2-56: Jaylen Hands — Signed G League contract.
Contract extensions:
- Caris LeVert: Three years, $52.5MM. Starts in 2020/21; runs through 2022/23.
- Taurean Prince: Two years, $25.3MM. Includes $3.7MM in incentives. Starts in 2020/21; runs through 2021/22.
Departing players:
- DeMarre Carroll
- Allen Crabbe
- Ed Davis
- Jared Dudley
- Treveon Graham
- Rondae Hollis-Jefferson
- Shabazz Napier
- D’Angelo Russell
- Alan Williams (two-way)
Other offseason news:
- Kevin Durant expected to miss entire season due to Achilles tear.
- Joseph Tsai finalized purchase of Nets from Mikhail Prokhorov.
- CEO Brett Yormark stepped down; David Levy named new CEO.
- Wilson Chandler suspended 25 games for failed PED test.
- Rodions Kurucs arrested for alleged domestic incident.
- Lost Trajan Langdon from front office; lost Gianluca Pascucci from front office.
- Hired Jeff Peterson as assistant GM; hired Andy Birdsong as assistant GM; hired J.R. Holden as director of player personnel.
- Lost assistant coach Chris Fleming to Bulls.
- Named Tiago Splitter player development coach.
- Hired Shaun Fein as head coach of G League affiliate (Long Island Nets).
- Exercised 2020/21 rookie scale options on Jarrett Allen, Dzanan Musa.
Salary cap situation:
- Used cap space; now over the cap.
- Hard-capped.
- Carrying approximately $126.08MM in guaranteed salary.
- No exceptions available.
Story of the summer:
The fact that the Nets somehow weren’t the only team this summer that acquired two of the top 10 players on last season’s All-NBA rosters shouldn’t diminish what they were able to accomplish.
Sure, the Clippers may have “won” the offseason by signing Kawhi Leonard and trading for Paul George, but few clubs in NBA history have had a more successful free agent period than the 2019 Nets, who landed both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant.
While the Nets may never match up with the Knicks in terms of their arena, brand, and history, they’ve clearly surpassed their New York rivals on the court and in the front office in recent years. It had to feel good for Brooklyn to secure commitments from two superstars with NBA championships on their résumés at the same time the Knicks were sending out a statement acknowledging their fans’ disappointment and insisting they were still upbeat about their rebuilding plans.
Once the free agency celebration died down and the hangover wore off, a clear-eyed look at the Nets’ roster did leave us with some questions.
With Irving replacing All-Star guard D’Angelo Russell and Durant not expected to play in 2019/20, how much better can the Nets actually be this season? Would bringing in DeAndre Jordan along with his two friends Irving and Durant interfere with the development of up-and-coming big man Jarrett Allen? And even when Durant is recovered from his torn Achilles and ready to return, will he ever be the same player he was before the injury?
As we mulled over those questions, the Nets’ offseason took a turn for the worse, as newly-signed forward Wilson Chandler was suspended for 25 games for violating the NBA’s PED policy and second-year forward Rodions Kurucs faced accusations of domestic violence.
Those developments put a bit of a damper on what should have been a victory lap for the Nets, and Durant’s absence means the team likely won’t to get to fully reap the rewards of its free agency success until the 2020/21 season.
Still, the franchise deserves kudos for the way it has reshaped its roster. After all, it feels like just yesterday that the 2015/16 Nets completed a 21-61 season with no promising young prospects on the roster and no lottery draft picks on the horizon due to that infamously lopsided trade with the Celtics.
Brooklyn still hasn’t drafted a player in the lottery since then, but general manager Sean Marks and company put together a core – and built a culture – that two of the NBA’s top players wanted to be a part of. It should be a long time before the franchise endures another 21-61 season.
That leaves Irving as Brooklyn’s top offseason signing, and he’s certainly worthy of that title. Things went south in Boston for Irving last season due to chemistry issues, but his first year with the Celtics was a success and he’ll likely be on his best behavior in Brooklyn to shake the problematic reputation he earned last year.Nets Sign Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot To Two-Way Deal
The Nets have officially signed former first-round pick Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot to a two-way contract, the team announced today in a press release. Brooklyn had an open two-way slot alongside Henry Ellenson, so a corresponding move wasn’t necessary.
The 24th overall pick in the 2016 draft, Luwawu-Cabarrot spent his first two seasons in Philadelphia before being traded to the Thunder in the Dennis Schroder three-team trade in July 2018. After suiting up for Oklahoma City for the first half of 2018/19, the 24-year-old forward was traded again to Chicago in February. He became a free agent this summer and signed with the Cavs, but was waived in advance of the regular season over the weekend.
In 171 total games for three NBA teams, TLC has averaged 5.7 PPG and 1.9 RPG with a .387/.320/.820 shooting line. He’ll now get a chance to continue developing for the Long Island Nets, Brooklyn’s G League affiliate. His two-way deal will also make him eligible to spend up to 45 days with the NBA squad.
After Toronto, New York, and Brooklyn signed players to two-way deals today, the Suns are now the only team in the NBA with an open two-way slot on their roster.
Durant Talks FA Decision; Dinwiddie Talks 'PAInT'
- Appearing on Serge Ibaka‘s YouTube show, Kevin Durant explained why he chose the Nets over Knicks when he decided to make the move to New York as a free agent. “I just liked the organization as far as the direction they were going in — a bunch of young guys that played in the playoffs before,” Durant said, per Marc Berman of The New York Post. “The Knicks players, they‘re good young players but they still need more experience to match where I was in my career. It was nothing major against the Knicks. I just think Brooklyn is further along in the process of being a contender.”
- Nets point guard Spencer Dinwiddie left Monday’s meeting with the NBA feeling good about where things stand with what he’s calling his Professional Athlete Investment Token (PAInT), per Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “They had four or five comments previously, we got them down to one,” Dinwiddie said. “I think we’re going to get it done. It’s just pending a little more feedback.”
NBA Teams With Open Roster Spots To Start Season
As of Monday’s roster cutdown deadline, no NBA team is carrying more than 17 players in total — 15 on standard contracts and two on two-way deals. However, not every team is making use of all 17 roster spots available to them.
Currently, a third of the league’s 30 teams have at least one open roster spot, either on their regular roster or in their two-way slots.
For most clubs, that decision is financially motivated — teams like the Magic and Nuggets are getting dangerously close to the tax line and prefer to avoid moving even closer by paying an extra player or two. The Thunder and Trail Blazers are already over the tax and won’t want to push their projected bills higher.
For teams like the Heat and Warriors, the decision not to carry a 15th man is dictated by the hard cap — neither club currently has sufficient room under the hard cap for more than 14 players.
Teams’ reasoning for retaining an open two-way spot is less clear. Those players earn very modest salaries and don’t count against the cap, so finances shouldn’t be a factor. Perhaps the teams with two-way openings are still considering their options before G League training camps begin next week, recognizing that any two-way player they sign now is unlikely to actually play for the NBA team this week.
Listed below, with the help of our roster counts breakdown, are the teams that aren’t carrying full rosters.
Teams with an open 15-man roster spot:
- Atlanta Hawks
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Denver Nuggets
- Golden State Warriors
- Miami Heat
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Orlando Magic
- Note: The Magic have two open roster spots, giving them two weeks to get to the required minimum of 14 players.
- Portland Trail Blazers
Teams with an open two-way slot:
- Brooklyn Nets
- Phoenix Suns
Kurucs Make Short Court Appearance
- Nets forward Rodions Kurucs made a brief court appearance on Monday regarding a domestic assault charge, Andrew Denney of the New York Post reports. Kurucs was arrested in September over the June 27 incident in which he allegedly choked his ex-girlfriend. He was ordered back to court Nov. 19.
Nets Sign Taurean Prince To Two-Year Extension
Before even playing a regular season game for the Nets, Taurean Prince has been locked up for an additional two years by the club.
Prince’s agent, Steve Heumann of CAA Sports, tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link) that the forward has agreed to a two-year, $29MM extension with Brooklyn. The Nets have put out a press release confirming that the move is official.
The acquisition of Prince was somewhat overlooked during a busy Nets offseason — he was part of the return in a trade that sent Allen Crabbe and two first-round picks to Atlanta. In addition to clearing the cap space necessary to land both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, that deal netted Prince, who’s coming off a couple solid seasons with the Hawks.
Since the start of the 2017/18 campaign, Prince has averaged 13.9 PPG and 4.3 RPG with a .431/.387/.834 shooting line in 137 regular season games (29.3 MPG). The 25-year-old was Brooklyn’s leading scorer in the preseason, knocking down 16-of-23 attempts from beyond the arc. While he won’t match that 69.6% rate in the regular season, the Nets will count on him to space the floor on offense.
Although he hasn’t been with the franchise for long, Prince already appears to be sold on Brooklyn. He told Brian Lewis of The New York Post last week that he was hoping to sign a rookie scale extension.
“I want to be here as long as I can. And whatever happens, happens, but I’m just happy to play good basketball,” Prince said. “One hundred percent, yeah. For sure. This is the best organization I’ve been in.”
With Prince on the books for 2020/21, the Nets now project to have at least $135MM in team salary next year, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN.com. That doesn’t take into account team options for Garrett Temple and others, or cap holds for possible first-round picks and free agents like Joe Harris, so Brooklyn’s roster could get quite expensive if the team wants to keep it together.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Atlantic Notes: Smart, Raptors, Dinwiddie, Kyrie
The Celtics‘ backcourt has undergone some major changes in recent years, from Isaiah Thomas and Avery Bradley to Kyrie Irving to Kemba Walker. Through it all, Marcus Smart has been the one constant, having averaged 27 or more minutes per game for Boston for each of the last five seasons.
According to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe, Smart said he sometimes thinks about the possibility of spending his entire career with the Celtics, which is something he’d love to do. As Himmelsbach relays, Smart recognizes that player movement is a big part of today’s NBA, but would like to “be a part of something special” in Boston.
“I’m six years in now, and it feels like yesterday I was drafted,” the Celtics’ guard said. “It is funny to see all the faces I’ve seen come through the organization. But it’s a blessing and I’m blessed to be here still, and that’s rare. Usually guys are gone by now. I’m blessed to still be here.”
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- While the loss of Kawhi Leonard represented the Raptors‘ most significant roster shakeup this summer, the departure of starting shooting guard Danny Green shouldn’t be overlooked, as Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun writes. “He’s not flashy, his game isn’t very sexy, but I don’t know what he shot, 45% from three? Something crazy like that, at a high clip, played 80 games, played every night, guarded the best players on the other teams and he’s just solid every night,” Fred VanVleet said of Green. “… He didn’t do a lot of preaching and teaching, he just was here and (led) by example and we’ll miss that.”
- Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie has another meeting scheduled with the NBA today to discuss his plan to “tokenize” his contract, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times. The league previously said Dinwiddie’s plan violates the CBA but he views the new meeting as a “good faith” gesture and is hopeful an agreement can be reached, as he tweeted this morning. Meanwhile, Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com offers an interesting look at the specifics of Dinwiddie’s proposal.
- Kyrie Irving wasn’t thrilled that details of the Nets‘ and Lakers‘ Shanghai meeting with commissioner Adam Silver earlier this month leaked to the press, per Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “You want to keep those meetings private,” Irving said. “I don’t know how it necessarily materialized into a big story. I don’t know whose notes or who was in there that we can’t depend on to keep a conversation like that in-house.”
- Speaking of Irving, his former teammate Marcus Morris believes the Knicks‘ locker room will be healthier this season than the Celtics‘ was last season in part because New York doesn’t have a superstar player to cater to. “No knock on Ky, but obviously he’s a superstar, he’s first,” Morris said, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. “Sometimes his emotions were put in front of the team.”
Knicks Notes: Point Guards, Ntilikina, Fizdale, Free Agency
The preseason didn’t bring any clarity to the Knicks‘ search for a starting point guard, writes Steve Popper of Newsday. Frank Ntilikina was supposed to have rediscovered his game after a strong summer of international competition, creating an intriguing battle with holdover Dennis Smith Jr. and free agent addition Elfrid Payton. However, nobody has stepped forward to claim the job. Ntilikina appears to be an “afterthought” again, according to Popper, as he sat out Friday’s preseason finale while Smith went 2-of-12 from the field and Payton had five turnovers.
“I don’t want to think about it,” coach David Fizdale said of the point guard competition. “I’ll tell you guys the next time I see you. No, they competed. They really competed hard. They’re making it tough on me. They’re making a tough decision for me.”
Popper suggests rookie RJ Barrett might be the best choice, even though he’s not a traditional point guard. Barrett was a standout throughout the preseason, even though he spent time at three positions.
There’s more this morning from New York:
- The Knicks have until the end of the month to pick up Ntilikina’s fourth-year option at $6.3MM, but Marc Berman of the New York Post hears that a decision could be made before Wednesday’s season opener to avoid having it become a distraction.
- In the same piece, Fizdale laments not having enough preseason games to adequately work out some important lineup decisions. The Knicks could have played up to six games, but management opted for four. In addition to the point guard battle, Fizdale has to determine whether Mitchell Robinson or Bobby Portis will be the starting center and he has to work out minutes at shooting guard with Wayne Ellington, Allonzo Trier and Damyean Dotson all in the mix, along with Barrett. “We understand where we are with a lot of new faces, but still are going out to compete to win,’’ Fizdale promised. “I don’t make any excuses. We’ll keep working through the chemistry and try to get wins.”
- Contrary to their public statements, the Knicks’ front office was “stunned and depressed” when Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving announced their decisions to sign with the Nets, according to Frank Isola of The Athletic.