Atlantic Notes: Lowry, Brown, Dinwiddie, Prince
Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun writes that while Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry has now spent seven full seasons in Toronto and helped the team bring home its first championship last season, the 33-year-old’s future after this season is up in the air.
Lowry will turn 34 in March, which means that Father Time will be creeping in to add some slippage sooner rather than later. Wolstat suggests that Chauncey Billups is a decent comparable to Lowry and that Billups, also a five-time All-Star, made his last All-Star appearance at age 33.
The Raptors need to add some young talent around Pascal Siakam, and Fred VanVleet, eight years Lowry’s junior, also will be looking for a new, more lucrative deal with the Raptors this summer.
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston reports that Celtics guard Jaylen Brown is looking to hire an agent for the first time in his NBA career to represent him in negotiations with Boston on what Brown hopes will be a long-term deal that’ll keep him with the Celtics.
- Nets point guard Spencer Dinwiddie sent out an interesting tweet in response to the NBA’s latest take on his plan to convert his contract into a digital investment vehicle. Per Marc Stein of The New York Times, an NBA spokesperson says Dinwiddie’s arrangement “remains prohibited by the CBA,” to which Dinwiddie replied, “This won’t end well lol.”
- Nets forward Taurean Prince is making a case for a rookie-scale extension, especially with his preseason performance against SESI France Basquete, writes Brian Lewis of the New York Post. Prince, who has been praised all summer by teammates, led the team with 22 points. “It’s just proof that the work I’ve put in and that the coaches have put in and the things we’ve been doing as a team have been working. I’m glad we’ve been able to transfer it over to the game.”
Latest On Dinwiddie's Contract Plans
- Nets point guard Spencer Dinwiddie and the NBA met on Thursday to discuss his plan to convert his contract into a digital investment vehicle, sources tell Charania. The NBA had wanted to nix Dinwiddie’s plan, but the point guard insists it doesn’t violate the league’s CBA and intends to move forward with it. According to Charania, the league will reconvene over “potential next steps.”
Nets Notes: Allen, Jordan, LeVert
- There’s no animosity between Jarrett Allen and newly-added big man DeAndre Jordan, who are embracing their battle for the Nets‘ starting center job, as Brian Lewis of The New York Post details. “It’s going great. Jarrett’s a great young player. He’s proven to be a great rim protector and he’s getting better each year,” Jordan said. “We’re definitely challenging him every day in practice. For us, being able to battle against each other every day is going to be good not only for us individually but great for our team.”
- After signing a new long-term extension with the Nets this summer, Caris LeVert is looking to take his game to another level in 2019/20, writes Howie Kussoy of The New York Post. “I think [his ceiling’s] really high,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said of LeVert, pointing to the guard’s strong start to the 2018/19 season. “He was really dominating, and in the playoffs, he was starting to hit his stride. You could argue he was our best player in the playoffs. … There’s guys that want to be great and guys who are desperate to be great, and he’s in that desperate category. There’s only a few guys like that.”
Nets’ Jaylen Hands To Sign G League Contract
Nets second-round pick Jaylen Hands will sign a contract to join the Long Island Nets of the G League, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post.
Hands, a 6’3″ guard out of UCLA, was selected by Brooklyn with the No. 56 overall pick in this year’s draft after declaring as an early entrant following his sophomore season. In 2018/19, the 20-year-old averaged 14.2 PPG, 6.1 APG, and 3.7 RPG with a .413/.373/.780 shooting line in 33 games (31.2 MPG) for the Bruins.
Because the Nets already have 15 players on guaranteed salaries and have filled both of their two-way contract slots, a G League contract has long appeared to be the most likely outcome for Hands. Brooklyn will retain his NBA rights while he plays for Long Island, so other NBA teams won’t be able to poach him away. Hands would be eligible to sign with the Nets later in the season or in a future league year.
While Hands may still be in Brooklyn’s long-term plans, recent history suggests that second-round picks who start their careers on G League contracts aren’t locks to eventually join their NBA team. Since 2017, four draftees have signed NBAGL deals and only one (Isaiah Hartenstein) has eventually appeared in at least one game for the NBA team that drafted him.
With Hands’ plans for the 2019/20 season now clear, Hornets second-rounder Jalen McDaniels is the only 2019 draft pick whose immediate future remains uncertain.
Dinwiddie To Meet With League Officials
- Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie will meet with league officials this week to discuss his plan to turn his contract into an investment tool, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. The NBA nixed the idea last week but Dinwiddle hopes he can convince the league to reverse its ruling. Dinwiddie wanted to enable investors to essentially buy shares of his three-year, $34.4MM contract.
Atkinson Was Important Part Of Nets' Free Agent Success
- The role of Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson in the team’s successful foray into free agency this summer shouldn’t be overlooked, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post, who points out that both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant praised Atkinson in their initial comments to the media last week.
Nets Notes: Atkinson, Dinwiddie, Musa, Ellenson
The Nets‘ success in free agency has changed the atmosphere around the organization, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Roughly 200 press members showed up to Friday’s Media Day, accompanied by a throng of fans who waited outside the team’s training center for a glimpse of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
“It’s like Real Madrid. I thought it was funny,” coach Kenny Atkinson said. “There’s a different excitement with the fans. I didn’t say they camped out, but there was some kind of tent there. So I drove around the other way and I came the back way the guy had my picture up. It’s just funny.”
Neither of the newly-added stars participated in the first workout Saturday. Durant will likely miss the entire season with a ruptured Achilles tendon, while Irving was sidelined by a facial fracture he suffered in an informal scrimmage this week.
“Precautionary, totally. More us just saying, we don’t want you to get another whack,” Atkinson explained.
There’s more Nets news to pass along:
- Spencer Dinwiddie will proceed with a digital investment plan in his new contract even though the league considers it a violation of the collective bargaining agreement, Lewis adds in the same story. “You’ve got to think about it: If I spent just short of a year building it, you really think I didn’t read the CBA? You really think I didn’t have lawyers read the CBA? That would be outrageously stupid,” Dinwiddie said. “… So we constructed it in a way that doesn’t violate the CBA. … It’s very simple. Once the Nets pay me, that’s the end of it. If I wanted to shoot the money into deep space, technically, I could.”
- Dzanan Musa was one of the top players for the Long Island Nets last season, but he tells Chris Milholen of NetsDaily that he hopes his G League days are finished. Even though he remains the youngest player on Brooklyn’s roster, Musa believes he’s ready for the NBA. “The Long Island experience was just great for me to learn American basketball,” Musa said. “I think that was great for me but I hope I am no more there. I think I am ready for the opportunity in Brooklyn and I am hoping I will take advantage of it.”
- After spending time with the Pistons and Knicks, Henry Ellenson, who signed a two-way contract with Brooklyn in July, believes he’s finally with a team that will develop his skills, Milholen writes in a separate story.
Knicks Notes: Fizdale, Point Guards, Wooten, L. Thomas
The short-term deals the Knicks handed out after missing their top targets in free agency could lead to another disastrous season in New York, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Once the elite free agents were all off the board, the Knicks’ front office signed six players in a 24-hour span, mostly to one-year contracts. Coach David Fizdale has nine new players on his roster, creating a challenging environment to keep everyone invested in the team.
“The worry is chemistry issues and clashing as well as a rotation that will be tough to keep all happy,’’ a rival executive told Berman. “It could turn into every-man-for-himself – self preservation on full display.’’
The Knicks’ best hope to improve lies in their young core, Berman adds. Newly signed Julius Randle, who committed for three years at $63MM, is only 24, while Kevin Knox, Mitchell Robinson, Dennis Smith Jr. and rookie RJ Barrett all have the potential to improve. But if none of them can make the leap this year and Kristaps Porzingis revives his career in Dallas, Berman speculates that another front office shakeup could be on the way.
There’s more this morning from New York:
- The starting point guard job is wide open again this year, Berman notes in a separate story. Smith will compete with Frank Ntilikina and newly signed Elfrid Payton in what Berman calls the best position battle in camp. The Knicks seemed to make a commitment to Smith after acquiring him in the Porzingis deal, but may have signaled a new direction by giving $8MM to Payton.
- Kenny Wooten will be among the most intriguing players to watch in camp, Berman adds. All 15 roster spots appear set, but New York has an open two-way slot that Wooten will have a chance to claim. He is an athletic shot-blocker on an Exhibit 10 deal who could set himself up for a standard contract down the line.
- Lance Thomas has moved across town to the Nets, but he would have been happy to remain a Knick, relays Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. “It was a dream come true for me,” Thomas said. “My family is Knicks fans their whole lives. The opportunity I had to wear that uniform, to play in an arena of that magnitude — I had goosebumps every day I wore that uniform.”
Nets Notes: Dinwiddie, Chandler, Kurucs, Prince
The NBA has nixed Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie‘s plan to turn his contract into an investment tool, Marc Stein of the New York Times reports.
Dinwiddie wanted to enable investors to essentially buy shares of his three-year, $34.4MM contract. He would have allowed investors, who would have paid a minimum of $150K, to bet on whether he would secure an even more lucrative contract after the second year of his deal. The NBA ruled that such an arrangement is prohibited by the CBA, since ‘no player shall assign or otherwise transfer to any third party his right to receive compensation from the team under his uniform player contract.'”
Dinwiddie plans to meet with league officials to further describe the concept and try to convince them to reverse the ruling.
We have more on the Nets:
- Forward Wilson Chandler is apologetic over his performance-enhancing drug-related suspension, as he told Brian Lewis of the New York Post. Chandler was suspended 25 games by the league in August after he signed a veteran’s minimum deal with the Nets. “This has definitely affected me in a negative way, disheartening,” Chandler said. “Definitely wish I could take it back, but I can’t now, so I just try to move forward.”
- Forward Rodions Kurucs refused to answer questions regarding allegations that he assaulted his girlfriend under the advice of legal counsel but he said the team has supported him during his legal battle, Lewis writes in the same story. “Yeah for sure, guys reached out. They were just so supportive. I know they have family [atmosphere] here,” he said. “So I always know that they’ve got my back and they are always here for me to talk or I can trust them 100 percent.”
- Forward Taurean Prince wants to be the team’s defensive stopper, according to Billy Reinhardt of Nets Daily. Prince, a restricted free agent next summer, was acquired from the Hawks in the Allen Crabbe deal. Prince was slowed by ankle injury last season. “I think my first two years I was definitely on my way to being a great defender,” Prince said. “There was an injury situation halfway through the season – came back a little too early. I played pretty much hurt the last 25-30 games. I never made an excuse, but now I’m 100% healthy. I’m going to demand guarding every All-Star we play, every best player on the floor at every time, no matter the position.”
Nets Notes: Irving, Durant, Jordan, Allen
Speaking today to reporters at the Nets‘ Media Day, Kyrie Irving said he felt as if he let down his teammates in Boston last season and wants to be a better leader for his new team in Brooklyn.
As Malika Andrews of ESPN.com details, Irving opened up about how the death of his grandfather last fall impacted him and why he had a change of heart following his preseason vow to re-sign with the Celtics and ultimately decided to play closer to home.
“A lot of the joy I had from basketball was sucked away from me,” Irving said of the time following his grandfather’s death. “There was a facial expression I carried around with me throughout the year and I didn’t allow anyone to get close to me. It really bothered me. I didn’t take the necessary steps to get counseling or therapy. I had to acknowledge that fact.”
Irving received much of the blame for the Celtics’ disappointing 2018/19 showing, which included chemistry issues and a leadership void in the locker room. In his comments today, he seemed to acknowledge that the criticism was fair.
“A lot of those battles I thought I could battle through (in Boston’s) team environment, I wasn’t ready for,” Irving said, according to Andrews. “And I failed those guys. I didn’t give them everything I could have during that season. In terms of me being a leader and bringing everyone together, I’ve failed.”
Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston provides a more extensive transcript of Irving’s comments, while Rob Perez passes along a video link. The All-Star point guard said he is arriving in Brooklyn with a “fresh mindset” and hopes to avoid the same mistakes he made with the Celtics.
Here’s more from the Nets’ Media Day:
- Asked about why he chose the Nets in free agency and whether he considered teams like the Warriors, Knicks, and Clippers, Kevin Durant said he thought about those other possibilities for “a couple seconds,” but wanted to be in Brooklyn (Twitter links via Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic). “It was really easy to see what these guys brought to the table,” Durant said of the Nets. “It’s not like I had to do any deep analysis of any player here.”
- Durant also offered the following quote on his decision to leave the Warriors (Twitter link via Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog): “I felt like it was time for a change and I wanted to play for a new team and simply put I just did it. I didn’t really think about what I was leaving behind. I thought it’s time to think about me.”
- According to Irving, he and Durant would like to finish their careers together with the Nets (video link via Yahoo Sports).
- Irving told reporters about talking to Durant and DeAndre Jordan at “4:16 in the morning” on the day of free agency and deciding they wanted to play together in Brooklyn (video link via Perez).
- Jordan said that he and Jarrett Allen will compete and bring out the best in one another, and that both players will be fine no matter who ends up winning the starting center job (Twitter link via James Herbert of CBS Sports).