Nets Sign Lance Thomas
Veteran forward Lance Thomas has made the move from one New York team to the other, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News, who tweets that the former Knick has signed with the Nets. The team has since confirmed the move in a press release, after a handful of reports this week cited Thomas as a likely target for Brooklyn.
Thomas, 31, has spent his last four and a half seasons with the Knicks, though he gradually saw his minutes and role reduced over that time. In 2018/19, he averaged 4.5 PPG and 2.5 RPG in just 17.0 minutes per contest (46 games). At this point in his career, Thomas’ veteran leadership and locker-room presence may be just as valuable as his on-court contributions.
With Thomas under contract, the Nets are now carrying a full 20-man roster. That doesn’t include 2019 second-round pick Jaylen Hands, who remains unsigned. It’s not clear what Brooklyn’s plans are for the former UCLA guard. Brooklyn’s 20-man squad also doesn’t include Carmelo Anthony, who was frequently linked to the team within the last month.
The Nets have 15 players with guaranteed salaries, so there’s no clear path for Thomas to earn a roster spot to start the regular season. However, the club will be able to add a 16th man to its roster after five regular season contests, when Wilson Chandler becomes eligible for the suspended list. Chandler is serving a 25-game ban, so Brooklyn will have a 20-game window to carry that extra player.
More On Lance Thomas, Spencer Dinwiddie
According to Ian Begley of SNY.tv, discussions between the Nets and veteran forward Lance Thomas have centered around Thomas having a regular season roster spot.
The Nets have 15 players on guaranteed deals and can add an extra player to their roster during the last 20 games of Wilson Chandler‘s 25-game suspension for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy. When that suspension is over, however, the Nets would have to waive Thomas or someone else to get back to 15 players.
Begley adds that Thomas has a good relationship with Kevin Durant from their days together in Oklahoma City, so that will only help Thomas’ chances of staying on with the Nets should he be signed.
- Shams Charania of The Athletic sat down with Nets point guard Spencer Dinwiddie to get some more details on how the 26-year-old is turning his contract into a digital investment vehicle.
Kyrie Irving Listed As Day To Day With Facial Fracture
- Kyrie Irving is day to day after suffering a left side facial fracture, the Nets tweeted. The injury happened during a workout Tuesday.
Nets Sign Williams, Egbunu; May Add Thomas
2:53pm: The Nets’ deal with Williams is now official, the team confirmed in a press release. The club also announced that it has signed former Florida center John Egbunu, whose deal was first reported by Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter link). Egbunu looks like a candidate to ultimately land with the Long Island Nets in the G League.
Brooklyn now has 19 players officially under contract.
2:45pm: Former Clippers and Timberwolves shooting guard C.J. Williams has reached an agreement to sign with the Nets, league sources tell Nicola Lupo of Sportando. Confirming the deal, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets that Williams will receive a non-guaranteed contract.
Williams, 29, made his NBA debut with the Clippers in 2017/18, then spent last season on a two-way contract with Minnesota. In total, he has appeared in 53 regular season contests, averaging 4.7 PPG on .448/.287/.765 shooting in 15.8 minutes per game.
Charania first identified Williams earlier this week as a candidate to sign with the Nets, who are looking to fill out their 20-man roster. In that report, Charania noted that Lance Thomas is in the mix to join Brooklyn’s roster too, and that idea appears to be gaining steam.
Marc Berman of The New York Post hears from a league source that the Nets are “seriously eyeing” Thomas, while Greg Logan of Newsday confirms (via Twitter) that the veteran forward has worked out for the team. According to Charania, Brooklyn is making progress on a deal to sign Thomas.
Currently, the Nets have 17 players under contract, so if they make it official with Williams and sign Thomas as well, they’d have just one opening left on their 20-man offseason roster. It remains to be seen whether the team intends to bring unsigned second-round pick Jaylen Hands to camp.
Although Williams is unlikely to earn a spot on the Nets’ regular season roster, since the club has 15 players with fully guaranteed salaries, he or another camp invitee could be re-signed five games into the regular season. At that point, Brooklyn will be able to open up an extra roster spot by moving Wilson Chandler to the suspended list for the next 20 games.
Spencer Dinwiddie Talks Investments, Tampering, Nets’ Season
Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie will become the first NBA player to turn his player contract into a digital investment vehicle, giving up some future income on his three-year, $34MM+ deal in order to secure a lump sum payment up front. Dinwiddie is confident that the NBA and the Players’ Association will approve the measure.
“What are they going to do, try and stop me? I mean, they could try,” Dinwiddie said (via Brian Lewis of The New York Times). “Then they’d have to have legal standing to do so. Do you really want to do that? Because wouldn’t that be bad PR for them to do that? I would think”
Dinwiddie went on to explain that he isn’t creating a new currency. “I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel and create a new bitcoin; this is different,” he said. “… I will say this, though: It solves some of the league’s fan engagement issue. It does do that.”
The 26-year-old also touched on tampering in the NBA, something that will have new consequences for as a result of last Friday’s Board of Governors’ meeting. Dinwiddie openly wondered whether it’s a coincidence that the league’s increased focus on tampering comes after teams like his own were big winners in free agency.
“You mean when non-traditional powers like the Nets and the Clippers win?” Dinwiddie added. “What you’re saying is, if it’d been the Lakers and the Knicks that won it wouldn’t be a problem, but because it’s the Clippers and the Nets that won it’s an issue?”
The Nets landed Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in free agency this summer and Dinwiddie played a role in the recruitment. Brooklyn will have many new faces next season, including Taurean Prince, who came to the team via a trade with the Hawks.
“He’s going to be a pleasant surprise, somebody a lot of people are discounting,” Dinwiddie said of Prince. “[He] can really, really, really shoot it.”
Atlantic Notes: Marks, Robinson, Hinton
Nets general manager Sean Marks will look to bring in a 16th player during Wilson Chandler‘s suspension, Ian Begley of SNY.tv tweets. Brooklyn will have the ability to move Chandler to the suspended list after he serves the first five games of the 25-game suspension, opening up a roster spot for the final 20 games of the ban.
Marks said the franchise will do its due diligence on the available players, though Begley notes that the Nets GM did not mention Carmelo Anthony (or any player) directly.
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Mitchell Robinson is back to full health, as Marc Berman of the New York Post relays (Twitter link). The center’s knee woes forced him out of Team USA’s camp last month, but he’s now participating in activities with the Knicks.
- Amir Hinton, who’s heading to camp with the Knicks on an Exhibit 10 deal, is a long-shot to make the opening day roster, but the combo guard will look to develop his game during his time with the team, as Berman relays in a full-length piece. “As time goes on, I’ll develop into a point guard knowing my spots and get teammates more involved,’’ Hinton said. “I can do that. But all my life, I’ve been a combo in a scoring role. I’m trying not to think too hard and have fun playing basketball, not make the game too hard.’’
- Chemistry could be a concern for the Nets but Spencer Dinwiddie believes winning will solve any potential issues, as he tells Brian Lewis of the New York Post. “That’s always the trouble. That’s always the elephant in the room, right?…Last year we were able to come together even with injuries and in some cases galvanizing the group,” Dinwiddie said. “We’re a more talented team, but if we don’t come together then it doesn’t really matter.”
Marks: Nets Planning For Durant To Miss Entire Season
The Nets are entering the 2019/20 campaign planning as if they won’t have Kevin Durant available for the entire season, general manager Sean Marks said today to reporters, including Ian Begley of SNY.tv and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic (Twitter links).
“The expectation now is that he’ll be out for the year,” Marks said (video link). “We’re not going to plan on him playing.”
A weekend report suggested that there’s a feeling around the NBA that Durant’s torn Achilles might not keep him out of action for all of the 2019/20 season. While it may be true that such a sentiment exists around the NBA, it’s apparently not a sentiment shared by the Nets, who are thinking long-term when it comes to KD’s health.
Still, Marks didn’t entirely close the door on Durant beating his timeline. Brooklyn’s GM told reporters that the two-time Finals MVP, who is attacking his rehab aggressively and is making good progress, will have a large say in when he returns (Twitter link via Begley). If the Nets make the playoffs and Durant is pushing to get back on the court, the team would have a tough decision to make.
Even if Durant and the Nets both ultimately agree that he won’t return until the 2020/21 season, the club won’t be able to apply for a disabled player exception to gain extra cap flexibility. The Achilles tear occurred before the star forward signed with Brooklyn and the Nets obviously knew about it when they signed him, making them ineligible for a DPE.
Tiago Splitter Earns Staff Promotion
- The Nets’ G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, acquired the returning player rights to Deng Adel from Raptors 905, according to a team press release. Brooklyn had already signed the small forward to an Exhibit 10 contract. Adel played on a two-way contract with the Cavaliers during the second half of last season, then became a free agent. Long Island also acquired the returning player rights of JaKarr Sampson from the Windy City Bulls in the three-team G league swap. Sampson signed with the Pacers in August.
- Former NBA center Tiago Splitter has been promoted by the Nets to player development coach, according to a team press release. Splitter joined the organization after retiring in February 2018. The other staff additions or promotions included J.R. Holden (director of player personnel), Daniel Jones (physical performance coach) and Ryan Forehan-Kelly (player development coordinator).
Latest On Andre Iguodala
Andre Iguodala hasn’t said much publicly since being sent from Golden State to Memphis at the start of July in a cost-cutting trade the Warriors had to make to accommodate the acquisition of D’Angelo Russell. However, he spoke to Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area on Sunday, with Poole suggesting it was “evident” that Iguodala isn’t exactly excited to join the Grizzlies.
“We’ll see,” Iguodala said when asked about his situation. “OK, maybe I shouldn’t say we’ll see. But we’re trying to figure out things on both sides. They’re trying to figure out some things, and I’m trying to figure out some things. As of today, we’re on the same page. Camp opens the next week. We’ll see. We’re on the same page though.”
As Iguodala hints, it seems safe to assume that neither he nor Memphis expects him to still be on the team’s roster when the 2019/20 season ends. But it remains to be seen whether he’ll move on in a trade or a buyout — and when exactly it might happen. Reports have indicated that the Grizzlies aren’t eager to buy out the former Finals MVP, while his potential trade suitors appear willing to be patient.
Asked about the possibility of a buyout, Iguodala explained to Poole his thoughts on the concept.
“At this point, the only buyout that makes sense — if I’m speaking on someone else’s behalf, thinking as an agent — is you don’t leave money on the table,” Iguodala said. “Especially in this league. Because you’ll never get it back, no matter what people say. Negotiations are a tactic, so you’ve got to be careful how you approach it, or how you verbalize what you would do going forward. But you can’t leave anything on the table.”
If Iguodala is approaching buyout negotiations with that stance, the stalemate between him and Memphis makes some sense. As Sean Deveney of Heavy.com notes, the Grizzlies likely want Iguodala to give back a decent chunk of his $17MM+ salary if they’re going to give him a clear path to join a contender without getting an asset in return.
If the two sides can find common ground on a buyout agreement, expect the Clippers, Lakers, and Rockets to be in hot pursuit, according to Deveney, who names the Nuggets and Nets as potential dark horses. In the meantime, training camps will get underway very soon, and Iguodala will have to remember that he won’t be reporting to the Warriors this fall.
“I forget that I’m not on the same team,” Iguodala told Poole. “I was texting with Loon (Kevon Looney) and asking him what he was eating and talking about Jiu-Jitsu training. And then, it’s like, ‘Oh, I forgot. We’re not even on the same team anymore.’ I laugh about that all the time.”
Nets Rumors: Carmelo, L. Thomas, FAs, Chandler
Despite the fact that multiple Nets players are reportedly pushing for the team to sign Carmelo Anthony, Brooklyn appears very unlikely to do so at this point, league sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic.
According to Charania, the Nets are more likely to fill their 20-man offseason roster they’ve worked out in recent weeks, including perhaps veteran forward Lance Thomas and swingman C.J. Williams. Dante Cunningham and Luol Deng are among the other free agents who have emerged as viable targets for Brooklyn, Charania adds.
With Wilson Chandler facing a 25-game suspension, the Nets could theoretically move on from the former Nugget to open up a spot on their 15-man regular season roster, but they currently have no plans to do so. As Charania points out, keeping Chandler on the suspended list during his 25-game ban will allow the franchise to recoup some of his salary. Plus, team executives believe Chandler would be quickly scooped up by another team if he were released later in the season.