Nets CEO Brett Yormark Stepping Down
Brett Yormark, the lead executive for both the Nets and Barclays Center, is stepping down as the team’s top executive ahead of an impending ownership change that will see Taiwanese businessman Joseph Tsai become the franchise’s owner, reports Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg.
Workouts Don't Mean Carmelo Anthony Will Join Nets
- Carmelo Anthony‘s presence in summer workouts with Nets players doesn’t mean Brooklyn plans to sign him, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “Nothing to it,” a source close to Anthony said. “There’s several guys (playing) that aren’t Nets, but friends and other NBA players.” Team officials and Anthony’s agent, Leon Rose, refused to comment.
Warriors Notes: Green, Durant, Curry, Russell
Draymond Green still considers Kevin Durant to be a close friend, despite their highly publicized confrontation last November and Durant’s decision to leave Golden State in free agency. In an interview with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols that aired today on “The Jump” (video link), Green talks about the success they had with the Warriors and says he learned that Durant was joining the Nets at the same time everyone else did.
“He don’t owe it to me to tell me before everybody else,” Green said. “We did what we had to do. The thing that people forget about in this league is this is our lives. I’m not about to go to Kevin Durant and say, ‘Hey Kevin, can I get my fiancé pregnant?’ But that’s my life. I’m sorry but that’s my life. Am I supposed to come to you and A) Let you know that that’s what I wanna do? Or B) Ask you for permission? No. So I found out when everybody else found out, which is exactly how it should be.”
Green also said he talked to Durant yesterday and still thinks of him as “my brother.” He’s grateful for what they accomplished as teammates, including two titles and a loss in this year’s Finals, calling it “a major success.”
There’s more Warriors news to pass along:
- Green also touched on the four-year, $99.7MM contract extension he signed last week. Although he might have earned more on the open market, he’s happy to be tied to the Warriors through the end of the 2023/24 season. He also considers it validation for the aggressive way he likes to play the game. “This contract tells you that all the garbage that you tried to say about me — arguing with Kevin or about the things with Steve Kerr or about the suspension (in the 2016 NBA Finals) — it just tells you that there was a method to that madness,” Green said.
- This summer’s roster upheaval has left Stephen Curry as the Warriors’ oldest player for the first time in his career, notes Anthony Slater of The Athletic. A few months ago, Curry was the fifth oldest, but the team parted with five players who were past their 30th birthday.
- With D’Angelo Russell joining the league’s most celebrated backcourt, Curry tells Slater that a three-guard approach can be successful once Klay Thompson returns from a torn ACL. “You get creative on how you mix up matchups, create good offense throughout the entire game,” Curry said. “Even defensively, I know there’s a lot of talk about that, our size, but the competitive fire will come out and find ways to get it done on that end of the floor.”
Carmelo Anthony Working Out With Nets Players
Carmelo Anthony has been involved in informal team workouts and scrimmages with several members of the Nets, leading to speculation that he could get a shot to revive his career in Brooklyn, according to Ian Begley and Anthony Puccio of SNY.tv.
The authors emphasize that there haven’t been any reports indicating the Nets reached out to Anthony or his representatives, and it’s uncertain if the team has any interest in adding the veteran forward. Still, it’s significant that Anthony seems to be a regular participant in the sessions, which are being held in Los Angeles and were organized by Kyrie Irving.
Brooklyn already has 16 players under contract, with 15 fully guaranteed, so one of those guaranteed deals would have to be traded or waived to create a roster spot for Anthony. The Nets inked Henry Ellenson to a two-way contract and draft pick Jaylen Hands remains unsigned, so the team has at least two openings on its offseason roster as training camp nears.
Anthony, of course, has a long history in the New York area, spending parts of seven seasons with the Knicks. SNY reported in June that the Knicks may have been interested in a reunion if they had landed Irving and Kevin Durant in free agency. Anthony played 10 games for the Rockets last season before being traded to the Bulls in January and waived a few days later.
Joseph Tsai To Buy Rest Of Nets From Mikhail Prokhorov
Nets minority shareholder Joseph Tsai, who currently owns 49% of the franchise, is set to assume control of the remaining 51% earlier than expected, according to Josh Kosman and Brian Lewis of The New York Post.
As Kosman and Lewis report, Tsai is close to signing a deal to complete the purchase that will give him full control of the Nets. The move is expected to be announced next week, according to The Post.
When Tsai first bought a 49% stake in the Nets in April 2018, Mikhail Prokhorov retained control of the remaining 51% with an understanding that Tsai would have the option to buy him out within three years. It appears that buyout will happen just 16 months later.
At the time of Tsai’s initial purchase, the Nets were given a valuation of $2.35 billion, with Tsai paying $1 billion for his 49% stake. As Kosman and Lewis confirm, the billionaire co-founder of Alibaba will pay $1.35 billion for the other 51%. The total cost of $2.35 billion will mark the highest price ever paid for a sports franchise, according to The Post.
Tsai, who is worth an estimated $9.9 billion, is also in talks to purchase the Barclays Center, as Kosman and Lewis note. The native of Taiwan is a member of NBA China and is expected to help the league grow its presence in China.
Tsai appears to have bought into the Nets at the right time — when he completed his initial purchase, the team was coming off a 28-54 performance. The club boosted that mark to 42-40 last season, then made a huge splash in free agency by signing Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
And-Ones: Clippers, Wroten, Giedraitis, Caffey
The signing of Kawhi Leonard and the trade for Paul George helped the Clippers have the league’s best offseason, according to David Aldridge of The Athletic. L.A. added two potential MVP candidates while keeping the core of last year’s playoff team intact and acquiring another rotation piece by trading for Maurice Harkless.
The Nets, who also hit the jackpot in free agency by signing Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, finished second on Aldridge’s list, followed by the Jazz, Lakers and Sixers. At the bottom are the Hornets, who lost Kemba Walker and replaced him with Terry Rozier, and the Warriors, who not only saw Durant leave, but also parted with Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston, two key components of their championship teams.
There’s more NBA-related news to pass along:
- Tony Wroten, whose journey to the EuroLeague we profiled earlier this week, has decided to sign with Anwil Wloclawek in Poland rather than KK Zadar in Croatia, tweets Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Wroten, 26, attended a mini-camp with the Wizards in June.
- Lithuanian swingman Rokas Giedraitis turned down multiple opportunities to play in Summer League this year, according to international basketball writer Donatas Urbonas (Twitter link). A few teams considered offering him a two-way deal last year, but he remains “under the NBA radar.” Giedraitis is considered a late bloomer at 27 and is under contract with Alba Berlin for the upcoming season.
- Jason Caffey admits he embraced an irresponsible lifestyle during his time in the NBA, and now he is trying to warn younger athletes not to make the same mistakes, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Caffey believes the choices he made, along with an undiagnosed mental illness, prevented him from having a longer career. Caffey had 10 children with eight women and says watching their success inspired him to change. “When I saw them doing so well — got a son at Alabama and a daughter at Missouri, D1 schools,” he said. “I knew then if I could help my own kids — kids who were pegged to be kids of a guy who’s a deadbeat dad, a guy who’s never going to be anything again — when I overcame that stigma, I knew it was time for me to step out and help other children.”
Knicks Don’t Regret Trading Kristaps Porzingis
The Knicks didn’t land the top stars they targeted in free agency, but management still believes the January trade that sent Kristaps Porzingis to the Mavericks was the right move, relays Marc Berman of The New York Post.
New York acquired Dennis Smith Jr., DeAndre Jordan, Wesley Matthews and a pair of first-round picks in that deal, but most importantly the team opened enough cap room for two max salary offers by unloading Porzingis, who would have been a restricted free agent, along with the unwanted contracts of Courtney Lee, Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr.
The trade led to five months of speculation that Kevin Durant was serious about joining the Knicks and would bring another star with him, possibly Kyrie Irving. However, Durant and Irving opted for Brooklyn, while New York filled its roster with a collection of vets on short-term contracts.
The situation looks worse after Durant gave an interview this week in which he claims he never considered the Knicks. That comment drew some skepticism throughout the league, according to Berman, but New York’s front office stands behind the Porzingis decision regardless.
Sources tell Berman that a rift had been building between the two sides long before Porzingis met with the front office to request a trade. Management thought it would be a waste of time to try to convince the injured star to stay and was concerned that his cap hold would interfere with the team’s free agency plans.
The Knicks also never believed that Janis Porzingis, who serves as his brother’s representative, would let Kristaps play last season, even if tests showed he was fully recovered from an ACL injury. Janis’ priority was to protect the $158MM deal that Kristaps eventually got from Dallas.
Berman suggests that New York might have sought more young assets in the deal if it had a clue that free agency would turn out the way it did. Even so, the Knicks were happy to add Smith to their backcourt and believe the two first-rounders will eventually prove valuable.
Team president Steve Mills and GM Scott Perry have confidence in the players they signed after their top targets were off the board, Berman adds. Mills views this as the third season of the rebuilding plan, noting that the one-year deals offer plenty of flexibility to acquire the next star player who becomes available.
Berman points out that Anthony Davis will top the free agent market next July and his agent, Rich Paul, likes the prospect of bringing his client to New York if things don’t work out with the Lakers.
D’Angelo Russell Talks Joining Warriors, Nets, Future
After a successful stint with the Nets in which he evolved into an NBA All-Star, D’Angelo Russell is now preparing to join the third team of his young career. With the departure of Kevin Durant, the Warriors had the opportunity to acquire the 23-year-old point guard as part of a sign-and-trade.
HoopsHype’s Alex Kennedy caught up with Russell to discuss the next chapter of his career. The former Laker weighed in on the chance to share the court with the Warriors’ championship core, his Nets tenure and how he hopes to improve.
Check out some of Russell’s comments below:
The opportunity to share the court with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson…
“I think it’s like a video game. You got three guys who can shoot the three at a high clip. I think that’s really exciting for the fans. Threes are obviously worth more than twos at the end of the day, so I think it gives us an opportunity to win. I’m so excited, and I think we’re going to bring a lot of excitement [to the fans].”
What he can learn in the new environment…
“I think this situation gives me an opportunity to be a sponge. I can learn a lot from everyone: a Hall of Fame coach – one of the winningest coaches ever – and from three different players who are Hall of Famers. It’s cool, man. This is a Hall of Fame organization that I get to a part of.”
How being in Brooklyn helped him develop…
“It was all about having that opportunity. I had the opportunity to be me on the court. I give a lot of credit to the [Nets’] coaching staff for allowing me to be me and to really thrive. I really appreciate that opportunity.”
Harris Looking At Big Contract In Free Agency
Nets shooting guard Joe Harris could double his salary in free agency next summer, according to Michael Scotto of The Athletic. Harris will make $7.67MM during the upcoming season and Scotto notes that veteran shooting guards received well above that figure in free agency this summer. Danny Green signed a two-year, $30MM deal with the Lakers while J.J. Redick got a two-year, $26.5MM contract with the Pelicans.
Harris might get even more, as Scotto points out that several other comparable shooting guards are making between $17.2MM and $20MM this season. The Nets hold Harris’ Bird Rights, giving them the inside track on signing him.
Four 2019 NBA Draft Picks Remain Unsigned
We’re about a month and a half removed from the 2019 NBA draft, and the contract statuses of 56 of the 60 players selected on that night have been determined.
As our list of draft pick signings shows, 53 players – 29 first-round picks and 24 second-rounders – have signed contracts with their new NBA teams. Three more players – Didi Louzada (Pelicans), Deividas Sirvydis (Pistons), and Vanja Marinkovic (Kings) – will reportedly spend the 2019/20 season overseas in various international leagues.
That leaves just four players whose contract situation for ’19/20 remains up in the air. Those players are as follows:
- Orlando Magic: Chuma Okeke, F (Auburn)
- Denver Nuggets: Bol Bol, C (Oregon)
- Charlotte Hornets: Jalen McDaniels, F (San Diego State)
- Brooklyn Nets: Jaylen Hands, G (UCLA)
Okeke is the lone 2019 first-rounder who remains unsigned, and it’s probably not just a coincidence that he’s the last one to ink his rookie contract. He tore his ACL in March and is expected to miss a good chunk – if not all – of his rookie season. While virtually every first-round pick signs for 120% of his rookie scale amount, the Cavaliers were able to get Kevin Porter for lower than that earlier in the offseason — it’s possible the Magic are exploring a similar deal with Okeke.
Bol, meanwhile, figures to sign with the Nuggets eventually. The team still has a projected opening on its 15-man regular season roster, plus a pair of open two-way contract slots. I’d expect Bol to sign a standard deal, but the two sides will have to reach an agreement on the years, dollars, and guarantee amounts. Since Denver has its full mid-level exception available, a variety of options are on the table.
As for McDaniels and Hands, they look like strong candidates to sign two-way contracts. Both the Nets and Hornets have an open two-way slot, and players selected in the 50-60 range frequently end up on two-way deals. While Brooklyn already has 15 players on guaranteed contracts, Charlotte is only carrying 13, so it’s possible a regular season roster spot is still in play for McDaniels.