Nets, D’Angelo Russell Extension Unlikely
As we noted earlier this summer, the Nets still hadn’t had any rookie-scale extension talks with D’Angelo Russell after about a week into free agency. Now, according to Brian Lewis of the New York Post, it appears that an extension is unlikely given Brooklyn’s plan to be a major spender in free agency next summer.
The Nets’ deadline to sign Russell, 22, to an extension is the last day before the start of the regular season, but even if no extension is agreed to, the Nets will still be able to make Russell a restricted free agent in the summer of 2019 by tendering him a $9.16MM qualifying offer next June.
“For now we’re going to see how this group plays together, how it all unfolds,” said general manager Sean Marks said. “But — again, I’m not going to rule out anything — as we stand now, this is the group and we have no plans to make any crazy changes, whether that’s an extension or signing or trade anyone else. But things happen quickly.”
Russell, the No. 2 overall selection in the 2015 NBA Draft, averaged 20.9 points, 5.7 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game before getting hurt last season, but given the plan to maximize cap space and the fact that Russell will be under team control as a restricted free agent, Lewis opines that the Nets would be prudent to stand pat and let the market set the price for Russell next summer.
Only one other member of the 2015 NBA Draft class – Devin Booker – has signed a rookie-scale extension so far this summer, but Karl-Anthony Towns, Bobby Portis, and Larry Nance Jr. are among those considered strong candidates for new deals.
Nets Re-Sign Joe Harris
JULY 24: The Nets have officially re-signed Harris, going over the cap using his Early Bird rights to sign him.
JUNE 30: The Nets have reached an agreement with free agent sharpshooter Joe Harris, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that Harris will re-sign with Brooklyn on a two-year, $16MM deal.
It will be a straight two-year contract with no options on either side, adds Michael Scotto of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The Nets will retain Harris’ $1.5MM cap hold, use all their available space and then use his Early Bird rights to go over the cap and finalize the signing, according to salary cap expert Albert Nahmad (Twitter link). They can still produce up to $8.1MM in cap space, plus whatever they might save in a buyout of Dwight Howard.
Harris, 26, struggled to find a spot in the NBA before coming to Brooklyn two seasons ago. He emerged as a valuable reserve for the Nets, averaging 8.2 points per game in 2016/17 and improving that to 10.8 this season while hitting 42% from 3-point range.
The new deal represents a significant salary jump for Harris, who earned $1.5MM this year.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Nets Sign Forward Ed Davis
JULY 23, 4:56pm: The team has made the signing official, according to Adam Zagoria of the New York Times (Twitter link).
JUNE 30, 11:45pm: The Nets and Ed Davis have agreed to terms on a one-year, $4.4MM contract, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Davis had been an unrestricted free agent.
Jusuf Nurkic‘s primary backup at the five during the 2017/18 season, Davis appeared in 78 games for the Trail Blazers, averaging 5.3 PPG on 58.2% shooting. The 29-year-old was also a force on the glass, racking up 7.4 RPG in just 18.9 minutes per contest.
Davis reportedly had interest in remaining in Portland, so it’s somewhat surprising that the two sides couldn’t work something out, given the modest price of his agreement with Brooklyn. However, the Blazers have been particularly cost-conscious so far this summer, having declined to tender qualifying offers to rotation players Shabazz Napier and Pat Connaughton.
Davis figures to step into a regular role for the Nets behind young center Jarrett Allen. Brooklyn is acquiring Dwight Howard in a trade with Charlotte, but the club is expected to negotiate a buyout with the former No. 1 pick, clearing the way for Davis to become Allen’s primary backup.
While the Nets should have some cap room available after buying out Howard, it’s possible that the team will wait to finalize its reported agreement with Davis. The room exception is worth $4,449,000 in 2018/19, so Davis’ deal would fit nicely.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Chinese Teams Interested In Jahlil Okafor?
Jahlil Okafor appears to have offers waiting in China if he can’t find an NBA team to sign him, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.
The third player taken in the 2015 draft, Okafor washed out in Philadelphia and didn’t play much after being traded to the Nets in December. He got into just 26 games with Brooklyn and averaged 6.4 PPG in 12.6 minutes per night.
Okafor is working out in Miami, but the Heat aren’t interested in signing him, Carchia writes. We detailed several other franchises that have apparently withdrawn their interest earlier this week, including the Nets, Pacers and Bulls. However, four teams sent representatives to Okafor’s recent workout in Las Vegas and he remains hopeful of catching on with someone before training camps open.
Jeremy Lin Was Surprised By Trade To Hawks
Jeremy Lin was denying rumors of a possible trade the night before the Nets shipped him to Atlanta, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Fans of the veteran guard have been bombarding Brooklyn GM Sean Marks with message of disapproval, but Lewis states that the trade shouldn’t be considered a surprise. Lin, who is about to turn 30 and is coming off a major injury, doesn’t fit the Nets’ rebuilding timeline. Still, he was blindsided by the deal with the Hawks.
- The Nets considered making an offer to free agent Jabari Parker before he signed with the Bulls, Lewis adds in the same story. They decided against it because of the price tag and a recent comment Parker made in a radio interview that “They don’t pay players to play defense.” Brooklyn opted for a pair of trades with the Nuggets and Suns that brought in Kenneth Faried and Jared Dudley.
Suns Trade Dudley, Second-Round Pick To Nets For Arthur
2:16pm: The Nets and Suns have officially completed their trade, according to a press release issued by the Nets. Dudley, who told Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic (Twitter link) that he’s not a fan of buyouts, expects to play for Brooklyn. Wojnarowski suggests the Nets may envision Dudley as a stretch four in their lineup.
9:16am: The Nets and Suns have agreed to a trade that will send Jared Dudley to Brooklyn and Darrell Arthur to Phoenix, league sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The Nets will acquire a top-35 protected 2021 second-round pick in the deal, according to Wojnarowski.
The deal appears to be financially motivated, with Wojnarowski indicating that Arthur and his $7.46MM expiring salary will likely be bought out by the Suns. Dudley, who is on a $9.53MM expiring contract, could have a similar conversation with the Nets, Woj adds.
The savings in the trade are minimal for the Suns, but it’s possible they have another move or two up their sleeves. According to Basketball Insiders’ salary data, Phoenix will have a team salary of $98.63MM after the deal, which is good for $3MM+ in cap room.
[UPDATE: Suns to acquire Richaun Holmes from Sixers]
According to John Gambadoro of 98.7 Arizona Sports (Twitter link), the Suns had been trying to buy out Dudley for the last couple weeks. Arthur is a little cheaper and it’s possible he’ll be more amenable to a buyout.
As for the Nets, they remain in asset-collection mode after having acquired a pair of draft picks from the Nuggets in a salary-dump deal that included Arthur earlier this month. Today’s move will ensure that Brooklyn once again has a second-round pick in the 2021 draft — the club traded its own ’21 second-rounder in the Dwight Howard deal with Charlotte.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Marcus Smart Signs Four-Year Deal With Celtics
2:36pm: Smart has officially signed his new contract with the Celtics, according to agent Happy Walters, who tweeted a photo of the signing. The team has also issued a press release confirming the deal.
9:25am: Marcus Smart has agreed to a four-year, $52MM deal to remain with the Celtics, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. Jordan Schultz of Yahoo Sports first reported that the Celtics and Smart were finalizing a deal in that neighborhood after ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said the two sides were engaged in serious discussions.
The final terms are a little higher than the $46-$50MM range that was reported yesterday, and the deal takes one of the last high-profile free agents off the market. Smart has been with the Celtics since being selected with the sixth pick in the 2014 draft and has developed into one of the league’s top perimeter defenders.
Smart’s contract will push the Celtics into luxury tax territory, at least for now, notes ESPN’s Zach Lowe (Twitter link). It will also become Boston’s only contract between $7-20MM, which could make it a valuable trade chip down the line, adds Kevin O’Connor of the Ringer (Twitter link).
A restricted free agent, Smart had expressed frustrations with the slowness of the process while waiting for an offer. He met with several teams, including the Nets and Grizzlies, last week during the Las Vegas Summer League, according to Charania, but also had a private meeting with Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge. Significant progress was made in the past few days, allowing the team to quickly finalize a deal in a meeting this morning with Smart and his agent, Happy Walters.
The Celtics were happy to get a long-term deal done with Smart a year before backcourt mates Kyrie Irving and Terry Rozier both become free agents, Charania adds. The team will now have at least one of its point guards locked up before entering into negotiations with Irving and/or Rozier.
Smart appeared in 54 games last season, with his playing time limited by a right hand injury caused by punching a glass frame and a torn UCL he suffered in his right thumb while diving for a loose ball in March that caused him to miss the start of the playoffs. He posted 10.2 PPG, 4.8 APG, and 3.5 RPG during the regular season, along with 1.3 steals per night.
“It’s been a tough summer with free agency and his mom’s (cancer),” Smart’s high school coach, Kenny Boren, tells Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald. “It’s been tough emotionally for him.” (Twitter link).
Smart ranked 14th on our list of the Top 50 Free Agents of 2018. His signing leaves Clint Capela of the Rockets and Rodney Hood of the Cavaliers as the best unsigned players left on the market.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Nets Notes: Russell, Napier, Faried, Whitehead
Nets GM Sean Marks won’t rule out the possibility of giving guard D’Angelo Russell an extension but it seems unlikely, according to Brian Lewis of the New York Post (Twitter links). “For now, we’re going to see how this group plays together, how it all unfolds…I’m not going to rule out anything,” Marks said in a news conference, adding, “As we stand now, this is the group and we have no plans to make any crazy changes, whether that’s an extension or signing or trade anyone else. But things happen quickly.” Russell will make a little over $7MM this season and the team would have to decide whether to extend a qualifying offer of $9.16MM next summer if they don’t sign him to an extension.
In other news regarding the Brooklyn franchise:
- The Nets will have to figure out how Shabazz Napier will fit into their backcourt but he’s not worried about it, Tom Dowd of the team’s website reports. The team already has Russell and Spencer Dinwiddie to play the point and Caris LeVert can also fill in at that spot. Napier was Damian Lillard‘s primary backup with the Trail Blazers last season. Napier signed a two-year contract on Tuesday. “That’s something I’m going to figure out when training camp starts,” Napier told Dowd about his role. “Right now, I’ll just continue to be who I am and come into training camp with an attitude of competing at the end of the day.”
- Brooklyn took on Kenneth Faried‘s contract in a Nuggets salary dump but Marks feels Faried can be a major contributor next season, Dowd relays in a separate story. Faried has an expiring $13.76MM contract. “I think he fits with that Brooklyn grit that we talk about in terms of how he plays; he plays with high intensity, obviously at a fast pace,” Marks said. “His game will transition well to Brooklyn and what [coach] Kenny’s [Atkinson] wanting to do here.”
- No one was more disappointed about the trade with the Nuggets than guard Isaiah Whitehead, the player shipped to Denver in the deal, as Bryan Fonseca of Nets Daily relays. Whitehead appeared in 89 games for his hometown team over the past two seasons. A source close to Whitehead sent a text to Fonseca after the trade that stated, “Being in Brooklyn meant everything to him.”
More Reactions, Notes On Jabari Parker’s Bulls Deal
In the latest episode of The Lowe Post podcast, ESPN’s Zach Lowe and Brian Windhorst discuss Jabari Parker‘s move from Milwaukee to Chicago at length, suggesting that if Giannis Antetokounmpo badly wanted the Bucks to keep Parker, the team would have found a way to do it.
Despite Parker’s end-of-season dismissal of the idea that the Bucks ever offered an extension in the range of $18MM per year, both Lowe and Windhorst insist that was the case, though they acknowledge that a handful of scenarios were discussed, and Milwaukee’s multiyear offers from last fall may not have been fully guaranteed. In any case, Parker managed to exceed that annual salary on his new deal with the Bulls, albeit on a shorter-term contract.
Before he signed with the Bulls, Parker received interest from the Kings and the Nets, according to Windhorst, who suggests that Brooklyn kicked the tires on the veteran forward after lining up the Jeremy Lin trade with Atlanta. However, the Nets ultimately decided Parker’s price was too high and used their remaining cap room to take on unwanted contracts and draft picks in a deal with Denver, helping clear the path for Parker to land in Chicago.
Here’s more on Parker’s move back to his hometown:
- Parker “means more playing for the Bulls than he ever could anywhere else,” according to Jeremy Woo of SI.com, who suggests that the former No. 2 overall pick is already “the most recognizable face on the team.” The on-court fit may not be as strong as the optics, but the Bulls are at a stage in their rebuild where it makes sense to take a chance on Parker, says Woo.
- There’s reason to believe that Parker isn’t yet a finished product, since his development has been slowed by multiple knee injuries, writes K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. Still, Johnson acknowledges that the Bulls may have to “win some shootouts” next season, since Parker won’t improve a mediocre defense.
- According to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, it will be important for the Bulls to limit Robin Lopez‘s minutes in 2018/19. As O’Connor explains, Lopez isn’t part of the “future equation” in Chicago, and there are only so many minutes to go around in the team’s frontcourt. The less Lopez plays, the more minutes Parker could see at the four, which is probably his best position.
- Parker tells Nick Friedell of ESPN.com that Chicago native and former Bulls MVP Derrick Rose is “still a hero for a lot of people, including myself.” However, Rose’s time as a Bull didn’t end well, prompting Friedell to explore whether Parker could have more success with his hometown team.
Latest On Jahlil Okafor
Jahlil Okafor is an unrestricted free agent this summer, but hasn’t exactly been a hot commodity among teams looking for frontcourt help — this is our first story about the former third overall pick since free agency began 17 days ago.
Still, Okafor appears to be generating at least a little interest. Sources tell Sean Deveney of The Sporting News that Okafor worked out for four teams in Las Vegas last Wednesday, and remains “hopeful” about signing an NBA contract before camps open in September.
It’s not clear which teams were in attendance at Okafor’s workout last week, but Deveney rules out a few clubs. According to the Sporting News scribe, Okafor had drawn some interest from the Pacers and Bulls earlier in the year, but neither team was at last week’s workout. The former Duke standout also won’t be returning to the Nets next season, Deveney adds.
Okafor, originally a Sixer, averaged 17.5 PPG and 7.0 RPG during his rookie season in 2015/16, but has seen his playing time and production decline since then. After being traded to Brooklyn this past season, he posted 6.4 PPG and 2.9 RPG in 26 contests (12.6 MPG) with the Nets.
As TNT’s David Aldridge details, Okafor has been working this summer with Miami-based trainer Idan Ravin, who has been “reconstructing” Okafor’s jump shot and looking to expand the 22-year-old’s offensive game. We’ll see if that work helps earn him another NBA shot this fall.