Draft Notes: Washington, Ward, Brown, Hudson
Kentucky freshman forward PJ Washington is working out for the Clippers this week and will meet with the Timberwolves and Bucks before next week’s draft combine, Fletcher Page of the Louisville Journal Courier reports. Washington, who has already visited the Celtics and Nets, has a pinky finger injury that will require surgery, Page continues. Father Paul Washington told Page that his son isn’t assured of staying in the draft.
“It’s real simple — if he’s guaranteed a first round pick, then he’ll stay in the draft,” Paul Washington said. “If he doesn’t get that, we’ll have to make a decision. It’s PJ’s decision.”
The 6’8” Washington is listed at No. 51 among Jonathan Givony’s top 100 prospects at ESPN.com. He averaged 10.8 PPG and 5.7 RPG for the Wildcats.
In other draft developments:
- Michigan State sophomore center Nick Ward will work out for the Pistons this weekend, Brendan Quinn of The Athletic tweets. Ward has already worked out for the Knicks and Thunder and at least eight other teams are interested in bringing him in, Quinn adds. He averaged 12.4 PPG and 7.1 RPG for the Spartans. He is not listed among Givony’s top 100 prospects.
- The Hawks are bringing in six prospects on Wednesday, according to a team press release. South Carolina forward Brian Bowen, Auburn guard Bryce Brown, Purdue guard Nojel Eastern, Maryland forward Bruno Fernando, Florida shooting guard Jalen Hudson and Utah Valley center Akolda Manyang are the players visiting Atlanta. Hudson, ranked No. 45 by Givony, is the most prominent member of the group.
Draft Notes: Ponds, Lakers, Grizzlies, Cavaliers
The NBA draft lottery is still a week away, but teams have already started bringing in prospects for pre-draft workouts. Those workouts are especially important for early entrants who are still testing the waters, since they’re a great opportunity for those players to find out where they stand with NBA teams.
One of those players is St. John’s guard Shamorie Ponds, who entered the draft process this spring as a sophomore, and will have until May 30 to decide whether to withdraw and return to school for his junior year. According to Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com (Twitter link), Ponds has already worked out for the Celtics, and has auditions for the Nets and Cavaliers lined up this weekend.
Here are a few more draft-related updates, with a focus on workouts:
- The Lakers worked out six prospects on Monday, bringing in Udoka Azubuike (Kansas), Keita Bates-Diop (Ohio State), Rob Gray (Houston), Jalen Hudson (Florida), Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. (Baylor), and Caleb Martin (Nevada) for a look, according to a team release.
- The Grizzlies are holding a draft workout on Tuesday for C.J. Anderson (Massachusetts), Leron Black (Illinois), Terence Davis (Ole Miss), Rob Gray (Houston), Jemerrio Jones (New Mexico State), and Nick King (Middle Tennessee State), the club announced in a press release.
- The Cavaliers brought in San Diego State prospect Jalen McDaniels for a 1-on-1 workout before Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, a league source tells Michael Scotto of The Athletic (Twitter link).
- In a full article for The Athletic, Scotto spoke to several NBA evaluators to get their thoughts on some of this year’s top New York-born prospects, including Mohamed Bamba, Hamidou Diallo, and Rawle Alkins.
Nets Notes: FA Mini-Camp, RFA Market, LeVert
The Nets hosted a three-day mini-camp this week for veteran free agents, according to Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype (Twitter link), who identifies former Thunder guard Semaj Christon and 2016 first-round pick Brice Johnson as a pair of the participants.
Per Kennedy (Twitter link), other players with previous NBA experience who took part in Brooklyn’s mini-camp include Xavier Silas, Josh Gray, Naz Mitrou-Long, Jarrod Uthoff, and Byron Mullens. Walt Lemon Jr., who saw a little action with the Pelicans this season, was also in attendance, tweets NetsDaily.
While the Nets may not end up adding any of those players to their roster for next season, the mini-camp gives the club a chance to get a closer look at some players who might have flown under-the-radar, and perhaps some candidates for two-way contracts next season.
Here’s more on the Nets:
- The Nets have been the NBA’s most active club in restricted free agency over the past two years, with little success. The club signed Allen Crabbe, Tyler Johnson, Donatas Motiejunas, and Otto Porter to offer sheets, but saw all four of those offers matched at the time (Crabbe was later traded to Brooklyn). With that recent history in mind, NetsDaily explores whether the club will foray into the RFA market again in 2018, with Aaron Gordon looming as a possible target.
- The first draft pick of the Sean Marks era in Brooklyn, Caris LeVert showed impressive potential and versatility during his second NBA season in 2017/18, writes Michael Scotto of The Athletic. LeVert, who could become a long-term starter for the Nets, won’t be eligible for restricted free agency until 2020.
- Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov is on the wrong end of a lawsuit in New York State Court, as Brian Lewis of The New York Post details. Prokhorov is being counter-sued by Grigory Rodchenkov, the whistle-blower who exposed Russian cheating in the 2014 Olympics, for backing a libel lawsuit that Rodchenkov viewed as an intimidation tactic.
Crabbe Looks For Better Second Season
- Nets guard Allen Crabbe promises to improve his efficiency and production in his second season with the club, according to BrooklynNets.com. Crabbe averaged a career-best 13.2 PPG and set the team record for most 3-pointers made, but his long-range percentage dropped from 44.4% to 37.8%. “I didn’t have the consistent season I wanted to have,” Crabbe said. “But I got one year under my belt [in Brooklyn] and I know where I can be effective on this team and what I can bring – what I can do. Just go into off-season and come back a completely different player.”
2018 NBA Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Brooklyn Nets
After another bid for a restricted free agent (Otto Porter) fell short, the Nets continued to use their cap room to take on other teams’ unwanted contracts during the 2017 offseason, adding Allen Crabbe, Timofey Mozgov, and DeMarre Carroll. Having lost control of so many lottery picks thanks to their infamous trade with the Celtics, the Nets were able to acquire a recent second overall pick in D’Angelo Russell by taking on Mozgov, and landed an extra first-round pick by absorbing Carroll. It will be trickier for Brooklyn to take a similar approach during the 2018 offseason though, with the club’s cap room dwindling.
Here’s where things currently stand for the Nets financially, as we continue our Offseason Salary Cap Digest series for 2018:
Guaranteed Salary
- Allen Crabbe ($18,500,000)
- Timofey Mozgov ($16,000,000)
- DeMarre Carroll ($15,400,000)
- Jeremy Lin ($12,516,746)
- D’Angelo Russell ($7,019,698)
- Deron Williams ($5,474,787) — Waived via stretch provision
- Rondae Hollis-Jefferson ($2,470,357)
- Jarrett Allen ($2,034,120)
- Caris LeVert ($1,702,800)
- Total: $81,118,508
Player Options
- None
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Spencer Dinwiddie ($1,656,092)1
- Isaiah Whitehead ($1,544,951)2
- Total: $3,201,043
Restricted Free Agents
- Nik Stauskas ($4,333,931 qualifying offer / $11,421,441 cap hold): Bird rights
- Total: $11,421,441
Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds
- Jahlil Okafor ($6,313,832): Bird rights
- Randy Foye ($3,000,000): Non-Bird rights3
- Dante Cunningham ($2,760,000): Non-Bird rights
- No. 29 overall pick ($1,618,324)
- Quincy Acy ($1,499,698): Early Bird rights
- Joe Harris ($1,499,698): Early Bird rights
- Total: $16,691,552
Projected Salary Cap: $101,000,000
Projected Cap Room: $13,562,427
- Our Nets cap projection includes the eight players on guaranteed contracts, the two non-guaranteed contracts, and the cap holds for Harris and the team’ first-round pick. That results in a total team salary of $87,437,573. Waiving Whitehead or renouncing Harris would create a little more cap room, though the difference would be pretty marginal. Any path to more significant space would have to be involved trades or cuts.
Footnotes:
- Dinwiddie’s salary becomes guaranteed for $250K after October 31.
- Whitehead’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after June 30.
- Foye’s cap hold remains on the Nets’ books because he didn’t sign a new contract after reaching free agency in 2017. The team could renounce this hold at any time.
Note: Rookie scale cap holds are estimates based on salary cap projections and could increase or decrease depending on where the cap lands.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Jarrett Allen's Development Key To Nets
- Most teenagers are not core pieces for an NBA team’s future, but Jarrett Allen, who spent most of the regular season as a 19-year-old standout for the Nets, is exactly that, Michael Scotto of The Athletic writes (subscription required). “He came along nicely,” an Eastern Conference executive said. “He impacts the game defensively right now with his length. He dunks everything around the rim and has shown a developing jumper. He could be a starter.”
- With Jeremy Lin expected back to go along with incumbents D’Angelo Russell, Spencer Dinwiddie, Caris LeVert and Isaiah Whitehead, the Nets‘ crowded backcourt will be worth watching, Net Income of NetsDaily writes. All of the aforementioned players bring their own skills and value and head coach Kenny Atkinson enjoys versatility on his roster.
And-Ones: Bibby, Kawhi, Offseason, Lawson
Longtime NBA point guard Mike Bibby, who retired as a player after appearing in more than 1,000 regular season games with six total teams, has spent the last few years as the head coach at Shadow Mountain High School in Arizona. Now, as he tells Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype, Bibby has his sets sight on a higher level of competition.
“I want to go to the college ranks or NBA ranks soon,” Bibby said. “I’d be dealing with guys who are a bit older, but I know what it takes. I feel I’m ready for that. My biggest goal right now is to move up to the next level and hopefully that happens this summer.
“I think I can turn a (college) program around by bringing in talented kids and getting my guys to play hard. I think Penny (Hardaway) getting hired in Memphis will open the door for a lot of high school coaches who want to go to that next level. I definitely want to go that route, so hopefully his hiring does create some opportunities for someone like me.”
Bibby, of course, is unlikely to receive head coaching consideration at the NBA level this offseason, but he could make an interesting hire as an assistant. Given his reference to Hardaway and Memphis though, it sounds like Bibby may be prioritizing finding a head coaching job at the college level.
As we wait to see if the former second overall pick – and current BIG3 player – has any luck finding a new coaching job, let’s round up a few more odds and ends from across the NBA…
- With a big offseason ahead for Kawhi Leonard and the Spurs, Frank Isola of The New York Daily News writes that the Knicks should have interest in the star forward if he becomes available via trade, even though San Antonio would likely ask for Kristaps Porzingis. Isola mentions a few other clubs he thinks could be potential trade partners for the Spurs, including the Nets (due to Sean Marks‘ relationship with Leonard’s uncle). Using that note as a jumping-off point, NetsDaily explores whether Brooklyn would – or should – be interested in Leonard.
- In his latest piece for Basketball Insiders, Steve Kyler previews some of the top stories to watch during what should be an eventful 2018 offseason. Leonard, LeBron James, Paul George, and Hassan Whiteside are among the players to keep an eye on this summer, as Kyler outlines.
- Ty Lawson, who signed with the Wizards on the last day of the NBA regular season right after the end of his playoff run in China, is the most extreme example of a late-season addition helping a club in the first round of the postseason, but he’s not the only example. Howard Fendrich of The Associated Press identifies several second-half signings that are paying dividends for playoff teams.
Nets Hire Pablo Prigioni, Tiago Splitter
A pair of former NBA players have joined the Nets’ organization, the team announced today in a press release. Pablo Prigioni has been hired as an assistant coach on Kenny Atkinson‘s staff, while Tiago Splitter had been named a pro scout with additional duties related to on-court player development.
Prigioni, whose hiring was first reported by Brian Lewis of The New York Post, also received interest from the Knicks, with whom he spent two and a half seasons as a player. However, he ultimately chose to join the city’s other NBA team.
The longtime point guard transitioned to coaching after retiring as a player — he was named the head coach of Spanish team Baskonia last summer, but stepped down after just eight games, reportedly due to family issues. In Brooklyn, Prigioni will have an opportunity to work with promising young guards like D’Angelo Russell, Spencer Dinwiddie, Isaiah Whitehead, and Caris LeVert.
As for Splitter, he announced his retirement as a player due to health issues earlier this year, and had expressed an interest in coaching in the past. While the former Spurs center won’t technically be a member of Atkinson’s staff in Brooklyn, it sounds like he’ll get the opportunity to work with some Nets players in addition to his scouting duties.
Joe Tsai Plans To Take Nets Global
- Joe Tsai agreed to buy a 49% stake in the Nets and while he has yet to publicly comment since the purchase, the expectation is he will try to take the organization global, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. “Mikhail [Prokhorov] and Joe are both committed owners and they’ll be hands-on to a certain extent,” general manager Sean Marks said. “The fact that Joe saw something that he liked in Brooklyn, saw something that he liked with the Nets organization, I think there’ll be a great partnership between the two.”
Trend Of Players Developing In Second Year With Nets
- The Nets have seen a trend of development in players that they’ve had for two or more seasons. Tom Dowd of the team’s official website writes that all eyes will be on D’Angelo Russell, Allen Crabbe and Jarrett Allen to see if they’ll show similar improvements when they reach their second year under the tutelage of head coach Kenny Atkinson.