Russell Wants The Nets To Be Hated
- After moving from the Lakers to the Nets in an offseason trade, D’Angelo Russell has bigger goals than just helping Brooklyn improve after a 20-win season, writes Anthony Puccio of NetsDaily. “I want teams to hate us,” Russell said. “We’ve struggled over the last few years in Brooklyn. Teams are used to coming in and taking nights off. I just want to rebuild that and make it a place where people come and say, ‘alright we got the crowd against us. It’s New York.’”
NBA Teams That Still Have 2017/18 Cap Room
During the 2016 NBA offseason, when the salary camp jumped from $70MM to $94MM, 27 teams had cap room available, with only three clubs operating over the cap all year. A more modest cap increase this year to $99MM meant that fewer teams had cap space to use. So far, 14 teams – less than half the league – have used cap room to sign players.
Of those 14 teams, several have since used up all their cap room, including the Celtics, Knicks, Jazz, Lakers, and Timberwolves. However, there are still several teams around the NBA that have room available, or could create it without waiving and stretching any players on guaranteed salaries.
With the help of data from HeatHoops and Basketball Insiders, here’s a quick breakdown of teams that still have cap room available, along with their estimated space:
- Atlanta Hawks: $4.6MM. The Hawks could gain slightly more space by waiving Luke Babbitt, whose salary is only partially guaranteed, but Atlanta just signed Babbitt, so that’s not a likely move.
- Brooklyn Nets: $6.6MM. The Nets could gain slightly more space by waiving Spencer Dinwiddie, whose minimum salary contract is mostly non-guaranteed. However, I expect Brooklyn to keep Dinwiddie on its roster.
- Denver Nuggets: $2.8MM. With Mason Plumlee‘s cap hold still on their books, the Nuggets’ cap room is fairly negligible. Denver could get up to about $8.6MM by renouncing Plumlee, but there’s no indication that’s in the plans.
- Indiana Pacers: $7.6MM.
- Philadelphia 76ers: $15.1MM. The Sixers could create even more space by waiving a player on a non-guaranteed contract, but the team isn’t about to part with Robert Covington, Richaun Holmes, or T.J. McConnell.
- Phoenix Suns: $6.3MM. Alex Len‘s cap hold is taking up $12MM right now, and Phoenix is carrying a pair of non-guaranteed contracts (Elijah Millsap and Derrick Jones), so in theory the Suns could get all the way up to $21.2MM in space by renouncing Len and cutting those non-guaranteed players.
- Sacramento Kings: $4.3MM.
The following two teams are essentially capped-out, but could create a very small amount of room if necessary:
- Miami Heat: The Heat could create close to $1MM in space by waiving Rodney McGruder and Okaro White, whose salaries aren’t fully guaranteed. That almost certainly won’t happen.
- Orlando Magic: The Magic are currently under the cap by about $550K, and could create up to about $1.34MM in space by waiving Khem Birch, whose salary is mostly non-guaranteed. Again, that’s not likely.
The following two teams are technically operating over the cap at the moment, with various trade and mid-level exceptions pushing them over the threshold, but they could create room if they choose to go under the cap:
- Chicago Bulls: The Bulls could immediately create about $13.5MM in room by renouncing the rest of their MLE and the $15MM trade exception generated in the Jimmy Butler deal. If the team chose to waive David Nwaba, who is on a non-guaranteed deal, and renounced its free agent cap holds, including Nikola Mirotic‘s, that figure would increase to about $25.8MM.
- Dallas Mavericks: Even without renouncing Nerlens Noel‘s cap hold, the Mavericks could get to $11.6MM in cap room by waiving their non-guaranteed players and dipping below the cap. Removing Noel’s cap hold on top of that could get the Mavs up over $22MM in room, but there’s been no indication that Dallas plans to go that route.
LeVert Calls Playoffs Realistic Goal
- Nets guard Caris LeVert believes the club can make the playoffs with better health and this summer’s roster changes. “I feel like it’s really realistic,” Levert told Fred Kerber of the New York Post. “Last year, we were like top seven in the East when we had all our players healthy. Just building off that momentum with the pieces we’ve added — obviously we lost a great player in Brook [Lopez] — but I feel with the pieces we’ve added we’ll be in that conversation.”
Russell Excited About Opportunity In Brooklyn
D’Angelo Russell‘s first reaction upon being traded from the Lakers to the Nets was excitement over the new opportunity, relays Anthony Puccio of NetsDaily. Russell touched on a wide variety of topics during an interview today on WFAN with Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts. He believes the Nets have an “underrated group of guys” with a mixture of young players and veterans who are ready to exceed expectations.
- The Nets will probably add one more veteran before camp, but not on a guaranteed deal, according to a tweet from NetsDaily. Brooklyn still has a little bit of cap space remaining.
Nets Sign Jacob Wiley To Two-Way Contract
Confirming a deal that was reportedly in place back in June, the Nets have officially signed undrafted rookie Jacob Wiley to a two-way contract, the team announced today in a press release. Brooklyn has now filled both of its two-way slots, having previously signed Yakuba Ouattara on such a deal.
Wiley’s agreement with the Nets was first reported shortly after the conclusion of this year’s draft by Matt Norlander of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). Ian Begley of ESPN.com, who confirmed Norlander’s report, said at the time that the 6’7″ forward out of Eastern Washington impressed teams in pre-draft workouts with his “intensity and relentless motor.”
Wiley, who was ranked as 2017’s 63rd-best prospect by DraftExpress, averaged 21.1 PPG and 9.2 RPG in his senior year in 2016/17. He was also an extremely efficient shot-maker, converting 64.2% of his attempts from the field and 82.8% of his free throws. He only attempted seven 3-point shots all season, though he made five of them.
For a breakdown of how two-way contracts work and who is eligible to sign them, be sure to check out our FAQ. You can also consult our two-way contract tracker to keep tabs on which players have received the NBA’s first two-way deals this offseason.
And-Ones: Mexico City, Schedule, Llull, Thompson
The Nets will be involved in both games in Mexico City next season, the NBA announced today on its website. Brooklyn will face the Thunder on December 7th, followed by the Heat on December 9th at the Arena Ciudad de Mexico. The games will be the 25th and 26th in the country, more than other other nation besides the United States and Canada. “They will also mark the 25th anniversary of our first game in Mexico City, a milestone in our relationship with our Mexican fans and a further indication of our desire to strengthen our ties to Mexico and Latin America,” said commissioner Adam Silver.
There’s more news from around the league:
- The NBA has sent a memo to all its teams explaining the changes in next season’s schedule, relays Brian Windhorst of ESPN. The season will start a week earlier, giving teams more days off with the goal of eliminating the practice of healthy players being rested. The new schedule also cuts out stretches of four games in five days and reduces the number of single-game road trips, among other improvements.
- Spanish guard Sergio Llull, whose rights are owned by the Rockets, suffered an ACL injury today that will force him to miss EuroBasket and Euroleague for his Real Madrid team, tweets international basketball writer David Pick. Llull sent out a tweet thanking his fans and promising that he will return to action. Houston purchased Llull’s rights from Denver in 2009, but has been unable to convince the 29-year-old to leave Spain.
- Hollis Thompson, who spent time with the Sixers and Pelicans last season, is in “advanced negotiations” with Olympiacos in Greece, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Thompson began the season with Philadelphia and played 31 games before being waived in early January. He signed a pair of 10-day contracts with New Orleans in February and March, appearing in nine games, but wasn’t retained when the second deal expired.
Latest On The Potential Sale Of The Nets
The Nets’ franchise is drawing interest from potential buyers and owner Mikhail Prokhorov is hoping to garner a $2 billion offer for the organization, Josh Kosman of the New York Post reports. Prokhorov recently attempted to sell a minority stake in the franchise. However, that fell through, leading the Russian billionaire to parse offers for the entire franchise.
Alibaba Executive Vice Chairman Joe Tsai reportedly has interest in buying the franchise and Kosman hears that he is trying to “box out others in the sales process.” It’s worth noting that a representative from his office, Blue Pool, has denied the rumored interest.
The Nets would like to find a Chinese backer, Kosman adds. Brooklyn’s executive VP of Global Partnership was in China last month setting up upwards of 20 meetings with potential buyers and partners.
Nets Notes: Offseason Trades, Anderson, Crabbe
The Nets’ moves this offseason may form the foundation of the team for several years to come, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Brooklyn has taken advantage of its cap space to pick up assets while absorbing salary, adding D’Angelo Russell, Allen Crabbe and DeMarre Carroll, among others.
GM Sean Marks has been assessing the team since the flurry of deals and indicated that he may be done with major moves. “We’re continuously going to be trying to have our finger on the pulse of the league and see what happens,’’ he said. “I think we’ll take a little bit of a deep breath and just see what shakes out here. But I don’t know. Who knows what’s going to happen throughout the year? I think if you’d asked us a month ago, we couldn’t have predicted all the things that may have happened, not just here but around the league. It’s something that we’ve just got to stay fluid and be ready to react.”
The Nets could use more size in the frontcourt, where newly acquired Timofey Mozgov and rookie Jarrett Allen are the only players taller than 6’8″. They still have interest in former Celtic and Raptor Jared Sullinger, who earned all-tournament honors at The Basketball Tournament this week.
There’s more tonight out of Brooklyn:
- The Nets are no longer in contention to sign Alan Anderson, Lewis adds in the same story. Anderson’s agent, Chris Luchey, confirms that he talked to Brooklyn’s front office shortly after free agency began, but after all the Nets’ moves, they are no longer a possible destination. Lewis adds that the Knicks are also out of the running.
- Crabbe will provide shooting help, but the team is counting on him to do much more, Lewis relays in a separate story. Crabbe was the NBA’s second best 3-point shooter last year, connecting at a .444 rate beyond the arc, while the Nets ranked fifth from the bottom in that category. “We sat with Allen [and said]: ‘Look, we think we can help your game. We think we can take it to another level. Let’s not just be a shooter,’” Marks said. “And he’s excited about that. He’s got a chip on his shoulder, and he wants to take his game to another level, all-around facets. It’s not just shooting. It’s defense. It’s everything.”
- Brooklyn needs to find another frontcourt player who can shoot the 3-ball, writes Anthony Puccio of NetsDaily. The Nets have about $5.1MM in cap space they could use to find a shooter who fits coach Kenny Atkinson’s system better than the players they have now.
Redick Turned Down Rockets, Nets Before Sixers Deal
Sharpshooter J.J. Redick was a highly sought after free agent offseason, garnering interest from several teams before signing a one-year, $23MM deal with the Sixers. Before signing that deal, however, Redick was considering a four-year deal from the Rockets before the length of the deal was shortened.
Speaking to Alex Kennedy of The HoopsHype Podcast, Redick revealed that Rockets ownership — possibly preoccupied with several other ongoing negotiations — altered their initial offer to the 33-year-old guard.
“They offered four [years] and then they went three. Daryl [Morey] always has a million things going on, like in A Beautiful Mind with all of the stuff written on the chalkboard,” Redick said (via HoopsHype). “I’m sure he had four or five deals out there [he was working on]. The day before free agency, I thought it was a four-year deal. Chris Paul and I talked for about 30 minutes the night before free agency started. I wanted to go there.”
However, a deal with Houston never materialized and while he also fielded a “respectable” multi-year deal from the Nets, Redick ended up joining a young Sixers team which features the first overall picks from the last two NBA drafts (Markelle Fultz and Ben Simmons) and a hopefully healthy Joel Embiid.
After four productive seasons as the starting shooting guard for the Clippers, Redick will now provide a needed veteran presence with postseason and NBA Finals experience for Philadelphia. While the prospect of teaming with former Clippers teammate Paul and James Harden in Houston was enticing, Redick noted that playing for a Morey-led franchise may have come with more uncertainty than championship guarantees.
“[It didn’t work out] – some of it was numbers and some of it was other factors like relocating the family and – I hate to say this – but you never know with Daryl and how he operates,” Redick said. “A three-year deal could really be a six-month deal if you get dealt at the trade deadline for a superstar as part of a package of six.”
Nets Sign Milton Doyle, Jeremy Senglin
The Nets have added a pair of players to their roster, announcing today in a press release that guards Milton Doyle and Jeremy Senglin have signed with the club. The signings appear to be training camp deals, making it likely that both players will ultimately end up with the Long Island Nets in the G League.
Senglin’s agreement with Brooklyn was first reported shortly after the draft. and was said to be partially guaranteed. Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders reports (via Twitter) that Doyle’s one-year deal is also partially guaranteed.
Doyle, who worked out for the Nets a week before June’s draft, played his college ball at Loyola, averaging 15.3 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 4.4 APG, and 1.8 SPG in his senior year.
Senglin, a point guard out of Weber State, averaged 21.1 PPG during his senior season, with an impressive shooting line of .522/.429/.766. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com ranked him 48th among NCAA seniors in this year’s draft class.
Both Doyle and Senglin played for the Nets’ Summer League team last month in Las Vegas.
After adding Doyle and Senglin, the Nets now have 16 players on NBA contracts, including 13 with fully guaranteed salaries. That total doesn’t include Yakuba Ouattara, who has a two-way contract with the club, and Jacob Wiley, who reportedly agreed to a two-way deal as well.