Nets Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Shamet, Nurse, Tatum, Fernandez

March 13th, 2025 at 9:32am CST by Dana Gauruder

Landry Shamet dislocated his shoulder during the preseason and could have opted for season-ending surgery. The Knicks guard instead chose to rehab the injury and so far, that decision is paying dividends, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post writes.

Shamet was waived in October, then re-signed with the club in December. The veteran guard is currently getting steady minutes due to injuries and scored a season-high 13 points against Sacramento on Monday.

“Yeah, knock on wood. I’m in a good spot,” Shamet said. “I attacked the rehab, took it very seriously. Frankly, that’s not much of a thought I have. I feel good, I’m in a good spot.”

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

Sixers head coach Nick Nurse came to dread reports from his medical staff as the team’s once-promising season disintegrated, he told Michael Grange of Sportsnet. “It was really, really difficult at times,” Nurse said. “What made it most difficult is when you’d actually go on a run and think you’re making some progress, and then you get hit again (with another injury). I remember having one really good win, I can’t remember who it was against, and after the game — I always get a report from the medical team — and he came in and I was like, ‘Please just let me get to the next game, we just played really good.’ And he’s like, ‘Uh, I don’t know what to tell you.’ You kept thinking you were going to get these guys back… and guys kept going down.”
In the Celtics‘ six-point loss to the Thunder on Wednesday, Oklahoma City shot 35 free throws while the Celtics only had 12 attempts. “Yeah, it’s tough,” Jayson Tatum said Brian Robb of MassLive.com. “You’re not going to keep them off the line. They’re very intentional about that, and they have been all season. You’re not going to be the first team where they shoot five free throws or something crazy like that. But there is a balance between that and 35 free throws. Granted, some of them were fouls. Some of them we’ve got to be better at. But I’m not saying that’s why we lost or that’s the ref’s fault or anything like that. That’s how it’s going to be in the playoffs.”
Nets first-year head coach Jordi Fernandez is drawing high praise from opposing coaches as well as his current and former players. Lucas Kaplan of NetsDaily.com examines why Fernandez has made such a strong impression.

Central Notes: T. Jones, Giannis, Haliburton, Atkinson

March 12th, 2025 at 11:53am CST by Luke Adams

As an undersized pure point guard who rarely takes three-pointers, Tre Jones doesn’t really fit the Bulls‘ blueprint, but he has impressed the team since being acquired from San Antonio in last month’s Zach LaVine trade, averaging 9.6 points and 3.7 assists per game on .538/.429/.905 shooting in his first 13 outings with Chicago.

“He’s got the ‘it’ factor,” head coach Billy Donovan said of Jones, per Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune. “He really does. He’s just a winner. … You can look at size and length for his position and he probably doesn’t have any of those things. But he’s got really good speed. He’s really tough. He’s got a high IQ. He understands competition. He can really stay in the moment and compete.”

Jones played well for San Antonio in 2022/23 and ’23/24 as the Spurs’ primary point guard, putting up averages of 11.4 PPG and 6.4 APG on 48.0% shooting across those two years. But he took a back seat to Chris Paul this season and saw his playing time and production crater before he was dealt to the Bulls at the deadline.

Now, as he nears the end of his current contract, Jones is looking more like his old self, increasing his value ahead of free agency — and potentially making a case for Chicago to retain him, though that will likely depend on the team’s other offseason roster decisions.

“I know he’s going into free agency and we’ll see how that plays out,” Donovan said. “But when you talk about a guy you want to have for 82 nights — and I’m not saying he’s always perfect — but he understands competition. He understands what goes into it. That’s what you want.”

Here’s more from around the Central:

As we outlined last week, Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is taking and making mid-range shots at a higher rate this season than he ever has before. Jamal Collier of ESPN digs deeper into that trend, noting that Antetokounmpo wanted to develop a reliable mid-range game in part to reduce the physical pounding his body was taking when he was relying more on playing inside and getting to the basket. “I’m in my thirties, obviously, (and) I believe that I have four (to) six years, still, of good basketball to give, but I got to be smarter,” Antetokounmpo said. “I got to be smarter in the way I play.”
The Pacers went 0-3 with Tyrese Haliburton sidelined due to a hip injury in the past week, culminating with head coach Rick Carlisle, frustrated by how his starters were playing, pulling all five of them at once in the third quarter of Monday’s loss in Chicago, as Dustin Dopriak of The Indianapolis Star details. So it was good news for Indiana that Haliburton was back in action on Tuesday vs. the division-rival Bucks. The star point guard capped his return by completing a ridiculous four-point play in the game’s final seconds to steal a win for the Pacers (Twitter video link). ESPN has the story.
In a subscriber-only story for The New York Post, Brian Lewis takes a look at how Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson has grown as a coach since he was “unceremoniously” pushed out the door by the Nets in 2020. “When you’re a first-time coach, you’re searching. You have your thoughts and ideas, but you’re searching for that identity,” said Atkinson, the favorite to be named Coach of the Year this season. “I think later on in Brooklyn as we got to that playoff that third year, I started to know. That’s when I really started (to think), ‘OK, I can coach in this league. I know what I’m doing. I kind of know what our identity is.’ Then the second time around, I was much more comfortable just coming in.”

Nets Notes: Russell, Thomas, Clowney, Skid Ends

March 11th, 2025 at 9:10pm CST by Dana Gauruder

D’Angelo Russell is in his second stint with the Nets after being traded from the Lakers this season. Russell becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer and is hoping to re-sign with Brooklyn, he confirmed to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

“Why wouldn’t I? I keep seeing stuff coming out. I’ll tell you. Heck yeah. I want to be wherever I’m at,” Russell said. “I’m here. I love these guys. I appreciate this, and I would love to be back.”

Russell feels he has developed a solid relationship with first-year coach Jordi Fernandez.

“I’m at the point in my career where I’m not going out and scoring 25 points every night and wowing with numbers,” he said. “It’s a point where I’m trying to gravitate towards doing it the right way, and how I can contribute to winning is my priority. (Fernandez) lets me do that. He trusts me already, so I can imagine getting to training camp for something like that and having that under my belt with the guys. I think the sky’s the limit.”

We have more on the Nets:

Cam Thomas is eligible to become a restricted free agent after the season. While he’s a proven scorer, Thomas still leaves much to be desired in other aspects of his game, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. Fernandez has challenged him to become more efficient and well-rounded, especially as a defender and facilitator. However, he’s still very much a work in progress. Lewis notes that Charlotte aggressively trapped Thomas during the Nets’ fourth-quarter collapse on Saturday. The fourth-year guard has also struggled to stay on the court, missing 81 games over the last three seasons due to injury.
Brooklyn snapped a seven-game losing streak by upsetting the Lakers on Monday and Noah Clowney played a big role with a team-high 19 points and five rebounds. Clowney was playing in just his second game since recovering from an ankle injury that caused him to miss 15 games. The 2023 first-round pick has been a backup at power forward, but it would behoove the organization to give him steady minutes to see if he can be their starting power forward over the long haul, Lewis suggests.
Fernandez was pleased with the effort the team put forth against one of the Western Conference’s elite teams on Monday vs. the Lakers, according to Lewis. “So happy for the guys, proud of the guys, because after losing seven in a row … it’s just good to get back to winning,” he said. “It’s a good reward for the work. And obviously, after a bad one, it’s a good feeling.”

Atlantic Notes: Grimes, Celtics, Thomas, Martin

March 8th, 2025 at 10:48am CST by Tristan Tucker

Quentin Grimes has been traded three times since February 2024, but he’s not letting that impact his play, as Jared Weiss of The Athletic details. As we wrote on Thursday, Grimes is looking like a keeper for the Sixers, having averaged 16.8 points per game in his first 12 appearances with the team.

“It’s tough. As soon as you get comfortable, you get traded,” Grimes said. “But you gotta keep a level head. You got to go out there and produce.”

While Grimes had productive moments in New York and Dallas, he’s getting a chance to have the ball in his hands far more than before, initiating offense as opposed to simply spotting up.

“He’s been able to still kind of find his way, even with the extra pressure, extra bodies,” head coach Nick Nurse said. “He’s doing a good job of just getting into his shots and getting to places that he wants to go and getting the shots off. Obviously, he’s on a bit of a hot streak.”

According to Weiss, Grimes was shocked to be traded from Dallas this season. He had been productive there, averaging 10.2 points while shooting 39.8% from three in 47 games (12 starts).

“It’s crazy what’s going on, so it’s a blessing in disguise that I got moved,” Grimes said. “But I feel for them for sure. We had a tight-knit group over there this season. We had a good chance of winning it all. But that’s the NBA and dudes get moved all the time.”

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

The Celtics blew out the Sixers on Thursday, winning by nearly 20 points despite being down five rotation players. None of Jrue Holiday, Al Horford, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis or Sam Hauser were able to suit up, allowing for Boston’s bench players to step up. According to MassLive’s Brian Robb, Baylor Scheierman, Torrey Craig and Jordan Walsh were among the standouts. Scheierman scored a career-high 15 points, Craig accounted for 12 and Walsh had several good moments. Neemias Queta and two-way player Drew Peterson also both started for Boston. Queta recorded eight points, nine rebounds and four assists.
Nets guard Cam Thomas is looking to finish the season strong after injuries disrupted a promising year, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. Thomas will hit restricted free agency after the season. “I mean, that’s just the name of it. I just want to finish strong just to finish strong,” Thomas said. “I’m not really worried about [my] contract year or anything. I mean, I think all of that will take care of itself.”
In his last six games, Nets forward Tyrese Martin is averaging 12.0 points per contest, including a 23-point outburst against Detroit on March 1 and a 17-point outing in a close loss to Golden State on Thursday. As the New York Post’s Bridget Reilly writes, Martin is becoming an indispensable bench piece for Brooklyn. “Yeah, consistency. He’s a true pro. I play him off the ball, he plays well. I play him at point guard, he does his best and he’s getting better, like [Thursday],” coach Jordi Fernández said. “Defensively, he’s on point. He knows coverages, he knows everything. He shows up and works every day with a good attitude and he’s a great teammate. That’s what we want from everybody, but it’s not that easy to do it. He’s doing it consistently and that’s why he deserves all these good things that are coming to him, that he’s doing, that are coming his way.” Martin was recently converted from a two-way contract to a standard deal and has a team option for next season.

Atlantic Notes: Sixers’ Acquisitions, Nets, Clowney, Knicks

March 6th, 2025 at 6:43pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The Sixers made moves at the deadline to get younger and more athletic, bringing in Quentin Grimes and Jared Butler before signing Lonnie Walker IV. Having lost Joel Embiid for the season, Philadelphia hasn’t become a better team as a result of its pivot to youth, but it has shown a vision for the younger players to become members of the rotation next season.

As Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes, Grimes in particular has been a standout addition. He’s shown to be capable in either a starting or reserve role and is averaging 17.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists on 52.4% shooting from the floor in his 11 games (eight starts) with Philadelphia. He’s scored at least 30 points three times, including 44 in a win over the red-hot Warriors last weekend.

Grimes will be a restricted free agent this summer, giving the Sixers the right to match any outside offers.

As for Butler, the Sixers were excited to acquire the former two-way guard from Washington, promoting him to a standard deal quickly upon his arrival. According to Pompey, the Sixers were interested in Butler during the 2021 draft and wanted to get a closer look at him, giving up a first-round pick in the process (and getting four seconds in return).

Pompey writes Butler has shown flashes but that Jeff Dowtin, currently on a two-way deal, has taken his spot in the rotation. Butler has a team option worth $2.35MM for next season that the Sixers will decide on this summer.

Walker has also gotten a chance to play a rotation role, averaging 16.7 minutes in his first six games. Pompey writes that Walker is still getting adjusted back to the NBA after playing overseas for the first half of the season. Like Butler, Walker has a team option for next season.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

The Nets have an open roster spot after not immediately extending Killian Hayes another 10-day contract. Net Income of NetsDaily notes that Brooklyn has a cushion of $1.08MM under the luxury tax, but Cameron Johnson is likely to hit an incentive that will cut that number in half. Still, there’s value in signing a player into that approximately half-million in anticipated space. Since rest-of-season salaries are prorated, the Nets won’t have a problem adding someone on a minimum deal. Tosan Evbuomwan is one candidate for a standard deal, since he’s been a part of the rotation, but Net Income notes that Evbuomwan’s two-way deal covers two years, so there’s no real rush to promote him. The Nets could circle back to Hayes later on or sign another player from a G League team.
Nets second-year big Noah Clowney hasn’t played since Jan. 27, but it sounds as though he’s inching toward a return. According to the New York Post’s Brian Lewis (Twitter link), Clowney had his first five-on-five scrimmage on Thursday. Clowney is averaging 9.4 points and 3.9 rebounds this season.
The Knicks are 0-7 this season against the top three teams in the league: the Thunder, Celtics and Cavaliers. On paper, New York has a contending roster, filled with versatile defenders on the wings and stars in Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson. So what’s causing the slide against the league’s best? According to ESPN’s Chris Herring, simple factors are at play. For one, while the Knicks’ offense ranks fourth in rating, they rank 28th in three-point attempt rate. “At the root of it all, it’s math,” an Eastern Conference scout said, per Herring. “They’re really efficient, and will win a ton of games. But the [three-point] volume isn’t enough to beat the Clevelands and the Bostons. Especially when you also factor in that the Knicks are [offensive] rebounding and getting to the line a lot less than last year’s team did.” Additionally, the Knicks’ defense ranks 19th in the league.

D’Angelo Russell Interested In Re-Signing With Nets?

March 5th, 2025 at 1:33pm CST by Luke Adams

When the Nets acquired D’Angelo Russell from the Lakers in the Dorian Finney-Smith trade in December, the veteran point guard was included primarily because of his $18.7MM expiring contract, not because Brooklyn was specifically looking to reunite with the former Net.

However, Russell has been a stabilizing force in Brooklyn’s backcourt for the last two-plus months. While his individual numbers – 13.7 points and 5.7 assists in 24.1 minutes per game on .380/.313/.887 shooting – aren’t great, the Nets are 8-10 in games he has played and 1-10 in the ones he has missed.

The team also has a -1.2 net rating in D-Lo’s 434 minutes on the court, compared to a -13.2 mark in the 963 minutes he hasn’t played since the trade.

Russell, who expressed enthusiasm in the wake of the December trade about returning to an organization he was familiar with, is believed to have told people around him that he’d like to stick with the Nets beyond this season, reports Brian Lewis of The New York Post.

While there’s no guarantee that will happen, it seems more viable now than it did when he was first acquired, according to Lewis, who notes that it remains unclear how Nets general manager Sean Marks plans to use his cap room this summer with so few top-tier free agents on track to reach the open market.

If Brooklyn doesn’t need all $60MM+ of its cap room for trades or outside free agents, or if the front office decides to roll that room over to the 2026 offseason, it could make sense for the team to offer a one-year contract or a two-year deal with a team option to Russell, Lewis writes.

That may appeal to Russell too, Lewis adds, given that there are so few teams projected to have cap room — the veteran point guard seems unlikely to receive a substantial offer from another suitor.

How the Nets use Russell over the season’s final weeks could provide a hint at their offseason plans. One subplot to watch, Lewis suggests, will be how the 29-year-old meshes in the backcourt with Cam Thomas. The two guards, neither of whom are known for their defense, have missed time with injuries since Russell’s arrival and played together for just the second time on Tuesday.

Like Russell, Thomas is on an expiring contract. The fourth-year shooting guard will be eligible for restricted free agency this summer.

Nets Sign Tyson Etienne, Waive Kendall Brown

March 4th, 2025 at 4:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Nets have agreed to a two-way contract with guard Tyson Etienne, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets. They opened up a two-way spot by waiving Kendall Brown, Brian Lewis of the New York Post tweets. Both moves are now official, per NBA.com’s transaction log.

Etienne has averaged 20.0 points, 3.8 assists, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.3 steals for the NBA G League’s Long Island Nets in 24 regular season games. The 6’2″ guard has been extremely proficient as a three-point shooter, knocking down 47.6% of his attempts while taking an average of 7.0 per game. He has yet to make his NBA debut.

Etienne was signed and waived by Brooklyn on an Exhibit 10 deal in September. He had been in the Hawks organization after going undrafted out of Wichita State in 2022, playing for their G League team.

Brown was signed to a two-way deal late last month and didn’t appear in a game with the Nets. The 48th overall pick in the 2022 draft, Brown spent his first two professional seasons with the Pacers, first on a two-way contract and then on a standard deal. However, the 6’7″ swingman was waived by Indiana in October and then had his G League rights acquired by the Long Island Nets later that month.

Brown has appeared in 37 games with the Long Island Nets this season, averaging 16.1 points and 5.3 rebounds.

And-Ones: Kerr, Traveling, Draft, Roberts

March 4th, 2025 at 9:17am CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors rebounded on Monday from a Saturday loss to Philadelphia, getting back in the win column with a 119-101 victory in Charlotte. But head coach Steve Kerr had a bone to pick after the game, telling reporters that he believes NBA referees let far too many traveling violations go uncalled.

“I don’t understand why we are not teaching our officials to call travel in this league,” Kerr said, per Steve Reed of The Associated Press. “They do a great job and work their tails off and communicate well, but I see five or six travels a game that aren’t called.”

Kerr earned a technical foul in the third quarter on Monday for arguing with officials over what he believes what a travel by Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (video link). Officials let it go and the play resulted in a Warriors foul.

While Kerr was upset in that instance about a non-call that hurt the Warriors, he said his own team is just as guilty as any other, noting that when he watched film of the team’s loss to the Sixers, he noticed four Golden State travels that weren’t called.

“The entire game is based on footwork,” Kerr said. “We need enforce traveling violations and we are not doing it and I don’t understand why. … These (officials) are awesome. They do a great job, and they have a million things to watch, but footwork is the entire basis of the game and we need to call traveling. It will be a much better game if we clean it up.”

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo of ESPN.com (Insider link) have updated their list of this year’s top 100 draft prospects. Texas guard Tre Johnson (No. 11 to No. 5) and French center Joan Beringer (No. 24 to No. 13) are among the big risers in the lottery, while French point guard Nolan Traore has dropped from No. 7 to No. 15 and Israeli guard Ben Saraf has fallen from No. 13 to No. 21.
Just one year ago, Long Island Nets guard Terry Roberts was in the hospital on a ventilator after being shot in the upper chest by a stray bullet. Brian Lewis of The New York Post (subscription required) takes an in-depth look at Roberts’ recovery and his road back to being a regular contributor this season for Brooklyn’s G League affiliate.
With less than six weeks in the 2024/25 regular season, several of ESPN’s NBA reporters pose 19 questions facing teams down the stretch as the playoff races in both conferences heat up. Among those questions: Do the Cavaliers have enough to beat the Celtics? How do the Bucks avoid another early playoff exit? Are the Grizzlies ready to take a step forward in the postseason? And what is the Warriors‘ ceiling?

Eastern Notes: Quickley, Holiday, D-Lo, Harris, Dosunmu

March 3rd, 2025 at 2:57pm CST by Luke Adams

The five-year, $162.5MM contract that Raptors guard Immanuel Quickley signed in free agency last July was viewed by several fans and analysts at the time as an overpay. It hasn’t become any more team-friendly over the course of this season as Quickley has battled one injury after another and has seen his production decline a little even when he’s been healthy.

However, the 25-year-old provided a reminder in Sunday’s win over Orlando of what he’s capable of, scoring 17 of his team-high 24 points (and handing out a pair of assists) during a five-minute barrage at the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth to help seal the victory, writes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. While Quickley was happy about his performance, he disagreed with the notion that it will help build confidence for him going forward, Grange adds.

“Confidence is also a choice, a decision,” Quickley said. “Mindset is choice, confidence is choice. I try not to think like that. That’s how I used to think early in my career. And I’ve kind found out elite players don’t think like that. They don’t think that good plays give them confidence, or bad plays don’t give them confidence. Confidence is a choice. You choose confidence.”

It has been a fairly forgettable season overall for Quickley, but the Raptors remain confident that he can be an elite point guard, according to Grange, who notes that Sunday’s outburst was one of the few times this year that he has looked the part.

“That stretch in the third (and fourth) quarter, he was our engine,” Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic said. “He was getting us organized, he was touching the paint, he was scoring. He did a lot for us there and he was really efficient, everything came on the move, everything came with a minimum number of dribbles and when he plays that way, efficiently, it’s good for the whole team.”

Here’s more from around the East:

Veteran guard Jrue Holiday has missed the Celtics‘ past two games due to an injury known as mallet finger. Although his right pinky finger is technically broken, Holiday won’t require surgery and will aim to eventually play through the injury, which is keeping him on the shelf for now, writes Brian Robb of MassLive.com. “Trying to figure out — I’m going to be in a splint for a minute but figuring that out since it’s on my shooting hand,” Holiday said. “… I mean, I’m shooting, dribbling, catching, it’s probably all pretty weird or, I mean, honestly, inconvenient. I haven’t tried so far to catch a ball because of the pain, but I will soon.”
Nets point guard D’Angelo Russell, who has missed the past five games due to a sprained right ankle, is no longer on the team’s injury report, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post. That’s an indication Russell will be active on Tuesday in San Antonio.
Pistons forward Tobias Harris is unavailable for personal reasons as Detroit opens a four-game road trip in Utah on Monday, per Keith Langlois of Pistons.com (Twitter link).
Ayo Dosunmu‘s shoulder issue, which will require season-ending surgery, is an old injury that was discovered via imaging, tweets K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network. Although the Bulls guard aggravated it when he sustained a shoulder stinger vs. New York on Feb. 20, he’s not sure when the initial injury occurred, Johnson adds (Twitter link).

Nets Opting Not To Re-Sign Killian Hayes

March 2nd, 2025 at 3:38pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Nets have decided not to re-sign point guard Killian Hayes to a second 10-day deal, sources tell Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter link).

Hayes served as the club’s starting point guard across the past five contests. His first contract with Brooklyn expired overnight after Saturday’s game. Lewis suggests that the team’s decision not to retain him suggests that point guard D’Angelo Russell is nearing a comeback. Russell has been on the shelf with an ankle injury since February 20.

Across his six games for Brooklyn, the 6’5″ Hayes averaged 9.0 points, 5.2 assists, 3.0 rebounds, 0.7 steals and 0.7 blocks in 27 minutes per night. He posted shooting splits of .419/.381/.833.

Hayes was a highly-touted lottery pick in 2020. Selected at No. 7 by a previous Detroit front office regime, Hayes struggled with his offense throughout his Pistons tenure. He was a free agent throughout the 2024/25 season until his February deal with Brooklyn.

Across 216 career seasons (150 starts) with Detroit and Brooklyn, Hayes has averages of 8.1 PPG, 5.2 APG, and 1.2 SPG.

Sporting a 21-39 record, the Nets are just three games behind the Bulls for the East’s No. 10 seed and a play-in tournament berth. Brooklyn is no doubt prioritizing development over a postseason appearance, so the decision to let Hayes go suggests he’s not part of their long-term plans.

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