Goodwin Intrigued By Future With Nets
The Nets may have stumbled upon a building block when they inked Archie Goodwin to a two-year deal following a pair of 10-day contracts this season. The feeling is mutual, a Nets Daily report suggests.
“I can grow with this team, grow with the staff and organization,” the 22-year-old recently told the media. Though the combo guard was waived by both the Suns and the Pelicans in 2016/17, he arrived with the Nets as an intriguing source of potential.
After spending one year with Kentucky, Goodwin opted to enter the 2013 draft and was selected toward the end of the first round. In 12 games with the Nets this year, Goodwin’s minutes were limited but he flashed his potential with 18.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists per 36 minutes.
“They’re actually going to give me an opportunity and this summer is going to be a big, big summer for me. I’m going to take advantage of it,” Goodwin said of the Nets.
Goodwin’s deal with the Nets has a team option for 2017/18 and becomes partially guaranteed on opening night.
And-Ones: Free Agents, D-League, Bennett, Oden
Several under-the-radar players who will be free agents this summer are improving their bargaining position with their performance in the playoffs, writes Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype. He identifies six players, starting with Golden State big man JaVale McGee, who is averaging 8.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.0 blocks through five games despite playing just 11.8 minutes per night. McGee signed a non-guaranteed deal with the Warriors for the veteran’s minimum and could be in line for a huge pay raise in July. The others that Kennedy singles out are Serge Ibaka of the Raptors, Joe Ingles of the Jazz, Nene of the Rockets, Andre Roberson of the Thunder and Deron Williams of the Cavaliers.
There’s more news from around the basketball world:
- The Texas Legends, the Mavericks‘ affiliate in the D-League, have given coach Bob MacKinnon a two-year extension, tweets D-League Digest. The D-League veteran is in his first season with the Legends.
- Invitations have been issued for the D-League’s Elite Mini Camp, which will be held May 8-9 in Chicago, relays Chris Reichert of FanSided. Many players have used this showcase to earn spots on summer league rosters, with alumni such as Jonathon Simmons, Hollis Thompson and DeAndre Liggins. Among the best-known names at this year’s camp will be Russ Smith, JaKarr Sampson, Ray McCallum and Cliff Alexander.
- Former No. 1 pick Anthony Bennett, who played 23 games for the Nets this season, has been replaced on his Fenerbahce team in Turkey, according to Bugra Uzar of Eurohoops. Taking his spot on the roster is Pero Antic, who played for the Hawks from 2013 to 2015. Bennett will remain with the club and is expected to be part of the upcoming EuroLeague Final Four.
- Greg Oden, another former No. 1 pick, is hoping to be part of The Basketball Tournament this summer on ESPN, relays Alysha Tsuji of USA Today. Oden’s team is called Scarlet and Gray and is made up of Ohio State alumni. “We think we’re a team that can win it,” he said. “We look at the talent we’ve had here in the last 10 years or so, and we can match up with anybody. We want the state of Ohio supporting us. We’re called Scarlet and Gray, but this team is a representation of the whole state.”
Nets Potentially Targeting Several International Talents
- The Nets maintain interest in Euroleague guard Edwin Jackson, according to Nets Daily. An earlier report indicated the club’s interest in the 27-year-old guard, who is averaging 21.8 points in 30 games for Movistar Estudiantes of the Liga ACB in Spain. The 6’1″ French guard has never suited up for an NBA team but he was in Nets camp three years ago, per Nets Daily. Jackson has indicated he would come stateside for a guaranteed NBA deal or seek a lucrative offer in Europe.
- Nets Daily compiled a list of potential European targets for Brooklyn in addition to Jackson. Milos Teodosic, 30, Nicolo Melli, 26, and 2011 second-round NBA draft pick Tyler Honeycutt, 26, — who revived his career in Turkey — are listed as potential free agent options; Latvian-born Rodions Kurucs, 19, and Anzejus Pasecniks, 21, are both listed as possible draft targets.
Community Shootaround: Favorite Pierce Moment
When the Clippers fell to the Jazz in Game 7 of their first-round series the legendary, 19-year career of former Celtics forward Paul Pierce officially came to an end. The man had made no secret of the fact that the 2016/17 campaign would be his final campaign in the NBA.
For nearly two decades Pierce routinely established himself as one of the game’s deadliest offensive weapons in the clutch, decorating his resume with a laundry list of accomplishments along the way.
Although he was the 2008 Finals MVP when the C’s knocked off the Lakers in an instant classic battle, it’s the endurance and longevity that he showed throughout his time in the league that stands out the most.
A Top 20 all-time scorer with 26,397 total points, Pierce showed up year in and year out to lead Boston’s offense. From 1998-2013, Pierce averaged 21.8 points per game all while wearing Celtics green.
Though not quite as memorable as his legacy with the C’s franchise, Pierce also reaffirmed his spot in NBA history by emerging as a critical factor in postseason appearances with the Nets and Wizards.
Simply put, there’s no denying that Pierce was an icon of his generation and an exemplary pro. Where there may be some debate, however, is what Pierce story or chapter stands out as the most memorable.
Was it the late-nineties dynamic duo he formed along with Antoine Walker? His incredible return to the court at age 22 after being stabbed in a nightclub? His brief tenure as a Raptor killer in the twilight of his career? The back-to-back Finals battle with the Lakers? The Infamous Wheelchair Incident of 2008?
Sure, there are too many to choose from, but we’re going to ask you to do it anyway.
We’ll miss you Truth.
Scola Doesn’t See Himself Returning To NBA
In an interview with TSN 1050 Toronto, former Raptors forward Luis Scola said that he doesn’t see himself playing another season in the NBA. The 36-year-old didn’t rule it out altogether, however.
Over the course of 10 seasons, the big man established himself as a consistently underrated threat, his best year as a pro being the 2010/11 campaign in which he averaged 18.3 points and 8.2 rebounds per game for the Rockets.
In 2016/17, Scola played sparingly for the Nets, an anticlimatic cap on an effective, if unspectacular NBA career.
Although he never earned any All-Star appearances, the big man rode a deft shooting stroke to solid career per-36 numbers and even an Olympic gold medal when he teamed with Manu Ginobili to lead Argentina in 2004.
Alas, given the ever changing NBA landscape, especially for relatively slow big men, Scola seems pretty convinced that he won’t be back playing professional basketball stateside.
“I like to play, it’s just that the NBA became too difficult for me,” Scola said, age no doubt also being a factor for the man who didn’t arrive in the NBA until age 27. “The roles that are out there for me just aren’t as appealing, I don’t enjoy them as much.“
Nets Still Getting Flack For Resting Players
- The Nets rested their players in the final game of the regular season, despite the fact that they were long eliminated from the postseason, had zero incentive to tank and were matched up against a Bulls team that needed a win to sneak into the playoffs. Anthony Puccio of Nets Daily recently wrote about the controversy the decision has stirred up.
Marks Hints At Long-Term Strategy
There were a number of moves that the Celtics could have made, Bontemps says, without necessarily making a major splash involving a superstar or giving up one of their coveted Nets draft picks. Serge Ibaka and Taj Gibson are two quality rebounding forwards who were obviously available that day. Lou Williams is another.
- The Nets will need to approach their rebuild strategically, says general manager Sean Marks. Nets Daily broke down what the executive has said about his vision for the future thus far. “The objective for us is to be in the playoffs. When that comes, we’ll see,” Marks said. “You don’t want to go and sign free agents and then the next thing you know your payroll is capped out and you’re a 25-win team. We’re going to have to build this strategically, have patience with it.”
Mikhail Prokhorov Looking To Sell 49% Stake In Nets
Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov is looking to sell 49% of his ownership stake in the franchise, he told Russian media this week, according to an Associated Press report. Per Prokhorov, “the process is going on and we are looking for a buyer.”
Prokhorov said back in the fall that he wanted to retain majority ownership of the Nets, but that he was interested in bringing in an investor to take on a minority share of the team — preferably, that owner would be a local one to strengthen the club’s presence in New York. As NetsDaily outlines, Prokhorov reiterated this week that he’s committed to the Nets and “will remain the majority owner of the team.”
League sources tell NetsDaily that in recent months a handful of potential buyers have approached either the NBA, Prokhorov’s investment bankers, or Allen & Co., the firm Prokhorov hired to identify possible investors. However, the NetsDaily report suggests that the asking price is high, and there’s some uncertainty about whether a minority investor would be given an option to eventually purchase a controlling interest in the team. There also may be a divide between the Nets and the NBA over whether a stake in the Barclays Center should be involved in any sale.
In February, Forbes valued the Nets franchise at $1.8 billion, which would mean that a 49% share in the team would approach $900MM. Teams that have been sold in the past have often fetched a higher return than Forbes’ valuations, so Prokhorov could be seeking an even higher price from a prospective buyer.
Nets Interested In Shabazz Muhammad?
Shabazz Muhammad will be a restricted free agent this offseason and Darren Wolfson of ESPN.com (podcast) hears that the Nets are a team to keep an eye on. Brooklyn has pursued several restricted free agents since Sean Marks took over GM duties, though the organization has been unsuccessful in its attempts. The team went after Donatas Motiejunas, Tyler Johnson, and Allen Crabbe only to see each player’s original team match Brooklyn’s offer sheet.
Minnesota likes Muhammad and would like to bring him back, Wolfson adds. The Wolves have approximately $75MM in guaranteed salary on the books next season, so they could ostensibly make the small-forward a lucrative offer. However, Zach LaVine, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Andrew Wiggins will all be lining up for new deals over the next few years, so the team may be best served to keep its future cap sheet clean and veer away from adding any substantial long-term money.
The UCLA product shot the ball nearly eight times per game last season and he made 48.2% of his attempts. He wasn’t efficient from behind the arc, making just 33.6% of his shots and he didn’t set up teammates for good looks with his passing very often. He had 35 dimes on the season, which includes a 15-game stretch between the end of December and the end of January where he registered just one assist. In fact, Muhammad had the fewest assists on a season in league history among all non-bigs who played at least 1500 minutes and used over 20% of his team’s possessions.
Muhammad made slightly over $3.0MM this season, though regardless of his score-first mentality, he should be in line for a raise on that figure with his next deal. He’ll turn 25 at the start of next season.
Nets GM Talks International Scouting, Draft, RFAs
The Nets finished with the NBA’s worst record, but the team was competitive down the stretch, and given how low expectations were for the Nets entering the regular season, 2016/17 wasn’t a total disaster for the team. Still, general manager Sean Marks acknowledged today that there’s still “a long ways to go” as the club continues to rebuild its roster, which remains a “work in progress” (link via Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com).
Here are a few of the other comments Marks made today during his end-of-season press conference:
- Marks repeatedly referred to the international market – including Europe, Australia, and China -as a means of landing talent for the NBA roster (Twitter link via NetsDaily). Marks and head coach Kenny Atkinson are heading to Europe soon to meet with owner Mikhail Prokhorov and to do some scouting (Twitter link via Youngmisuk). And while the Nets have been keeping a close eye on CSKA Moscow guard Milos Teodosic, Marks stressed that the club is looking at “a bunch” of different international players (Twitter link via Bryan Fonseca of NetsDaily).
- The Nets will have two first-round picks this year after acquiring one from Washington in February’s Bojan Bogdanovic trade. Marks suggested today that he’d be open to snagging a draft-and-stash prospect with one of those two picks (Twitter link via Fonseca).
- Even if the Nets don’t necessarily expect to make a playoff run next season, Marks wants his roster to be balanced in terms of age and experience, since he believes a mix of veterans and young players is important (Twitter link via Fonseca).
- Although the Nets swung and missed multiple times in restricted free agency last summer, Marks said that “doesn’t mean we are not going that route” this summer (link via Youngmisuk). We’ve heard in recent weeks and months that RFAs like Otto Porter and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope could be among Brooklyn’s targets.