Lin Over Self-Pity; D-League Coach Focused On Development
- Nets guard Jeremy Lin said his experience with a cancer patient helped him get over any self-pity regarding his hamstring injury, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Lin tweaked the hamstring in Wednesday’s game and will be out of action for at least two weeks. That’s when doctors will re-evaluate the injury and determine when he might return. “At first, I was pretty upset. I was really upset,” Lin said. “I came back to my locker, and I wore those pink shoes that day for Ava [Lee, who is battling leukemia], and I immediately saw the shoes and started thinking about her, and I immediately ended my pity party. It could be a lot worse. I’m still blessed that I’m going to be back on the court.”
- Long Island Nets head coach Ronald Nored understands that his top priority is developing players for the parent team, according to NetsDaily.com. The new franchise shares facilities with Brooklyn in Barclays Center and the HSS Training Center, so it will be easy to have a close working relationship. “Those assignments, that’s the No. 1 reason for the D-League,” Nored said Friday at the team’s media day. “We’re a resource for them. Also for the players to come down and get better. That’s our focus. Our guys know that. The guys in this gym, they know that. If guys were to be assigned to our team, we’re hear to help those guys grow and get better.”
Rival Execs Believe Nets Increasingly Open To Moving Lopez
- Some rival executives are “increasingly convinced” that the Nets are willing to trade Brook Lopez before this season’s trade deadline, writes Stein. At this point, Brooklyn is believed to be fielding calls, rather than making them — the club is doing its due diligence rather than shopping its standout center. Stein adds that rumblings about potential Boston interest in Lopez have been shot down by Celtics sources, though the ESPN scribe still believe the C’s are worth keeping an eye on.
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Jeremy Lin Out At Least Two Weeks; Who Will Step Up?
- As we noted on Thursday, Nets point guard Jeremy Lin will be sidelined for at least two weeks with a strained hamstring. Fred Kerber of The New York Post takes a look at which players should be counted on to pick up the slack for Brooklyn during that time.
Jorge Gutierrez To Play In Turkey
Free agent guard Jorge Gutierrez will head overseas after being cut last month by the Nets, according to international basketball journalist David Pick, who reports (via Twitter) that Gutierrez is signing with Turkish team Trabzonspor.
An undrafted point guard out of the University of California, Gutierrez has appeared in 47 total NBA games since 2014, debuting for the Nets and also spending time with the Bucks and Hornets. For his career, he has averaged 2.9 PPG, 1.5 APG, and 1.1 RPG, while shooting 50.0% from the field. Gutierrez has spent more time over the past several seasons in the D-League, playing 122 contests for the Canton Charge.
Gutierrez was one of a handful of players waived by the Nets during preseason roster cutdowns, joining Chase Budinger and a few other teammates on the waiver wire. Like Budinger, he’ll play professional ball internationally rather than heading to Brooklyn’s D-League affiliate with Beau Beech, Yogi Ferrell, and Egidijus Mockevicius.
The timing of the move is interesting, as the Nets may be in need of point guard help, having announced today that Jeremy Lin will miss at least the next two weeks with a strained hamstring. With Greivis Vasquez and Caris LeVert also ailing, the Nets’ backcourt is thin and Gutierrez is a player with whom the club is familiar.
Still, Brooklyn has 15 guaranteed contracts on its books, so the team is unlikely to make a roster move for a short-term fix. And in any case, it seems Gutierrez wouldn’t be an option, now that he has committed to Trabzonspor.
NBA D-League Affiliate Players For 2016/17
Throughout the offseason, and in the weeks leading up to the start of the regular season, NBA teams are permitted to carry 20 players, but that total must be cut down to 15 in advance of opening night. However, up to four players waived by teams before the season can be designated as affiliate players and assigned to their D-League squads.
The players have some say in the decision — if they’d prefer to sign with a team overseas, or if they get an opportunity with another NBA club, they’re free to turn down their team’s request to have them play in the D-League. Most NBA and international teams have fairly set rosters by late October though, so having the opportunity to continue playing in the same system is appealing to many of those preseason cuts. Especially since they’ll maintain NBA free agency while they play in the D-League.
There are a few other rules related to D-League affiliate players. A player whose returning rights are held by a D-League team can’t be an affiliate player for another club, which is why undrafted free agents from the current year are commonly signed and assigned. Additionally, an affiliate player must have signed with his team during the current league year, which explains why we often see players signed and quickly waived in the days leading up to the regular season. And, of course, not every NBA team has a D-League affiliate, so clubs like the Hawks, Nuggets, or Clippers have no place to send affiliate players.
With all that in mind, here are the NBA D-League affiliate players to start the 2016/17 season:
Austin Spurs (San Antonio Spurs)
Canton Charge (Cleveland Cavaliers)
Delaware 87ers (Philadelphia 76ers)
Nets' New Backup PGs Not Making Early Impact
- The Nets overhauled their point guard spot this offseason, and though Jeremy Lin has been solid as the team’s starter so far, the team’s second and third options at the position are off to slow starts. As Brian Lewis of The New York Post details, veteran Greivis Vasquez has struggled to produce and has been nagged by an ankle injury, while rookie Isaiah Whitehead doesn’t look ready for significant minutes quite yet.
Nets Pick Up Options On Hollis-Jefferson, McCullough
The Nets announced they have exercised team options on Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Chris McCullough for the 2017/18 season, Brian Lewis of The New York Post relays (on Twitter).
The decisions to pick up the options on both young forwards are not surprising. Hollis-Jefferson’s option is for $1.45MM and McCullough’s is for $1.24MM.
Hollis-Jefferson, selected with the 23rd pick in the 2015 draft by the Blazers and acquired by the Nets that night in a trade, has appeared in 32 career games, including 20 starts, averaging 5.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 21.4 minutes per game. McCullough, the 29th pick in the 2015 draft, has seen action in 25 career games, including four starts, with averages of 4.6 points and 2.8 rebounds in 14.6 minutes per game.
Nets To Watch Minutes For Lopez; Lin, Atkinson Together Again
- It’s only the third game of the season, but the Nets are already giving center Brook Lopez a day off, notes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Brooklyn, in the middle of a stretch of four games in six nights, plans to be careful about Lopez’s minutes all season. The ninth-year center, who has been through three foot surgeries, compares it to being on a pitch count. “What we’re trying to do with Brook is take the long-term approach, just build him up as the season goes on and increase his minutes. We have a plan in place,’’ said new Nets coach Kenny Atkinson. “It’s learning the system, it’s looking at a long-term approach to how we’re going to build him up in terms of minutes as the season goes on. He’s got some miles on him.”
Brook Lopez Doesn't Fit Atkinson's Scheme
Nets center Brook Lopez doesn’t seem to fit into new coach Kenny Atkinson’s motion offense, according to Brian Lewis of the New York Post. Lopez played just 21 minutes, fewer than eight of his teammates, in Brooklyn’s opener on Wednesday against the Celtics. He scored only one basket, an odd sight for a player who averaged 20.6 PPG last season. Lopez is making $21.16MM this season and $22.6MM in the final year of his contract in 2017/18. “It’s a learning process. It’s both of us: It’s him learning a totally new system and us integrating him into a new system,’’ Atkinson told Lewis. “But I have complete confidence that as the season goes on, you’re going to see a better Brook. He’s going to understand it more.”
Ferrell Headed To Long Island Nets
- Yogi Ferrell plans to open the season with the D-League’s Long Island Nets, according to Jeff Rabjohns of Scout.com. The former Indiana University standout was Brooklyn’s final training-camp cut. He appeared in three exhibition games, logging 28 minutes.