A Look At GM Sean Marks' Approach
- In his look at how Nets GM Sean Marks has altered the franchise’s approach, Miles Wray of RealGM noted that the executive has placed higher value on veterans, intends to allow head coach Kenny Atkinson to lead the rebuilding program and is focusing on landing restricted free agents.
Bogdanovic Factors Into Teams Plans
With the Nets seeking to forge a new identity as the team rebuilds, the 2016/17 campaign will be Bojan Bogdanovic‘s best chance to solidify a place in the NBA for himself, Anthony Puccio of NetsDaily writes. The team has let the 27-year-old know that he is in its plans this season, sending assistant coach Chris Fleming overseas to speak with the forward earlier this summer, Puccio notes.
“It’s important for me that Chris came to Zagreb, that Nets sent him there,” said Bogdanovic. “That’s proof for me that Nets have big plans for me in next season. We talked a lot what I should improve in my game. He said me how to be more consistent in spot up shooting coming from screens. Also, I should post up more, because I did that a lot in Europe, but not in NBA.”
Karasev Not Done With The NBA
- Sergey Karasev will play in Russia next season, but he hasn’t ruled out the NBA, according to Eurohoops. Karasev, who spent the past two seasons with the Nets, says first he hopes to prove that he can lead a team. “Ι want to be one of the key persons in a team, not just go in for 10 minutes,” he said. “I hope that Zenit [in St. Petersburg] will be successful in VTB League and then it will be possible for me to go back to the NBA.”
And-Ones: Jones, Buycks, Stephenson
Perry Jones III has agreed to play in Russia this upcoming season with Khimki Moscow, international journalist David Pick reports (Twitter link). Jones spent last season with the Iowa Energy of the D-League after being waived by the Boston Celtics. He was selected by the Thunder with the 28th overall pick in the 2012 draft.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Dwight Buycks will play in China for Fujian Quanzhou, Pick reports in a separate tweet. Buycks played for the team last season before coming stateside to join the Oklahoma City Blue of the D-League.
- Lance Stephenson may have to look overseas if he wants to play next season, Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe writes. Washburn contends that Stephenson has the talent to play in the NBA, however, his personality may be scaring teams away.
- Stephenson made a bet on himself back in 2014 when he bypassed a five-year, $44MM deal from the Pacers in favor of a shorter deal with the Hornets. Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders revisits the shooting guard’s decision and examines the decisions of other players whom have taken shorter deals with the hope of cashing in on a big payday only to be disappointed by what the market offers.
Lopez, Foye Praise Nets' New Culture
- Brook Lopez helped recruit free agents to the Nets this offseason and the big man finds himself enjoying his place on the team, Fred Kerber of The New York Post writes. “It’s abnormal,” Lopez said. “It’s a good feeling. I know they’ve been harping on the culture and all but it’s a completely unique feel this time, like we’re moving in that right direction. It’s something people actually want to be a part of.”
- Randy Foye, who signed a one-year, $2.5MM deal with the Nets, believes he could have signed a better deal elsewhere in free agency, but GM Sean Marks‘ vision for the franchise compelled him to come to Brooklyn, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News writes. “There was more talk about building a culture,” Foye said. “A lot of places you go, they search and look for superstars to fill voids every year. But I think this here is more of a culture. And just see how the Spurs and how they build a culture, they have three guys and have other guys come in and are a part of that culture and help build that culture. And that was one of the most important reasons for me signing here.”
- Foye added that he is coming to the Nets “with no ego” and he has no expectation of starting, Bondy passes along in the same piece.
Nets Sign Beau Beech
AUGUST 5: The Nets have issued a press release formally announcing that Beech’s deal is now complete.
JULY 24: The Nets will sign Beau Beech to a partially guaranteed one-year deal, Shams Charania of The Vertical reports (on Twitter). Brooklyn has 15 guaranteed contracts so Beech is likely headed to the team’s D-League affiliate in Long Island.
Beech went undrafted last month out of the University of North Florida. At 6’9,” Beech is versatile enough to play shooting guard, small forward or power forward. He played mostly as a shooting guard in college.
Beech averaged 15.9 points and 6.5 rebounds over 32 minutes per game last season last season. He also shot 42.4% from 3-point range. Beech played on the Nets’ summer league team and impressed enough to earn the partially guaranteed deal.
Nets Sign Yogi Ferrell
AUGUST 5: The Nets have officially signed Ferrell, the team announced today in a press release.
JULY 22: Nearly a month after the Nets’ agreement with Ferrell was initially reported, it looks like it’s close to being made official. Michael Scotto of The Associated Press tweets that it will just be a one-year deal for Ferrell.
JUNE 24: The Nets and Yogi Ferrell have agreed to a partially guaranteed deal, according to Jake Fischer of Liberty Ballers (Twitter link). Fischer adds that Ferrell turned down several draft-and-stash opportunities, presumably in the second round.
Ferrell started all four years while attending Indiana and he averaged 17.3 points, 5.6 assists and 1.1 steals per game during his senior season. Jonathan Givony of Draft Express ranks him as the 63rd best prospect in the draft.
The Nets don’t have a strong option at the point guard position on their roster. Incumbent starter Jarrett Jack, who played well last season before tearing his ACL, is no lock to return, as GM Sean Marks indicated that the team is still undecided on whether to pick up his team option. If Ferrell impresses early on, he could end up being part of the team’s rotation next season, though that’s merely my speculation.
Nets All-In On New D-League Affiliate
The Nets are taking their new D-League affiliate in Long Island seriously and with the team sharing the NBA club’s facilities this season while work is completed on the Nassau Coliseum, it places affiliate players in a somewhat unique situation, NetsDaily writes. “Every time you walk into the practice facility, you should want to work hard because, as you see, throughout our practices now, Coach [Kenny] Atkinson is just sitting here, walking around just to see who is working. So, you never know.” said guard Sean Kilpatrick. “You could be one of the D-League guys in the gym, and Coach just so happens to see you, and is like, ‘Yo, we should give this guy a look.’”
“No other D-League team will operate as we’re operating this year,” Long Island Nets coach Ronald Nored said. “If you’re a player and you want to get into the NBA, you’re practicing in an NBA facility every single day. Our guys will get world-class treatment, first-class treatment and we’ll have the same opportunities to amenities and things like that, that the NBA guys have. If you can’t appreciate this opportunity, man, there’s another place for you.”
Bobby Marks On Nets' Offseason
- Bobby Marks of The Vertical weighed in on the offseason moves the Nets have made.
- Want to see where the Atlantic Division teams stand roster-wise? Check out the complete breakdowns along with depth charts at Roster Resource for the Nets, Celtics, Knicks, Sixers and Raptors.
Free Agent Spending By Division: Atlantic
Over the course of this week, we’ve been breaking down 2016 NBA free agent spending by division, examining which teams – and divisions – were the most active this July.
These divisional breakdowns won’t present a full picture of teams’ offseason spending. Some notable free agents, including LeBron James, remain unsigned, so there’s still money out there to be spent. Our lists also don’t include money spent on this year’s first- and second-round picks or draft-and-stash signings. There are a few free agent names missing in some instances as well, since those deals aren’t yet official or terms haven’t been reported.
Still, these closer looks at divisional spending should generally reveal how teams invested their money in free agency this summer, identifying which clubs went all-out and which ones played it safe.
With the help of our Free Agent Tracker and contract info from Basketball Insiders, we’ll focus today on the Atlantic division. Let’s dive in…
1. New York Knicks
- Total money committed: $164,387,929
- Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $153,474,723
- Largest expenditure: Joakim Noah (four years, $72,590,000)
- Other notable signings:
- Courtney Lee (four years, $48,003,340)
- Lance Thomas (four years, $27,549,950)
- Mindaugas Kuzminskas (two years, $5,773,035)
- Brandon Jennings (one year, $5,000,000)
- Notes:
- Sasha Vujacic will earn a $1,410,598 salary, but the Knicks will be on the hook for just $980,431 of that total, with the NBA picking up the rest of the bill.
- The exact terms of reported deals for Chasson Randle and J.P. Tokoto aren’t yet known, so they haven’t been included here.
- The Knicks also signed Willy Hernangomez, but he was a draft-and-stash player, rather than a free agent, so his deal isn’t included here.
- The fourth year of Thomas’ deal, worth $7,583,975, is fully non-guaranteed, contributing significantly to the gap between the team’s total money and guaranteed money committed.
2. Toronto Raptors
- Total money committed: $146,025,440
- Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $143,228,000
- Largest expenditure: DeMar DeRozan (five years, $137,500,000)
- Other notable signings:
- Jared Sullinger (one year, $5,628,000)
- Notes:
- The Raptors were one of just three teams that didn’t go under the cap this summer, so their free-agent expenditures came using Bird rights (DeRozan), the mid-level exception (Sullinger), and the minimum-salary exception (other signees).
3. Boston Celtics
- Total money committed: $130,306,661
- Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $122,306,661
- Largest expenditure: Al Horford (four years, $113,326,230)
- Other notable signings:
- Tyler Zeller (two years, $16,000,000)
- Notes:
- Gerald Green will earn a $1,410,598 salary, but the Celtics will be on the hook for just $980,431 of that total, with the NBA picking up the rest of the bill.
- The second year of Zeller’s deal, worth $8MM, is fully non-guaranteed, creating the gap between the team’s total money and guaranteed money committed.
4. Brooklyn Nets
- Total money committed: $78,488,356
- Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $74,963,953
- Largest expenditure: Jeremy Lin (three years, $36,000,000)
- Other notable signings:
- Trevor Booker (two years, $18,375,000)
- Justin Hamilton (two years, $6,000,000)
- Luis Scola (one year, $5,500,000)
- Greivis Vasquez (one year, $4,347,826)
- Randy Foye (one year, $2,500,000)
- Notes:
- If offer sheets for Allen Crabbe ($74MM+) and Tyler Johnson ($50MM) hadn’t been matched by the Blazers and Heat, respectively, the Nets likely would have been the Atlantic’s highest-spending team.
- Anthony Bennett, Joe Harris, Beau Beech, Yogi Ferrell, and Egidijus Mockevicius all have contracts that include some non-guaranteed money.
5. Philadelphia 76ers
- Total money committed: $57,346,160
- Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $44,220,000
- Largest expenditure: Jerryd Bayless (three years, $27,000,000)
- Other notable signings:
- Gerald Henderson (two years, $18,000,000)
- Sergio Rodriguez (one year, $8,000,000)
- Notes:
- The totals above don’t include the Sixers’ previously-reported agreement with Cat Barber, which has not been made official.
- The Sixers also signed Dario Saric, but he was a draft-and-stash player, rather than a free agent, so his deal isn’t included here.
- The second year of Henderson’s deal, worth $9MM, is fully non-guaranteed, contributing significantly to the gap between the team’s total money and guaranteed money committed.