Nets Eye Terrence Jones, Jordan Hill, Mo Harkless
- Having missed out on a pair of RFA targets, the Nets are currently mulling making an offer to another RFA, Dion Waiters, as we heard over the weekend. According to Brian Lewis of The New York Post, Brooklyn has also displayed interest in Terrence Jones, Jordan Hill, and Maurice Harkless.
- Nets general manager Sean Marks, who acknowledged that his team is in the market for wing players, also said that he’s in no rush to meet the salary floor, as Lewis details. “At some point we have to get there,” Marks said. “But it’s not immediate right now. We’re not just going to go out and spend for the sake of spending. It’s about us doing the right things at the right times.”
Latest Contract Details
- Greivis Vasquez‘s reported deal with the Nets will be for one year and is worth approximately $5MM, Brian Lewis of The New York Post relays.
Nets, Justin Hamilton Agree To Deal
JULY 10, 7:36pm: The signing is official, the team announced on its website.
JULY 1, 7:44pm: The Nets and Justin Hamilton have agreed to a two-year deal worth $6MM, Shams Charania of The Vertical reports on Twitter. The contract is fully guaranteed as Hamilton’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, tells Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter link).
Hamilton is a 7’0″ center who last played in the NBA for the Wolves during the 2014/15 campaign. He spent last season playing for Valencia Basket of the Liga ACB in Europe.
Before signing the big man, Brooklyn only had nine players under contract, as the team’s depth chart at Roster Resource indicates. Hamilton is the second player whom the team has agreed to a deal with since free agency began. The team agreed to terms with Jeremy Lin early today.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Nets Interested In Anthony Bennett
There is mutual interest between the Nets and former overall top draft pick Anthony Bennett, tweets Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops. Bennett, who was part of the Canadian team in the Olympic qualifying tournament, has bounced around the league since the Cavaliers selected him No. 1 in the 2013 draft.
The 23-year-old power forward played briefly for Toronto this season, averaging 1.5 points and 1.2 rebounds in 19 games. He also spent a year in Minnesota after being traded there as part of the deal that brought Kevin Love to Cleveland.
Bennett was invited to Brooklyn’s mini-camp for free agents in late May and seemingly made a positive impression.
Nets Consider An Offer To Dion Waiters
Free agent shooting guard Dion Waiters may be the next target for the Nets, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Brooklyn is looking at other options after the Trail Blazers matched a $75MM offer sheet today for Allen Crabbe and the Heat did the same with a $50MM offer to Tyler Johnson.
The 6’4″ Waiters is a restricted free agent just like Crabbe and Johnson, so Oklahoma City would have the chance to match any offer. Waiters, who has spent a season and a half with the Thunder, averaged 9.8 points in 78 games this season.
Wojnarowski stresses that the Nets haven’t made a decision on Waiters, but they have been considering him as a backup plan and will discuss a formal offer this week. Brooklyn has about $36MM in cap room remaining.
Heat Match Tyler Johnson Offer
7:22pm: The move is official, the team announced.
JULY 10th, 6:02pm: The Heat have matched Brooklyn’s $50MM offer sheet for Tyler Johnson, tweets The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Johnson signed the offer on Thursday, so tonight was the deadline for Miami to make a decision.
The Nets’ offer contained a significant jump in salary for the third and fourth season to make it difficult for the Heat to match. Johnson will receive $5.628MM in the first year and $5,881,260 in the second, followed by $18,858,765 in season three and $19,631,975 in season four.
This is the second disappointment of the day for Brooklyn, which earlier learned that Portland has matched a four-year, $75MM offer sheet to Allen Crabbe. The Nets still have more than $30MM in cap space available and are expected to move on to other free agents.
Heat To Sign Wayne Ellington
Wayne Ellington will sign with Miami, tweets The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The 28-year-old shooting guard is expected to receive more than $12MM over two seasons.
The addition of Ellington reduces the chance that Miami matches Brookyn’s $50MM offer to Tyler Johnson, tweets Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. The Heat now have five guards under contract, as Ellington joins Goran Dragic, Josh Richardson, Briante Weber and Rodney McGruder.
Ellington appeared in 76 games with the Nets after signing with Brooklyn last summer. He started 41 times and averaged 7.7 points in a little more than 21 minutes per game. He has also played for the Timberwolves, Grizzlies, Cavaliers, Mavericks and Lakers in his seven-year NBA career.
Nets Await Decision On Crabbe
The Blazers will have until Sunday at 8:59 p.m. Portland time — or 11:59 p.m. Brooklyn time — to decide whether to match the Nets’ offer sheet for Allen Crabbe, tweets Jason Quick of CSNNW. Crabbe, a restricted free agent, signed a four-year, $75MM offer from the Nets on Thursday. League rules give the Blazers three days to decide whether to match, and GM Neil Olshey isn’t offering any clues about his decision. (Twitter link). Crabbe is coming off his best NBA season, averaging 10.3 points in 81 games.
Scouts High On Crabbe's Potential
The Nets signing restricted free agent Allen Crabbe to a four-year, $75MM offer sheet may have shocked some around the league, but a number of NBA scouts believe the shooting guard will break out once given more playing time, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “I really was impressed with Crabbe last year,” one veteran scout told Lewis. “It took me a minute or two. He had that nice fluidness to him, that long body. Allan [Houston] was that same way, and he was a hell of a player. I didn’t think Allen Crabbe would’ve made it this far and been this good. He just always struck me as I wanted a little bit more. … But he plays with more passion than I thought. He’s quiet, not pumping his chest, not gung-ho. But last year was a real good eye-opener for everybody that wanted more out of Crabbe, because they got it.”
- The second round pick the Nets acquired from Indiana as part of the Thaddeus Young swap only conveys to Brooklyn if it falls in the No. 31-No. 44 range from 2017-2022, and is unprotected in 2023 , Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.
Nets Sign Isaiah Whitehead
The Nets have signed Isaiah Whitehead to a multiyear contract, the team announced via press release. The exact terms of the arrangement were not relayed, nor how much, if any, guaranteed money was included in the pact.
The Nets acquired the rights to Whitehead, who was the No. 42 overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft, from the Jazz in exchange for pick No. 55 and cash. Whitehead was ranked as the 52nd best prospect in this year’s draft by ESPN’s Chad Ford and 57th by Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.
The 6’5″ freshman turned into a dangerous 3-point weapon for the Pirates, connecting on 37% from long distance while averaging 18.2 points and 5.1 assists per game. He led Seton Hall to an upset of national champion Villanova in the Big East title game.