Nets To Use D-League Team In Lieu of Draft Picks
- Nets GM Sean Marks acknowledged that the franchise was “a bit short” on draft picks the next few seasons and the team plans to utilize its new D-League affiliate to attempt to develop players in lieu of draftees, Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com relays (ESPN Now Link). Marks also noted that he has a list of potential coaching candidates for the Long Island Nets, who begin play next season, but no timetable has been established for making a hire, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com tweets.
Nets May Need To Look Overseas For Players This Offseason
- The Nets may need to look overseas and to other undervalued markets in order to find impact players this summer, Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post writes. While Brooklyn is expected to have in the range of $40MM in cap space, the projected jump in the cap means that there will be plenty of competition for free agents, Bontemps notes.
Nets Banking On Rondae Hollis-Jefferson
Interim Nets coach Tony Brown is excited about the return of Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who scored five points, including two on a thunderous dunk, in 15 minutes Tuesday, the first game for last year’s 23rd pick since he broke his right ankle in December, The Record’s Andy Vasquez notes. Brown pointed to Hollis-Jefferson and three-year signee Sean Kilpatrick for their spirit, an element that’s lacking on a woeful 19-51 Nets team, and Hollis-Jefferson is especially important to the franchise’s future, given its lack of other draft assets to build around Brook Lopez. “He’s just such a spark plug,” Lopez said. “He brings a lot to the team and definitely takes us up another few notches. We’ve come to expect that from him and we’ve been missing it throughout the season.”
Sean Kilpatrick's Contract Details
- Sean Kilpatrick‘s multiyear deal with the Nets includes a fully guaranteed salary of $980K for 2016/17 and a non-guaranteed salary of $1.05MM for 2017/18, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). The three-year length means the team used a prorated portion of its mid-level exception to sign him.
Timetable For Hollis-Jefferson Shifts Rapidly
- Rondae Hollis-Jefferson will likely play tonight for the first time since suffering a broken ankle in December, according to the Nets, who listed him as probable for the game just an hour and a half after Hollis-Jefferson and interim Nets coach Tony Brown raised the specter of him perhaps missing the rest of the season, notes Brian Lewis of the New York Post.
Nets High On Sean Kilpatrick
- Sean Kilpatrick‘s 6’4″ size cast him as a tweener and helped him slip through the cracks up until recently, but his scoring versatility makes him a promising addition for the Nets, NetsDaily concludes in a video analysis. Kilpatrick signed a multiyear deal with Brooklyn this weekend following a pair of 10-day contracts.
And-Ones: Baynes, Kilpatrick, Early
Pistons coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy cannot understand why Aron Baynes has so many social media critics, he told the assembled media, including Hoops Rumors. Van Gundy signed Baynes to a three-year, $20MM contract last summer to back up All-Star center Andre Drummond and believes he’s gotten his money’s worth. “Some of you guys tell me that some fans on comment boards don’t like him. I don’t know what they’re watching,” Van Gundy said. “He’s certainly one of the top backup centers in the league. You compare him to the other backup centers, he’s been absolutely terrific. He plays with great passion and emotion.” Baynes scored a career-high 21 points against the Nets on Saturday.
- Sean Kilpatrick‘s offensive ability earned him some long-term security, Nets interim coach Tony Brown told the media, including Hoops Rumors, over the weekend. The shooting guard agreed to a multiyear deal that includes a guarantee for next season after his two 10-day contracts with the team expired. “He’s very effective shooting from deep and he’s been getting some good looks off the dribble,” Brown said. “Obviously, the new deal for him is well deserved. They’re thinking down the road, for the future of the ballclub, that he’d be a nice piece to have on the roster.”
- The anticipation for next season is growing in Philadelphia as the current season winds down, Sixers coach Brett Brown told Brian Seltzer of NBA.com. “Names get associated with prospective draft picks that we’re studying now that the [NCAA] Tournament’s going on,” Brown said. “The end is near where you’re looking at our existing players and how we’re going to respond to some of the people that are out of contract. You start talking a little bit more seriously about some of the free agent strategies. You start talking a little more seriously about the Joel Embiid situation, and Dario [Saric] situation, how it all fits.”
- Former Bucks and Pelicans point guard Nate Wolters is leaving his Turkish team Besiktas, international journalist David Pick tweets, citing a source. Wolters chose to play overseas in July after playing for the Clippers’ summer league team.
- The Trail Blazers recalled shooting guard Luis Montero and power forward Cliff Alexander from the D-League’s Santa Cruz Warriors on Sunday, the team informed Mike Richman of The Oregonian. Both rookies appeared in four games with the Warriors’ D-League affiliate during their assignment and have played seven games apiece for the Blazers this season. Alexander will likely be active for the Blazers’ game against the Mavericks on Wednesday because big man Meyers Leonard is out indefinitely with a dislocated shoulder, Richman adds.
- The Knicks assigned small forward Cleanthony Early to their D-League affiliate in Westchester on Monday, the team tweets. The Knicks activated him on Sunday for the first time since he was shot in the right knee during a December 30th robbery.
Arthur Hill contributed to this report.
Karasev Gets Rare Opportunity
- The Nets are apparently taking a long look at Sergey Karasev before the season ends, according to NetsDaily. The fourth-year swingman made his first start of the season Thursday and his minutes have been increasing this month. It’s possible that new GM Sean Marks is auditioning Karasev after Brooklyn elected to decline the option for next season on his rookie contract. The option would have eaten up $2,463,754 in cap flexibility this summer, when the Nets are hoping to make a strong push for free agents.
Nets Ink Sean Kilpatrick To Multiyear Deal
The Nets have signed Sean Kilpatrick to a multiyear deal, the team announced via press release. The exact length and terms of the pact were not announced by the team, though Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports previously reported that the arrangement included a guarantee for next season. It’s unclear if that guarantee is for the player’s full salary or if it is merely a partial guarantee. Brooklyn now has 15 players on its roster, including Henry Sims, whose 10-day deal runs through next weekend.
The combo guard performed extremely well for Brooklyn during his two 10-day pacts and this multiyear deal is a fitting reward for his strong outings. Kilpatrick has appeared in nine games with the Nets, averaging 11.9 points while shooting 49.3% from the field and 47.1% from three-point range in 19.1 minutes per contest. The 26-year-old has scored in double figures six times, including each of the last four games. In 21 career NBA games split between Brooklyn, Denver and Minnesota, Kilpatrick has averaged 7.4 points and 1.2 rebounds in 15.5 minutes of action per appearance.
The signing of Kilpatrick for next season shouldn’t impact the team’s available cap space significantly, considering it is most likely a minimum salary arrangement, though that is merely my speculation. The Nets had $45,702,813 in salary committed for 2016/17 prior to inking Kilpatrick. With the salary cap set to jump to the $90MM-$95MM range, Brooklyn will still have plenty of room to chase free agents this offseason.
Nets Like McCullough, May Lose Assistant
- The Nets have only seen brief flashes of Chris McCullough‘s talent because of a minutes restriction, but so far they’re encouraged, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. The Syracuse freshman was considered a possible lottery pick last year before tearing his right ACL. The Nets scooped him up at No. 29, knowing he would need to time to heal. “In the short amount of time he’s been playing, I think he’s had more success on the defensive end of the floor,” said interim Nets coach Tony Brown. “And offensively it’s just time. He needs to get experience.’’
- Nets assistant coach Joe Wolf is “keenly interested” in becoming the head coach at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, tweets Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times.