Nets Notes: Offseason, MPJ, Clowney, Minott, Draft
After going 46-118 over the past two seasons, the Nets have some incentive to take a step forward in 2026/27. They won’t control their own first-rounder in the 2027 draft, so another year spent near the bottom of the standings won’t necessarily net them a lottery pick. Still, general manager Sean Marks was somewhat evasive when asked on Monday just how aggressively the Nets will try to accelerate their rebuild this offseason, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post.
“It depends a little on what becomes available. You just never know,” Marks said. “We’ve put this Nets team and franchise in a place to be able to be opportunistic. Does that fit our timeline? Does this particular trade work for us right now?
“You can always add talent, but does that talent fit our approach and for the development of these young guys, fit in with the group we have? So, those are discussions I look forward to having with (head coach) Jordi (Fernandez) and the rest of the coaching staff, front office, mostly (team owner) Joe (Tsai) — when we want to add and how we want to add.”
Besides considering how vigorously to pursue outside talent, the Nets will also face a major decision on their leading scorer, with Michael Porter Jr. eligible for a contract extension as he enters the final year of his current deal. Porter will earn $40.8MM next season and would be come an unrestricted free agent in July 2027 if he’s not extended before then.
“This summer there’s going to be a lot of those discussions, whether it’s with Michael, there’s a variety of decisions we have to make with a variety of our players on the team,” Marks said, according to C.J. Holmes of The New York Daily News (subscription required). “But in terms of a long-term build, short-term build, I think we’ve positioned ourselves over the last year or two to maintain flexibility and have optionality.”
Here are a few more notes on the Nets as their offseason gets underway:
- Speaking on Monday to reporters, including Holmes, Porter suggested he enjoyed his first year in Brooklyn despite the team’s poor record and would be very open to extending his stay with the Nets. “If it was up to me, I would love to sign an extension with this franchise,” he said. “I would love to spend many, many years in Brooklyn and make this my home and build and watch this franchise take off. … I think as a team we can really have something to build off of.”
- Nets forward Noah Clowney, who will be eligible for a rookie scale extension beginning in July, said on Monday that he felt like his third NBA season was a mixed bag, as Lewis relays. The 21-year-old set new career highs with 12.3 points and 4.1 rebounds per game but believes he’s capable of more defensively. “I progressed this year, maybe not as much as I wanted to, which I thought I would have,” Clowney said. “But I got better at some different things, and I got more experience. So I’m gonna take that for what it is. I got a lot better at getting to the rim. (My handle) can get a lot better, and that would prevent my turnovers. … Defensively, it’s just always been consistency. I can do it at times, and other times I just don’t.”
- The deal that sent Josh Minott from Boston to Brooklyn in February was essentially a salary dump from the Celtics’ perspective, but the fourth-year forward finished the season strong with the Nets, averaging 10.8 PPG on .491/.395/.800 shooting in 16 games despite battling an ankle injury. Could Minott, whose deal includes a $2.6MM team option for 2026/27, be part of the club’s young core going forward? “I think he’s the best young prospect on the Nets,” a league source told Lewis (subscription required). “He’s probably better than any of their first-round picks, and he’s damn near the same age.”
- After finishing with the NBA’s third-worst record, the Nets will enter the draft lottery tied for the best odds at the No. 1 pick (14.1%), but their single most likely draft slot is No. 6 (26.0%), as Lewis outlines.
Atlantic Notes: Fultz, George, McCain, Minott, Tatum
The Raptors were down three starters on Monday vs. Utah, with Brandon Ingram (right heel inflammation), Immanuel Quickley (plantar fasciitis), and Jakob Poeltl (injury load management) all sidelined, notes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link). However, rookie forward Collin Murray-Boyles returned following an 11-game absence due to a thumb injury, and newly signed point guard Markelle Fultz made his Toronto debut.
The Raptors were outscored by 15 points during Fultz’s 16 minutes of action, and he had more turnovers (3) than points (2). However, there were also some “flashes of high-level play,” according to Grange. The former No. 1 overall pick contributed five assists and pair of steals off the bench in a victory over the Jazz. Notably, it was his second game of the day, as he had also suited up in the morning for the Raptors 905 in the G League before officially being promoted to the NBA.
“He’s (a) point guard. You can see that he’s comfortable getting the team into the offense and organizing, and he had five assists,” head coach Darko Rajakovic said. “It was awesome to see him out there, knowing that he played a game this morning.”
While it remains to be seen whether Fultz will stick with the Raptors beyond his initial 10-day contract, he has made a positive impression on the organization with his attitude since he originally joined Toronto’s G League affiliate.
“What I’ve been most impressed about was his level of professionalism and humility,” Raptors 905 coach Drew Jones said, per Grange. “You know, a former No. 1 pick, he could come in here and have a crazy chip on his shoulder, act like he owns the place. But he walked right in and said, ‘Coach, what do you need me to do? I said, ‘Lead, defend, and be the play-maker that we know you all are.’ And he’s been awesome, just awesome.”
We have more from around the Atlantic:
- Paul George served the 25th and final game of his suspension on Monday, meaning he’s eligible to return to the Sixers‘ lineup on Wednesday vs. Chicago. Head coach Nick Nurse said on Monday that George has “conditioned hard” during his absence, adding that he has no ramp-up concerns about the veteran forward, tweets Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports.
- Former Sixers guard Jared McCain scored 13 points off the bench on Monday to help the Thunder beat his old team. As Tony Jones of The Athletic writes, McCain admitted that it felt “a little weird” to be going up against the 76ers after having been traded out of Philadelphia just last month. “It was nice to come back, but it will definitely always feel weird coming back here,” he said. “It’s like a nostalgic feeling to come back and not live here. Hopefully, there is some closure that comes soon. But I still don’t think I have closure yet.”
- Acquired at February’s trade deadline in what was essentially just a salary-dump deal for Boston, Josh Minott may be carving out a role with the Nets going forward, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post (subscription required). As Lewis explains, Minott’s defensive tenacity and overall competitiveness is a welcome addition to a Brooklyn team that wants to be competitive next season, and his $2.6MM option for 2026/27 is extremely team-friendly.
- With Celtics star Jayson Tatum acknowledging that he’s frustrated by not yet being able to do everything he used to on the basketball court, Jay King of The Athletic checks in on Tatum’s early progress. The veteran forward’s defensive and rebounding numbers have been strong, King notes, but he’s taking more three-pointers and fewer free throws than he typically would.
Atlantic Notes: Vucevic, Celtics, Minott, Barrett
Celtics center Nikola Vucevic has to wait patiently for his fractured right ring finger to heal, but he’s hopeful he can return to action before the playoffs begin.
“The good thing is I can still do some stuff on the court,” he said, per Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. “That will help me for when I come back [to be in] shape, and hopefully I get a couple games before the playoffs, get back in rhythm with the guys that week between regular season and playoffs, everything going as smoothly as possible.”
Vucevic suffered the injury on March 6 and was formally ruled out for at least three-to-four weeks.
“So far I haven’t had much pain or anything; everything has been going well,” he said. “The swelling is coming down and been working the range of motion. So hopefully the X-ray is clean at three weeks and I can start doing some stuff and just getting back to being comfortable and building strength in the hand.”
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- The Celtics are likely to stay under the first tax apron once again next season, Brian Robb of MassLive.com opines. Robb points out that they currently have approximately $185MM committed in salary for 2026/27, $9MM of which is non-guaranteed, while the first apron projects to be $210.3MM. Boston may also be able to operate below the $201.7MM tax line, resetting its repeater clock. It shouldn’t be difficult to shed salary, if necessary, to achieve that goal, Robb adds, noting that the emergence of young talent on team-friendly deals across the roster will be very helpful on that front.
- The Nets dropped a 93-92 heart-breaker to the Knicks, their 14th straight loss to their crosstown rival. Josh Minott was highly agitated by the loss after scoring a career-high 22 points, according to Brian Lewis of the New York Post. “I wanted that s–t so (bleeping) bad,” he said. “Ever since we’ve been here, it’s like every game is an away game. [Friday] was just the night to really just stick it to everybody, man. As an organization, as a team, to show people that we got s–t here, yo. Man, just a sea of blue, a sea of orange. Every game we play, it’s a sea of the other team.”
- The Raptors left their 121-115 loss to the Nuggets on Friday still feeling good about themselves. Heading into their game in Phoenix on Sunday, they hold the fifth spot in the East. “The more we get healthy, the more we play together, the better it’s going to be for us,” RJ Barrett said, per Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. “I think we’re showing that on a nightly basis. But there are times and moments that we can play better as a team.”
Nets Notes: Fernandez, M. Smith, MPJ, Claxton, Clowney
Nets coach Jordi Fernandez is showing a commitment to tanking that he didn’t have earlier in the season, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post, but all his players might not be on board. With Noah Clowney, Terance Mann and Ziaire Williams sitting out the fourth quarter Saturday afternoon, a makeshift lineup erased a 21-point deficit against Philadelphia and briefly took the lead before Brooklyn fell to its third straight loss.
Lewis notes that Fernandez rested Clowney and Nic Claxton during the fourth quarter of a close game Thursday in Atlanta, and the coach seems more focused on evaluating his young talent over the last month of the season than trying to win games.
“It was great. We have young guys, rookies playing in the fourth quarter and getting a lot of experience. We have these guys that we need to know what we’ve got, playing high level to win a game,” Fernandez said of Saturday’s rally. “Playing competitive minutes is way better than just playing minutes. And this was great.”
Rookie big man Danny Wolf, who finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds, was the only rotation member to play more than three minutes in the final quarter. Most of the damage was done by Josh Minott and two-way players E.J. Liddell and Chaney Johnson, along with Malachi Smith, who signed a 10-day contract Saturday morning.
There’s more on the Nets:
- The game marked Smith’s NBA debut at age 26 after nearly three years in the G League, and he was thrilled that his mother and stepfather flew to Philadelphia to watch it, Lewis states in the same piece. “It was a dream come true,” he said. “Single parent, had me at 20, driving 12 hours for AAU trips and six hours to watch me play in college. So she was like, ‘I’m not going to miss this.’” Smith played 23 minutes and posted four points, three rebounds and one assist.
- Michael Porter Jr. sat out the game with an ankle sprain, and Fernandez indicated that playing without Porter might become a more frequent occurrence, Lewis adds. “By the rules, he’ll rest whatever he [needs to] rest. Now he’s out with that ankle sprain. So whenever it’s back, we’ll figure that out,” Fernandez said. “And if we have to give looks to these other guys because we want to see what’s going on — what we have and the plan we want to put in the future — this is going to be very important for us.”
- In a pregame session with reporters, Fernandez clarified that there were no injury issues involved in his decision to keep Claxton and Clowney on the bench for the final quarter in Atlanta, Lewis tweets. “They’re both good,” he said. “It goes back to seeing guys that haven’t had a chance to play those minutes, because it gives me a better sense of who they are as players and what can I see as they develop.”
New York Notes: Robinson, Alvarado, Minott, Porter Jr.
Mitchell Robinson played a season-high 31 minutes on Friday and he made the most of his increased role. The Knicks center grabbed a career-high 22 rebounds, nine offensive, in a nine-point victory over Indiana.
Robinson has been on a load management plan all season.
“It’s obviously shown that it’s paid off,” coach Mike Brown told the New York Post’s Jared Schwartz, “because of his ability to, knock on wood, stay on the floor and play in games and play the minutes he played tonight.”
It’s a good sign for a big man, who will be on the free agent market this summer if he doesn’t sign an extension before then.
Here’s more on the New York teams:
- Knicks guard Jose Alvarado is frustrated by his lack of three-point success since being traded to New York, according to Schwartz. “I just gotta continue to trust in my work. I’ve been a good shooter my whole career,” he said. “It’s a different road, a different situation here. You asked me how [my three-point shooting] is, it sucks, so I gotta get better at it.” Since knocking down eight three-pointers against the Sixers on Feb. 11, Alvarado, who holds a $4.5MM option on next season’s contract, has made just five of 34 attempts. He didn’t even take a shot in 13 minutes against the Pacers on Friday.
- Josh Minott had a career night against Atlanta on Thursday, notching 24 points, three rebounds, three steals and three blocks in 24 minutes. He was acquired by the Nets from Boston prior to last month’s trade deadline. “I’ve been waiting on it,” Minott told Brian Lewis of the New York Post. “But at the end of the day, I’m not going to call it pointless — but it’s one goal. So overall, I don’t want to say satisfied, but I’m pretty happy with my performance. But at the end of the day, it’s about getting numbers in the right column.” The Nets hold a $2.58MM option on Minott’s non-guaranteed contract for next season. If it’s exercised, his salary would become guaranteed on July 15.
- The Nets’ leading scorer, Michael Porter Jr., won’t play this afternoon against the Sixers due to an ankle sprain, Lewis tweets. This will be the 15th game Porter has missed this season.
Nets Notes: Atkinson, Nelson, Mann, Minott
Former Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson is confident that the team’s current rebuilding process will wind up being successful, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Atkinson offered his assessment after his Cavaliers barely escaped Brooklyn with a 106-102 win on Sunday. It was the eighth straight loss for the Nets, but Atkinson sees signs of progress for coach Jordi Fernandez and his young roster.
“No doubt, you definitely go through those moments. You’re going home and you’re taking that L after the game. It’s hard, especially when they start stacking up,” Atkinson said. “Of course you worry if you’re a competitor. But that’s part of it, part of going through a rebuild and part of being a young coach.
“And you see the development … It’ll happen here, because they drafted really good talent. They got really good coaching, good coaching staff, good front office. It’ll break through. You’re just waiting for that, ‘When is that gonna happen?’ I’m sure Jordi’s going. ‘Man, everyone is saying it’ll happen.’ But they play so hard, it’s eventually going to happen with their talent.”
The latest loss leaves the Nets at 15-45, half a game behind Indiana and 1 1/2 games away from Sacramento in the race for the league’s worst record.
There’s more from Brooklyn:
- In his first home game since signing a 10-day contract, Grant Nelson posted 11 points, four rebounds and three blocks on Sunday, Lewis states in a separate story. Nelson was playing his fourth game in four cities over five days between the NBA and the G League and said “adrenaline” helped him get through it. “It’s really been my dream my whole life. So it’s just fun to get out there, play with some of the best players in the world,” he added. “It’s just really a dream. But I know the work’s not done. I still got a lot to work on.”
- Terance Mann, who was acquired from Atlanta in July, has been an ideal example for his younger teammates to follow, according to C.J. Holmes of The New York Daily News (subscription required). Mann is the oldest player on the roster at 29 and he’s happy to accept his leadership responsibilities. “I had great vets in my day as a rookie, so they showed me how to be great vets,” he said. “They showed me how to be positive no matter what the role is. They showed me how to be able to take care of the young guys and that’s just really what I’m here to do.”
- After the Nets faced the Celtics on Friday, Jaylen Brown admitted that Josh Minott faced a “tough” situation in Boston before being traded to Brooklyn at the deadline, per Brian Robb of MassLive. Minott didn’t spend much time in the rotation before suffering an ankle injury in December that sidelined him for several weeks, but he said he can accept how things turned out. “I left on no bitter note,” Minott said. “You see it, I dapped everybody up. It’s always love with everybody here unless we play them, then it’s hate. After the game is over, those 48 minutes we’re enemies but I definitely had a great experience here for sure.”
Atlantic Notes: Alvarado, Clarkson, Celtics, Nets, Barnes
Jose Alvarado‘s first game with the Knicks came in Boston rather than at Madison Square Garden, but the New York City native said that representing his hometown team felt “like it was meant to be,” according to Steve Popper of Newsday (subscription required).
“This is a blessing,” Alvarado said. “I’m from here. My family never left the city. To be in that atmosphere, I mean, they’ve been Knicks fans since before me. To be with a team that’s trying to contend for something and me be a part of it is pretty special. … To be part of the city, it’s just a surreal feeling.”
After being traded from New Orleans to New York on Thursday, Alvarado played 25 minutes on his Sunday in his Knicks debut, a 111-89 win over Boston.
The newest Knick immediately supplanted Jordan Clarkson in the team’s backcourt rotation — even with Miles McBride on the shelf following surgery for a sports hernia, Clarkson logged just eight minutes. The veteran guard, who has had four DNP-CDs in the past two-plus weeks, said that besides getting accustomed to inconsistent playing time, he’s also had to fit into a new role.
“Offensively and defensively,” Clarkson told Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (subscription required). “They’re asking me to do things defensively as well. And then offensively, I got to figure it out and make stuff out of what comes in the offense in terms of opportunities. It’s not like I’m featured in the offense or anything. I’m playing hard, I’m crashing the glass, figuring out different things — little things to be effective on that end. So it’s a whole new thing for me. But I’ll continue to be a pro and stay in the gym and working on my craft and keep it going.”
We have more from across the Atlantic:
- Jaylen Brown acknowledged after Sunday’s blowout loss to New York that there will be an adjustment period for the Celtics while they get used to their new-look roster, per Jay King of The Athletic. New center Nikola Vucevic had 11 points and six rebounds off the bench against the Knicks, but the team was outscored by 24 points in his 23 minutes on the court. “We got to figure out the chemistry a little bit, the flow a little bit,” Brown said. “We want Vuc to be a little bit more aggressive, looking for him to get going and make him feel confident in taking those shots and where he can catch the ball. I think he’s still learning, but we need him to be aggressive. So we’ll make adjustments, we’ll communicate, we’ll watch film, and we’ll be better for it.”
- The trades that sent Josh Minott and Ochai Agbaji to Brooklyn were essentially salary dumps for Boston and Toronto, respectively. However, as Brian Lewis of The New York Post writes, the Nets will give both Minott and Agbaji an opportunity to earn spots in their rotation — and maybe even spots in the club’s plans beyond this season. “We know they’re very good players. That’s why they’re here,” head coach Jordi Fernandez said. “Show me what you can bring to the group, and if you can be part of this group, you can be a future Net.”
- Scottie Barnes is headed to his second All-Star game this season, but Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic sees an even higher ceiling for the star forward. “Scottie is Defensive Player of the Year. He’s an All-Star. He’s gonna be a Finals MVP. He’s going to be an MVP one day,” Rajakovic said after Barnes racked up 25 points, 14 rebounds, six assists, and four blocks in Sunday’s win over Indiana (Twitter link via Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca). “Write down the date I said that.”
Celtics Trade Josh Minott To Nets
9:52 pm: The trade is official, according to announcements from the Celtics and the Nets. Brooklyn sent cash to Boston to complete the deal and has formally waived Cam Thomas to make room on the roster for Minott.
The Celtics received $110K from the Nets, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post. That was the minimum necessary to make the deal legal.
1:15 pm: The Celtics are trading Josh Minott to the Nets, Shams Charania reports for ESPN (Twitter link). According to Erik Slater of ClutchPoints (Twitter link), no additional players or draft picks are involved in the deal.
Boston signed Minott last summer to a two-year, minimum-salary deal that includes a second-year team option. The athletic 6’8″ wing appeared in 33 games for the Celtics this season, including 10 starts, and averaged 5.8 points and 3.6 rebounds while shooting 44.2% from three.
While Minott played reasonably well in Boston, he has been out of the rotation since before Christmas, and moving off his contract will help the Celtics reduce their luxury tax bill or perhaps even get out of the tax entirely, though at least one more move would be necessary to accomplish that.
Keith Smith of Spotrac (via Twitter) points to Xavier Tillman Sr. as a name to keep an eye on if the Celtics are aiming to duck the tax.
[UPDATE: The Celtics have indeed traded Tillman.]
As for the Nets, they’ll use their cap room to absorb Minott’s contract. It’s unclear whether they like him and will make him part of their plans going forward or if they’re being incentivized with cash to take on his remaining salary.
Injury Notes: Garland, Merrill, Heat, Coulibaly, Pritchard
Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland has been ruled out of Friday’s game at Philadelphia due to right great toe soreness, tweets Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. As Fedor notes, Garland’s injury is not a recurrence of the toe ailment that required offseason surgery and has bothered him for several months — the injury is impacting a different toe on the opposite foot.
Cleveland will also be without sharpshooter Sam Merrill on Friday, per Fedor (Twitter link). Merrill is dealing with a right hand sprain, the same injury that caused him to miss 14 games earlier in the season. Both players were injured in Wednesday’s win in Philadelphia.
Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:
- The Heat will be down two key rotation members for Saturday’s game against Oklahoma City, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (Twitter links). Starting point guard Davion Mitchell will miss his second straight game with a left shoulder contusion, while sixth man Jaime Jaquez Jr. will be out for the second consecutive contest due to a left knee sprain. As Chiang writes for The Miami Herald, Jaquez underwent an MRI on Thursday which revealed irritation in his knee. Mitchell had not received an MRI as of Thursday. Guard Tyler Herro is questionable for tomorrow’s game due to contusions on his toe and rib.
- Forward Bilal Coulibaly, who exited Wednesday’s loss at the Clippers early due to a back injury, will miss the final two games of the Wizards‘ West Coast road trip with what the team is calling lower back stiffness, as Josh Robbins of The Athletic relays (via Twitter). Head coach Brian Keefe said the former lottery pick has returned to D.C. to receive treatment for his back.
- Celtics guard Payton Pritchard is doubtful to suit up for Saturday’s game at Atlanta due to left ankle soreness, per John Karalis of Sports Illustrated (Twitter link). Pritchard, the reigning Sixth Man of the Year, has appeared in all 40 of Boston’s games thus far in 2025/26. Forward Josh Minott will miss his seventh straight contest due to a left ankle sprain, Karalis adds.
Celtics Notes: Queta, Tatum, Walsh, Trade Options
Neemias Queta has solved the Celtics‘ center problems this season, but he has been disappointed with his free throw shooting, writes Souichi Terada of MassLive. There were concerns about what Boston would do in the middle after trading Kristaps Porzingis and seeing Al Horford and Luke Kornet leave in free agency, but Queta stepped into the starting role and has provided consistent scoring, rebounding and defense. However, he’s connecting at just 61.2% from the foul stripe after being a 71.3% career shooter coming into the season.
“I can get better,” Queta said. “It’s been a tough year for me at the line. I usually feel pretty confident when I’m out there. I don’t know what’s going on. Maybe it’s repetition or maybe it’s just getting my legs under it. But something I need to get better at, most definitely, because that’s unacceptable. … I’m too good of a shooter to shoot that bad.”
Terada adds that Queta’s breakout season has been massive considering that backup big men Luka Garza and Xavier Tillman have both dropped out of the rotation. Coach Joe Mazzulla has gone with smaller lineups when Queta rests, using Josh Minott and other players in the middle.
There’s more from Boston:
- Jayson Tatum posted several lengthy workout videos to his Instagram account this week, but Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (subscription required) cautions that doesn’t mean the All-Star forward will be returning soon. It’s been seven months since Tatum ruptured his Achilles tendon, and Himmelsbach states that he continues to remind team officials that he wants to play this season. However, a league source tells Himmelsbach that Tatum still has to reach several milestones in the recovery process before that can be considered.
- Doc Rivers is the latest opposing coach to be impressed by Jordan Walsh, Himmelsbach adds in the same piece. The third-year forward has established himself as an elite defender this season, and his shooting has been outrageous lately as he’s 30-of-37 from the field and 9-of-12 from three-point range in December. “It seems like they just put him on anybody to pressure,” Rivers said of Walsh after Thursday’s game in Milwaukee. “His energy is infectious, man. If you don’t want to play hard when you’re watching him play, then there’s something wrong with you.”
- The prospect of Tatum returning could prompt the Celtics to be more aggressive about finding another center at the trade deadline rather than waiting for the offseason, Brian Robb of MassLive states in a mailbag column. Robb responds to a question about Ivica Zubac, saying the team may be hesitant to part with multiple first-round picks for a big man and is likely to pursue minimum-salary options if a player of that caliber isn’t available.